What is Sustainability?   

Protecting Our Natural Environment 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency describes sustainability as being based on the principle that:

With increased concerns regarding how individual actions affect natural resources and the environment, Cedar Run Landscapes has taken steps to lead the way in sustainable living.

As a property owner there are many things an individual can do to help restore local wildlife, improve air quality, and protect water resources. Here are several products and services we provide to help property owners lead a sustainable life:

Storm Water Management:  

Rain gardens capture rain water and provide a great environment for native plants and wildlife.

Cedar Run  

Landscapes prides itself in its integrated approach to solving storm water issues. Rain gardens, bioswales, permeable surfaces, rain barrels, infiltration wells and harvesting systems can all be incorporated and interchanged depending on the size of the property. These systems work together to capture, filter and infiltrate storm water to minimize run off.

Incorporating Native Plantings:

Native plants are better adapted to the local environmental conditions; being less stressed, using less water and being less susceptible to diseases and pests. This provides value to the homeowner as less maintenance will be needed to keep their landscape thriving. Native plants also attract local wildlife such as birds and butterflies by providing food and shelter.

Fertilization:

High levels of nutrients from run off feeds an algae bloom.

Over use of fertilizers in the residential setting has raised concern about the water quality of our lakes, rivers and streams. Phosphorus, a major contributor to freshwater algae blooms, has been eliminated from our lawn fertilization program. Having an understanding of what type of fertilizer is needed; a soil test (done every 2-4 years pending on soil type) is done to determine the current nutrient levels. This minimizes unnecessary fertilization and prevents high levels of nutrients from entering our water ways.

Contact Us if you would like to decrease your impact on our environment.     

 What We are Doing  

Not only do we create sustainable landscapes for homeowners but Cedar Run Landscapes has taken steps  to decrease the company's environmental impacts on the environment.

• Our energy use at our office is 100% offset by wind energy.
• An intensive recycling program is in place to minimize land fill waste, a large source of methane gas emissions.
• We use harvested rain water  to water nursery stock, fill our water feature displays, and wash our trucks, minimizing our use of municipal water.
• LED lighting has been installed in office spaces and throughout our display gardens.  
• Utilizing the numerous local suppliers within the industry we minimize transportation emissions  while strengthening the local economy. 

Involvement in the Community 

We are Stepping Up  

Students at Montgomery Elementary learning about Pitcher Plants and how the function as part of a bog ecosystem.

It is important to take an active role in our community and participate in organizations that bring people together to collaborate and exchange ideas on ways to improve our environment.

In the past we have volunteered our time and resources to participate in:

• Alex's Lemonade Stand "Pond Tour for the Cure," showcasing some of our beautiful pond installations with fellow Aquascape contractors in the Delaware Valley. 
• Donated a retired truck (one from our original fleet!) to the Montgomery Township Fire Department, for use in emergency extraction exercises
• Helping  Knapp Elementary School maintain their water feature
• Donated soil, labor and equipment to  Shady Grove Elementary School in creating a veggie garden.  Click here to see how the garden is doing.
• "Ponds For Kids", a program with Montgomery Elementary school, where we built a rainwater harvesting system, pond and rain garden.

We are also a member of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia (SBN) where we have taken an active roll in the Business United for Conservation (BUC) . The SBN core principles include:

-          Sustainably and respect for the earth

-          Community self-reliance and cooperation

-          Diversity

-          Optimism

-          Authenticity and accountability

-          Pioneering leadership