We work with businesses and homeowners alike.
Whether you’re a builder working on a new house, a small business looking for property maintenance, a recent retiree looking to upgrade your surroundings, or a municipality looking for support—we can help you achieve your goals.
We are a design/build company.
This means we create landscape designs (e.g., where to put plants, garden beds, walkways, pergolas, etc.); and do the “build” aspect of actually planting the plants, installing the walkways, etc. Some companies do only one of these. We do both. For more information, please see our Services section here. <create a link>
We are an employee-owned cooperative business located in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts.
We’re mission-driven in that we seek to enhance the quality of life of our clients, provide meaningful work for ourselves, and implement sustainable designs and solutions. In that sense we’re different from many companies. We don’t offer just the standard traditional services—such as mulching, mowing, pruning, etc. We do offer those but we also offer you the opportunity to move towards healthier and more sustainable solutions. Where we can, we seek to use electric equipment to reduce air and noise pollution. We avoid synthetic pesticides, using organic ones or other alternatives that keep soils and plants healthy. We think more systemically about your property and we don’t take shortcuts. At the end of the day, we don’t just want you to feel good about the work we’ve done for you, but we want you to feel like you’ve made a difference in our lives and in your community.
Our Members
Eric
Eric grew up landscaping his parent’s backyard and exploring nearby woods. Since then, he has visited over 75 organizations worldwide that work with issues of economic development, sustainable livelihoods, and renewable energy. In the process he spent 1 ½ years working with Grupo Fenix in Nicaragua; and 5 weeks in Brazil where he studied a fish and biogas system based on traditional Chinese agriculture. Eric has worked extensively in technology organizations, where he has worked across the whole gamut from programming to graphic arts to IT support.
He has also earned the following certificates:
- Systems Design through ZERI (Zero Emissions Research & Initiatives),
- Permaculture Design (PDC)
- City & Guilds Basic Carpentry
- LEED Green Associate
- System Thinking certificate through the Haines Institute.
Eric has served the board of Wellspring Harvest, the urban hydroponics business established by Wellspring Cooperative.
Luis
Luis has 16 years of experience working in landscaping in the United States. Prior to that he was a founding member of an aquaculture cooperative raising tilapia in the area of Piedras Blancas, Mapastepec, Mexico, where he also served as president of the executive committee for Piedras Blancas; and where he continues to maintain a small fruit farm, including avocado and mango trees. Later, in the US he began to work in landscaping. He also participated as a community representative for immigrants in working with the Pioneer Valley Worker Center, located in Northampton, MA. Luis has worked with members of Wellspring Cooperative in the past.
Alyssa
Alyssa grew up gardening in Brooklyn, New York. Her urban upbringing gave her a great appreciation for how gardens, even the humblest ones, can be invaluable sources of serenity and well-being in a hectic world. She moved to Western Massachusetts to attend graduate school at UMass Amherst, where she earned a Masters’ degree in sociology. She currently has four plots in the Northampton community garden, where she practices no-till, no-dig organic vegetable and mushroom gardening. Alyssa is passionate about sustainability, wildlife, and protecting our region’s ecosystems and biodiversity. She loves creating landscapes where humans can exist harmoniously within nature.