Why Do You Need Consulting?
Many people are reluctant to invest in consulting. After all, why spend money on a report when that money could go directly to land management? But we know that investing in consulting can save you a lot of time and money. Here we want to highlight the three services we think are most important to land owners. Our full list of services can be found on our Consulting Services page.
Native Landscaping Consulting:
We have spoken to a lot of people over the past few years who want to give native landscaping a try themselves. Maybe you think you can't afford professional landscaping services or maybe you just want to flex that green thumb of yours. Most people just don't know where to start. But we're here to help! First we will come out to your home and do a walkthrough of your yard with you. You tell us what you hope to accomplish and we'll give you the information you need to achieve your goals. Then we go back to our office and compile written site-specific recommendation, a list of recommended species for your property and a list of print and web resources which can help you learn more. After that, it's up to you, but we will always be available to you by email or phone if you have any more questions or concerns. We want to empower you to learn about our unique and beautiful native plants for yourself. Give us a call so we can talk about how we can help you accomplish a successful project yourself.
Natural Areas Inventories:
Natural Area Inventories can provide you with a profoundly deeper understanding of your land. They will help identify problem areas you may not have been aware of and resources, such as rare plants, that you may not know you have. When we perform a natural area inventory we will research site history in the form of the original surveyor's notes, historic arial photos and other resources. Then we map out the natural communities on your site using powerful GPS mapping technology. Over the course of the year we will visit your site several times in order to perform a Floristic Quality Assessment (FQA). During an FQA, we inventory every plant species on your property which provides us a quantitative method for determining the quality of your natural areas. A natural area inventory is critical to get a good understanding of the composition of the natural areas on your property before you begin restoration work. And if you are looking for financial support for restoration work, this is often the first step necessary to apply for grants and public funding.
Natural Areas Management Planning:
A management plan is an essential part of a restoration project. It will include a list of clearly defined goals which you can use to keep track of the progress of your project over time. It will set priorities for management that will allow you to tackle the most pressing ecological issues first so that they don't spiral out of control. By focusing your resources in the most efficient manner possible the management plan can pay for itself by preventing wasted efforts. Overall, you will get a clear understanding of what must be done and what resources you will need to do them, turning an amorphous idea to rehabilitate your land into a clear vision for the future. Furthermore, investing in a management plan shows agencies that might help fund the work on your land that you are serious about ecological restoration, and is required for many grant applications.