Meet The Team
"Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people." - Steve JobsKauai Seascapes Nursery has always stood out, not only as a provider of high quality plants, but also of high quality people. The friendly and knowledgeable individuals that make up the staff at Kauai Seascapes Nursery are an exceptional bunch. Would you like to know who they are?
Serina
Serina manages all aspects of Seascapes, as well as takes on landscape design clients for the landscape design-installation side of the company. She takes care of everything administrative and does it with a smile. Her tender toned voice and kind nature wins her the praise of her employees. They sense her genuine concern for their welfare and respect how she organizes the nursery."Life happens when you're busy making other plans," is one of her favorite mottos. She never anticipated the move back to Kauai, nor the responsibility of managing the family business. But when her father passed away in 2011, she moved back to help her mom and encourage the business to continue. Her degree in Business and Accounting came in handy with managing the business side of the company, and she poured over tropical plant books to learn all about growing plants and designing landscapes. She is so happy she decided to return to Kauai and is even more overjoyed to be raising her son on the same island she has called home.Even though she is the General Manager, potting and propagating plants are some of her favorite activities. She admits she hasn't had the pleasure of doing much propagation at the nursery in a while. However she maintains large home garden and an (excessive per Steve) amount of indoor plants. Her favorite pursuit is looking for new (non-invasive) plants to grow at the nursery, for you all to enjoy! She also enjoys the merchandising aspect of running a garden center, and sourcing high quality tools and other garden items for our customers.
Stephen "Steve"
Originally from the Seattle, Washington area, Steve met Serina on a skiing trip in Portland. They quickly sensed a strong connection, and the rest is history. He moved back to Kauai with Serina in 2011, to help her take care of business. They got married in 2014 and had their son Cooper in 2015. Steve became a Licensed Landscape Contractor in 2016, after apprenticing with another landscape contractor and realizing he enjoyed the work.With a degree and experience in mechanical engineering he takes pride in being able to fix whatever breaks, and also found an affinity with irrigation system troubleshooting and repair. He has a background in carpentry and building construction too, which quickly evolved into landscape construction. He manages the Seascapes installation crew, keeps all the machines and vehicles running, and fixes anything else that is needed. He thrives on getting his hands dirty and making the landscape plan dream come to life."The best thing," he says, "is giving our clients something that will last. Like with carpentry, when you're done with a job it's really only going to go downhill from there. But with landscaping, it is only going to get better. Having happy clients… that's the best thing."
Katherine
Heralding from Virginia and the West Coast, Katherine spends her days doing a little bit of everything. You may see her spearheading the sales desk or assisting you with a design consult and layout. She has an amazing background in environmental and philanthropical endeavors. A few worthy of mention is the Peace Corps from West Africa, Audubon outreach programs, and out-planting in reserve areas with Kauai's own National Tropical Botanical Gardens (NTBG).She always wanted to be in a more tropical location and fell in love with Kauai. Seascapes was fortunate to be able to hire her fresh out of a masters program in science, geography, and environmental systems. She loves to get her hands dirty and spent the first year at Seascapes getting to know the 500+ plants in stock. She'll be happy to answer any of your plant ID questions!Her favorite plants are the native's because she loves the stories behind plants and their history. She ruminates on how these plants got here and how they have adapted to their environment with strength and splendor. Katherine feels that when you get to know plants they can help you understand something about the environment and connect you to a sense of place and belonging. The plants can give you courage to be a steward of the land.
Maya
Maya was born in Japan and grew up in Israel. She studied Environmental Science and Anthropology for 5 years in South Africa. Maya has a certificate in Permaculture and she wanted to work here at the nursery to learn more about edible landscaping and organic gardening. Her favorite job duty is going out to the job sites for landscaping projects and seeing the progress from start to finish. Maya is now a landscape designer for Seascapes and assists with site consultations and landscape plan drafting work.Outside of work, Maya spends a lot of time surfing. Say hello to hard-working, well-traveled Maya on your next visit to the nursery!
Rob
Originally from a small river town in Ohio, Rob moved to Kaua'i several years ago to be with his family. He first took a job with the National Tropical Botanical Gardens (NTBG) as a gardener on the south side. He worked there for 3 years and then moved on to become the Senior Conservation Technician at the Makauwahi Cave Reserve in Poipu. He spent his time removing invasive species and replacing them with native plants. His most memorable project was turning a wasteland quarry into a native forest wetland for native birds.Rob then decided it was time to move on and came to Seascapes. He delights in working for a small mom and pop shop and has really enjoyed learning the processes of how a nursery works. He stays inspired by the fact that he's always learning. He now knows how to run equipment like a flat bed truck, bobcat, and forklift. He loves plants and trees and has spent a great deal of time studying to become a certified arborist. Rob is also a a certified master gardener and a citizen forester. He gets excited about how much he doesn't know about plants. "There's always something to learn, it's almost overwhelming!"
Jody
Jody has been dubbed the "task master", but her official title is Nursery Manager. "I do whatever needs to be done," she says, "and would never ask anyone to do anything I wouldn't do myself."Originally from Ontario, Canada, Jodi has always had a passion for horticulture and agriculture. No wonder she landed herself on the Garden Island over 8 years ago. She quickly found herself at home at the nursery and with the Roush family. "Our crew here is amazing, I love them."With priorities changing at the nursery everyday, Jodi works to keep her eyes open and helps keep things running smoothly. When she's got a spare moment you'll find her at the plant propagation table.
Karen
This globe trotter settled on Kauai 20 years ago. Up until that time she lived in different locations in Europe and Asia. Raising her family on Kauai was her inspiration for settling here.Karen has an affinity for plants. She carries with her an extensive knowledge of their healing properties. She was even a guest writer on our past blog post, Medicinal Plants You Can Grow and Use At Home.She loves working with the "awesome plants" at the nursery, loves working for Serina and Steve, and claims that other nurseries "just can't compare." If you stop by you will find her potting, weeding, or pruning.
Roxanne
Originally from Michigan, Roxanne visited 30 other states until she figured out that Hawaii was the best. She moved here only a month and a half after Hurricane Iniki hit in 1992. She finally found a great job in the summer of 2008 and was hired by Steve Roush at Seascapes.Roxanne loves being outside and working with an easy going, laid back crew. Serina is the "best boss" she's ever had, ever.Roxannes favorite thing to do? Drive the Kubota.
Spencer
Originally from Columbus Ohio, Spencer found himself on Kauai thanks to his Uncle. His Uncle needed help with landscape maintenance at Common Ground and 2 other properties. Answering his request was a "no brainer" and Spencer got on a plane as soon as he could.He found his way to Seascapes a few years ago and it has been a great experience ever since. "Working here has really showed me how much I love this work, how much I love being outside." Having grown up on a farm it's no surprise that he loves getting in the ground and messing in the dirt.He's been enjoying learning about a new culture through working with the plants and eating them too! "I'm in love with my job."
Dane
From Kapahulu, O'ahu, Dane has always had a love for plants. In his years growing up and attending Kamehameha, he worked with a lot of plants and learned different kinds of farming techniques. After school he joined the air force and moved around a lot. Dane soon became homesick, moved home, and got a job at Volcom. Even while working in retail he continued to nurture his longtime love for nature and started his own farming and agriculture work. "To start something from seed and watch it grow has always been fascinating to me."In time, Covid struck the islands and he lost his job at Volcom. Dane and his wife decided to move back to Kaua'i to be with her family. He secured a position working at the Alekoko (Menehune) fishpond. This involved satisfying restoration work, native plant work, and invasive species removal. The intention was to turn it back into a working fishpond nurturing a fish, bird, and wildlife habitat. However, the organization ran out of funding and so Dane began the search for a new job. He knew he liked working outside and Seascapes was a good change of pace for him.You'll find Dane mainly working with the native plants. His work involves collecting seeds even if he's out hiking and propagating natives by cuttings. Kalo is his favorite all time plant. "There's so many uses for it and kalo has been in my family for so long." Come in and ask him all your question about caring for native plants!
Valerie (Val)
Val finds her niche in the sales department, "I slipped into sales." A work accident left her unable to perform her typical physical tasks of working around the nursery so they put her in the sales dept. Her 30+ years in the gardening world has rewarded her with a super power of being able to help you find and bring home whatever it is you're looking for!Seascapes is so very happy Val moved to Kaua'i from Huntington Beach, CA. Back in SoCal she ran and operated her own gardening business inside a 300 unit trailer park. She ended up trading her golf cart with a lift kit to follow her son into the farming world here on Kauai. They bought 8 acres out in Moloa'a with 3 other families, formed an LLC, and started a homestead.She learned how to farm and worked out in the fields for over 3.5 years. Val realized that farming and gardening are NOT the same and found her way to Seascapes. "This is best job I've ever had... you just can't shut me up about how much I love all the plants!" When you stop in be sure to talk story with Val!
Henry
Born on Kauai, and raised on the Big Island, Henry is at home in the gardens. "My grandma showed me how to take care of and connect with plants. When you put your energy back into the earth, it knows it."He found his way to Seascapes not too long ago via a co-worker friend, Maya. You'll find him mostly in the front end and around the nursery. He loves caring for plants so much that he glows with love for them! "When your happy and energetic it'll rub off on those around you, even plants! My grandma taught me that when you take care of a plant for a long period of time it knows who you are and who takes care of it." Be sure to say hi to Henry when you come in!
Robin
Robin flew over from California in 1987 with her family. They never planned to stay long, but somehow 35 years have gone by! She came to work at Seascapes not long after being laid off the same job twice a little over a year ago. Robin knew she wanted to work with nature in some capacity. She loves being "outside in it. I love the movements of weather and the wind. I'm really sensitive to it. I love studying the mountains and knowing where the water comes from."You'll find Robin caring for the nursery plants over by the propagation table and in the potting shed. She does what it takes to keep the plants healthy because she really loves the job. Robin is more than happy to help answer peoples questions and will joyfully point out the special and rare plants to you since she is a fan of the oddities in the nursery. One principal Robin likes to carry with her and share with others is that it's good to remember that in nature, everything changes. "If we can remember that fact when going through challenges, it makes it so much easier to adapt and adjust."
A quick note from Mary Roush (the woman who helped start it all)
"Kauai Seascapes was started in '92 by my late husband Steve Roush. In 2011, Serina and I decided to continue with his vision of the business. I believe our ongoing success is a direct result of Serina and Steve's business management skills as well as our awesome, hard working and knowledgable crew! Our staff keep our plants healthy, beautiful and outstanding!"We hope you enjoyed learning about our amazing team. Be sure to stop by the nursery and meet them in person! A Hui Ho!