About the Reserve

With decades of experience in Western North Carolina’s vast horticulture, Executive Director Kelly Holdbrooks demonstrates her passion for fostering human connection with nature. Engaging her audience through her wealth of knowledge and love of storytelling, Kelly offers an educational experience to enliven your visit and inspire you. Kelly’s research in experiential methods and the humanism of nature earned her a master’s degree in Landscape Architecture, with honors, from the College of Environment and Design at the University of Georgia. She is on the steering committee for the Southern Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative (SASRI), an organization formed from a partnership of diverse interests with a common goal of restoring spruce ecosystems across the high elevation landscapes of the Southern Blue Ridge. Kelly enjoys hiking, gardening, yoga, and playing in nature with her family. She is proud to call Western North Carolina her home.

Growing up in the Sandhills of North Carolina, Kody Stanley was always intrigued by nature. He attended Missouri Southern University and completed their fire academy, but meeting his wife and having two beautiful children shifted his professional trajectory. Kody honored his longing to be back outside and trained as an arborist. Quickly rising from groundsman dragging brush to foreman managing a bucket truck and climbing crew, he landed a dream transfer to Western North Carolina. Soon, however, he found purpose missing from his professional life. He had grown tired of just cutting trees and harming ecosystems. He took another leap of faith and joined the Reserve as a gardener, bringing his passion for nature and eagerness for education on conservation. Kody is raising his family in Western North Carolina and teaching them how to live with the land, not just on it. He enjoys hiking, photography, exploring, and spending time with family.

Growing up in Baltimore, Brent Antrim found his call to gardening as he spent time with his grandfather in a greenhouse full of prize-winning orchids. He learned landscaping skills from his grandparents, mowing their lawn and trimming hedges. He learned to prune while climbing their cherry tree. After graduation from St. Paul’s School for Boys in Brooklandville, MD, Brent earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Georgia, where he spent two years as a student assistant at the State Botanical Gardens of Georgia. He worked as operations manager for Sedgefield Interior Landscapes in Atlanta, supervising the installation and maintenance of tropical plants in malls, hotels, and office building atriums. He then became the sales manager for Chisholm’s Quality Foliage, a wholesale greenhouse in midtown Atlanta two blocks from the Atlanta Botanical Garden. From there he moved to Monroe, Ga., just outside Athens, where for 20 years he and his wife, Kim, owned a garden design, installation, and maintenance company called Chauncey Gardeners — a nod to Peter Sellers in the film Being There. Brent and Kim now live in Pisgah Forest with their two labs, Gracie and Andre. He enjoys reading and hiking and is an avid follower of all sporting events.