Devin Hefferon a New England Home 5 Under 40 Winner

Portrait by Bruce Goravin.

Photograph courtesy of Sculptured Earth.

Photography courtesy of Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design.

Photography courtesy of Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design.

Photography courtesy of Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design.

A rug designed by Devin Hefferon.

Introducing Devin Hefferon one of New England Home‘s “5 Under 40” winners for 2022.

As a kid, Devin Hefferon preferred being outdoors, so a career that would let him spend plenty of time there seemed like a good idea. An interest in the environment and a childhood TV diet of the Discovery Channel led the New York native to Colorado State University to study wildlife biology. “After about a year I thought, I’m nineteen, and I’m going to do a five-year program, then I’m going to need a master’s,” he recounts with a laugh. “I had this adulting moment of‘I’ve got to find something more stable.’ ”

Looking back to his summer jobs at local nurseries and his enjoyment of art classes got him thinking about a career that combined art and plants. He moved back to New York to earn his degree in landscape architecture at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse.

Hefferon, who joined Matthew Cunningham, a 2013 5 Under 40 winner, at Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design in 2016, says his work dovetails perfectly with his longtime concern for the environment and wildlife. “Some people think we just build gardens for wealthy people,” he says. “But we may work on a couple of hundred acres a year, so if we’re mindful of using less water and fewer fertilizers and attracting pollinators, we can have a huge impact across big swaths of the population.”

Hefferon also has a passion for birding, an activity that led him to spearhead a successful 2013 effort to stop the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from exterminating snowy owls that were a nuisance at JFK and LaGuardia airports. Beauty and sustainability go hand in hand in Hefferon’s eyes. “We’re creating spaces for people’s lifestyle, and of course that includes a pool or a patio or a firepit, but we can also be choosing native species and making other good choices,” he says. “Why wouldn’t we also want to improve the natural environment?”

The “5 Under 40” celebration is on September 15, 2022, at the Landry & Arcari showroom in Boston. The party and auction are open to the public. Join us by purchasing your tickets here.