BrightView Teams Partner with Clients and Communities on Earth Day

Earth Day is significant in the landscape industry because it celebrates the beautiful and sustainable environments that our teams work to create every day. This year many of our teams found creative ways to engage with community partners and clients to celebrate and give back.

BrightView teams in Columbus, Ohio, partnered with Columbus State Community College (CSCC) and its Green Infrastructure Program to renovate Sharon Meadows Park. The park sits just north of CSCC’s campus and once was home to the Sharon School building that closed a decade ago. The building compacted the soil and restricted rainwater drainage, leaving behind an ugly wet area that attracted mosquitos.

After receiving complaints from the community, the parks department contacted CSCC, which immediately reached out to BrightView as a partner in the Green Infrastructure Program. The program received grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Ohio EPA to fund the project.

“We wanted to make certain areas of the park drier and therefore functional while turning other areas into small ponds,” said Eric Klopfer, Branch Manager at BrightView’s Columbus East branch.

BrightView first drained the area, then installed walkways, and added limestone and sitting areas.

“The students at CSCC and members of the community were very excited to transform the park so our job was to create the plan, supply the materials, and then coach the volunteers,” Klopfer said.

On Earth Day, the team joined 25 students and more than 30 community members to install 20,000 plants and turn what was once standing water into a constructed wetland and sedge meadow.

The college will be using the new space to educate students on green infrastructure and stormwater control and the Columbus public school system will use the park to educate students about plants.

Other great examples of how our teams celebrate Earth Day by sharing our knowledge and investing in our relationships with our clients and communities:

• Our team in Doral, Fla., donated more than 1,300 potted plants and herbs to The Offices at Downtown Doral for their tenants to take home on Earth Day. The herbs included cilantro, parsley, oregano, dill, thyme, mint, lemon balm, colias, pentas, and more. The Doral team also teamed up with Intercontinental at Doral Miami to plant a two-section, 20-foot-by-4-foot garden to grown herbs and vegetables from Peru, Mexico, and other countries for the chefs at Blue Matisse and NAU Lounge.
• Team members in Orange County, Calif., donated 521 plants and joined volunteers from Kiwanis Club of Lake Forest, the Lake Forest Garden Club, and the community to enhance Lake Forest Serrano Creek Park.
• BrightView in Chicago strengthened their partnership with Chicago Gateway Green and planted 70 rose bushes donated by the Chicago Flower and Garden show at the DePorter Gateway.
• In Southern California, our team stopped by Harrah’s SoCal Resort to hand out succulents to the resort’s employees and provided suggestions on how to be more sustainable at home.