Business of Buffers

This online course, led by Justin Ulanoski, of Native Creations Landscaping, will cover the practical aspects of running a successful riparian buffer contracting operation. Topics will include best practices for managing field work, crew training, tools & equipment, estimating & budgets, and working with nonprofit partners.

A panel of guests will contribute to the conversation. Join us and add your business to the growing network of contractors planting and managing buffers to improve water quality across the Bay region.

2.5 CBLP CEUs will be available.

Panelists Information:

Justin Ulanoski:

Justin Ulanoski is a graduate of King’s College with a bachelor’s in Environmental Studies. Throughout high school & college, Justin developed a passion for landscape & environment while working with a local landscape company & being actively involved with Boy Scouts of America where he obtained the rank of Eagle Scout. After college, he went on to work as an environmental scientist where he conducted wetland delineations & developed his interest in native plants & conservation. Justin joined a reforestation company, where he continued to develop his passion for conservation & native plants. During his 8.5 years with the company, Justin wrote & implemented hundreds of conservation & reforestation plans for forested riparian buffers, wetland restoration/mitigation, land & mine reclamation, & wildlife habitat projects for over 30,000 acres throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, New York, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, & North Carolina. After holding the position of regional manager, Justin decided to follow his goals of forming a conservation landscape company & founded Native Creations in 2013 with a focus of bringing his knowledge of native plants into residential & commercial landscapes, as well as continuing to install forested riparian buffers for conservation benefits.

Since the formation of Native Creations , they have been planting riparian buffers with numerous conservancies and conservation partners throughout Northeast and Central Pennsylvania and have written numerous conservation plans, implementing hundreds of acres of riparian buffers, pollinator meadows & wildlife habitat plantings. They have also written & implemented numerous residential & commercial landscape plans with native plant species.

As of 2018, Justin obtained Level 1 Certification for conservation landscape installation & verification under the Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP) in order to further his understanding and commitment of designing and implementing sustainable landscapes as well as implementation, inspection, and design of stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs). Currently, Justin has also become a trainer for the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council.

 

Amber Ellis:

Amber Ellis is the Restoration Director with the James River Association. Building diverse partnerships to restore streamside forests is at the heart of her work across the James River watershed. Since 2019, Amber has served as the convener for the Upper and Middle James Riparian Consortium and manages the James River Buffer Program. She earned a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Virginia Tech, where she learned how to create landscapes that enrich both our human and natural communities. She is a Professional Landscape Architect in Virginia, a Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional, and has a certificate in Ecotherapy through the EarthBody Institute.

 

Jay Ashby:

University of Delaware, Bachelor of Science in Agriculture ‘92

ISA Certified Arborist and Municipal Specialist PD 2050 AM

MD LTE # 2204

NJ LTE # 641

Delaware Certified Nursery Professional.

Delaware Dept of Agriculture, Urban and Community Forestry Council Member and Current Chair

Have Been involved in Delaware Green Industry for the last 35 years. (Install, Design, Maintenance, Sales, ETC.)

Currently Director of Operations at Cypress Tree Care, LLC.

 

Cara Mattlin

Cara Mattlin is the Nursery Manager at Ecotone, LLC, an ecological restoration company based in Forest Hill, MD. She has worked in the industry for over six years, mostly as a horticulturalist, but also as a field technician performing tree, wildlife, and invasive surveys as well as wetland delineations and landscape designs. She also manages the forestry team which performs planting, maintenance, invasive management, monitoring, etc. As Ecotone’s native nursery expands, Cara is heavily focused on sourcing local, genetically diverse plants. She fosters relationships with organizations such as non-profits and other nurseries to promote expertise and skills to meet goals of environmental restoration projects. Industry growth demands skilled maintenance technicians, and Ecotone has acknowledged this by assembling a team dedicated to properly managing our valuable land.

 

Nick Myers

Nick is the Maintenance Supervisor for LandStudies, Inc. in Lancaster County, PA, and oversees all of their natural area maintenance, which is primarily invasive species management. He has been with LSI for 11 years after returning from graduate school at Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs. He’s been involved in ecological restoration since 2001 and has worked for private restoration companies, local parks, and non-profits for much of that time. His “offices” have been in wetlands, prairies, and forested sites across 7 different states. He’s really good at getting equipment stuck in the mud and has a large quarter jar for talking about plants un-asked.

 

Harrison Woytko

Harrison Woytko is the President of Boulder Landscape, LLC, a landscape & hardscape design/build company located in Berwick, PA.

Prior to working at Boulder Landscape, he has served a variety of engineering roles in heavy metal manufacturing and oil & gas field sectors. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Delaware.

Harrison resides in Berwick, PA and spends his free time with family, friends, and his golden retriever Frankie. He enjoys traveling as much as possible along with frequenting the Adirondack Mountains in upstate NY.

 

Jennifer Dombroskie

Jennifer currently manages the riparian program at ClearWater Conservancy, a non-profit organization in Centre County.  ClearWater’s mission is to conserve and restore our natiral resources through land conservation, water resources stewardship, and environmental outreach across central Pennsylvania.  The riparian program focuses on restoring and stewarding streamside forests.

 

Lowrie Tucker (Lowrie)

I started in this industry as a forestry technician for the USDA Forest Service. I then worked for Virginia’s Conservation Districts and County Governments, specifically in Erosion and Sediment Control. In September 2010, I joined the Conservation Services team. I spend most of my day consulting with customers, discussing and fulfilling their needs. I graduated from Emory and Henry with a B.S. in Environmental Studies and received a M.S. in Organizational Leadership from Shenandoah University. I live in Crozet with my wife Jillian, my son Walter and my daughter Claire. When I am not at work, I spend time with my family, visiting friends and traveling to other parts of the country on trips that generally include a visit to the national parks.