Qualifications

• Began in the landscape and tree business in 1968 at age 13

• Worked for landscaping and tree care businesses from 1968 – 1980

• Co-founded Plantscapes, Inc., with brother, Dan, in 1981

• MS, Plant & Soil Science, University of Maine

• CT Licensed Custom Grounds Supervisor and Certified Arborist for over 30 years

• Past president of the CT Grounds Keepers Association

• CT Nursery & Landscape Assn. (CNLA) Accredited Nursery Professional

• Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Accredited Organic Land Care Professional

• Founding member of the CT/MA Northeast Organic Farming Association Organic Land Care Program & Board Member

• A drafter of the NOFA Standards for Organic Land Care – Practices for Design and Maintenance of Ecological Landscapes, the first and only organic land care standards in the country

• An instructor of the five-day NOFA Professional Organic Land Care Accreditation Course

• A drafter of the NOFA Organic Lawn & Turf Course Manual, the only 100% organic manual for the care of athletic fields and home lawns

• An instructor for the NOFA Organic Lawn & Turf Course

• Presenter of workshops on landscape restoration and habitat creation using natural and organic landscaping techniques

• Published writer on ecological, sustainable and organic land care topics

• Designer and builder of ecological landscapes, with a passion for wetlands, meadows, woodlands, and almost anything that increases the use of native plants and reduces high maintenance turf and synthetic pesticide and fertilizer use

• Builder of engineered storm water and sub-surface water biofiltration gardens

• Work with CT town conservation and inland wetland commissions (Fairfield, Darien, Westport, Stamford, New Canaan, Wilton) to improve water quality in wetland habitats, restore native vegetation in both upland and bottomland environments, and develop long-term conventional and organic land care programs.