Tom Benjamin

Fully Licensed and Insured
Landscape design
Master planning
Construction management
Operations and maintenance guidance
Natural ecosystem restoration
Remediation/reclamation design
Sustainable systems consulting
LEED and SITES consulting
Therapeutic/wellness garden design
Public outreach and education

Tom Benjamin, Registered Landscape Architect, has been an innovator in the field of landscape and sustainable design for more than 20 years. His unmatched insights into low-input resilient design, natural habitat and ecosystem restoration as well as the planning, implementation, and maintenance of therapeutic wellness gardens sets him apart from other landscape architects. His collaborative and holistic approach to planning, emphasizing realistic operations and management practices, has produced an extensive list of long-term landscape success stories that have met compliance needs. In fact, Tom’s projects have repeatedly been recognized as leaders in linking exemplary environmental compliance with human use of the quality spaces he’s created.

Tom has an unwavering commitment to resilient design that integrates energy, waste, water, and food systems. He has pioneered countless best practices with low-input native plantings for many client and building types including medical institutions, senior housing facilities, public facilities, commercial buildings, residential developments, and private residences. His work has often encompassed the creation and enhancement of natural, passive storm water filtration systems in both developed and natural contexts. He specializes in the full project lifecycle spanning conceptual planning through design, construction, and monitoring phases.

Tom has lectured at Harvard, MIT, and at many professional conferences. He teaches at Greenfield Community College, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst’s Sustainable Food & Farming Program, and the Conway School of Landscape Design. His classes tie the built environment to natural systems to advance less resource-intensive landscape design and maintenance approaches. He is a masterful educator and has inspired stakeholders from maintenance staff to top leadership.

25 years of building wellness adds up…

More than 5,000 acres of developed sites and natural areas enhanced

More than one million native plantings specified and installed in the landscape

Over 100,000 cubic yards of compost applied to replenish depleted soils

Over 250,00 cubic yards of food scraps and yard waste diverted from landfills and reused as compost

Over 500 full-size truck loads of cut tree trunks and brush reused to stabilize slopes and shorelines

Over 20,000 lbs. of synthetic fertilizer avoided

Over $1 million in hard drainage infrastructure costs averted

Lawn-mowing costs, noise and emissions reduced by 50-75%

Embankment with Ornamental Grasses and groundcovers

Over 1 billion raindrops captured and pretreated naturally in dense rootzones

Over 100 clients pleased with and inspired by the results

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Awards

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Award for Excellence in Environmental Design
for Kent Hospital Campus Landscape Master Plan and Sustainable Improvements (Warwick, RI)
Healthcare Design Magazine Sustainable Landscape Awards
for Infusion Center at Kent Hospital Serenity (Healing) Garden (Warwick, RI)
Healthy Hospitals in Rhode Island (H2ERI) Sustainability Award
for Kent Hospital Sustainability Achievements including landscape transformation.
Boston Society of Landscape Architects Honor Award for Reclamation and Resource Conservation
for Fresh Pond Reservation Northeast Sector Restoration Design and Forest Management Plan (Cambridge, MA)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Award for Excellence in Environmental Design
for Neponset River Daylighting (Restoration) Project at New England Patriots Stadium (Foxboro, MA).
American Planning Association’s Award for Excellence, Charles River Basin Master Plan
for river bank bioengineering recommendations (Boston/Cambridge).
President’s Award, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.
for innovative design work and client relations on Blue Hills Covered Storage Tank/Landscape Restoration project (Milton and Quincy, MA)

Partners

Architects

Oyster Works, LLC., Charlestown, RI
Sensibly green architecture. Thoughtful architectural design and the integration of energy-efficient building systems can save energy, dramatically reduce operating costs, and protect the environment.

Mark Stevens Architecture (MSA)
We believe that successful architecture is born of rigorous design methods guided by creative vision and organizing design concepts. Our goal is not to promote a specific architectural idiom, but rather to tailor designs and employ concepts that harness functionality and embrace the uniqueness of place, context and client.

Engineers

Seaport Engineering, LLC
Seaport Engineering, LLC is a design and consulting firm located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire servicing clients throughout the United States. We specialize in managing construction projects that include roadway, bridge, building, utilities, and recreational facilities.

Permaculture/Productive Landscape Specialists

Regenerative Design Group, LLC. (RDG)
Specialists in permaculture design for productive landscapes including institutional/facility campuses and residences.