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Sustainable Yard Care Resources for Homeowners
There are many programs in New Jersey that are centered on environmentally friendly practices for landscaping and yard care. Programs like Jersey-Friendly Yards provide guidance on the different steps you can take to reduce the environmental impact of your landscaping and garden practices. For example, they cover planting of native vegetation to reduce chemical fertilizer and pesticide use, conducting soil tests to maintain soil health, composting yard, home, and garden waste, and strategies to conserve water used for irrigation.
These programs are filled with a wealth of tools and guidelines to complete all these tasks (and more!) minus one critical piece: information on professional landscape and yard companies capable of providing these, and other, environmentally friendly services. From landscape and yard design to plant installation and maintenance, many homeowners have approached County Agents and horticultural staff asking if they know of any “eco-friendly or native plant landscape companies” in their local area.
To assist you, below are descriptions of various programs that provide certification to landscape or lawn care companies that help to protect the environment as well as any available directories for you to locate any such certified companies. The inclusion of these resources will help you find a landscape professional that meets your sustainable yard care needs.
This newsletter is part of a series of educational newsletters for our Earth Day Every Day program through Rutgers Cooperative Extension, which also consists of educational webinars hosted since 2020 to cover a wide range of environmental issues in New Jersey.
A note on these resources:
The information presented below is simply the resources available to homeowners who have already determined they wish to conduct environmentally friendly landscaping. Rutgers Cooperative Extension has already published several “How to Hire” fact sheets that describe the steps needed to acquire the services of tree professionals, landscape maintenance professionals, and lawn care companies. The information in these fact sheets should be consulted before using the resources described below.
- How to Hire a Tree Care Professional
- How to Hire a Landscape Maintenance Professional
- How to Hire a Lawn Care Company
All of the resources listed below can be found at the Sustainable Yard Care Resources for Homeowners web page.
There are many online resources available to those who are interested in finding an environmentally friendly landscape professional. Rutgers University resources (indicated with Rutgers) can be counted on to provide dependable and verified information that is specific to New Jersey residents. In many cases, these Rutgers resources should be the first stop for reliable knowledge for the people of the Garden State.
It is worth noting that many of these resources were compiled several years ago and that you may need to verify that the company is either still certified by the program it is listed under or that they have maintained the same certified staff or experience to conduct your specific needs.
New Jersey
Organic Land Care’s ‘Find a Landscaper’ Directory (Rutgers)
The Rutgers Organic Land Care Certificate Program provides education to landscapers and land care providers on practices for promoting healthy soil, enhancing biodiversity, and reducing polluted runoff from managed landscapes. ‘Organic’ practices encompass a holistic approach to landscaping that restores and enhances biological cycles involving soil microorganisms, plants, and animals. The core of the program is an in-depth course designed for professional landscapers, property managers, public works employees, groundskeepers, landscape architects, and Rutgers Master Gardeners. The class is going online with a virtual, asynchronous offering that should be available soon. Sign up to get the latest news and updates here.
The Organic Land Care ‘Find a Landscaper’ Directory lists those landscape professionals who have completed the requirements of the Organic Land Care Program. Note that the directory is organized by the county that the company or individual serves, not necessarily the county in which their business is located (Figure 1).
Figure 1: The Rutgers Organic Land Care ‘Find a Landscaper’ directory web page.
ProFACT Certified Applicators List (Rutgers)
The Professional Fertilizer Applicator Certification and Training (ProFACT) program was initiated by the State of New Jersey through the “New Jersey Fertilizer Law” (New Jersey Act P.L. 2010, c. 112 (C.58:10A-64)) enacted on January 5, 2011. This law does three things: 1) it establishes standards for fertilizer application to turfgrass, 2) it requires certification for professional fertilizer applicators, and 3) it regulates labeling and sale of fertilizers for turf. ProFACT is administered by Rutgers and provides online education and testing for professional fertilizer applicators seeking to become either certified or trained. All materials used in the certification process were developed by Rutgers in consultation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and other stakeholders.
The ProFACT Certified Applicators List catalogues all the professional fertilizer applicators who have met the criteria for being a Certified Fertilizer Applicator (CFA) in New Jersey under the “New Jersey Fertilizer Law.” The list is sorted alphabetically by last name of certified individuals, but a homeowner can enter their own search criteria (such as municipality, company name, or certification date) to find a local fertilizer application expert (Figure 2).
Figure 2: The Rutgers ProFACT ‘Certified Applicators List’ directory webpage.
In addition, the ProFACT Trained Applicators List lists those trained applicators approved to apply fertilizer under the direct supervision of a CFA. Trained Fertilizer Applicators must receive annual training through the ProFACT program.
Note that fertilizer requirements for one’s yard can be determined through a soil test performed by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s Soil Testing Lab. All fees and sampling and handling procedures are available from their website or from your local County Cooperative Extension office.
Rain Garden Installation Services Directory for New Jersey (PDF fact sheet) (Rutgers)
A rain garden is a landscape feature consisting of a shallow depression that collects rainwater and melting snow. The rain garden allows for water to infiltrate slowly back into the soil and reduces any stormwater runoff issues, such as flooding and nonpoint source pollution. Many factors go into the proper siting, design, and installation of an effective rain garden.
To expand the use of rain gardens in New Jersey, Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s Water Resources Program provided a one and half day ‘Rain Garden Training for Professional Landscapers’. The training provided the information and skills required to install and maintain a rain garden. Those landscapers that took this training received a certificate of completion and were listed in the Rain Garden Installation Services Directory for New Jersey.
The directory lists those landscape companies or professionals who were certified by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s Water Resources Program ‘Rain Garden Training for Professional Landscapers.’ It divides the state into Northern and Southern regions to aid in selecting a landscaper for rain garden installation who serves counties in those regions. Note that this directory was published in August 2010, so please confirm with any contacted company that they still maintain their rain garden certification.
National
Ecological Landscape Alliance Eco-Directory
The Ecological Landscape Alliance (ELA) was founded in 1992 “to promote sustainable practices in landscape design, construction, and management”. ELA is committed to innovative ideas and includes members from both the professional landscape community as well as devoted gardeners. The organization holds a variety of webinars, garden tours, workshops, and conferences to increase the knowledge and skills of its members. The ELA Eco-Directory lists landscape professionals who promote ecologically and environmentally sound landscaping practices in their business. The directory is searchable by keyword, State, or specialty area (such as native plants, pollinators, or xeriscaping). While certification is not required to be included in this directory, each listing also includes any certifications the company may have acquired (Figure 3).
Figure 3: The Ecological Landscape Alliance ‘Member Directory’ web page.
Organic Land Care Professionals
The Northeast Organic Farming Association’s Organic Land Care (NOFA OLC) Program takes the principles of organic farming and applies them to the home landscape. This National NOFA OLC program is like the Rutgers Organic Land Care Program with many of the same practices and principles in common. NOFA OLC is “a sustainable ecological landscaping system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity”. They accomplish this goal by eliminating the use of synthetic (i.e., non-natural) pesticides or fertilizers.
The Organic Land Care Professionals guide lists those organic land care professionals who have completed all accreditation requirements with the NOFA OLC Program and who follow the NOFA Standards for Organic Land Care when offering organic services (Figure 4). The guide is a clickable map of the United States for homeowners to select their state of residence and then obtain a listing of all the NOFA OLC certified landscapers in that state. Once at the state listing, one may select their county of interest or narrow the list by the types of landscape services offered.
Figure 4: The NOFA Organic Land Care ‘Organic Land Care Professionals’ directory web page.
Other Resources
To find out where to get started, feel free to visit the Earth Day, Every Day Webinar Series and view any of the recordings under ‘Yard Care’.
Disclaimer: The author recognizes that they have not created an exhaustive list and that additional resources may be available and inadvertently omitted from this article.
