Saturday, May 9, 2026

For Fire-Impacted Altadena, a Saturday Walk Through the Neighborhood with Two Regenerative Designers

[photo credit: Poly/Ana]

Leigh Adams and Shawn Maestretti of Studio Petrichor and Poly/Ana lead a free, on-the-ground morning conversation about how to rebuild a yard with ecological intelligence — and how to relate to the land instead of fear it

In the months since the Eaton Fire, Altadena residents have been making decisions about their landscapes under enormous pressure: what to plant, what to clear, where to spend money, how to think about a future that includes more fire. On Saturday, May 9 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Poly/Ana and Studio Petrichor will lead a free community walk-and-talk in Altadena designed to help fire-impacted residents do that thinking with experienced company at their side.

The morning is hosted by Leigh Adams of the Poly/Ana nonprofit and Shawn Maestretti, principal of the Altadena-based regenerative landscape architecture firm Studio Petrichor. The two have spent years arguing for what they call whole-system design — an approach that frames a property not as a structure to defend against the wild but as an ecosystem to relate to. The walk visits a few local properties and the surrounding neighborhood so that participants can observe, ask questions and start to imagine.

Studio Petrichor is a regenerative landscape architecture practice known for water-wise, California-native designs across Altadena, Pasadena and the wider San Gabriel Valley. Its principal, Maestretti, lives and works in Altadena and lost his own home in the fire; his approach to recovery has been widely covered, including on the public radio program Cultivating Place. Poly/Ana is the nonprofit arm Maestretti and Adams co-founded, with a stated mission to educate and empower communities as agents of change and to honor and protect the Earth’s natural living systems.

The walk is free and open to anyone, with an emphasis on fire-impacted residents. Comfortable shoes, water and curiosity are encouraged. RSVP is requested.

Poly/Ana and Studio Petrichor community walk-and-talk will run on Saturday, May 9 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. in Altadena. To RSVP and for the meeting location, visit thepolyana.org or studio-petrichor.com. Admission is free.