Environmental Designs’ merger expands service reach with CPC

Environmental Designs, Inc., (EDI) Henderson, recently announced its merger with Colorado Property Care or CPC. Previously, EDI’s service area was mostly in northern Colorado including Boulder, Loveland, Fort Collins and Brighton, although it had some clients in the south-Metro area.

EDI and CPC have a lot in common, including employees with multiple certifications, high customer satisfaction and a culture that cares for employees. Both companies are water maintenance and irrigation control experts, which especially benefits commercial maintenance projects. As EDI realized CPC’s reputation and service goals were similar, joining forces, rather than competing seemed ideal for both companies.

CPC is based in Castle Rock adding a solid base for extended client reach for EDI. The merging companies will continue providing residential and commercial services including landscape maintenance, irrigation, tree care, and snow and ice management. 

Please RSVP now for GreenCO Advocacy Day at the Colorado State Capitol!

 ALCC along with our other green industry partners are planning a day to meet your legislators to help protect our industry on February 22, 2023, at Colorado’s State Capitol. In addition to providing education on our green industry, our state legislators will be voting on important policy related to pesticide application this session and they need to hear from you! Your perspective as an applicator in Colorado is valuable and will make a difference. GreenCO is partnering with other groups to coordinate an advocacy event for our members.

Pesticide Applicator Advocacy Day

Colorado State Capitol

February 22, 2023

8:30am - 1:30pm (feel free to come for all or part of the day)

We will send you more information as the event gets closer. Attendees will be provided: 

- Talking points and handouts on our specific issues
- A short advocacy training on-site before speaking to legislators
- Assistance scheduling meetings with legislators
- On-site support throughout the day

Environmental Designs receives Community Stewardship Award for Community Roots Holocaust Memorial and Learning Garden  

The Holocaust Memorial Garden was part of an initiative to build living memorials to commemorate lives of children lost in the Holocaust by planting 1.5 million daffodils worldwide. Environmental Designs worked with the Denver synagogue and preschool to design, fundraise and install the garden. EDI reached out to its suppliers and several donated plants, boulders, soil, irrigation equipment and more. More than 20 employees participated in the installation. Once the garden was completed, EDI and the synagogue hosted a community volunteer day where they partnered with local volunteers to help plant and install drip irrigation and mulch. This project helps to educate the preschoolers on the value of the outdoors and brings the community together. 

Char Chacon is Garvey Person of the Year
Chacon, a Colorado native having a horticulture degree from CSU with an emphasis on business management, started at Designscapes Colorado in 2001, exactly one week after she graduated. She is now the Residential Team Manager and as evidenced by her nomination for an MVP Award this year, the company is very thankful for her many contributions over the years.  

Chacon is passionate about encouraging involvement of women in the green industry. She was the first woman manager at Designscapes Colorado, and then went on to implement a women’s leadership program there called Cultivate. She is also the committee chair of ALCC’s recently-formed Women in Green Committee, and looks forward to getting more women involved in leadership. In the bigger picture, Chacon says that she loves to help any company, team or peer to be better, and advocates for the industry by emphasizing its many paths for personal and professional growth. Go here for more.

 Scott Fritchie receives Stan Brown Award
Scott Fritchie began at LL Johnson in 2000, as a salesperson with no sales experience. His career plans were to be a mechanic for an airline, but as usual, life had other plans and he ended up at LL Johnson because of his mechanical knowledge and love of machinery. He leaned on his knowledge of mechanics and provided excellent customer service. He eventually became one of the top salespeople in the company and is now the Grounds Power Equipment Division Manager.

Jim Klett receives 2nd Canon Lifetime Achievement Award
A faculty member in the horticulture and landscape architecture department at Colorado State University (CSU) since 1980 – more than 40 years – Jim Klett has been an invaluable asset to the green industry in Colorado. He has volunteered on multiple committees and boards of directors at both the state and national levels, and encouraged the collaboration between industry companies and organizations with CSU.  

SLM in use by Northern Water for its Water Efficient Landscape Grants Program

By Frank Kinder, Northern Water

2022 marks Northern Water’s fourth year of water efficient landscape grants, and the first-year grant review included ALCC’s SLM designation in the rating criteria for project applications. Applicants with landscape employees who’ve completed SLM get additional points toward pursuing certifications. Northern Water finds value in the SLM designation and training in how to manage water use, implement irrigation efficiency, enhance landscape resilience, support habitats, and expand the education opportunities available to industry professionals. 

To make SLM broadly available to additional landscape professional workers who partner with applicants, Northern Water continues to host spring and fall classes at its headquarters and to reduce the price of access through directly subsiding the cost of attending. Our challenges with climate extremes and water scarcity require innovations and adoptions of new landscape models that do more with less, and SLM is a crucial component of making that happen. Find more about our services at Northernwater.org/Efficient Water Use.

Growing Water Smart Workshop available to create water resilience

By Frank Kinder, Northern Water

Growing Water Smart is an innovative workshop that aims to integrate land use and water planning at the community level, which means cities, counties and districts. It was developed to bring together municipal staff, elected officials, and key stakeholders to break down silos and empower communities to collaboratively work towards creating water resilience goals and the steps to meet them. Ultimately, a community’s team of 5-7 individuals will leave the workshop with a detailed action plan and a commitment to take action in order to ensure their community has a sustainable water future. Northern Water helps fund and facilitate to help the state achieve the Colorado Water Plan. The landscape industry is crucial to this future and frequently benefits from the programs cities and districts implement upon completion.

The workshop is up to six teams of staff, elected officials, and other representatives from communities. After the workshop, these six teams will join the ranks of other cities across the state who have completed Growing Water Smart. This video from past Northern Water participants shows the value they found working together.  Get the application details here and apply by March 1st for this no-cost workshop and follow-up support. There is no charge to participate.

Snow removal contractors face frequent equipment theft

By Kimberly Jewell, general manager at GroundMasters/Snow Management Services

Whether you are new to snow and ice management, or have been doing it for years, one thing for certain is there is always change, and change often includes different obstacles to maneuver around or challenges to overcome.

In my 23 years in the industry, I have seen it evolve in so many ways, which include:

• Equipment that makes sidewalk clearing efficient
• Heavier duty plows or pushers to clear parking lots faster
• Use of technology to prove services were performed and help contractors defend themselves should litigation arise
• Cellphone or computer applications that track time and materials

And the list goes on. These improvements have helped both the contractors and our clients.

 Congratulations to our 2023 Board Members

Results or the 2023 Board of Directors are in. Please join ALCC in congratulating this year's Board of Directors. Together, ALCC and its board members will help guide, advise and oversee our organization through 2023. We look forward to a fantastic year!

President, Zak George, Zak George Landscaping
Vice President, Brian Levins, Arrowhead Landscape Maintenance
Secretary/Treasurer, Steve Steele, Steele Dynamic Services
Past President, Dan Grange, BrightView Landscape

 Aurora Water anticipates Stage 1 Drought Restrictions for 2023 irrigation season

By Adam Waters, Water Conservation Specialist at City of Aurora/Aurora Water

Amid the worst drought in 1,200 years, reservoirs in the western U.S. are being pushed to the brink. Years of dwindling precipitation, soil aridification and growth in demand mean a year of average, or even above average, mountain snowpack won’t bring the region out of its current water crisis. While Aurora Water’s reservoirs are faring better than some others, they started the new year at just 55% of their combined storage capacity.

In these situations, Aurora turns to its Water Management Plan (WMP) for measures to ensure the sustainability of its water resources. With drought lingering and lackluster snowpack forecasted, Aurora Water will ask Aurora City Council to approve a Stage 1 Drought Declaration for the 2023 irrigation season. Stage 1 drought aims to reduce outdoor water usage by 20%, primarily through increased enforcement of water waste violations and firmer user irrigation restrictions.