Last year, we began tracking our facility water use and learned our facilities
use only about one cubic meter of water per employee a year. Our two
nurseries use an overwhelming majority of this water for plant growth.
Our nurseries mostly obtain water from privately owned lakes rather than
municipal sources. Lake water is supplemented with groundwater from
on-site wells. Water not needed by plants is returned directly to the ground.
In the field, we use water for plant health care and maintenance, and to mix
chemicals. Because we operate throughout North America, including in regions
prone to drought conditions such as California, Colorado and Texas, responsible
water use is essential to our sustainable environment pillar. We strive to use
water responsibly in the field to limit our impacts on the environment and society.
In 2015, we worked to identify our water use in the
field. Using our chemical inventory as a proxy, we
estimated our field operations accounted for 257,364
cubic meters of water in 2015. Moving forward, we
plan to replace or remove water-intensive chemicals
from our inventory.
In addition to managing water within Davey Tree's operations, we also work
with clients to improve water efficiency. Creating the correct landscape for
a setting goes a long way toward water stewardship. Our specialists work
with clients to optimize their landscapes through selecting and siting plants
to work with their individual microclimate and educating clients on efficient
watering practices.
Save Our Water and Our Trees
In 2015, Davey Tree partnered with Save Our Water and California ReLeaf,
two California nonprofits, to help preserve the state's plant life. California,
which is experiencing one of the most severe droughts on record, is taking
action to reduce water consumption throughout the state. Sadly, as lawns
are neglected, trees across the state are dying. The Save Our Water and
Our Trees campaign seeks to educate Californians on the value of protecting
trees and how they can properly care for their trees while conserving water.
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