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Written by Colorado Green Now
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Monday, November 20, 2023 12:00 AM |
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SLC Initiative Furthers the Colorado Water Plan
In support of Colorado’s comprehensive Water Plan, released in 2015 and updated in early 2023, ALCC created the Sustainable Landscape Community (SLC) initiative to educate landscape professionals in both public and private sectors about sustainable practices and water conservation. SLC grew from the Sustainable Landscape Management (SLM) certificate program ALCC began offering in 2020.
Colorado’s ongoing, 20-plus-year drought has put increasing strain on both local and national water supplies. Climate change has severely impacted the Colorado River Basin, which provides water to 40 million people, and created historically low runoff levels, causing both Lake Mead and Lake Powell to near dead pool (inability to generate hydropower) levels. A recent study from researchers at New Mexico’s Los Alamos National Laboratory found that Colorado could see a 50 to 60 percent reduction in snow within 60 years.
In response, water utilities across the state have enacted watering restrictions to reduce outdoor water use since 2001, with more on the horizon. In fact, one major Front Range municipality reduced outdoor watering to just two days per week in 2023. ALCC created the SLC initiative to demonstrate how big water users, such as master-planned communities, HOAs and large commercial properties, are, or can become, part of the solution. SLC is a collaborative approach to implementing sustainable and water-saving practices and monitoring results to ensure cost and water savings are attained.
The first collaboration is with the Centerra community in northern Colorado. Developed by McWhinney and in partnership with High Plains Environmental Center and the Centerra Metropolitan District, Centerra will be the first to earn SLC designation in Colorado. Centerra’s SLC commitment will demonstrate how sustainable landscapes are regenerative and responsive to the environment and contribute to healthy communities.
The community will soon release a two-year study that will serve as model for other properties and communities. Now is the time to reduce water use through sustainability and answer the call to action for collaboration in Colorado’s Water Plan. If you manage, govern or oversee a community or property that wants to be recognized for its commitment to water conservation and sustainability, you can learn about the application process and find more information at alcc.com/slc.communities.
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Written by Christine Manapace
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Tuesday, November 07, 2023 12:00 AM |
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As any Green industry professional knows even the most meticulously designed and maintained landscapes are in constant flux. So, imagine the unique challenges and incredible rewards when a landscape company not only completes a stunning design-build project in natural mountain terrain, but then has the opportunity to maintain the property over 15 years. Throughout those years, Designscapes Colorado has evolved the landscape to optimize the Colorado mountain environment and its four seasons, winning 11 awards—most recently, a 2022 Gold Award for Residential Landscape Management from the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP).
Set on 23 acres of forested mountain terrain, the property includes a flowing river and pond. The property owners’ two primary goals when designing the outdoor space were to capitalize on the beauty of the creek and adjacent pond by providing views and access to the water and to create an inspiring setting for entertainment and relaxation. Designscapes Colorado installed a bridge across the river and pulled water from it for irrigation. The wraparound driveway has a central garden that holds a variety of plants and a sprinkling of native aspen trees, which have been planted in various other places around the property. Native plants and materials throughout the landscape complement the beauty of the natural environment. The abundance of wildlife in the area made plant selection crucial to help prevent animals from eating the new garden. The array of blossoms that thrive in each season are carefully selected and layered so that as soon as one plant is done putting on a show, another will come to life. This creates an enduring canvas of colors throughout the year.
Spring bulbs, summer blooms
In early spring, pots are decorated and planted for Easter. Then, as the weather starts to warm up, the landscape explodes with yellows, whites and blues as spring bulbs bloom. The client likes bulbs in the scillia, chionodoxa, and allium varieties, but deer- and rabbit-proof daffodil bulbs are also planted.
Perennials across the property peak during the summer and are paired with various annual flowers. Some perennial varieties used throughout the gardens include catmint little Trudy, strawberry barren, dianthus kahori, moneywort, snow-in-summer, sweet woodruff, lady’s mantle, lilacs, hydrangeas and veronica.
Every year, annual flowers are planted in rustic wood pots to add extra dashes of color during the warmer months. The flower varieties change every summer to give the property a fresh look. Designscapes Colorado also provides general maintenance services including regular mowing to help encourage strong root growth in the bluegrass, edging, fertilizing, weed control, pruning, deadheading and more.
Fall and winter interest
When bright summer colors wind down, Designscapes Colorado revamps the annual flowerpots by adding new flowers to existing summer ones or replacing them with fall flowers that can handle cold weather and frost. In the high-altitude environment, it’s essential to select hardy varieties, such as asters, snaps, pansies and violas, because the climate can change to freezing very quickly. Sometimes Designscapes Colorado adds cabbage and kale to the pots as well.
A similar rejuvenation of the annual pots happens in winter, with evergreen branches, tinsel, pinecones and other festive décor included to give holiday interest. Designscapes Colorado also hangs holiday lights and décor while performing winter maintenance services and planning for spring and summer changes.
One thing that sets this property apart, and helped earn it awards, is how Designscapes Colorado experiments with different plant pairings. Playing around with different combinations over the years has allowed for the utilization of local materials and created unexpected beauty.
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Written by Lori Tobias
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Monday, November 06, 2023 12:00 AM |
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It’s too early to know what water-related bills Colorado legislators will take up when the legislative session convenes in January, but a bipartisan, joint committee of 10 House and Senate members has kept the subject alive throughout the summer and fall. The Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee, charged with studying “the conservation, use, development and financing of the water resources of Colorado for the general welfare of its inhabitants,” met to discuss potential bills, visit stream restoration projects and attend the Colorado Water Congress Summer Conference in Steamboat Springs over the summer.
Bills that make it out of the committee, which started meeting year-round last year, have a good chance of becoming law, says committee vice-chair Rep. Karen McCormick, D-District 11. “This committee has a little more power because it’s a joint committee and we have to have bipartisan support for any bill that gets out of this committee. So, for a bill to get through this committee and out with a two-thirds vote or more means that it’s probably a good idea that’s going to be able to get through the full General Assembly.” Democrats have a historic majority in the legislature, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the party has a “slam dunk” with any initiative, McCormick notes. “The larger your majority becomes, the more likely you’re going to have disparate voices within your majority. Some of your biggest support may be from the other party. So, you have to know that it’s important to really work a policy. If you want legacy policy, you need to make sure that all important voices are heard, that you’re willing to amend your bill to make it stand up over time.”
Getting tough on turf
One of the measures the Water Resources Committee may move out this fall was requested by Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-District 8. It would prohibit or limit non-functional turf grass or grass that is strictly for appearances and serves no other function. Several municipalities have started turf replacement programs, while others have adopted varied fee structures to incentivize water-wise landscaping. The City of Aurora already has in place restrictions on the use of non- functional turf grass, McCormick says. Full story in our Colorado Green magazine.
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Written by Colorado Green Now
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Tuesday, October 24, 2023 12:00 AM |
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About 35 women gathered to network, share experiences and build relationships during Women in Green’s third networking event at Fisk Lawnscapes in Colorado Springs in September. This event marked a significant step forward for Women in Green, an ALCC committee founded earlier this year. The pleasant fall weather and the welcoming atmosphere of the Fisk Lawnscapes facility contributed to a relaxed and inviting environment, enabling authentic networking to flourish. Attendees had the chance to enjoy lunch, connect, share experiences and build valuable professional relationships.
“There were some familiar faces and new attendees as well, which is incredibly exciting to me,” says WIG committee member Charlene Farley Chacon, residential team manager at Designscapes Colorado.
“The underlying comment was gratitude for bringing women together to connect. There was great industry/vendor partner support and participation, which is awesome to see.”
This gathering was made possible through the sponsorship of ALCC and Fisk Lawnscapes. Women in Green expects to hold another networking event in late December or early January and is making plans to participate in school mentorship opportunities.
To learn more about Women in Green, contact [email protected].
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Written by Stefan Stathopulos, Hicks & Associates
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Tuesday, October 24, 2023 12:00 AM |
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The Colorado General Assembly is gearing up for the 2024 legislative session to convene in January. It has been a busy interim; Hicks & Associates has been monitoring and attending multiple interim committees and rulemakings as well as monitoring other state boards. Interim committees are coming to an end for the year and are drafting legislation for the 2024 Legislative Session. Over the next month, interim committees will vote on whether to move forward with the drafted legislation. Hicks & Associates monitored all interim committees but closely monitored the Sales and Use Tax Simplification Task Force, the Legislative Interim Committee on Ozone Air Quality, Transportation Legislation Review Committee, and the Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee (which, as of this year, is a year-round committee).
Below are some highlights on the interim committees and the drafted legislation.
Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee.
The Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee has drafted 16 bills but will be able to approve only 10 that can move forward with the committee’s endorsement. Bill Draft 6 – Concerning Non-Functional Turwf in New Developments is one we have been engaged on with the sponsors, and we will be part of the stake holding group as this draft moves forward. There are multiple water bills that are being drafted, and we will continue to monitor and stay engaged on them (see “Colorado Legislature works to secure the state’s water future,” page 39).
Sales and Use Tax Simplification Task Force
The Sales and Use Tax Simplification Task Force has drafted five bills, including one to address/fix/hold harmless, a bill to address local filing participation and a bill addressing information for vendors on sales and use tax, building permits and lodging tax. ALCC continues to support simplification of the Sales and Use Tax in the state. Water and sales taxes on the docket for 2024 session
Bills passed during the 2023 session
SB23-016 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Measures
Over the last two sessions, ALCC/GreenCO has been working with the General Assembly on this bill, which didn’t make it through the process in 2022 but did this year. SB23-016 had many different components, but the main concern for ALCC/GreenCO was the push for electrifying small engines and lawn equipment. In 2022, the bill was looking to ban gas-powered lawn equipment, but we were able to turn this into a tax-incentive program. This bill went into effect on August 7. Even though we were able to keep the incentive program in the bill, we have seen the gas-powered lawn and garden equipment issue come up at the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC).
The AQCC will have a rulemaking hearing in December on placing new restrictions on the use of handheld and push gas-powered equipment starting in 2025. This follows the executive order that was issued by Gov. Jared Polis in September that bans the use of such equipment at state facilities in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ozone nonattainment area by June 2025. ALCC/GreenCO are engaged on this issue; please reach out if you would like additional information and would like to be part of the stakeholder process.
SB23-178 Water-Wise Landscaping in HOA Communities
ALCC/GreenCO were engaged with the sponsors and stakeholders as this bill went through the process. It went into effect on August 7. We have continued to see bills like this over the past couple of sessions, including HB1151- Turf Replacement Program, which could come back this year for additional General Fund moneys.
SB23-192 Sunset Pesticide Applicators’ Act
ALCC/GreenCO have been working on this bill for over two years. We were able to work with a large coalition on the passage of this bill with few changes being made from the previous Pesticide Applicators’ Act. Over the interim, we have attended rulemaking/stakeholder meetings, which include the issue of Neonicotinoid Limited Use Designation and changes made to the notification system/rules of the Pesticide Sensitive Registry. The bill went into effect on August 7. Pesticides will continue to be an issue that we will have to work on in the 2024 Legislative Session.
As we get closer to the 2024 Legislative Session, we ask that all ALCC/GreenCO members stay engaged. The more engagement we have from members, the better outcomes we will have at the legislature.
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].
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Written by Colorado Green Now
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Monday, October 23, 2023 12:00 AM |
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ClimateScaping saves precious water, one yard— and mind—at a time
by Robyn Lawrence
Tara O’Brien has a big vision. She wants to help Coloradans conserve 90 million gallons of water through xeriscaping and, at the same time, help landscape companies make more money by working together. And with her new company, Boulder-based ClimateScaping, she has the platform to make both things happen. O’Brien, an adjunct professor who teaches entrepreneurship and global business at the University of Colorado Boulder, realized just how much water Colorado lawns guzzle after experimenting on her own 2,300-square-foot yard in Longmont. In the process of replacing her yard’s Kentucky bluegrass with xeriscaping three years ago, she stopped watering and has saved approximately 65,000 gallons every summer.
“There are so many houses that are similar to mine, and I think in the next couple of years we could hit that 90 million gallons— and that’s still really not even a dent,” she says. It will take a united landscaping community to make this happen, O’Brien says, and she’s well aware that won’t be easy. At last year’s ProGreen EXPO, she was shocked at how many landscapers raised their hands during education sessions to ask why saving water and xeriscaping were important. “We gotta fix that,” she says.
Re-creating the modern yard
If anyone can open the landscaping community’s minds and hearts to the importance of water conservation, it would be O’Brien. With a background in business development and venture capital, she’s helped launch countless startups. She had been feeling the itch to start a company of her own for many years, but it couldn’t be just any company. It had to be one that would make a difference.
Then, a couple years ago, she did a consulting project with a landscaping company that required her to sit in on a lot of discussions about water rights, and she got up close and personal with “how dire the water situation is in Colorado,” she says. She had found a need she could fulfill: educating landscapers about xeriscaping while helping residents acquire state and federal grants for low-water projects.
O’Brien launched ClimateScaping with a mission to re-create the modern yard in ways that will address the water crisis in the West. Her first step was to acquire a landscaping company founded by two of her students at CU, who stayed on for about nine months to show O’Brien the ropes and help raise money. Then she put together a team of 10, primarily CU students studying business, landscape design, horticulture and environmental science.
“I just really love the idea of students coming out with this fresh, wanna-save-the-world mentality and bringing the latest technology into this ancient industry,” she says.
Growing partnerships and community
ClimateScaping launched in May with one client, a CU professor who had just bought a home with a yard overtaken by 3-foot-tall noxious weeds. ClimateScaping partnered with another landscaping company to scrape the topsoil and remove the weeds, then designed and installed a xeriscape. When several neighbors asked if O’Brien’s team could take on their yards next, she knew she was on to something.
Last summer, ClimateScaping worked with clients in Boulder and Longmont, and the company is starting to help Louisville residents who are rebuilding after the Marshall Fire. ClimateScaping often partners with other landscaping companies to provide services like hardscaping that it doesn’t have the capability to do itself.
“We spent a lot of time over the summer getting to understand what people want,” O’Brien says. “And it’s so fascinating to me to see how genuinely excited people are about this.”
Because maintenance is so critical to keeping xeriscapes attractive, ClimateScaping provides annual contracts for “comprehensive garden and landscape stewardship,” including weeding, plant health assessments and treatments, water monitoring and irrigation, plant division and replacement, and much more. “So, clients always get to see the pretty,” O’Brien says. “We just don’t ever let them see the weeds.”
O’Brien has plans to expand the company to include FireScapes, defensible yards that protect homes with fire-resistant plants and materials, and FoodScapes, fresh produce gardens. But she is most excited about helping other landscapers open ClimateScaping businesses across Colorado through an open-source model.
“My goal is to build a model that we can give to all landscapers—how to educate and sell xeriscaping to homeowners, how to train staff, how to plant the plants so they’ll actually survive—so it’s like a force that spreads across the West,” she says. “I would love to get more landscape companies thinking bigger picture rather than just the jobs they need to do this week. If we band together, even a little bit, I think landscapers can make five times as much money as they are right now.”
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Written by Lisa Pace
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Tuesday, October 10, 2023 12:00 AM |
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Turf replacement is expensive—costing anywhere from $2 to $15 per square foot—and doesn’t always guarantee water savings. In April, Colorado Springs Utilities set out to establish a turf replacement program for residential customers that’s affordable, guarantees water savings and ensures a resilient landscape change.
After much research and customer feedback, we established the following:
• When homeowners are having trouble maintaining their lawn, they are more willing to consider water-wise landscape options.
• Transitioning non-essential turf to native grasses is the most resilient, appealing option.
• A DIY conversion to native grass is a reasonably priced landscape change and something our customers want.
• Promoting a full-irrigation zone change along with free, high-efficiency nozzles best supports efficient water management.
Educating customers on how to do all of this work is the most important factor! Based on this, we created a program that provides:
• An initial education session about native grass and how to convert your lawn that sets expectations for what it will take to be successful and what to expect through establishment, accompanied by a DIY manual
• Multiple check-in sessions across the landscape transition period to answer customer questions and provide support, ensuring that customers feel confident doing the work.
• A second educational session to train customers on irrigation efficiency and provide free, high-efficiency nozzle replacements for the transition area
• Free native grass seed after customers determine the right grass type for their conversion project and demonstrate (through photos) that they have removed turf grass.
Given the amount of media attention turf replacement has received in Colorado, we knew it would be easy to get customers interested in this program. With very little promotion, we quickly had 300 sign-ups. About 250 customers attended our first class, and 135 moved to the second education class, received irrigation head upgrades and placed native grass seed orders. In early June, we handed out native seed, and about 75 customers have received seed. To learn more, visit csu.org/Pages/Events/ TurfReplacementProgram.aspx. |
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Written by Colorado Green Now
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Tuesday, October 10, 2023 12:00 AM |
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This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Colorado Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects Colorado/Wyoming (ASLA CO/WY), founded in 1973. (New Mexico was part of the group when it was founded but has since left.)
Licensing of landscape architects in Colorado owes much to Jane Silverstein Ries, who worked to establish a Colorado licensing authority in the 1960s. After the Landscape Architect Registration Act passed in Colorado, Ries became the first woman to be certified as a licensed landscape architect in the state in 1968. Before the Colorado Chapter was formed, Ries served as the first president of ASLA Rocky Mountain Chapter. Her legacy continues to be recognized with the Jane Silverstein Ries Foundation, ASLA CO/WY’s charitable nonprofit.
Through members’ work dedicated to enhancing natural and built environments, the association continues to promote development, education and awareness of the landscape architecture profession in Colorado and Wyoming. ASLA CO/WY celebrated the milestone at the Washington Park Boathouse in Denver in July.
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Written by Katie Weeman
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Tuesday, October 10, 2023 12:00 AM |
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Water conservation at the local level is a critical and ongoing focus of the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) and the Colorado Water Plan, essential to help reduce the risk of future municipal shortages and keep water in our streams. The CWCB supports water conservation efforts through funding, programs and special initiatives that help Colorado envision and realize a more water-wise future. The CWCB funds many projects through the Colorado Water Plan Grant program, and Conservation and Land Use is one of the categories within that grant program. The Water Plan also speaks to the importance of advancing water conservation, land use planning, and alternative water supplies (e.g., water reuse). Consequently, the CWCB funds many entities working to advance these efforts, whether building local capacity to institute water smart land use policies, investing in big xeriscaping projects, or even developing a mobile direct potable reuse demonstration trailer.
Programmatically, the CWCB often runs conservation-oriented efforts. In fact, the CWCB runs the nation’s largest voluntary water loss training program, an initiative that helps cities reduce water loss in their delivery systems. It also manages the state’s new Turf Replacement Program, which provides matching funds to eligible entities (e.g. water utilities) to advance local turf removal projects or rebates.
The CWCB also takes on many special initiatives, some of which are outlined in the agency actions in the water plan. Often CWCB’s efforts are multifaceted. For example, Action 1.7 of the water plan identifies turf replacement as essential to support transformative landscape change and reduce municipal water use while maintaining resilient, livable, and attractive outdoor environments. To help understand how to advance these efforts, Colorado Governor Jared Polis tasked CWCB with managing a 21-person Urban Landscape Conservation Task Force to explore what suite of tools might exist or need to be considered to help to continue to drive down outdoor water use while still maintaining benefits that range from housing affordability to protecting trees and pollinators. The task force will continue to meet through the end of 2023 with the goal of producing a final set of considerations in the new year.
Across all these efforts, CWCB remains committed to its mission: to conserve, develop, protect and manage Colorado’s water for present and future generations. As part of this, a clear focus on reducing outdoor water use and building tomorrow’s landscapes today means more closely aligning land use plans, water use, and water conservation. Learn more about what CWCB is up to at cwcb.colorado.gov or engage cwcb.org.
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Written by Colorado Green Now
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Monday, September 25, 2023 12:00 AM |
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Make your voice heard on proposed gas-powered equipment restrictions
The Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) is moving forward on its recommended ban of handheld 10-horsepower lawn and garden equipment starting in 2025. ALCC, GreenCO and NALP are engaged in the conversations with RAQC and other stakeholders. The proposal would prohibit public entities within the Denver Metro/North Front Range ozone nonattainment area (and the lawn and garden services they contract) from using small gasoline-powered push and hand-held equipment between June 1 and August 31. Landscapers would have to switch to Make your voice heard on proposed gas-powered equipment restrictions electric lawn mowers, leaf blowers and chain saws, but homeowners would still be allowed to use them.
The restriction would not apply to large gas-powered riding equipment and tractors, or equipment used during a declared emergency or storm cleanup.
ALCC is working with GreenCO and NALP on strategies and action to help protect the Colorado landscape industry’s interests in this discussion. In 2022, ALCC, GreenCO and NALP successfully lobbied against legislation that would have banned the sale of gas-powered lawn equipment in areas that aren’t meeting federal ozone standards. Instead, the Colorado Legislature passed an amended bill that requires state environmental regulators to develop a financial incentive program for electric power equipment.
The RAQC recommendation must go through many more steps before the ban would take effect. ALCC will send a survey asking about potential impacts on your business in the coming weeks. The public can comment on the draft regulations at https://raqc. org/elg-comments. For more information, visit raqc.org.
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Written by Steve Steele
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Monday, September 25, 2023 12:00 AM |
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Char Farley Chacon, division manager at Denver-based Designscapes, a member of the ALCC’s board of directors and the committee chair for ALCC’s Women in Green, is challenging barriers to the advancement of women in the green industry. Well-known across Colorado for her fierce commitment to ALCC’s LatiKNOWs diversity and empowerment program, which gives people across organizations the tools they need to better navigate the leadership landscape, Chacon is quickly becoming a rising industry star on the national level.
At this year’s Thought Leaders Retreat, held at the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach, Florida, Chacon shared the floor with Heidi Dillon, regional manager of DeSantis Landscapes in Oregon, and Leslie Herndon, president of Greenscape in North Carolina. The panel examined the question of differentiation, exploring how landscape companies can deliver unique value if they are all doing the same things, using the same tools and technologies, and applying the same best practices.
Chacon said unique value starts with reducing opportunity inequities through mentoring and advocacy, as well as finding understanding and common ground. The leadership path can only be lit, Chacon said, when everyone speaks the same language. At Designscapes, that means professional development, training and language lessons. The company subsidizes a bilingual education program, with classes held weekly, that has been well received by the employees.
The Designscapes language program builds morale, camaraderie and communication in and out of the field and helps the company attract new employees and assist recipients of the firm’s Permanent Residency Program, which eases some of the uncertainty of H2B. To date, Chacon said, Designscapes has sponsored and helped 60 employees to become U.S. residents. Leadership presents an opportunity and a responsibility for people at all levels to be better role models, Chacon said. Leaders should empower fresh thinking, lift people up and allow every individual to flourish and succeed. Thought Leaders Retreat explores innovation and the future of work.
This year’s Thought Leaders Retreat, an annual event produced by Bruce Wilson & Co., one of the green industry’s largest and oldest advisory firms, broke records for sponsorship and attendance. Colorado was represented by delegates from Designscapes, Fort Collins-based Lindgren Landscapes and Denver-based Lifescape Colorado. Boulder tech firm TeamEngine and Denver-based Scythe Robotics were among the event’s sponsors. Michael Mayberry, customer success lead at Scythe, was a featured speaker on innovation, the guiding theme of the Thought Leaders conference and its focus on the future of work.
Bruce Wilson wrapped up the two-and-a-half-day event with a call to action: “Every organization needs bold inventiveness. But creativity is only half of what gets us to the other side of the box. This time is dedicated to how to create an innovation culture, how to inspire the next great idea and how to improve our capacity to innovate by asking what we would do differently if we knew anything’s possible?”
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Written by Megan Townsend
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Monday, September 25, 2023 12:00 AM |
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Start your journey from burnout to balance
Most business owners can identify with at least one, if not all, of these statements and often aren’t sure how to get past feeling stuck in the day-to-day. There are countless coaches and programs who promise to help grow your business and fulfill your dreams and goals. What most of these programs are missing is the concept of having an enviable life while growing your business. What if you could enjoy the journey and not feel burned out while achieving your goals?
It’s easier than you think. You simply need to set your vision, stay true to your priorities and take action. The life of your dreams will begin to fall into place.
To achieve your dream, you must first have a clear vision of what it is. Can you close your eyes and clearly see yourself doing exactly what you want to be doing in 10 years? If not, spend some time daydreaming about it.
No two dreams are the same, but if you are going to achieve your dream, you have to be able to see it, feel it, taste it and experience it in detail in your mind. If your goals aren’t specific, they will be hard to achieve.
Once you have a clear vision, write it down, create a visual and keep it somewhere obvious. You want it in front of your face every day. Include a due date for your dream; otherwise, it will always be “someday” and never reality.
The next step toward a more enjoyable life is prioritization. Some common priorities are family, faith, even wealth. Maybe you want to enjoy life while you are still young. What are your top three priorities? Write them down. Now.
When you have a clear vision and your priorities are defined, decision-making becomes almost effortless. Say yes to opportunities that fall in line with your vision and priorities and let other opportunities pass.
Now, let’s get back to how you can avoid burnout and stop delaying happiness. Does this sound familiar?
“I’ll have more time for my family when this project is done.” “If I can just hit that next goal, I’ll finally be happy.”
Nope and nope. There is freedom in working to live rather than living to work. Delaying happiness now in the pursuit of a dream leads to burnout and dread of the day-to-day.
Systemize Your Business
Take the following action steps to start systemizing your business so you have time to enjoy your life outside of work. Set boundaries. Time and physical boundaries are important to a balanced life. Try setting your own work hours and sticking to them. Fill your non-work hours with your personal priorities: family, health, hobbies, etc.
Delegate and outsource.
Create a plan to delegate or outsource anything you aren’t good at, anything you are good at but don’t love, and anything that takes you away from working on your business instead of in it.
Try this exercise: Have a central place where you write down every single task you do for your business over the next month. Track the hours it takes to do these tasks. As you can afford to delegate or outsource, you know how much you can off-load because you know the time requirement of the task.
Capture videos of your processes.
There are services like Loom that allow you to store screen-capture videos to the cloud. Start capturing videos of your regular tasks on the computer that you can use as a training tool to easily delegate tasks “only you know how to do.” This leaves more time for you to do the more important tasks and strategize for business growth.
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Written by Colorado Green Now
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Tuesday, September 12, 2023 12:00 AM |
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Throughout Colorado, water shortages are impacting how urban landscapes are cared for and the cost of landscape maintenance. To better steward water resources and provide high-quality, conscientious landscape maintenance, Associated Landscape Contractors (ALCC) of Colorado offers Sustainable Landscape Management (SLM) certification.
The SLM program provides foundational education about the natural and constructed systems that comprise the urban landscape, as well as how the different systems relate and the interdependence that exists between them. Topics include soil, irrigation, planting trees and integrated pest management.
Because the urban landscape is an interdependent system, the context of one element is dependent on the success of many others. For example, a healthy tree depends on proper planting, staking, irrigation and soil conditions. Each element needs attention and awareness so the overall landscape can be healthy, water conscious, long lasting and beautiful. Teaching professionals about what the elements are and how they affect one another generates a more holistic awareness, allowing them to make good decisions in the field.
Janet Waibel, a registered landscape architect at Tempe, Arizona-based Waibel & Associates Landscape Architecture, began preparing standards for care in Arizona during the economic downturn of 2008, when her workload dwindled, and she had time to write. Her goal was to share better ways to take care of Arizona landscapes, promote sustainability and enable landscape designs to reach their full potential in urban settings.
In 2017, Waibel partnered with ALCC to create a book, curriculum and testing for ALCC’s SLM program, which is available with membership. The book includes chapters on a variety of topics, including urban soils, planting composition, trees, shrubs, turf site drainage, irrigation, composting and integrated pest management.
The Urban Landscape Sustainability collection of materials includes books, curriculum and testing items. The premise is regional focus for simple, practical methods about how to help every element in the landscape system thrive. Plants and trees are more sustainable and require less care when irrigation is appropriate, soils are beneficial and site conditions are monitored.
The program includes:
Sustainable Landscape Management – Standards for Care in the Desert Southwest (English and Spanish)
Sustainable Landscape Management – A Guide to More Sustainable Landscapes in Colorado
Sustainable Landscape Construction (available later this year)
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