ENVIRONMENTAL PORTRAIT OF A LANDSCAPE ENGINEER

Who? Scott Mikowski
Title: Landscape engineer
How long have you been in landscaping?
I have been with the company for 16 yrs.
Who is your employer?
Ham Mock and Associates
Where is there office?
Corvallis, Oregon
Who are your clients?
The majority of our clients are in Linn and Benton Counties although we are State licensed.
About 95% are Residential and 5% are Commercial accounts.
What services do you provide? Landscape construction and maintenance.

Have you noticed any changes in your clients needs?
It use to be that we built walls with pressure treated 6” by 6’ wood,
This is full of toxins; now we mostly create stone walls.
We specialize in sprinklers more now.
It is more expensive initially to install but would save them money in the end.

What do you like most about your job?
I like the clients because; there interesting people and you never know what you are going to find out until you start talking to them. Enjoy the diversity. The only people that can afford your services are making more than 100 thousand a year.

What services do you provide to conserve water?
We provide a variety of plants and understand the needs of the landscape. Computerized controllers connected to the sprinklers are programmed according to each client’s needs. There are specialized controllers connected to a weather station that is call every day. This can be accessed for a $50 dollars a year or free through the internet.

Are there classes available to teach employees about water conservation?
There are classes offered by the companies that sell the sprinkler systems, and pipes. Others classes are offered by the community college for like the back flow testing.

Do you think your clients know that you are saving them money and conserving water?
I do not know how many people realize that we are saving them money. Most of these people make $100 thousand up to millions of dollars a year.

What do you like most about your job?
I like the clients because; there interesting people and you never know what you are going to find out until you start talking to them. I enjoy the diversity. My focus is working with sprinklers and I like installing them and teaching our clients how they work.