ABOUT US

Meghan O’Connell

CEO & Manager

Landscape Management certified

Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist

Master Urban Gardener

I first visited Boston while interning with the Americorps Student Conservation Association in 2012. I immediately fell in love with the tree-filled landscapes that seamlessly integrated urban and natural environments. I knew then that this was the place for me.

In Fall 2012, I used grant funding to help build Lowell Elementary’s first edible school garden. It was such a success, that the other Watertown schools created or expanded their own gardens, and now they are part of the school district’s curriculum! It was by teaching and learning alongside my own students in our garden that I discovered my passion for horticulture.

In 2014, I began my career as a Fine Gardener. I worked as a Horticultural Assistant with a residential landscaping business for two years. In 2015, I became a Master Urban Gardener through the Boston Natural Areas Network.

Having always had an independent and entrepreneurial spirit, I decided to strike out on my own in 2017. Green Urb Gardens was born! As my client base quickly expanded, I hired other gardeners to work alongside me and share in our love for nature together.

In the world of horticulture, just as in life, my learning never ceases. In 2022, I became a Massachusetts Certified Horticulturist after passing a rigorous exam with the Massachusetts Nursery and Landscape Association (MNLA). I continue to earn education credits yearly in order to maintain this esteemed title. In 2024, I attended UMass Extension’s Green School program, earning an additional certification in Landscape Management. Most recently, in 2026, I earned Sustainable Landscaping certificate through a Mass Audubon program.

I love being able to beautify home gardens in a way that serves both the Earth and my clients. I’m excited to continue expanding my business so that more people can enjoy the art of gardening, share in the beauty of native and natural aesthetics, and most importantly, provide habitat and food for our local wildlife and pollinators.

I hope you will join me on this journey!

Meet the Team

  • Mac Gaither

    LEAD HORTICULTURIST and ONLINE CONTENT CREATOR

    Growing up in rural-suburban Pennsylvania, surrounded by fields, hills, and wonderful hiking, I have always felt a connection to the natural world. In 2021 I started attending the University of Vermont to study Sociology and Community Development, inspired by Burlington's beauty and conservation efforts. Throughout my studies I grew interested in how different societies interact with the Earth. That interest turned into a passion as I began working as a Farm and Garden intern in 2023. I went in with almost no garden knowledge and left with experience in caring for vegetable fields and gardens, flower boxes, landscapes, and farm animals, which left me incredibly fulfilled and itching to do more. 

    My last semester of college brought me to Boston in 2024, where I participated in the College For Social Innovation's Semester in the City program. I was matched with an internship at Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition, a nonprofit that focuses on food access, wellness, and youth development in the neighborhood. My experience there organizing the weekly farmer's market and supporting community wellness initiatives was deeply impactful and furthered my understanding of how environmental and social justice are intertwined. 

    These experiences fueled a lasting desire to explore how humans can live in balance with the ecosystems around us. That journey naturally led me to native plant landscaping, where I now feel lucky to combine my passion for sustainability, community, and ecological care in my work with Green Urb Gardens.

  • Charlotte Kratovil-Lavelle

    ASSISTANT HORTICULTURIST

    Charlotte has spent most of her life with dirty knees and soil that she can never quite get out of her fingernails. Growing up on Kent Island in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, much of her days were spent at her local and state parks or along the water’s edge. It was through these every-day interactions with her local ecosystems that she developed a strong desire to understand and protect them. As an Environmental Science student at Dickinson College, Charlotte became engrossed in the flora and fauna of the Mid-Atlantic through field-based learning and research. In 2022, bolstered by a talk she attended on gardening for pollinators, Charlotte began transforming the lawn of her childhood home into a native-speciees rich assemblage of trees, shrubs, and forbs. Over the course of the following weeks, months, and years, she observed the increased abundance of monarch butterflies, bumblebees, fireflies, predatory insects, and songbirds drawn to her house by the assortment of forage and shelter. Having worked alongside community scientists at the Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring and members of the public through her work as a restoration ecologist with the San Juan Islands Conservation District, Charlotte feels adamantly that caring for our environment is inextricably connected to caring for each other and our communities. She believes that environmental stewardship starts at home and intends to bring principles of collaboration, curiosity, respect, and relationship-building to her work with Green Urb Gardens.