Landscaping is Changing the Conversation Around Green Real Estate. Top 10 things property people need to know.

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January is Quality of Life month and with sustainability playing an increasingly more important role in how commercial real estate companies invest in green performance, the benefits of landscaping has emerged as an actionable priority.

From site design and infrastructure to LEED considerations to amenities and workplace wellness, new research suggests that nature will have the largest and most easily quantifiable impact on quality of life.

Here’s how:

  1. Health & wellness

The Covid pandemic flipped perceptions of workplace norms, leading to a rethink of the role air quality, natural light and quality outdoor space influences health and well-being. This has led to reconfiguring landscaped areas for outdoor conferencing and working, creating walking trails and bike paths for fitness, building out green roofs and terraces for encourage social interaction, and increasing the number of trees.

  1. Sustainability

As a philosophy and a practice, sustainability has influenced the built environment for years. But with concerns around extreme weather events, climate action planning and the need for increased environmental resilience, landscaping has become an essential key performance indicator for driving occupancy, higher rents, higher tenant retention and higher property value – all while reducing energy use, waste, and environmental impacts.

Getting up to speed. What’s next?

Nature, by way of landscaping and its ability to refresh and revitalize, is an unparalleled remedy to urban stress. When implemented in a way that also protects environmental health, the benefits to human health increase exponentially.  Ten things ELM can help you do now:

  1. Implement a water conservation and irrigation management plan, combined with low-water use landscape strategies and comprehensive guidelines for erosion control and storm water management.
  2. Reduce landfill waste through recycling and composting.
  3. Increase biodiversity, habitat health and plant life through best practices.
  4. Reduce chemical use.
  5. Improve soil health through mulching and microorganisms.
  6. Improve plant and pest management with biological controls, and beneficial insects.
  7. Create a long-range strategic landscape plan that includes ongoing landscape performance improvements.
  8. Transform underutilized areas into perennial meadows.
  9. Use advanced technologies for energy-efficiency and improved resource management.
  10. Create and maintain healthy and high-performing outdoor amenity spaces for people to spend more time in nature.

To learn more about how Eastern Land Management can improve quality of life through landscaping, contact company president Bruce Moore Jr. at (203) 316-5433.

Photo: Stamford Towers, Stamford Connecticut. A commercial landscape sustainably maintained by ELM for CBRE.

 

How to Leverage the Benefits of Scale and Gain Market Share Through Landscaping

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What property and facility owners and managers need to know.

It’s no secret that maintaining a healthy commercial landscape is a big job. And although it may seem that all commercial landscape contractors do the same thing, thanks to smart technologies and automation, there is a stark difference in the way commercial landscape and grounds services are delivered and the value landscaping brings to the bottom line.

The most obvious difference is impact landscaping has on property value. Landscapes need to look good all year-round; they need to be safe for people and the environment, reduce risk and liability, and deliver higher returns all while making a lasting impression.

This is where ELM comes in to help property and facility owners and managers capitalize on the benefits of scale.

ELM is a single-source provider. This means that all landscape and grounds services are integrated and strategically delivered across all seasons, including snow and ice. A single-source provider not only simplifies the process of managing your landscape and reducing the number of companies you need to contact, it’s the best way to reap consistent cost savings through economies of scale.

If you’re looking to contract with a professional commercial landscape services firm, here are five questions to ask:

  1. How long have they been in business?
  2. What is their client retention rate?
  3. Do they offer year-round maintenance, including snow and ice services?
  4. What value-added benefits are included? Do they use low-noise equipment, electric or autonomous equipment, clean energy and options that help earn LEED credits?
  5. Will they make your landscape as technologically smart and as digitally-advanced as your building?

Here’s what you can expect from ELM in the day-to-day:

  1. Meticulous about clean and complete. No task left undone.
  2. No drama.
  3. Proactive about little things before they become big things.
  4. Make suggestions that make you look good.
  5. Willing to go above and beyond.
  6. Prepared, trained, and experienced emergency response.
  7. Highly responsive and easy to reach.

ELM commercial landscape maintenance services include expertise in the following:

  • Commercial property and facility landscape and grounds services
  • Landscape maintenance and horticultural services
  • Enhancements and renovations
  • Irrigation and water management
  • Hardscape projects, corporate terraces, plazas and patios
  • Parking lot and median maintenance
  • Snow and ice control, and winter management
  • Site safety
  • Spring plantings
  • Fall clean-up

If you’re a commercial property and facility manager seeking quality, excellence and cost-efficient contracting services for your landscape and grounds, working toward LEED accreditation and greater sustainability, ELM is your partner of choice.

ELM is a proud member of BOMA Southern Connecticut and BOMA Westchester County, and actively supports the greater multi-sector commercial real estate community in Connecticut and New York.

Eastern Land Management Receives National Award of Excellence

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Eastern Land Management (ELM), has been awarded a Silver Award of Excellence by the National Association of Landscape Professionals.

The award recognizes ELM for revitalizing Kiwanis Park, a placemaking and urban renewal project of Downtown Stamford’s Special Services District. In addition to Kiwanis Park, ELM developed a streetscape design in the heart of the downtown business district that included 250 hanging baskets, foliage containers, and refurbished annual beds.

“Stamford’s my home. And working with people I’ve grown up with, gone to school with, and with whom I share deep affection for this great community, made this effort personal to me and my project team,” said ELM President, Bruce Moore, Jr. “Streetscape improvements have a tremendous positive impact, stimulating economic growth and transforming our community into a vibrant urban hub, full of art, food and events for locals and tourists alike. Meeting media event deadlines and complex logistics and delivery in the middle of summer in a high-traffic business corridor was a remarkable feat. and I’m so proud of our team.”

The Awards will be presented at ELEVATE, the National Association of Landscape Professionals conference in Orlando, September 18-21.

About ELM

Founded in 1976 by Bruce Moore Sr, ELM provides commercial landscape and snow/ice services throughout Fairfield County, Connecticut and Westchester County, New York. To learn more, contact Bruce Moore Jr. at ‭(203) 316-5433‬.

About National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) & The Awards of Excellence, click here.

Meet ELM’s Silent Weapon in Climate-Positive Noise Reduction

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Silence is fueling a new era in operations at Eastern Land Management.

With the introduction of Gravely Pro-Turn® EV mowers, ELM will be rolling out electric mowers and battery-powered equipment to accelerate a long-term goal towards greater efficiency.

For JLL, a global leader in commercial real estate and property services, ELM will have 10-acres of turf on one of its properties in Westport, CT maintained by 50% electric by October 1, 2022.

ELM’s launch of EV is a continued expansion of a autonomous mower program that ELM began in trial phase several years ago, but has grown in impact and importance as ELM clients seek more clean energy options

Having more choices in electric, battery and alternative eco-power offer several advantages: they’re markedly more quiet and lighter in weight, and odor free. “We’re proud to align with leaders like JLL, not only to shape their ESG and sustainability strategy but to develop an action plan that helps us deliver on their green energy objectives,” said company president, Bruce Moore, Jr.

To learn more about how innovation can down the noise on your property, contact Bruce Moore Jr. at 203-316-5433.

 

Landscape Staging is an Investment with Multiple Returns. Let’s start with flowers.

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From high school seniors seeking an academic environment that supports campus life to parents looking for proof that their tuition dollars are well spent, nothing says ‘welcome’ and ‘value’ faster than a first impression.

Whether it’s campus tours, commencement, first day of school, or a photo shoot for marketing, landscape upgrades are the first line of defense when it comes to putting your campus’ best face forward.

ELM is an experienced partner at creating and sustaining exceptional outdoor spaces, and for nearly 50 years, has built a portfolio of expertise relied on to make your campus feel less like an institution and more like home.

10 ways to improve ROI:

    • Detailed flowers and beds
    • Annual / seasonal flowering plant combinations in school colors
    • Fresh mulch and compost
    • Shrub and small tree pruning
    • Recontouring dated and worn-out areas to freshen and revitalize
    • Infrastructure upgrades, stormwater and groundwater filtration improvements to reduce puddling, erosion and mud, and improve pedestrian safety.
    • Environmental improvements to meet master plan sustainability goals
    • Water management and conservation performance improvements
    • Revitalize athletic fields, donor-named buildings, theater courtyards, academic halls and common areas
    • Outdoor learning centers, classrooms, and event space

A well-maintained college campus helps raise enrollment. But it takes a dedicated commitment and skilled teams to keep grounds and landscape amenities at the highest standards.

For educational facilities looking to supplement inhouse landscape efforts or looking at outsourcing, ELM has flexible options.  These include contracting for need-specific assignments, supplementing and supporting in-house efforts, providing additional services for special events, or taking over the work.

ELM is specialized is serving New England campus environments. From landscape enhancements and amenities to full-service grounds support, water management and snow and ice removal, we are a strong commercial landscaping program for colleges and universities seeking cost-efficient and sustainable performance improvements.

For more information, contact Bruce Moore Jr, at 203-316-5433.

Photo: College of Health Professions, Center for Healthcare Education, Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, Connecticut.

 

Christopher Koenig Joins ELM as Area Manager

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West Haven, Connecticut native Chris Koenig says the green industry is a perfect fit for him because he’s loved the outdoors since he was a kid.

With passions ranging from ice hockey to ice fishing, Chris is well-positioned to lead Eastern Land Management’s cold weather crews on ice and snow management, in addition to his role advancing service delivery to ELM clients throughout Fairfield County.

Chris’s journey to area manager began at the ground level, as a gardener. “The cutting edge of what we do as landscapers starts with the soil. Getting our hands dirty, nurturing and improving plant health, dealing with insects and the weather, and making sure all the dots connect on everybody’s needs. Front line ‘boots-on-the-ground’ work is a tough assignment. But it’s great on-the-job training,” said Chris.

Chris has held several landscaping positions over a dozen years, from field operations to production and customer service.  “Chris’ experience is inspiring,” said company president, Bruce Moore Jr. “When people work their way up, they can be phenomenal leaders. Chris’ crews respect his understanding of their jobs and customers value his impressive impact as a problem-solver.”

Please join us in welcoming Chris to ELM.

ELM Rolls Out Landscape Platform for Senior Living

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A new health care model is reshaping senior living as residential communities continue to raise the bar on amenities and innovation that improve the quality of life.

As this property market looks to a future where the population of seniors with incremental health care needs is growing, updating facility landscaping for aesthetics, and health and safety are no longer capital expenditures that can be put on hold.

ELM has identified five ways to prioritize improvements.

  • Update entrances and pedestrian areas for safety and flow
  • Create plant-filled, interactive outdoor spaces to heighten community engagement, support walking and fitness programs, and add curb appeal
  • Identify opportunities to transform underperforming areas into low-maintenance nature or activity spaces for bocce ball, croquet or putting greens.
  • Create a community garden, rooftop top garden, a composting center, or rain garden to create more opportunities for residents to engage over shared activities.
  • Create a tech-enabled, environmentally-friendly, resource-efficient and climate appropriate landscape maintenance program that reduces long-term costs and use practices that conserve water, energy, and soil health, limit waste and protect groundwater.

ELM’s team is experienced in this sector and understands its unique needs. Recently, we performed a complete makeover that included the installation a digitally controlled smart irrigation system, the natural pruning of dozens of shrubs and trees, layers of fresh mulch, splashes of seasonal color, and a refreshed entrance.

Enhancement Manager and project lead, Bobby Papotto, says, “Our connection with nature improves well-being and nowhere is this more important that when it comes to the specific needs of senior living residents, whether the facility is for independent living, assisted living or memory care. To make sure our landscapes support a range of quality of life goals, we look at soil health, plant material, biodiversity and habitat, and incorporate as much nature and natural elements, and safety features into the design and execution as possible.”

Landscaped spaces are an oasis for community engagement and safe socializing, and spending time in a healthy outdoor environment can make all the difference when it comes to choosing a senior community.

To learn more about ways landscaping can create an enhanced sense of community, contact ELM President, Bruce Moore Jr., at 203-316-5433.

 

 

Horticultural Therapy for Better Senior Health

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An expanding senior population is creating renewed demand for high-quality senior housing.  And to us, high-quality means access to nature and using landscaping as a metric to rise to new market challenges and simultaneously improve the quality of life for residents across a spectrum of needs.

This is good news for facility and portfolio managers with capital improvement monies to invest as landscaping and outdoor amenities are adaptable, innovative and sustainable ways to gain competitive advantage.

The economic argument is compelling. Data suggests that an estimated 70% of Americans aged 65 or older may require long-term care. Coupled with a set of statistics suggesting that access to nature improves health care outcomes, and it adds up to landscaping easily delivering a measurable return on investment.

As the assisted living communities of the future take shape, here are four key landscape trends to put on your radar.

Gateway Landscaping and Showcase Features:

The point of entry for new residents and potential residents, and visiting guests, is the front door. In an era where screening devices and advanced safety protocols are the norm, strategically-placed landscaping can help soften the technology, minimize touchpoints and make your building’s main entrance look like a welcoming amenity space without compromising the need for security.

Outdoor Living Rooms:

Outdoor gatherings will continue to meet new standards for public health and safety, and we’re building functional amenity spaces that can host family visits and social gatherings, and are pet-friendly. With a renewed emphasis on an accessible and flexible outdoors, we’re seeing an increase in requests for balconies, patios, courtyards and other spaces that are tech-enabled, airy and ventilated, and meet new restrictions for disease prevention.

Water Features:

Water is a soothing element so it’s only natural that its ability to improve mood is a given. When designed for safety and installed correctly, and integrated with smart-technology, interactive fountains, pondless waterfalls, architectural lighting, and water-recycling and conservation systems are among our most requested outdoor features.

 Therapeutic Specialty Gardens & Biophilic Elements:

Simply put, gardens are the fastest and most cost-effective way to add quantifiable value. Value in contributing to health and well-being, value as a participatory activity center, value as a community gathering place and value in what gardens provide as a multi-sensory experience.  At any stage of our lives, access to nature is always better than being cooped up.  For senior communities, gardens offer ways for residents to interact with plants and engage in nature-based activities: harvestable vegetable gardens and orchards; butterfly gardens, planted with flowering perennials that attract hummingbirds and beneficial pollinators (avoiding plants that attract bees or stinging insects); and bird gardens, with plants that provide forage and nesting habitats for migrating birds or waterfowl.

For more information on how ELM’s senior housing specialists rehabilitate outdoor spaces for a spectrum of specialized needs, contact President, Bruce Moore Jr. at 203-316-5433.

 

 

 

From the Ground Up: Why Soil Regeneration Leads to Healthier Landscapes

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From the moment we set foot on the landscape, we are stepping on the most biologically diverse material on earth—a living system of earth dwellers: worms, microbes, fungi, as well as insects and other organisms that are essential to both the environment and to landscape health.

When soils are neglected, weathered or overworked, soil health suffers.  By boosting nutritional content and improving texture and drainage, we can restore soil’s biodiversity and improve the landscape’s ability to sustain plant health.

Central to this is the need to increase soil carbon, which, in turn, attracts more microbes and becomes a self-nourishing loop. Technically, the complex relationships that exist within this community of organisms is known as the soil food web and similar to other food chains, it’s essential to overall life.

To keep soils healthy, ELM takes a systems-thinking approach to landscape health, where the world beneath our feet is connected to everything above. In practical terms, this means if the soil is sick, the plant doesn’t have much of a chance to beat the odds. 

There are 5 basic elements central to all soil systems: microorganisms, minerals, air, water and organic matter. When any one is out of proportion to the other, it compromises the ability of the soil to be an effective growing medium. The process for correcting these problems at their source has many names, but for ELM, our approach falls under the practice of Plant Health Care.

In general, the science behind this approach ensures that we treat the whole landscape system as more than just the sum of its parts. We do this by:

  • Encouraging biodiversity of plants and trees through better landscape planning
  • Building healthy topsoil using ground-cover to buffer temperatures and absorb and hold water
  • Establishing and maintaining healthy root systems
  • Planting trees with healthy canopies to protect the soil surface
  • Reducing soil traffic and compaction
  • Using mulch, compost and increased levels of organic matter
  • Improving nutrient availability
  • Regulating air and water, through aeration and advanced irrigation technology
  • Using Mycorrhizal fungi to increase a plant’s stress tolerance
  • Reducing pesticide use
  • Supporting beneficial insects and organisms
  • Planting essential habitats that increase, support and protect pollinators

To learn more about the benefits of sustainable soil practices or discover how climate-smart best practices are improving your plant and soil health, contact ELM President, Bruce Moore Jr., at 203-316-5433.

 

 

Create a Sustainability Framework for Your University Landscape

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Campus landscapes are advancing higher education’s sustainability mission.  As universities adopt and improve on energy efficiency, green infrastructure and water conservation initiatives, landscape performance is becoming essential to generate best-in-class environmental metrics.

ELM is working with colleges and universities across Connecticut and New York metro to address both landscape construction and maintenance objectives, as well as innovative water and resource conservation, watershed and stormwater management, responsible approaches to pest and disease management, meeting zero waste to landfill, and reducing carbon footprints in the following ways:

  • Modifying our production processes to meet resource reduction targets.
  • Using less toxic or non-toxic substances.
  • Implementing conservation techniques through water management and smart water technology.
  • Improving water governance.
  • Providing solutions in stormwater management, flood control and drainage systems, bioswales and rain gardens to enhance water quality, filter runoff, and recharge local aquifers.
  • Reducing heat island effect by replacing surface space, and implementing and maintaining green roofs and vertical gardens and outdoor spaces to address heat absorption and filter water.
  • Using strategic planting and plant health care and maintenance strategies to improve air quality, and provide attractive, cohesive park-like settings that serve as both healthy respite and multi-purpose outdoor learning space.
  • Protecting wildlife corridors and habitats, watersheds, and riparian zones by reducing pollutants.
  • Reusing and recycling materials rather than putting them into the waste/landfill stream.
  • Using renewable energy, flexible fuel or low emissions vehicles, and autonomous equipment.
  • Upgrading equipment and approaches to better deliver on goals for safety, efficiency, service and innovation.
  • Training our team for sustainability engagement and greener mindsets.
  • Using lean approaches to minimize waste without sacrificing productivity.
  • Embracing responsible consumption by minimizing fuel consumption, mapping routes, production and logistics for optimum efficiency.
  • Supporting LEED and green building goals to reduce environmental impacts and overall exposure to water, waste, and weather events.
  • Including SMART goals in our planning to take landscape planning and higher education green objectives to the next level.
  • Investing in continuous green improvements.
  • Receiving the ChangeMakers Award from Fairfield County for sustainable water conservation program.

About Us

ELM is recognized as a leader in campus landscape sustainability planning and implementation and offers five ways in which our specialists can customize a working relationship with campus facility managers to improve sustainability:

  1. Full service outsource partner – landscape construction and renovation; green infrastructure; site improvements; landscape maintenance; plant health care; water management; and snow and ice/winter management.
  2. Specialty landscape contractor for grounds maintenance and management, snow and ice, irrigation and water management, performance turf and athletic fields.
  3. Specialty landscape contractor for broad site improvements and green infrastructure, stormwater and drainage systems, and site amenities.
  4. Full-service landscape maintenance.
  5. Team partner with general contractors, design-build teams, or onsite horticultural and/or grounds professionals.

Whether refreshing iconic campus footprints, innovating for a next generation of students and  faculty, or to lead capital improvement for conservation and development, ELM is shaping campus green spaces to connect people to nature, to each other and to the future they serve.