We welcome all who believe in diversity, equity, belonging and environmental justice –
who strive to embody these and similar ideals in words, votes and actions.
OUR SERVICES
We offer Landscape Architecture, Landscape Restoration Planning and Design, Ecological Restoration and Land Stewardship in the upper Midwest. We serve land trusts, educational institutions, and private landowners. Typical projects include long-term engagements using a hands-on approach on lands of 5 to 500 acres, providing assistance in analyzing current ecological conditions, defining desired goals, and designing step-wise and adaptive implementations. We work to connect people with nature to the sustained benefit of both.
Nancy M. Aten,
PLA, CERP, Landscape Architect
Dan Collins, PE,
Program Manager and Restoration Consultant
ANOTHER PASSION
In 2021, we founded the Land Restoration School, an educational immersion in land restoration.
Summer 2022 was a wildly successful inaugural year, with a cohort of seven inspiring “big seeds” completing the LRS.
In summer 2023, The Land Restoration School was hosted by and in residence at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Field Station at Cedarburg Bog. This renowned Field Station is located within the largest intact wetland complex in southeastern Wisconsin. It contains a range of habitats including upland glacial landscapes from oldfield to forest, several kinds of wetlands, and deep and shallow bog lakes. The LRS also partnered with the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust for guest faculty, for additional nearby field sites for field learning and restoration planning, and with our friends at Cream City Conservation & Consulting.
Earth Day 2023: Listen to our story on WUWM Lake Effect public radio.
Summer 2024 and 2025 advance the vision. With partners including Mequon Nature Preserve, Ozaukee Washington Land Trust, and Nearby Nature MKE, we are continuing memorable collaborative learning experiences.
Check out LRS alumni and their work!
Do you have a project needing an ecological restorationist? Check out the LRS Hire Us page, read more about the LRS alumni and email us for more information.
2024 Land Restoration School visual overview
2023 Land Restoration School visual overview
2022 Land Restoration School visual overview
DAYS TIL FROGS:
UPCOMING EVENTS
January, 2025. Co-presenting in Society for Ecological Restoration webinar on the intersection of landscape architecture and ecological restoration. Details soon.
RECENT EVENTS
February 20-24, 2024. Wisconsin Wetlands Association’s 2024 Wetland Science Conference in Green Bay.
May 17-19, 2024. Society for Ecological Restoration-Midwest Great Lakes 15th Annual Conference in Northwest Indiana (Hammond, IN), hosted by Purdue University--Northwest Indiana campus. Our Land Restoration School council ring, Nancy, Dan, Chris Young and Mars Patterson, led a workshop, Pathways into the Profession and Practice of Ecological Restoration.
April - June, 2024. Nancy and Dan taught sessions on wetlands, aquatic life and making ecological connections for Wisconsin’s Master Naturalist Program in Door County.
May, 2024. Led our annual wetlands field trip with Friends of Gibraltar (FOG) 4th Grade, wetlands and forests, along with Door County Land Trust.
May 25, 2024. Led a hike for The Ridges Sanctuary’s Festival of Nature, Morphology – Forms Found in Four Habitats and a Leaf Print. A new hike where each participant will finish by making a monotype ink print on paper of a favorite leaf or two to take home.
June-August, 2024. Taught as part of the 11-week Land Restoration School.
October 17-18, 2024. Taught a 2-day workshop for The Clearing, Monotype Printmaking Using Natural Materials.
November 13, 2024. Design team members for Lake Michigan Bird Observatory’s Expresscapes event, meeting 1:1 with community members to consult and advise on habitat design.
