Today Ete sits down with Dee Downing of Red Ant Works

As a girl growing up in Michigan, Dee Downing was utterly enchanted by Nature. The banks of the river behind her house, though forbidden, became her place, and to this day she clearly remembers the solace she found there in the wild. This was the beginning of her “conversation” with Nature.

Through unplanned twists and turns, life has returned her to that conversation and to the land, now on a daily basis. Dee is owner and operator of Red Ant Works, a forward-thinking Park City landscape company with a systems-based approach to landscape design, and an expert in the field of permaculture. 

What comes through clearly in this episode is Dee’s exceptionally thoughtful approach to both landscaping and life. Her authentic love for the earth shines throughout as does her concern for people and for society. She has no qualms about engaging with the bigger questions in life, even during a relatively short podcast, and her conversation reveals a woman brimming with curiosity about everything. She looks deeply within and without as she touches on everything from consumer culture, to the hardships of single parenting, to the importance of taking a whole-system approach in many areas of life, to interpersonal dynamics, to the excitement of “planting legacies” in her work. 

There’s plenty to glean from this episode. Enjoy!