Chris E. Hecht Design and Landscape Construction, Inc.
Statement of Environmental Approach
Statement of “Green” Practices

We have been designing and installing environmentally sensitive, and ecologically friendly landscapes for over 28 years of work in the Bay Area.  We use no pesticides, or commercial fertilizers. We routinely use organic soil amendments, and mulch all gardens heavily to avoid soil erosion, conserve water, and minimize weeds. We are very sensitive to water pollution issues, handling materials and construction processes to avoid polluting runoff. We select plants from a Mediterranean, low water use plant palette routinely, also employing many natives in our planting schemes.

We install water-conserving drip irrigation on almost all projects, and water-saving moisture-sensing irrigation controllers.  We are sensitive to light pollution in low voltage lighting installations.  We are helping to re-vegetate formerly arid areas, in creating new garden installations in general, and specifically and especially in our work with the City of Oakland on projects such as the Gateway Gardens project which we designed and built, located near the Caldecott Tunnel. We have been a leader in innovative installations using solar power, for powering pond and water feature pumps, and solar powered irrigation controllers, in remote, “off-grid” locations.

In approaching our projects we attempt to minimize major grading and landform changes, working mostly with existing landscape contours. We have completed many hillside restoration projects, in rebuilding and restoring land affected by landslides, performing landslide mitigation, and slope restoration and re-vegetation. We have been involved in numerous creek restoration and reclamation projects, handled with an environmentally sensitive, habitat-restorative approach. We strive for pollinator-friendly and wildlife-feeding planting schemes.  We recycle old materials disposed of from a worksite as we can, sometimes re-using site-generated debris such as concrete, or typically taking it to a concrete recycling facility. 

All in all, we have been one of the pioneers of a "green approach" to landscape development among landscape companies in our area.