Green Industry ECOnomics - LandcareNetwork.org

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Chapter 15: Return of the Natives Bob Kehres is not a landscape contractor but an ever-increasing number of his customers are. Kehres is the founder and operator of Ohio Prairie Nursery LTD, near the tiny college town of Hiram in northeast Ohio. His company offers native grass and flower seeds, ecosystem restorations, and consulting services. He’s also become a popular speaker and educator on topics such as rain gardens and natural ecosystems. Crystal Ball Committee member Kehres takes a broad view of landscapes and their role in our complex U.S. society. “So much of our land area is dominated by humans. How do we live in a natural world Bob Kehres, Ohio Prairie Nursery Native grass, flower seeds, and plants from the Ohio Prairie Nursery’s Let It Rain Garden plant kit produced this rain garden (right foreground) and native meadow (left). Native plants generally require less water, fertilizer, and pest control to remain healthy; however, even native plants must be planted in the right location and conditions to thrive. 64 Green Industry ECOnomics
and minimize impacts on it, either through resource conservation or carbon footprint reduction” asks Kehres. “How do we create ecosystems that give off oxygen, control erosion, and benefit other components of the natural world from an invertebrate, botanical, and zoological perspective” Kehres is convinced that these are questions that landscape contractors are going to be asked more frequently. And landscape and lawn care company owners had better be able to answer them and to offer the appropriate services. Owners who realize this will gain a competitive edge in their markets, he said. “If you’re a lawn care service provider and mostly what you do is mowing, you have a lot of competition out there,” said Kehres. “In order to differentiate yourself and offer additional services to your customers, start to learn about native ecosystems. Why mow five or six acres for a corporate client — grass that nobody ever walks on — when you can do something with it that affects the environment in a positive way” Kehres started Ohio Prairie Nursery 10 years ago after a 25-year career in the electronics industry. “As sappy as it sounds, I decided I wanted to leave the world better than I found it and what better way than teaching people ecology and about our natural environment and how to get away from a totally synthetic environment,” he said. Initially most of the interest in his company’s native seed products and services came from public entities, such as parks departments and government agencies restoring disturbed property. As time goes on, said Kehres, more and more contractors, many of them working with specifications developed by landscape architects, are calling on Ohio Prairie Nursery for its products and advice. “A lot of this is being driven by the EPA and soil and water conservation districts,” said Kehres. “A big thing right now is stormwater control. We look at these government regulations as a good thing for the environment and for us as it generates business. Landscape contractors should look at it as an oppor tunity, too.” Kehres said that contractors only have to look at General Motors as an example of a company that hasn’t kept up with changing markets and is paying a high price as a result. “A lot of the ways we approach the environment right now are economic be cause they afford the biggest impact in terms of dollars and cents,” he added. “Talk to a guy who is in charge of the operations of a company that mows a lawn 30 times a year at $1,300 to $1,500 an acre, and that’s a lot of money. But that’s going to change; it’s going to happen. Case studies 65
Page 1:
Green Industry ECOnomics Innovating
Page 4 and 5:
© 2009 by PLANET Professional Land
Page 6 and 7:
Section 5: Sustainability and the i
Page 8 and 9:
Heaviland is the owner/operator of
Page 10 and 11:
Preface cat·a·lyst [kat-l-ist]
Page 12 and 13:
Acknowledgments 2009 Crystal Ball C
Page 14 and 15:
community, and the world. This sect
Page 16 and 17:
Chapter 1: Sustainability Is a Tren
Page 18 and 19:
usiness plans. You will, however, f
Page 20 and 21:
• Practical: This 13 percent of t
Page 22 and 23:
ment that it’s happening. The ear
Page 24 and 25:
Chapter 4: The Emergence of Leaders
Page 26 and 27:
“With the New Construction catego
Page 28 and 29: Chapter Summary: 1. LEED is a rapid
Page 30 and 31: Chapter 5: Life Cycle Assessments A
Page 32 and 33: Chapter 6: The 3 P’s of Sustainab
Page 34 and 35: Planet • Design and provide lands
Page 36 and 37: Chapter 7: Slow and Steady Does It
Page 38 and 39: Chapter Summary: 1. In examining yo
Page 40 and 41: cially if these services cost them
Page 42 and 43: There’s no question that the publ
Page 44 and 45: Chapter 9: Time to Move Forward It
Page 46 and 47: Find those people in your company t
Page 48 and 49: added. “You make little changes i
Page 50 and 51: As part of the initiative, to reduc
Page 52 and 53: Chapter 11: Turfgrass Turfgrass is
Page 54 and 55: determined that it wouldn’t be
Page 56 and 57: Grewal. The key is using the correc
Page 58 and 59: “Clients love that no-pesticide s
Page 60 and 61: Doing all they can to conserve pota
Page 62 and 63: organizations, and agencies have jo
Page 64 and 65: • Mulch heavily all flower and so
Page 66 and 67: pacted, making it difficult for pla
Page 68 and 69: the green industry. The initiative
Page 70 and 71: through and considered these respon
Page 72 and 73: Section 4: Case studies In the long
Page 74 and 75: Compost’s Many Pluses Research co
Page 76 and 77: Founded in 1950 as Barnes Roses by
Page 80 and 81: “Yes, there will always be people
Page 82 and 83: Chapter 16: Green Walls and Green R
Page 84 and 85: Why Green Roofs Ecological benefits
Page 86 and 87: Chapter Summary: 1. The green roof
Page 88 and 89: love that idea,” said DeSantis.
Page 90 and 91: Chapter 18: Eco-Friendly From the R
Page 92 and 93: tered by the recognition but he sai
Page 94 and 95: Leaner and greener Solar panels on
Page 96 and 97: Don’t think that the concept of s
Page 98 and 99: Chapter 21: Focusing on Fossil Fuel
Page 100 and 101: “We’ve cut idle time 41 percent
Page 102 and 103: Section 5: Sustainability and the i
Page 104 and 105: More research needed “More fundam
Page 106 and 107: Chapter 23: Audacious Stretch Goals
Page 108 and 109: Chapter 24: Marketing the Idea of S
Page 110 and 111: Making the public aware of the comp
Page 112 and 113: our new mission statement: ‘To pr
Page 114 and 115: standards a company embraces in its
Page 116 and 117: Crystal Ball History Early in 1970,
Page 118 and 119: Recommended Reading Edible landscap
Page 120 and 121: Osmundson, Theodore H. Roof Gardens
Page 122: 950 Herndon Parkway, Suite 450 •
show all

Green Industry ECOnomics - LandcareNetwork.org

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?