Skip to content

Questions about your land or which package fits? Ask David directly.

EarthDesignLand design with David Sussberg

How LiDAR informs design

LiDAR Mapping for Permaculture Design

By Dr. Elaine's Soil Food Web School

Watch on YouTube

Land design · Homesteads to ranches

Permaculture and Regenerative Land Design for Your Property

Before you dig, plant or fence, it helps to know how your land is shaped and where its water goes. EarthDesign turns that understanding into clear, practical plans you can carry out at your own pace.

A free first step

Start with a free contour map of your land

See how your land rises and falls. Request a 2D contour map, personally reviewed by David and delivered by email.

Request my free contour map

Usually within a few business days.

Explore services & pricing
Illustration of a sloping homestead with contour lines, a pond, a swale planted with fruit trees and cattle grazing under trees
Illustration · water, trees and grazing read from the shape of the land

Who this is for

Every scale of land deserves a thoughtful plan

  • 01

    Backyard gardeners

    A small yard, a big wish list, and trees that will outgrow their spot.

  • 02

    Homesteaders

    Gardens, animals, water and buildings that need to work as one place.

  • 03

    Farmers

    Tree rows, cover, runoff and fields that have to keep producing.

  • 04

    Ranchers

    Shade, shelter, water points and grazing spread across real terrain.

Start with your question

What is happening on your land?

Most good plans begin with a problem you can already see. Pick the one closest to yours.

Services

Plans that build on each other

Start with a map, add water, then earthworks and plantings. Each step includes the ones before it.
Compare all services
  1. 01Backyard Food Forest DesignA planned, layered planting for one garden area of a quarter acre or less: trees, shrubs, herbs and groundcovers placed with their mature size, your water flow and your climate in mind.
  2. 02LiDAR Topographic Maps for Land PlanningBefore you choose a garden, pond, fence line or orchard block, see the actual shape of the ground. This is step one of the Land Journey and the foundation every later plan builds on.
  3. 03Water Flow and Erosion Planning for Your LandWater goes where the terrain sends it. The Water Story maps flow paths, catchments and likely pooling so you can plan around them instead of discovering them after a storm.
  4. 04Earthworks and Keyline PlanningSome land benefits from shaping water with earth: on-contour swales, a pond in the right draw, check dams in a gully, or a keyline pattern across a field. Some land does not. This plan starts by finding out which applies to yours.
  5. 05Regenerative Land Design for Homesteads, Farms and RanchesThe Living Master Plan brings the earlier steps together: plantings, guilds, agroforestry and grazing placed on your mapped terrain and water, with species shown at mature scale.
David Sussberg, founder of EarthDesign, smiling beside leafy plants

The person behind your plan

Meet David

David Sussberg is a permaculture land designer and regenerative agriculture educator with nearly two decades of experience supporting farmers, homesteaders and land stewards. Through EarthDesign he combines hands-on agricultural experience with LiDAR mapping and ecological planning to help you make informed decisions about water, soil, food forests and productive growing systems.

Meet DavidBook a free 15-minute callAvailable with at least 24 hours' notice
Land notes

Get land-design tips + EarthDesign updates.

Occasional practical notes on terrain, water, food forests, and making confident decisions before the work begins.

No spam — occasional practical land-design notes and product updates. Unsubscribe anytime.

Learn

Understand your land before you make changes

Plain-language guides to the ideas behind good land design, with honest notes on where each one falls short.
Visit the learning hub

Ready to understand your land?

Start with a reviewed contour map, or talk with David about the next step for your property.

Request a free contour mapBook a free 15-minute callAvailable with at least 24 hours' notice

EarthDesign is a digital design and visualization platform. Outputs are advisory; site execution, regulatory permits, and licensed professional sign-offs remain the responsibility of the client and their licensed contractors. No warranty of fitness for a particular purpose is made, expressed, or implied.

Read the full Terms of Service & Disclaimers.