For professional landscapers, every day is Earth Day! We understand that we are stewards of the environment. The flourishing landscape you enjoy is the result of ongoing and often unseen work to make it happen. Professional landscapers continuously work with nature, so Earth Day offers a moment to pause and reflect on the importance to all of us. While some may think of landscaping as merely mowing grass and raking leaves, there are many different and eco-friendly aspects to the work we do. Ultimately, all of the actions we take and decisions we make have a direct impact on our environment.

Today, more than 1 billion people participate in Earth Day activities, making it the largest civic observance in the world. A day where communities gather together to create awareness on how we can protect and restore the planet. However, celebrating Earth Day in the era of COVID-19 has a special meaning this year and we take our role as essential service providers very seriously.

In our increasingly interconnected world, one of the most important indicators of sustainable development is health. We rely on healthy ecosystems to support healthy communities. While landscape professionals focus on maintaining and protecting the living environment, healthcare providers globally stand on the frontlines of optimizing the health of our communities. As we are currently faced with the negative health impacts of COVID-19, the heroism of our frontline healthcare soldiers and first responders fighting a deadly war deserves special recognition.

As Earth Day marks 50 years, the message we share to ‘think globally and act locally’ has never been more timely or important. As a small token of gratitude, JML Landscape Management, LLC has been trying to honor many of the first responders in our area. From lunch, prepared by Jim Greico at Greico’s Carefree Inn for the police officers in Fox Chapel and Indiana Township and the staff at UPMC St. Margaret’s and North Hills Passavant to safety glasses for firemen in Monroeville, JML is trying to make a difference. We were also able to give a gift card for lunches to the Murrysville Medic One crew in Murrysville so that they could take a break and relax with a meal from the North Park Lounge. We are hoping to honor more people in the future as these unprecedented difficult times continue. We are thankful to these heroes, who are risking their own health and safety to serve our community.

This Earth Day, we stand united as one community, one planet, fighting one common enemy.