Blake graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and secondary major in Environmental Studies. He received an ASLA Student Honor Award for public school playground enhancements in Philadelphia’s Mt. Airy neighborhood, focusing on renovating dilapidated playgrounds to encourage student’s cognitive and physical development. Growing up in north Iowa, surrounded by agriculture and diminishing native prairie land, gave him an appreciation for habitat restoration and supporting regional ecologies. Blake’s background in that setting inspired him to integrate landscape into urban environments and educational facilities to bridge the gap between developed and natural environments.