Regenerative Design Group

These process sketches from a recent project show how we build out an understory that's site-specific to the existing trees and light.

[ : 2 images. 1. Hand-drawn descriptors and plant lists overlaid on a site plan: Plums anchor an edible border thick with mountain mint and echinacea, spring bulbs and lingonberry filling in below; elsewhere, blueberries and strawberries are tucked into dappled shade, a bright herb border is designed to attract pollinators, and an understory of foamflower and rudbeckia fill in beneath a Winter King Hawthorn tree. 2. Hand-drawn plants and plant names overlaid on a photo of existing tree canopy: little bluestem and black cohosh under witch hazel, sassafras rising up between them. Ferns and wild columbine settle in at the base of the trunks. Ephemerals appear around the edges.]

Tagging plants for a project is an exercise in self-restraint. How do you not get pulled in by every plant still waiting on the shelf for someone's planting plan? How do you not get lost in seas of native grasses and amazing blooms?

Rachel did her best... 🌿

[ : 6-image carousel of plants at a nursery 1. Anise hyssop in full bloom. 2. Pink bleeding-heart flowers cascading over blue-green foliage. 3. A snail resting on a leaf among pale, elongated flower clusters. 4. Creeping phlox, currently all foliage, in a pot labeled 'Spring White.' 5. Potted heart-leaved aster and other surrounding plants. 6. Dense mounds of blue-green Carex 'Blue Zinger' sedge.]

Come join in the fun! There will be chefs using chestnut and other nut flours in cool food items, nut cracking, information about nut growing, mushrooms, trees for sale, and of course- roasted chestnuts!

Applications are open for the Massachusetts Agroforestry Access Project (MAAP)!

This 2-year learning experience supports land stewards in implementing agroforestry practices.

Applications accepted through September 15, 2026.

Fill out the application form here: https://form.jotform.com/261945108845161
More info at woodlandsconnect.org/agroforestry-pilot

[ : Carousel of images: 1. MAAP funding opportunity for MA-based agroforestry projects, a 2-year learning program. 2. Benefits: stipend, peer support, paid technical help, and project funding. 3. Expectations: install a project, attend workshops/calls, host events, share results. 4. Ideal applicants: accessible site, event-hosting experience, community connections. 5. Apply by 9/15/26 — link in bio. Partners: Pocasset Pokanoket Land Trust, MA DCR, RDG.]

Combining work and Play(-Doh) can really help get the creative juices flowing! Laura and Bas were recently inspired to "sculpt" this 3d model to visualize water flow for a project.

It's RDG's fifth year as a worker-owned cooperative! Our newest worker-owner, Von Harvey, reflects on what worker-ownership means to her, revisits RDG's 17+ years in business, and examines why the co-op model fits our firm.

Read the blog post:
https://www.regenerativedesigngroup.com/two-worker-ownership-milestones/

Rachel will present on our cooperative and the Massachusetts Healthy Soils Guide for Site Design and Construction at the Ecological Landscape Alliance 26th Annual Conference in Providence, RI, August 27–28.

🌈 🌿 🦋

Two Worker-Ownership Milestones | Regenerative Design Group Marking five years as a cooperative, and one team member becoming a worker-owner, plus what colleagues say ownership means to them.

Two RDG team members, two nut farms, one big conference 🌰

Jono Neiger (Big River Chestnuts) is a keynote speaker at the 2026 Northern Nut Growers Association & Chestnut Growers of America Conference — talking chestnuts and regenerative design.

Seva Water (Nutwood Farm) is presenting on hazelnut culture, weaving together Indigenous and European growing practices.

Four days of technical sessions and panels at UMass Amherst, July 31–August 3, plus tours of nearby farms.

Full schedule + registration at link!

Annual Conference 2026 The 2026 Annual Conference will be held Friday, July 31, 2026, through Monday, August 3, 2026 on the University of Massachusetts campus in Amherst, MA Conference Handbook - Coming Soon Conference Highlights The annual conferences for the Northern Nut Growers Association (NNGA) and Chestnut Growers

Curious about miniforests? Registration is now open for the 2026 Northeast Miniforest Summit: Root to Canopy – Growing the Miyawaki Method, hosted by Biodiversity for a Livable Climate, July 15–23.

The Summit brings together practitioners, researchers, educators, municipal leaders, landscape architects, students, and community organizers exploring how miniforests are being planned, planted, studied, stewarded, and measured across the Northeast U.S. and beyond.

Keynote speakers Mio Urata, Miyawaki Method Forest Maker from Japan, and Ethan Tapper, forester and author of How to Love a Forest, join more than 20 speakers and panelists exploring the science, practice, stewardship and future of the growing miniforest movement.

Events include:
• July 15, 2026 — Making a Mini-Forest Documentary Screening (Virtual)
• July 18, 2026 — Massachusetts Miniforest Bus Tour (In Person)
• July 22–23, 2026 — Northeast Miniforest Summit (Virtual)

Learn more and register:

Home - 2026 Northeast Miniforest Summit ​​​​For more than a decade, Ethan has been recognized as a thought-leader in the world of ecosystem stewardship, winning numerous regional and national awards for his work. More recently, he has been recognized as a writer – since its publication in 2024, How to Love a Forest has been name...

RDG was well represented at Fieldday 2026, New England's annual conference on landscape architecture.

Bas gave a Climate Action Lightning Talk on SOCMA, our new statewide soil carbon mapping tool for Massachusetts.

Meanwhile, Rachel and Genevieve joined a panel on cooperative and ESOP models, sharing lessons from RDG's five years as a worker-owned coop.

Resilient organizations build resilient landscapes!

Read the full recap on our blog!
https://www.regenerativedesigngroup.com/fieldday-2026/

Rachel will be presenting on our cooperative business model and the recently published Massachusetts Healthy Soils Guide to Site Design + Construction at the Ecological Landscape Alliance Annual Conference on August 27–28 in Providence, RI.

RDG at Fieldday 2026 | Regenerative Design Group RDG presented at Fieldday 2026 on soil carbon mapping and worker-owned cooperative models at New England's landscape architecture conference.