Richard is a 30-year green industry professional establishing Richard A. McCoy Horticultural Services Inc. in 1993. He has been offering environmentally and sustainably responsible, fine-gardening design, installations, maintenance and organic lawn care since 2005. His work at Stony Wood Garden, a 3.5-acre private woodland garden in Princeton, NJ, has been recognized by The Smithsonian Institute’s Archives of American Gardens. Richard is an advisor and practitioner council member for The Organic Landscape Association, a nationally recognized organization. Richard is a member of Rutgers University’s Organic Land Care Working Group and is a co-contributor to the Rutgers Organic Land Care Best Management Practices Manual. He holds a Certificate of Organic Land Care through the Rutgers Organic Land Care Program, is a certified Natural Turf and Landscape Manager, an Organic Lawn Care Accredited Professional and has acted on the Board of Directors of the New Jersey Organic Land Care Association (NJOLA). He has contributed to Organic Gardens Today Magazine and hopes to raise public awareness through his work and collaboration.
DESCRIPTION: Participants will learn how our industry can correct the past and current landscape practices that damage our ecosystems. This discussion on how habitat fragmentation of natural areas by Shopping malls, office complexes, farming, large residential and commercial lawns maintained with synthetic chemicals are some of the leading causes of avian and invertebrate animal species decline.
The 'green' industry can become part of the solution by viewing landscape maintenance and construction through a different lens. This new perspective relies on not just whether a plant is visually appealing. However, it depends on native plants that are both aesthetically pleasing and ecologically productive. When we remove unnecessary or problematic lawn monocultures from the landscape and replace them with new and improved green infrastructure methods, we can build ecologically productive landscapes that manage stormwater, restore ecological diversity, and return valuable ecosystem services to the landscape. Discussion Points:
