Company Spotlight: Sustainable Life Designs, a District of Columbia company
Interview of Michael S. Lucy, Founder, by Graeme Logan for UER on December 6, 2024
Graeme: What inspired you to start Sustainable Life Designs?
Michael: I started Sustainable Life Designs to improve the ecological integrity of our region and country. I have a masters degree in Urban and Environmental Planning & Design from University of Virginia, and I had been working on ecological regeneration since graduating in 1998.
Graeme: Where do you see alignment between your company and UER’s mission?
Michael: Both of our organizations try to reach landowners who want to improve the health of their land. Through better landscaping or other land planning techniques, we help people manage their properties in ways that are beneficial for the environment. UER even selected one of our projects — at Brent Elementary School — to highlight as an Eco-Functioning Space on its website before we recently connected and had this interview.
Graeme: What geographic area do you serve? Who are your target clients?
Michael: Sustainable Life Designs focuses its work in and around the District of Columbia, including Maryland and Virginia. We have done projects throughout the country, however, and we are certainly open to doing more of those. Our clientele varies, but we generally serve private residential homeowners and corporate/institutional property owners and managers. We have also worked with public schools and different government agencies at the local and federal levels.
Graeme: What size projects are standard for you (in sq feet)?
Michael: We have worked on everything from a 100 sq. ft. rain garden to a mile-and-a-half long linear park. Our average project ranges from 1/4 – 5 acres.
Graeme: Can you share some notable successes or challenges faced in your projects? Are there some projects that stand out to you, and why?
Michael: The work we did at Brent Elementary School really stands out because the project involved transforming the look, feel, and function of an entire school grounds. We cleaned up existing problems in the playground, removed asphalt, replaced impervious pavement with thousands of native plants, trees, rain gardens, and created a substantially improved circulation pattern for the students.
We also provided masterplanning support and plant analysis for the restoration of this amazing green roof at the Parkside Plaza Condominiums (picture immediately below). Situated next to Sligo Creek in Silver Spring, MD this is one of the best intensive green roofs in the region. Native and ornamental trees, shrubs, ground covers and seating areas all provide significant ecological benefit to the residents and visitors.
Other projects that were meaningful to me were (i) our role as Park Administrators, and then consultants, for the restoration of Marvin Gaye Park, a linear stream-based park in the easternmost part of the District of Columbia. It runs from the eastern point of the District along Watts Branch Stream down to the Anacostia River; and (ii) our role administering the District of Columbia’s RiverSmart green roof rebate program for 5 years in partnership with the Anacostia Watershed Society. Through the RiverSmart program, we helped distribute nearly $1 million dollars to fund green roofs for different property owners, and we got about 213,000 square feet of green roofs installed in the District.
Graeme: What is the cost range of your projects?
Michael: Projects usually range in scale from $5,000-$5,000,000.
Graeme: How do you ensure the long-term sustainability of your projects?
Michael: It comes down to long-term support of the client — we make sure they plan for a sufficient budget and staff for maintenance and stewardship. In the case of schools, we ensure there is a matriculation plan, making sure all parties are educated on the work that has been completed, and why. That said, long-term maintenance is one of the biggest challenges people face.
Graeme: What do you see as your company’s forte? (and do you do some or all of: design, installation, and long-term maintenance?)
Michael: We are well versed in all of these categories. We are skilled at design from the small scale for rain gardens, to large scale master plans for substantial parks. We especially pride ourselves on taking seemingly disparate aspects of a project and forming strong connections to create an integrated whole. We are experts at helping people see things in new and fresh ways. We think long term: decades and beyond. We also have a strong understanding of ecological function, greater than the majority of other designers, which aides in completing projects that work seamlessly with the natural world.
Graeme: What has surprised you (or what lessons have you learned) as you have engaged in these kinds of projects?
Michael: How different our perspective is from some of our clients’ understandings. Many of our clients have environmental backgrounds, but there are also those that do not have a basic understanding of how ecosystems and landscapes work. Luckily, our clients are consistently looking to learn and develop their understanding of the environment. This really dives into the challenges that are at the forefront of society currently. We need to determine how on a local, regional, and global scale we redirect our lives, actions, and economies so they are built for the long term and not just the short term.
Graeme: Any last thoughts to share?
Michael: I think my organization is poised to address some huge opportunities as is the larger sphere of ecological restoration. We have been making some decent progress, and there is no lack of work given how industrialized our region has become. However, on the other side, we are teetering at the edge of some catastrophic disruptions. I am hopeful that we can overcome these looming issues in the coming years and decades. For example, I feel hopeful when I see people in our area replacing lawns with native habitat – because it means the movement is spreading.
