About the Author

Ben Falk, M.A.L.D, developed Whole Systems Design, LLC, as a land-based response to biological and cultural extinction and the increasing separation between people and elemental things. Life as a designer, builder, ecologist, tree-tender, and backcountry traveler continually informs Ben’s integrative approach to developing landscapes and buildings. His home landscape in Vermont’s Mad River Valley serves as a proving ground for Whole Systems Design’s innovative land developments. He has conducted more than 700 site design, development, and land evaluation consultations across the United States and abroad, and has facilitated dozens of courses on property selection, permaculture design, and resilient systems.