Transforming Turfgrass: Turning Several Acres of Over-Mowed Grass Into Pollinator-Friendly Wildflower Meadows
The Allegheny County Parks Foundation in Pennsylvania oversees the operation of one of the largest regional park systems in the United States. The nine parks under their care occupy over 12,000 acres of land in the areas surrounding the city of Pittsburgh and welcome more than 22 million visitors each year. After conducting a 2015 […]
Establishing a Pollinator Meadow to Commit to Sustainability Missions
Envisioning the Possibilities for Pollinators In 2015, when the McCormick Corporation announced that they would break ground on their new headquarters in Hunt Valley, Maryland, they saw 350,000 square feet of possibilities. They planned on offering amenities like a full-service café and a fitness center, which spoke to their company’s desire to create an inviting […]
Developing a Meadow with Pollinators in Mind
Creating habitat for pollinators is one of the most effective and efficient ways we can naturalize our landscapes. By establishing healthy, diverse wildflower meadows with the intent to accommodate native pollinators, landscape architects can combine sustainability with design. In 2016, Bill Kieffer, a landscape architect at Hershey Gardens, partnered with Ernst Seeds to build a […]
Q&A with Mark Fiely: How Ernst Seeds Works with Landscape Architects
Landscape architecture professionals understand that the best projects don’t just marry design with science, they come to life thanks to the dedicated people behind them. For more than 50 years, Ernst Seeds has combined creativity with technical expertise to assist firms large and small to create environmentally thoughtful landscapes, from wetland restoration areas to pollinator-friendly […]
Opportunity Knocks: How an Influx of Funding for Wetland Conservation Could Kickstart Your Next Big Project
Wetland conservancy is making a comeback. For our country’s first two centuries, wetlands across the United States were viewed as a waste. As a result, the U.S. lost an estimated 53 percent of its total wetland area from the colonial times through the 1980s. Wetlands were dried, drained and eliminated as the country expanded, which […]
Native Seeds in Wetland Systems and Natural Water Treatment
Regrettably, wetlands have often been viewed as undesirable wastelands to be avoided or destroyed. Today less than half of America’s original wetlands remain. The recent devastation left behind by Hurricane Ida is a grim reminder of what we have lost with them. Wetland losses have slowed in recent years thanks to our better understanding of […]
Residential, Commercial and Municipal: Why Native Vegetation Is A More Cost-Effective, Sustainable Option Than Turfgrass For Landscape Architects In Any Setting
America loves a good lawn. A lush green lawn is a symbol of the American Dream; it’s been that way ever since the country’s post-World War II economic expansion. As the suburbs boomed, so did the idea of trying to grow the best lawn in the neighborhood. Any company that had a lawn usually hired […]
‘Blind’ Queen Honeybee Study Q&A With Charlie Vorisek
The PA Queen Project and the HHBBC, with support from Penn State University and Purdue University, collaborated on a study comparing colonies with varroa mite-resistant queens versus non-varroa mite-resistant queens from 2018 to 2019. The study enlisted 100 hobbyist beekeepers in the comparison study with the objective of helping change their behavior to promote varroa […]
Keep It Simple, Solar: Developing Native Vegetation at Solar Energy Sites to Improve Drainage, Soil Health and Biodiversity
by Gregory Monahan As municipalities search for cheaper and cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels, the number of solar installations across the United States is ramping up. With the U.S. government expecting solar energy sites to cover an area about the size of Massachusetts by 2050, one important issue will continue to arise: what should energy companies […]
Creating Low-Impact, Pollinator-Friendly Solar Energy Sites with Native Seeds
by Rachel Sohmer Solar farms can (and should) do more than produce clean energy. Creating pollinator habitat at solar energy sites means renewable energy in a sustainable landscape that benefits us all. As the sight of rows upon rows of solar panels sprawling across the landscape becomes increasingly more common, we have good reason to […]