by Tara Mitchell John Engwer, owner of Groundscapes Express, and Butch Goodwin, Operations Manager, led Ecological Landscaping Alliance participants on a tour of Groundscapes’ composting facility in Wrentham, MA explaining…
A Meadow Comes to Stoney Creek: The First Year
by Silvana Valiani What started out as a routine after dinner dog walk in the spring of 2012 resulted in the implementation of our municipality’s first Meadowscape to avoid annihilation…
Eco-Answers from the Pros: Winter Moth
Winter Moth decimated shrubs and trees in my yard this spring, from blueberry bushes to maple trees. Are there eco-friendly options for control in the fall? Do I have to…
Conservation and Preservation in Action: Working Hand in Hand on a National Landmark
by Lucinda (Cindy) Brockway This fall, The Trustees of Reservations will complete a five-year landscape restoration project of the Crane Estate’s Allée and Casino Courtyard located in Ipswich, MA. Thanks…
Adapting Plant Communities: Another Tool for Restoration
by Miles H. Connors According to Webster’s Dictionary, restoration is ‘the process of returning something to its original condition by repairing it, or bringing back something that existed before.’ Considering…
7 Reasons You Should Be Using SITES v2
Lisa Cowan, PLA, ASLA Although the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITESTM) Rating System may first appear to be just another green rating system, ELA members should know that SITES can be…
When Goats Join the Restoration Team
Faced with a two-acre lot of nearly impenetrable thicket of multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora Thunb. ex Murr.), glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus), common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica L.), Asiatic bittersweet (Celastrus…
Eco-Answers from the Pros: Reining in Raspberries for Wildlife
We have raspberries growing in our field and would like to promote their growth to feed the wild birds and mammals. Can you tell me “best practices” for mowing the…
Taking it to the Extremes
by Sandy Vorce “How do you plan for Climate Change and all the wild weather?” This was a question recently posed by several college students who came to help out…
Forget the Debate! Let’s Get on with Planting Resiliency
by Kevin Staso If you listen to nightly news reports or read articles in Nature, The Journal of Ecology or The American Meteorological Society, the frequency and severity of drought…
Eco-Answers from the Pros: Helping Hydrangea Bloom
A combination of bitterly cold temperatures and high winds last winter has resulted in disappointing hydrangea blooms in parts of New England this summer. Are there sustainable options to safeguard…
Eco-Answers from the Pros: Choosing a Tree for Habitat Value
I have room for one new tree in my landscape (6 hours of direct sun, well-drained soil, zone 5). What tree would you recommend for the greatest ecological and habitat…