About Us

Jeff Nighman & John Warner

John Warner founded Santa Barbara Natives with his partner Steven “Alac” Anderson in 2003. In March of 2005, Jeff Nighman was invited to become the new partner with John after Alac decided it was time for him to move on. John and Jeff both earned their degrees in Environmental Horticulture from Santa Barbara City College. There they studied under local horticulture experts Jerry Sortomme, Jeff Cope and Doug Richardson. They were both nominated student of the year in the department; Jeff in 2000 and John in 2002.

These two fellows truly are Santa Barbara natives. They were both born here in the early 60’s, were in the same grade at preschool and elementary school and played together at the Montecito YMCA. They lost track of each other for about 30 years before meeting again in the wonderful field of horticulture.

Both John and Jeff left their professional careers in other industries to follow their shared dream and passion...native plants. They sought a socially responsible facet of horticulture to aid in solving our local population’s impact on Santa Barbara County. They recognize the growing importance of native plants in our community and are determined to be leaders shaping the native plant industry in Santa Barbara.

John’s Background:

John has a BS degree in Business Administration from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California and comes to Santa Barbara Natives with ten-plus years of multi-faceted experience and solid accomplishments in operations and information systems management and customer service.

John has worked for the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden as a landscape technician maintaining the California Native Plant displays and educating visitors about California Native Plants. He was a certified Green Gardener and a graduate of the Santa Barbara City College Environmental Horticulture Program with Associate of Science Degrees in Landscape Maintenance, Propagation, and Landscape Contracting. John and his wife, Jennifer Dunn, are the current Preserve Managers at the Arroyo Hondo Preserve which is located near the Santa Barbara Natives nursery. They feel very fortunate to be stewards of such a natural and cultural treasure as the Arroyo Hondo Preserve and love working with such a dedicated community of environmental and agricultural supporters.

Jeff’s Background:

Jeff comes with a BS Degree in Conservation and Resource Studies from the University of California at Berkeley and a Masters Degree in Sustainable Economics from Sonoma State University.

After completing his studies at UC Berkeley, Jeff spent most of the 90’s traveling, living and working abroad; in Australia as a cowboy and agricultural worker and in Japan as the manager of an English school for Britannica International Japan. After returning to the U.S., Jeff started working on his horticulture degrees while launching his landscaping business – Sustainable Landscapes of Santa Barbara. Both John and Alac briefly worked for Jeff in his landscaping business while they were attending horticulture classes at Santa Barbara City College. Jeff returned to Santa Barbara after completing his graduate degree.

Jeff is a certified Green Gardener and a graduate of the Santa Barbara City College Environmental Horticulture Program with Associate of Science Degrees in Regenerative & Restoration Horticulture, Horticultural Supervision & Maintenance, and Landscape Contracting. In 2003-4 he was the treasurer and then the president of the Horticultural Consortium of Santa Barbara. He was also chair of the renewal committee at the La Casa De Maria Retreat and Conference Center in Montecito helping to guide their landscaping and sustainability policies and projects.