Developing Women, Building Leaders, Creating Partnerships

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we want to thank all the women who play an important role in landscaping.

From maintenance and construction to admin and employee services, these women in landscaping are vital to the success of EMI. Though landscaping has been a traditionally male-dominated industry, it is evolving to include more women than ever before. As of last year, about 10% of the landscape industry was female, and we at EMI are excited to work towards increasing this number.

Currently we have 5 women Crew Leaders, and we are working on developing several others for this role. We spoke with Rae Russel, a Crew Leader of two years at our Westerville shop to get her perspective on working in the Green Industry. She came to EMI new to the industry but excited to learn. After two years, she was encouraged by her managers and supervisors to step into her new role, taking on more responsibility and accountability. Rae has excelled by learning from those with more experience and finding what works best for her and her team. She accomplished an impressive goal of earning her journeyman’s license from EMI’s apprenticeship program last year. We asked what she wants other women to know about the landscape industry and she said, “Don’t be afraid to try new things. Women can do anything men can and there is so much opportunity to learn. If you are interested, take the leap, and try something new.”

This is an exciting time, including for women, as the landscaping industry is expanding rapidly and new opportunities are created every day, both in the field and in the office.

Westerville Crew Leader Rae Russell

Any individual who is passionate about the outdoors, likes hands-on work, and feels rewarded by making a difference on clients’ properties can be successful in landscaping. We want to encourage anyone who has these interests to give landscaping a try!

We asked crew leader Rae Russell what she wants other women to know about the landscape industry. Here is what she said. “Don’t be afraid to try new things. Women can do anything men can and there is so much opportunity to learn. If you are interested, take the leap, and try something new.”

In honor of our 30^th anniversary, we want to give back to the Columbus community which has helped us grow to where we are today. This month we would like to announce that we have partnered with Her Song, a ministry of the Tim Tebow Foundation. Her Song helps women who are survivors of human trafficking with residential support, programs, and spiritual growth opportunities. We are working on creating a beautiful outdoor space at the organization’s new Columbus location to provide these survivors a place for healing. We will be sharing updates of this project on our website and social media so you can see the transformation. Check out their website to learn more about this awesome organization and to learn how you can get involved!