Kent Hospital wins Rhode Island Environmental Sustainability Award 

Tom Benjamin of Regenerative Design Group has been working with Kent Hospital in Warwick, RI to acheive cutting-edge, environmental landscaping on the hospital's campus.  Their efforts to manage stormwater sustainably, use low-maintenance native plantings, provide healing gardens, walking tours, flower and vegetable gardens has helped them win the Award for Sustainable Operations, given by Hospitals for a Healthy Environment in Rhode Island.  Read more about Kent's Sustainable Landscapes.  It's a terrific example of environmental stewardship acheived through ecological design at institutional scale!   Read the article here.

Urban Agriculture taught online by RDG Ecological Design Associate, Helena K. Farrell, MLA 

One of the many special characteristics that distinguishes RDG from other landscape design firms is our committment to education and the fact that all of our team members are also accomplished educators.  For example, RDG's, Helena Farrell will be teaching a course called "Urban Agriculture: Innovative Farm Systems for the 21st Century" through Continuing & Professional Education at UMass, Amherst this summer from July 8 - August 16.  The course introduces students to Urban Ag. case studies and production practices from around the globe and provides a framework for understanding the interwoven relationships between site, people, biology and economics that are intrinsic to urban farming. The course provides a solid foundation for anyone interested in practicing urban agriculture, designing a farm system, developing a Masters or Phd thesis on the topic, or contributing to the field through investigative research.  Read more about the course and the instructor's teaching of it on the course website.

Jane Roy Brown writes about RDG in Horticulture Magazine 

In an article titled, "Double-Duty Design", local author, Jane Roy Brown, reports on one of RDG's premier projects, Wildside Gardens, an integrated homestead in rural Western Massachusetts.  See our portfolio page for design details and images of Wildside.  The article also features Food Forest Farm, the urban residence of our colleagues, Jonathan Bates and Eric Toensmeier in Holyoke, Ma.  This urban permaculture homestead is the subject of their new book, "Paradis Lot". 

RDG Grows Permaculture at UMass

As part of our on-going work with the Permaculture Initiative at Umass, Amherst, our Principal, Jono Neiger taught a course this spring leading students through the design of a food producing garden at the Chancellor's House.  Students gain valuable experience and learned hands-on skills as they worked together to design and build this beautiful and productive garden now known as "the Hillside Garden".  The garden will be maintained by the capable and hard-working UMass Permaculture Committee and will be a place where students, faculty and administrators can engage in both conversation and action about sustainability and productive landscapes!  Read about this course, the Hillside Garden and other efforts in the UMass Permaculture eNewsletter.

The Hillside Garden builds upon recent success and acclaim of the Franklin and Berkshire permaculture gardens, whose design and implementation were also facilitated by RDG.  Check out our design drawings.  Read and watch more about UMass Permaculture.

"Mimic Nature in Your Garden", a presentation by Jono Neiger, covered by local author

Pat Leuchtman, Author of "The Roses at the End of the Road" reports on a recent presentation by RDG's Jono Neiger to the Greenfield Garden Club entitled, "Mimic Nature in Your Garden". This exciting report of Jono's informative and well-received talk is available on Leuchtman's blog, Commonweeder.com.