In the late winter of 1997, Zachary began designing landscapes on a flimsy drafting table in a drafty garage near a frozen Maine lake. Twenty-eight years and hundreds of drawings later, we have transitioned into ecological land use planning, where we provide design, consulting and project administration throughout New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. Our niche practice seamlessly integrates sustainable land use planning, ecologicial landscape design, conservation + restoration with the people that use these landscapes. Undoubtably, most people have often heard the terms “ecological” and “sustainable” as they have been woven into our collective consciousness in recent years. Although these terms and related design programs are often inadequately defined and implemented, we view ecological awareness as the first step in understanding progressive and beneficial land use. We forged our own sustainable design path from the beginning – long before it became trendy – and we remain optimistic that ecologically-conscious land use design and stewardship becomes a positive trend for the long term.
Our work endeavors to integrate and partner with northeastern ecoregions, which include the Northeastern Highlands, Northeastern Coastal Zone, Acadian Plains and Hills, and Eastern Great Lakes Lowlands. We provide design, consulting and administration for land use, conservation and restoration throughout northern New England. We are experienced in working with challenging environments- mountainside, lakeside and oceanside. Our services include sustainable ecological design for conservation properties and associations; large-scale residential landscape + permaculture master plans; preservation plans for historic natural landscapes; and landscape renovation plans for both urban sites and rural properties
Services: Conservation and habitat restoration plans · ecological land use planning · landscape master plans · permaculture plans · landscape installation management · shoreland permit-related services · land use consulting · and land stewardship programs
Zachary Berger, PDC, AOLCP
principal designer + planner
Zachary’s passion for ecology and natural landscapes began during his formative years rambling around the oak and hickory uplands of the southern Connecticut River Valley. In his teens, his family moved to the western Maine foothills and lakes region wherein he began his design career, drawing out raised beds with food crop companion plantings on graph paper for the family’s large organic garden and small orchard. After a few years of studying and practicing biological agriculture on small, sustainable farms in Maine and Virginia, Zachary decided to pursue his keen interests in plant science, land planning and garden design. Thus came four years of formal education in horticulture and design at Andrews University in Michigan and Southern Maine Technical College. He founded the firm after several years of native wetland plant production, ornamental nursery production + sales, volunteer trail conservation stewardship and landscape design-build experience throughout New England.
His diversions include growing organic vegetables and fruits (with a little help from the family’s chickens) in his home ecological landscape. In his free time, he’s out hiking or backcountry skiing in the mountains and hills of northern New England. Zachary’s passion for the natural world continues to inform and guide his restorative design approach.
- LakeSmart and DEP Certified in Erosion Control Practices
- Volunteer Trail Adopter for the Appalachian Mountain Club since 2007
- Hiked nearly 100 of the highest mountains in New England and New York
- Certified in Permaculture Design from University of New Hampshire (PDC)
- Accredited Organic Land Care Practitioner (AOLCP)
- New England Nursery Association Young Nursery Professional of the Year
- Master Gardener since 1993
Some of the non-profit organizations we align with and support
Our landscape + land use partners in the field:
In Vermont
Ronny Stelly, Sylvatica Design
Josh Allaire, Boulder Excavation
In New Hampshire
John Sandri, Sandri Companies
Philip O’Donnell, NE Land Artisan
In Maine
Chris Nichols, C.M. Nichols Landscape Co.
George Janosco, Bark Brothers
As ecological designers, we are in fact, communicators. We listen and respond to the needs of both the land and our clients as we seek the spirit of each site. We tune in to what exists there – past, present and future. Where there is beauty, we enhance it. Where there is discord, we create harmony. Our quest for enhancement and harmony starts with learning the unique qualities of each site and continues with the creative convergence of plant guilds, natural forms and people. It culminates with stronger and more resilient relationships to local ecosystems, whether on a small or grand scale.