Conservation Solutions

Environmentally sensitive areas are regulated under the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). That simply means that anything we want to do on parcels of land that have wetlands or evidence of endangered species among other qualifiers has to go through a permitting process. People tend to find this a daunting imposition, but it really doesn’t have to be that way. When you know the laws, understand the land, the client goals and work with the Conservation Agencies to gain approval, the outcome can be a win for you and a big win for our environment.

This Medfield home abuts an active wetland environment that has a running vernal stream below the lawn area. Much of the lower back yard lawn area would get soggy and be hard to mow. The client had put on a nice addition and deck and were using the back of the home more and realized that the back was not attractive. We worked with them to create a design that would make the steeply sloped back yard useable, reduce the lawn area, add plants for color and interest, and even add a small sitting patio with a mobile fire pit. The Conservation Commission loved our design and gave us the green light to construct. We put all the necessary protections in place before we started and worked carefully to build the landscape in a manner that would do no harm to the wetlands. The outcome is a vibrantly colorful landscape, more active play and relaxation spaces, and more habitat support for the wetland species of birds and butterflies.