The Regenerative Landscaper: Design and Build Landscapes that Repair the Environment by Erik Ohlsen

The Regenerative Landscaper: Design and Build Landscapes that Repair the Environment by Erik Ohlsen, Penny Livingston (Foreword)

An awe-inspiring guide that weaves together permaculture design, food resiliency, climate adaptation, community organizing, and indigenous wisdom that you can implement in your own backyard.

This book has been crafted for beginner gardeners and large scale permaculturists alike . It is a step-by-step manual starting from your landscaping ideas and ending with seeds and trees confidently planted.

However, this is more than just a guide to landscaping, it is a motivational read. Throughout The Regenerative Landscaper, Erik addresses climate change, species extinction, and ecological collapse with encouragement that each of us can indeed become stewards of the land. We can do this by installing healthy ecosystems in our own yards. His words offer hope and tangible action, inspiring his readers to restore planetary health one garden at a time.

The Regenerative Landscaper gives a collection of case studies, step-by-step processes, prevention and mitigation methods, and regenerative land management techniques to steward your land. If you are looking for an easy-to-read manual on designing and implementing your permaculture haven, The Regenerative Landscaper is it.

Erik Ohlsen is a master of regenerative design, an internationally recognized Permaculture teacher, a landscape contractor, author, farmer, herbalist, storyteller, and practitioner of Nordic folk traditions.

Since 1999 Erik has founded numerous organizations that regenerate ecosystems including his award winning design and build firm Permaculture Artisans and The Permaculture Skills Center where thousands of students around the world learn ecological landscaping and regenerative agriculture. Working as an internationally renowned regenerative designer, he has committed decades to repairing ecosystems and connecting people with the land throughout the globe. He has designed and implemented hundreds of regenerated landscapes ranging from small urban lots to large tracts of land.

His many years of experience observing and listening to landscape patterns while managing installation crews have led to an extensive knowledge of ecological land development and planning. He is a specialist in water harvesting systems, food forest design, community organizing, facilitation, vocational education and much more. In all of his work there is a presence of social equity, climate justice, and ecosystem restoration and his stories and achievements continue to empower people worldwide.

Penny Livingston-Stark is internationally recognized as a prominent permaculture teacher, designer, and speaker. She holds a MS in Eco-Social Regeneration and 3 Diplomas in Permaculture Design. Penny has been studying the Hermetic Tradition of alchemy and herbal medicine making in Europe, Indonesia and the United States. She has taught hundreds of Permaculture Design Certification courses worldwide in addition to advanced courses.

Review Quotes:

"Erik Ohlsen is one of the best permaculture designers, organizers, and teachers that I know--and this book draws on all those gifts. It's full of clear, practical advice on creating regenerative landscapes, useful for homeowners who want to plant a small garden, professionals who want to run an ecological design business, and activists who want to know what are the best practices to advocate for. He explains technical and scientific information clearly and in an engaging and easily understandable way. But most of all, he infuses all of the work with a deep love for the natural world and a spiritual connection to nature. I'll be using this book as a reference and a textbook for my students for years to come, and recommending it to friends who want to learn about resilient land practices, and to anyone who needs some practical, grounded hope." -- Starhawk, Founder & Executive of Earth Activist Training and Author of The Spiral Dance

"As long as I've known Erik, he's had integrity and creativity in what he does. I'm overjoyed to see that he has finally taken the time to put his knowledge in book form. He's really shown us what can be done in this space and this book is a perfect example of that. From sharing about regenerative practices to creating your own designs, this resource is a must in your household. So stop reading this right now! and go out and purchase this knowledge filled tome." -- Ron Finley, Gangsta Gardener and Founder, The Ron Finley Project

"Visionary and truly inspirational. Mind-bogglingly comprehensive. A holistic manual for doing our regenerative best as human participants in our human-imperiled more-than-human world. My partner and I will be using this guidebook on our own riverside acres." -- Bill Plotkin, Ph.D., Author of Soulcraft, Nature and the Human Soul, and The Journey of Soul Initiation

"Erik Ohlsen's The Regenerative Landscaper: Design and Build Landscapes That Repair the Environment combines the best of ecological science and the practice of regeneration. Regeneration as Ohlsen makes clear is co-creating with the living earth, her intelligence, her laws, her patterns, working in alignment of the water cycle and nutritional cycle to create circular living economies." -- Vandana Shiva, Author of Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture

"A viable human future will require deep transformation of the landscaper's craft. The Regenerative Landscaper melds Indigenous and scientific perspectives to produce this extraordinary practical handbook for the aspiring practitioner." -- David Korten, Author, Change the Story, Change the Future: A Living Economy for a living Earth and The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community

"I'm grateful Erik has put his decades of hands-on experience into an extensive book for all of us to learn from. The book is full of helpful photographs and illustrations. I especially like the detailed drawings of step-by-step, how-to information. Regenerative gardening, landscaping, and farming do a lot to stave off life's tendency toward entropy. This book adds a considerable amount of information to the literature." -- Robert Kourik, author of Sustainable Food Gardens, myths and solutions

"With exemplary Permacultural style, this book seamlessly spans the gamut of both designing, and doing, from Patterns to Details with purpose and pragmatism. Based on decades of experience, Erik Ohlsen has crafted a deeply informative and inspirational tome not only for "...landscapers in service of a thriving earth...", but in fact for everyone who feels the thrivalist calling to be in regenerative service to our living Earth and all its inhabitants." -- Brock Dolman, Occidental Arts & Ecology Center Co-Founder & Permaculture Program Co-Director