Ecological Design and Consulting Services


Following fundamental laws of nature (dharma) we aim to support natural rhythm/ sustainability by striving to achieve:

A Word on Sustainability

In the green building industry, sustainability is expressed primarily as product, whether lighting, energy or water savings. The danger is mistaking another (albeit greener) marketplace for sustainable livelihood. Sustainable living can be measured by quality of life. We come to understand that our quality of life doesnt improve because we've amassed fine things, but when our relationship with life, our attitudes and actions, support environmental and human health. This can be expressed in the way we develop our landscape, in accordance with principles/wisdom of nature. Ultimately, sustainability is about increasing awareness. We offer sustainable project management to maximize efficiency and help define goals and priorities on projects aiming for sustainability within the built environment. We have knowledge and experience in application of most current materials and practices in the sustainable industry.

We work hourly, with a minimum of three hours, or on a per project basis. Consultation is flexible and custom-designed to fit the demands of individual projects.

Edible Landscapes

Most landscapes have a place for edible abundance. Edible landscapes help close the loop of our food systems and promote familiarity with our source of nourishment. Localizing food is at the heart of sustainability- reducing waste, oil and chemical dependence, saving precious resources- and not to mention fresher, healthier food! Edible landscapes foster environmental and stewardship. With giant affects on environmental and human health, locally-sourced food is now high-demand.

Intensive, annual vegetable growing requires some maintenance, while perennial fruits and nuts function as more usual landscape varieties, with average to minimal maintenance. Both provide nourishment and aesthetic enjoyment. Edibles can be worked beautifully into any design.

Residential Landscape Design

We can evaluate the potential of your urban homestead. From consultation to design and implementation, let us help you become self-sustaining. See Projects for examples.

Commercial and Community Landscapes

Urban farms hold incredible potential for reorienting the economy towards local- a vision of pedestrian, garden communities that make up Atlanta area. Public spaces can pose education opportunities and set precedence for change.

Schoolyard gardens are providing a host of benefits for schools: improved nutrition and concentration, increased academic performance, ability to work in groups, higher self esteem, decreased ADHD, obesity and childhood diabetes. Scientifically, benefits are associated with gardening as exercise and improved food quality. Spiritually, working directly with nature transmits life understanding that cannot be gleaned in a classroom. See Projects page for examples.

Organic Maintenance through Yardera, Inc

Sustenance Design is partnering with Yardera, Inc to create an organic maintenance program for edible and traditional landscapes. Julian Phillips, owner, has grown Yardera from the ground-up for the last 15 years and now holds over 200 accounts in metro Atlanta. His consistent excellence- in customer service, execution and dependability- is why Yardera handles all implementation and maintenance of our projects.

Our intent is that instead of polluting the environment, landscaping can mitigate toxicity and support health. Landscapes can conserve water and energy, enhance biodiversity and ecological function, and even provide healthy food for people.

Landscaping, traditionally, is far from being ‘green.’ Common landscaping practices such as chemical applications of fertilizer and pesticides are creating environmental hazards. Especially when you consider that quite a few ingredients in standard lawn chemicals are on the EPA’s ‘Toxic Release Inventory’ as causing nerve or brain damage, infertility, and more. These chemicals leach into our ground water supply (lawns are responsible for 55% of chemical toxicity in tap water), and we drink tap water and wonder why the modern human has a myriad of diseases and disorders that were not such a problem in pre-industrial eras. Lawns have a place, providing space for play and relaxation. But, as with all plant care, they can be done in a non-harmful way. We are certain once people become educated about their options, they will move towards a natural, organic method.

“Does organic landscaping work?” Organic landscaping has a whole different approach and objective than traditional landscaping. We work with clients to assure they are satisfied. When your needs are determined, we create an appropriate program that is right for you. Services you can request include:

Ecological Assessment

Each site, no matter scale or existing condition, has a unique expression. We employ scientific understanding of ecology and a ‘deep ecology’ or holistic approach of geomancy in assessing a site’s potential. Taking inventory means identifying the following factors: soil quality, vegetation type, moisture, light, aspect, culture, use, history and geomantic factors. We analyze inventory and clients requests to produce recommendations and inform design.

Geomancy Explored

"Breath" cosmogram for Atlanta by Marko Pogacnik, 2007

Geomancy is a process of attunement to the energetic structure of the landscape. Even science (quantum physics) now tells us that what we perceive as solid is vibrating energy. Energy is everywhere, comprises everything seen and unseen (even space is now known to be energy), and energy differs qualitatively. We can choose to organize our lives, create and build our structures based on information from the existing energetic grid- informed by the consciousness of nature. This is a more efficient and harmonic process than simply applying one's own projections to the landscape.

In this modality, the whole of existence is understood to be consciousness. We relate directly with the Earth being, with various manifestations of her- such as ‘elemental beings’ who are the consciousness or spiritual essences responsible for plant growth, wind, water, fire and other things. Similarly, people, as all beings, are not just physical, but also mental, spiritual, emotional. You are a part of the whole, which is also comprised of these layers.

Geomancy is a language with which we attune to the multi-dimensionality of the living landscape. It is a methodology to re-connect humans to other dimensions of life, such as the elemental kingdoms, plant, mineral, animal and angelic or devic realms, using Western terminology. Our practice follows the tradition of Marko and Ana Pogacnik of Slovenia (see resources), but this ancient methodology is somewhat similar to Asian Feng Shui. With Geomancy, we learn how to be more fully present in our surroundings and to approach life more harmoniously.

How this relates to your piece of the pie

Exploring and defining energy qualitatively, helps to determine most harmonious site development plan, identify potential problems before they arise, and aid in efficiency of all phases of the project- and, most importantly- deepen your understanding and connection with the landscape.

For purposes of comprehension, we can divide the energetic landscape into two categories:

  1. Energy centers- exist as 'vortexes' or places in the landscape that energetically serve particular functions, much like physical organs or chakras in the human body.

  2. Manifestations of consciousness- we use the Western traditional language of devas, angelic presence, and elementals. Elemental 'beings' are soul entities or consciousness of the earth's elements: earth, water, fire, air. I have never met an elemental being of space. I have met one responsible for effects of plastic, surprisingly, which lead me to conclude the elemental kingdom is much larger than has been documented. An Angelic focus is a place we find that the ‘oceanic consciousness known as angels’ is concentrated in relationship to earth. Every human being has innate ability to connect with such spiritual forces; it is a matter of purity of intent and remembering.

For more information, see the North Amercican School of Geomancy or the websites of Marko and Ana Pogacnik linked in Resources page.