Kickstart Agroforestry: A Northeast Primer for Planning and Planting Success
Regenerative Design Group and NOFA/Mass have completed a three-year project funded by a USDA Specialty Crops Grant increasing agroforestry and…
Wing and a Prayer: Pollinators Take Flight, Ecological Design Takes Root
RDG team member Elena Zachary steps into leadership at a beloved native plant nursery in Cummington, MA. At Regenerative Design…
Voicing Concerns on the Impact of Federal Funding Freeze
Regenerative Design Group’s work spans ecological site design, municipal and regional climate resilience planning, and regenerative agriculture. In addition to…
RDG Presents on Healthy Soils at Three State Conferences
RDG’s Bas Gutwein will be presenting on the Massachusetts Healthy Soils Action Plan (HSAP) and Healthy Soils Guide at three…
Digging In: More from ASLA 2024
This essay is adapted from a conversation between team members Taurean Gagnon and Von Harvey, about Taurean’s experience and takeaways…
RDG at ASLA 2024: Illuminating the Future of Landscape Design
In October, Regenerative Design Group (RDG) team members Rachel Lindsay, Taurean Gagnon, and Elena Zachary attended The American Society of…
$99K Grant to Advance Soil Health Covered by Greenfield Recorder
The Greenfield Recorder recently featured Regenerative Design Group (RDG) in an article celebrating the $99,900 grant awarded to our firm…
Celebrating Another Year as a Worker-Owned Cooperative
January 2025 will mark four years since Regenerative Design Group (RDG) became worker-owned and officially added Cooperative to its name…
Introducing the Three New Hires of 2024
We’re thrilled to announce that Regenerative Design Group expanded our team with three exceptional new hires in 2024! With their…
Local Media Covers Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer’s visit to Big River Chestnuts
Big River Chestnuts, led by Regenerative Design Group’s Jono Neiger, recently welcomed Massachusetts’ inaugural Climate Chief, Melissa Hoffer, as part…
Tree Range Meat: Designing Silvopasture Systems for Grazing Operations in New England
The productive integration of diverse trees and livestock is one of the oldest indigenous agricultural techniques practiced around the world…
Room for The River: Hatfield Comprehensive Plan Centers Thriving Agricultural Economy
In 2022, Regenerative Design Group (RDG) led a research and community engagement process to develop a guiding framework for the…
Rachel Lindsay to Present “Unlocking the Carbon Potential” Session at 2024 ASLA Conference
Rachel Lindsay, Senior Designer and Head of Landscape Design at Regenerative Design Group, will be one of three speakers presenting…
Healthy Soils Challenge Grant Initiative
The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs has announced a Healthy Soils Challenge Grant Initiative to implement the Massachusetts…
Silvopasture Video Series
In collaboration with Wellspring Forest Farm and Inhabit Films, we recently wrapped up a 2-year project funded through the National…
Restore Relationships, Not Just Plants
By Rachel Lindsay, Head of Site Design What Do We Mean By Ecological Restoration? This year, Regenerative Design Group collaborated…
Ayer/Devens Pocket Forest Project
The Planning Wing of RDG has been busy this past year working with several MA towns on nature-based solutions projects…
Upcoming Planning Conferences with RDG
Sunday, November 12th, 2023 Rooted in Place: An Ecological Planning Symposium berkshire botanical garden | stockbridge, ma Jono Neiger, Head…
Expanding Agroforestry and Nut Crops in Massachusetts
RDG is collaborating with NOFA/Mass on a three-year project to increase agroforestry and nut crop production in Massachusetts through targeted…
MA Healthy Soils Action Plan Methodology
MA Healthy Soils Action Plan Overview The MA Healthy Soils Action Plan focuses on the five major land covers of…
The Deerfield Healthy Soils Project
Last year we had the pleasure of partnering with Chris Curtis of Conservation Works on a Healthy Soils Project for…
Soil Health Paper in Soil Security Journal
RDG’s Sebastian Gutwein and Keith Zaltzberg-Drezdahl, in collaboration with Eric Toensmeier and Rafter Sass Ferguson, recently authored a paper published…
Silvopasture Slideshow!
We are well into the film production portion of our “Silvopasture Practices for Land, Animal, and Farm Resilience” project. When…
Northeast Silvopasture Inventory
Are you actively integrating trees, livestock, and forages on lands in the Northeast US? Our team (Regenerative Design Group, Wellspring…
Back to Pony Power!
By Laura Krok-Horton, Associate Designer Rachel, Keith and I had a successful 2-day visit to Pony Power this week, our…
Pollinator Week 2021
Great Black Digger Wasp on Spotted Horse Mint, Photo Credit: Rachel Lindsay Celebrating pollinator Week Fourteen years ago the US…
Joining Cooperative Forces
After RDG completed our transition to a worker owner coop this January, we joined the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives…
Protecting Soil Function
Come learn more about protecting soil function at the Massachusetts Association of Conservation Commissions (MACC) Annual Conference. Massachusetts…
Regenerative Farming Course with Rachel Lindsay
Winter Moon Roots, Hadley MA | Credit: Rachel Lindsay RDG Associate Designer Rachel Lindsay will be teaching a Regenerative…
We Are Worker-Owned!
We are thrilled to share that Regenerative Design Group is now a worker-owned cooperative. We made it official in December,…
Big River Chestnuts Virtual Field Day
Year Three SARE Grant Update: Soil Health and Carbon Sequestration in a Chestnut Agroforestry You can now watch the webinar…
Designing with Wildlife in Mind
By Rachel Lindsay, Associate Designer The design goals for so many of our projects include enhancing and protecting wildlife habitat…
Building an Anti-Racist Design Firm
What does it mean to be an anti-racist design firm? How does racism frame and structure the field of landscape…
MA HSAP Public Meeting Schedule
*** July 31st Update *** Thanks to everyone who participated in the Healthy Soils Action Plan Public Meetings! You can…
Designing Gardens Accessible to All
by Rachel Lindsay In my work, I find the act of caring for the land and caring for the people…
Agroforestry Crops for the Northeast
Agroforestry for Resilience After more than a decade of designing regenerative landscapes, one thing is clear: interest in land-based resiliency…
Ten-Year Anniversary Video!
Last year, Regenerative Design Group celebrated 10 years in business. We marked our achievements throughout the year, with parties, project…
Cacao Agroforestry in the Dominican Republic
Jono Neiger In October I visited the Dominican Republic as part of Partners of the Americas Farmer to Farmer Program,…
Exploring Agroforestry in Central New York
By Jono Neiger Six Farms in Two Days On a recent road trip I traveled through Central New York to…
Healthy Soils Action Plan: Updates
We’re a few months into the planning process for the Massachusetts Healthy Soils Action Plan and wanted to give an…
Springfield Sites Tour
Springfield Sites Tour: Friday, June 14th Keith Zaltzberg (RDG Principal and Springfield Projects Manager) will lead a tour of three…
Massachusetts Healthy Soils Action Plan
Regenerative Design Group has been awarded a contract to lead a robust planning process for protecting and enhancing all soils…
Restoring Land with Regenerative Agriculture
By Jono Neiger, Founding Principal This year marks Regenerative Design Group’s tenth anniversary. Over the last decade, it has been…
Living Soils Symposium 2019
Uniting around Soil It seems that everywhere we turn lately, people are talking about soil. Whether it’s about the dire…
Upcoming Conferences
We’re looking forward to getting out to some conferences over the next several months. RDG team members will be doing…
Growing Chestnut Agroforestry in New England
What is Agroforestry? Agroforestry is a system of combining perennial crops to get multiple benefits and yields within an area…
Soil & Nutrition Conference 2018
Jono Neiger had a great time at this year’s Soil & Nutrition Conference, organized by the Bionutrient Food Association. This…
Climate Change and Regenerative Land Use Practices
The Realities of Climate Change Last week, the White House released the U.S. Climate Report, which details the devastating current…
Amherst Common Bandshell Designs
Inspired by Olmsted This fall, the Town of Amherst held a design competition for a new bandshell on the Amherst…
Maine Mass Timber Design Competition
*Title rendering by Fitch Architecture & Community Design Last month, RDG’s Bas Gutwein and Genevieve Lawlor collaborated with other designers…
Carbon Farming Webinar
Join Jono Neiger, Lisa DePiano, and Eric Toensmeier for a one-hour Carbon Farming Webinar!
Plant Profile: New England Aster
A Valuable Late Bloomer New England Aster, Aster novae-angliae The transition into fall is characterized by shifts in color. The…
Plant Profile: Blue False Indigo
A True Blue Beauty Baptisia australis, Blue False Indigo In early spring, just after the snow melts, my eyes are…
It’s Pollinator Week!
Supporting pollinators takes more than just planting flowers. The landscape design world is buzzing with advice for supporting native pollinators…
Stream Restoration in Springfield, MA
On June 25th, 2018, three members of our team will embark on a 9-day Youth Green Stewardship Expedition (YGSE) with…
Fowler Clark Epstein Opening Celebration!
Over the last three years, RDG has had the pleasure of working with the Urban Farming Institute, Historic Boston Inc,…
Workshops at WILDSIDE Cottage and Gardens
This summer and fall, Wildside Cottage and Gardens will offer eight intermediate-to-advanced workshops. Each workshop is three hours long and limited…
Three Benefits of Urban Farms
As the world becomes more urbanized, the importance of supporting robust ecosystems within our cities grows. Increasingly, urban farms are…
Reading List: Environmental Theory and Design
April is a fickle month. More than a few mornings have seen the crocuses dusted with snow, and this week’s…
Pollinator-Friendly Landscapes
A foundational mission of Regenerative Design Group is to design productive landscapes that restore ecosystem services and encourage ecological literacy. …
SARE Partnership Grant!
We are very pleased to announce that, in collaboration with Grow Food Northampton and Sawmill Herb Farm, Regenerative Design Group…
The Soil Story
The Soil Story: A wonderful animation from the folks at Kiss the Ground about carbon, soil, and the promise of…
Plant Profile: Sea Kale
Sea What? Sea Kale! Crambe maritima If you are looking for a low-maintenance plant that serves as an attractive element…
Jono Neiger: Questioning the Invasive Species Paradigm
This year’s Ecological Landscape Association Conference, Sustaining the Living Landscape, is packed with talks and workshops all about designing, building, restoring,…
Integrated Urban Farm Design
Cultivating Food, Community, and Clean Water in Cities Urban farm design is challenging, impactful, and transformative. Challenging because designers, farm…
Reading List: Agrarian Urbanism
Winter is a great time to catch up on reading that informs, challenges, and inspires the design process. Places Journal,…
Permaculture-based Disaster Relief
The Permaculture Association of the Northeast (PAN) is hosting a new webinar series exploring regional and international permaculture career pathways…
RDG @ NOFA-NJ Winter Conference
Two RDG team members are offering workshops at this year’s NOFA-NJ Winter Conference. The two-day conference (January 27th & 28th)…
The Work of Winter: Productive Conservation Update
Planning for Summer As designers of living systems in New England, we are often approached with the question, “What do…
The Hope of Regenerative Agriculture
“Soil Power! The Dirty Way to a Green Planet”, by Jacques Leslie, is a great article about the promise of…
Designing Living Soils
Invisible Design When you look through RDG’s portfolio, much of the design process is only suggested by the finished project…
The Niches We Want To Live In
Below are a few excerpts from a fascinating article about human niche construction, with notes by RDG co-founder Bas Gutwein…
Wildside in Fruit
A small sampling of the late summer/early fall abundance at Regenerative Design Group’s long-time permaculture demonstration site, Wildside Gardens.
Onward, Josiah!
We recently said farewell to the Regenerative Design Group’s beloved first hire, Josiah Simpson, who is moving on to UMass…
Fall Workshops at Wildside
Spend an afternoon at Wildside Cottage and Gardens this Fall! Learn a new skill, meet great folks, and enjoy the…
Two RDG Projects, Side By Side
This summer two edible landscape projects RDG has worked on, both at challenging sites, have come together in an interesting…
Building Healthy Soil, State by State
Here’s a hopeful read about states that are providing incentives for carbon farming, written by Diane Donlon at the Center…
Productive Conservation in a Changing Climate
A Destructive Storm In 2011, Hurricane Irene hit New England, and it hit hard. Four to ten or more inches…
Planting Slopes with Seed Balls
This year we are thrilled to be working with Pony Power, a non-profit organization that gives special needs children and…
Book Highlights: The Permaculture Promise + Garden Revolution
Jono’s book, The Permaculture Promise, was highlighted recently in an article in The Greenfield Recorder, along with Garden Revolution: How…
The Permaculture Promise – by Jono Neiger
We are very excited to announce that Jono Neiger, one of our founding partners, has a new book – The…
Mapping the Permaculture Education Ecosystem
There is a wide spectrum of permaculture education formats in practice today. The diversity of approaches reflects a growing interest…
Drought Doesn’t Discriminate
No Water, No Food This summer, much of the northeast has suffered from a lack of rainfall. Western New York…
Putting Wildside to Bed for the Season
Autumn’s Work We finished the season of fieldwork at Wildside Cottage and Gardens at the beginning of November, and on that…
Map of Greenfield MA Traffic Accidents
As part of my duties as a member of Greenfield’s Parking and Traffic Commission I put together a map of…
Asphalt to Asclepias: Springfield Rain Gardens
I arrived at the site of our newest rain garden on Tuesday morning and someone handed me a pry bar…
Hillside Regeneration in Maine
A Vision of Hillside Regeneration Keith Zaltzberg and Josiah Simpson traveled to Montville, Maine to oversee the construction of slope-stabilizing,…
Springfield Museums Rain Garden
First of Five Rain Gardens This month Regenerative Design Group completed a 2,800 square foot rain garden at Springfield Museums…
Bioshelters: Year-round Food Production in New England
In November of 2014, our team completed construction on a large garden-scale bioshelter in Greenfield, Massachusetts. The 700-square foot structure was designed…
Understanding Regenerative Landscape Design
What is Regenerative Landscape Design? We were interviewed by Mass Realty about this very thing! Below are some excerpts, and…
Montague Urban Homestead Landscape Design
The Montague Urban Homestead, winner of the Mass Zero Net Energy Challenge, is a one-story single-family dwelling, located on a…