Transition from managing land to partnering with lifesheds.
Our team has the technical skills you expect from top-notch ecological designers, but we don’t believe this is enough. As a woman-owned company with deep roots in Midwestern farm country, we support you to reconnect with the living world for your healing, and the healing of the land.
To do this, we guide you through structured, efficient and inspirational processes to consider the complexities of ecological, social, and economic systems in your context, and think through how people will live in, manage, and co-evolve with these Places for years and decades to come.
We distill that complexity into practical yet aspirational images of what’s possible, communicate those ideas with clarity and detail, and provide the support that empowers you to implement changes, manage productive systems, and ultimately, live in right relationship with the living land and make meaningful contribution to the well-being of endeavor, and your community.
Work with us
FULL CYCLE DESIGN
Engage with us through the life cycle of your project so we can build the capacity of your team to not just articulate, but actualize your goals for master planning, regenerative agriculture startups, transitioning your farm from conventional practices, or other complex projects.
Our questionnaire not only helps us glean information about your endeavor, but also asks provoking questions that help you think in new directions. Fill that in, and we will be in touch to discuss the scope and timing of an engagement.
CONSULTING
Not ready for a full cycle engagement, but, for example
Taking your first steps towards becoming a land partner, and want our input on your relocation strategy, or evaluating a property?
Already holding land and feeling unclear about what to do next, or how to uplift challenging human dynamics?
We help you move forward with confidence, while also building sound foundations for future regeneration.
Click the button below to fill out a form that clarifies what types of support you need. If you have a burning issue, you will have the option to schedule a 50-minute slot during our Office Hours.
Learn and get inspired
We have educated folks on how to partner with the land for over 20 years, through speaking and educational offerings.
Paula and Lindsay have been featured speakers at Quivira; The Women, Food, and Agriculture Network; and more. We are accepting four speaking engagements in 2024, email info@ecologicaldesign.land to invite us to present to your audience.
Land School is our new educational platform—a living library that is the culmination of our learning and teaching over the years, and where you can tap into our wide network of people and organizations dedicated to working regeneratively with land.
It’s included in our Full Cycle packages, but later in 2024, you will be able to sign up for Land School if you aren’t a Full Cycle client. More about that will be announced in our newsletter, so please sign up for that under Free Resources below.
Access FREE Resources
Sign up for our email list using the form on the left.
We send occasional emails packed full of inspiration around regenerative land practices.
In early 2024, we will also be releasing our free guide on “The Eight Capabilities that Enable You to Partner with Lifesheds” and folks on our email list will enjoy earliest access.
More about who we work with
The team as Ecological Design has supported hundreds of individuals, families, collectives, communities, & organizations towards regenerative practices.
NEWBIES
Are you wanting to buy a property and start a farm or permaculture site for the first time? We help you discern criteria so you purchase the right parcel and avoid costly mistakes. When you are settled and ready to dive into full cycle design, we already have a jump start on working together.
Established Agrarians
If you are transferring ownership to a younger generation, or shifting from conventional to regenerative practices, we help you not only design the land-based systems, but navigate the human dynamics that accompany big changes.
Organizations
We’ve worked with families, businesses, campuses, parks, retreat centers, nonprofits, and regional organizing.
In addition to our technical abilities, our facilitation skills are often what enables your group to work as a team to identify and coalesce behind your regenerative goals.
Women Land Leaders
Agriculture has traditionally been a male-dominated field, but more women than ever are leading land-based initiatives. We understand the challenges and joys of this work, and have coached many women towards personal and professional success, whether it’s working with farmers who rent or manage your land, or you are leading edge of agriculture or natural resources policy.
People of Culture
Historically, People of Color have been had their relationships with and stewardship of land systematically eroded.
We support families, groups, and collectives who are working to get back on the land, to re-member and innovate foodways, reweave community and cultural practices, and design for financial sustainability. We also support allies to develop cultural competency and become trusted and effective co-creators.
Why we are different
Head. Hands. Heart.
Our team has over 20 years of experience and expertise spanning regenerative agriculture, permaculture, holistic management, design, conservation, planning, policy, mapping and GIS, and more—so we are at home in highly technical and scientific fields, and we aim to communicate that information in ways that make it accessible to and empowering for our clients.
Both of our co-founders come from land-based lineages, and have worked on the ground, in the soil, in implementation on real working farms and developing permaculture sites. We know what it takes to take a vision and put it into practical action.
Our team is intergenerational. We love to mentor young people, and also to connect with elders. We also understand how the demands and complexities of life impact your aspirations throughout your lifetime, and we work with those realities as strengths.
We cultivate our own connections with the Spirit of the Land, and encourage you to develop yours. When you work with us, you don’t have to hide your desire for a deep connection for the land that you are partnering with.
Client testimonials
“Lily Springs Farm worked with Ecological Design for several years to manifest our shared vision for a restorative agriculture demonstration farm. Paula and Lindsay are brilliant, creative, experienced, and extremely knowledgeable. As important as their professional expertise is their deep-hearted commitment to the land and to sustaining future generations of people and creatures. Post design and implementation, they continue to accompany us--educating us in tending to plants and animals as well as working alongside us to create a social design that benefits all. We couldn’t have asked for better partners.”
- Nina, Osceola, WI
“The Ecological Design team listened diligently to what we wanted and translated our desires into a plan we felt confident in, a plan with surprisingly beautiful elements. And the listening and planning never stopped. As installation progressed, new and better ideas emerged which they implemented with an unwavering attention to quality and detail.”
- Mike and Linda, Altura, MN