Ecological Land Management
Douglas Kent MS, MLA
I help individuals, organizations, and public entities create and maintain landscapes that regenerate health and wellbeing.
With over 40 years of horticultural experience, 8 environmental landscaping books, and clients throughout California, I have the experience needed to create landscapes that protect, nourish, and sustain you and your community.
FEATURED IN:
How Do We Do It?
How do we do it? How do we sustain the health of millions of people without destroying the planet? I have been working on this question for decades.
For over 40 years and with an emphasis on urban and suburban landscapes, I have been building, crafting, designing, maintaining, researching, working, and writing on and about landscapes that provide essential goods and services.
I believe that we can only begin to care for the planet once we master how to ecologically care for ourselves.
Services I Offer
Specializing in Landscaping for Health and Wellbeing
Education
I love to teach. Whether in the field or classroom, in-person or Zoom, I will create an enriching and inspiring educational experience.
Evaluation
The deeper the understanding, the better the outcomes. Biological diversity, carbon capture, energy use, erosion, public health, stormwater management, thermal comfort, wildfire ignition, and levels of production (energy, food, materials, textiles) are just some of the measures I will use to evaluate your landscape.
Prescription
A prescription is different than a landscape design. A prescription serves specific goals and can include a design, but goes further to include long-term maintenance recommendations, economic and energetic forecasts, and rituals for sustaining occupant interaction.
Regenerating Essentials Goods and Services in Urban Landscapes: Sustainability Through Ecological Design
Available Now!
Regenerating Essentials Goods and Services in Urban Landscapes: Sustainability Through Ecological Design. Routledge 2024.
Regenerating highlights many of the things that can be grown in urban/suburban landscapes that provide essential goods and services. This book includes ceremonial and craft items, energies, food, landscape materials, public health, self-care, thermal comfort, timber, and both greywater and stormwater capture.
Books I've Written
Specializing in Landscaping for Health and Wellbeing
Firescaping: Protecting your home with a fire-resistant landscape, 2nd. Wilderness Press 2019
Firescaping is the bestselling book on homesite fire protection in the U.S.
Foraging Southern California: 118 nutritious, tasty and abundant foods. Adventure Publications 2019.
Winner of Best Nature Guidebook from the National Outdoor Book Awards, this fun filled guide is perfect for beginning and intermediate foragers.
California Friendly: A maintenance guide for landscapers, gardeners, and land managers. Muni 2017.
California Friendly covers the essentials of maintaining a modern landscape. Irrigation, plant care, stormwater systems, rainwater capture, and managing surfaces are treated with clarity and enthusiasm.