Regenerative Design Group

October is National Co-op Month!

This year’s theme, Built for This Moment, speaks to something we feel every day: cooperatives are made to meet challenges with resilience.

We’re proud to stand alongside cooperatives nationwide who are building a more democratic and equitable economy.

[ : A lush summer garden fills the frame. Spikes of deep purple salvia rise along the bottom, with silvery-blue, spiky sea holly and pale yellow peonies above them. Orange blooms scatter across the upper left, and stone steps with a black railing are tucked into the greenery behind. Over the center sits a semi-transparent teal graphic made of stacked, offset planks, like boards in a wall. White block letters across the planks read “Built for This Moment,” and a lower plank reads “Co-op Month 2026.”]

Rachel has been making the rounds!

At the Ecological Landscape Alliance Annual Conference in late August, she presented "Building Resilience Through Worker-Ownership," sharing how our shift to a cooperative has shaped the way we work, plan, and design. She also spotted our Massachusetts Healthy Soils Action Plan partners NOFA/Mass. sporting copies of the Massachusetts Healthy Soils Action Plan at their table.

Last week, she attended the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives conference, where she connected with co-op folks from across the country who are building businesses that put people first. Her daughter even came along — never too young to learn about the power of coops ;)

Welcome our newest team members, Daniella and Maria!

We're thrilled to have their skills, perspectives, and curiosity informing and shaping our work.

https://www.regenerativedesigngroup.com/welcome-daniella-maria/

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.