Welcome to Environmental Design Group – We are the Community IMPACT People!
June 24, 2016 |
Written by: Dwayne Groll, P.E., LEED-AP, President
We often get asked, when meeting someone new, “What does Environmental Design Group do? – I’ve heard your name associated with projects that I’m familiar with, but what was your involvement?”
The answer to that question often starts with defining why we do what we do. We have an overarching mission – live our professional lives bonded as a close knit, dynamic, collaborative team to drive positive impacts in communities – in ways that preserve the natural environment, make the best use of natural resources, provide safe and effective infrastructure, and improves the quality of life by balancing natural and built structures with the human aesthetic. We are known, and continue to strive to be known as the community IMPACT people!
We shape the future of the Midwest, through teams of dedicated professionals, in the disciplines of civil engineering, landscape architecture, planning, surveying, environmental sciences, and construction administration. Environmental Design Group’s collaborative approach challenges the status quo to deliver a lasting community impact that measurably improves the well-being of people and communities. Our Story illustrates our team, our philosophy – and great projects!
How did we get to where we are today? Our roots go back to 1984 and the decades leading up to that point. The country had been through a tough period of environmental and social degradation as society grew significantly, highlighted (or lowlighted) in the Midwest by the appalling conditions of the Cuyahoga River – slapped with the “Burning River” moniker, that still lives today.
Rising from this social and environmental despair came the Clean Water Act, the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency, and a firm that would challenge the status quo, focus on helping communities and their citizens positively impact the environment, bearing the name, Environmental Design Group.
Our firm continues to grow organically today, strengthened by our culture. A culture framed by our core values: Integrity; Family; Passion; Trust; Advocacy; Sustainability (see updated values: https://www.envdesigngroup.com/about/). We live these words every day in our actions. These values, along with our core competencies, are how we evaluate professionals interested in joining the firm, how we evaluate associates in their performance, how we evaluate service providers and partners with the organization – and how we evaluate existing and potential clients. Our values, coupled with passionate strong leadership in communities and within Environmental Design Group, provide the platform from which we make a difference, from which we make an impact.
In addition to being a team member and being able to collaborate on great projects, one of the most satisfying sights that I cherish is to see our associates engaged beyond their technical disciplines. Seeing associates and their families volunteering in community based endeavors, engaged on a board of an impactful non-profit, planting trees in a park, rehabilitating homes for those less fortunate, working with schools and universities to promote careers in the sciences – makes every day a great day.
Out on Lake Erie recently, pursuing the elusive walleye, I was reminded of the old saying, “a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work.” I believe in my heart that a day of work at Environmental Design Group is almost better than a day of fishing, good or bad. I did say almost!
Until we talk again…..
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