May 24, 2011
-For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Conbere, DRPress@drintl.com, 301-588-9387
Dedication Ceremony Honors Unique Partnership on Montgomery County Garden
Silver Spring, MD, May 24, 2011 — D&R International, a Silver Spring-based environmental consulting firm, partnered with the Montgomery County Department of Parks to dedicate the county’s first voluntary government-business garden today.
“D&R has practiced partnerships throughout its 26-year history and believes in the power they bring in transforming markets and solving problems,” said D&R President David Steiner. “The Xeriscape Demonstration Garden at Woodside Urban Park is a living symbol of how cultivating change together can create a more beautiful environment and a healthier community.” The inspiration for the project was the company’s co-founder, John Rivera, an environmental advocate for 40 years.
Mr. Steiner and Montgomery County Department of Parks Director Mary Bradford were joined by Montgomery County Department of Recreation Director Gabriel Albornoz, Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin, and neighbors also attended the one-hour ceremony.
“D&R contacted us last June wanting to mark their 25th anniversary in business with community service,” said Ms. Bradford. “We were pleased they looked at Woodside Urban Park here in Silver Spring as the most appropriate venue to do so.”
Senator Raskin spoke on the importance of companies partnering with government. “In cultivating this magnificent garden, D&R is turning back to the community to make it more beautiful, more green, and more peaceful. This is a model of what a real public-private partnership should be.”
Woodside Urban Park is located at the corner of Spring Street and Georgia Avenue, the northern gateway to downtown Silver Spring. The 1,200-square-foot garden includes more than 500 low-maintenance, drought-tolerant native plants and shrubs. Xeriscape gardening is ideally suited to regions that experience drought and an environmentally sensitive approach to gardening in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The garden will also serve as an educational site for school groups and the public. D&R will maintain the garden with guidance from the Parks Department.
D&R worked closely with the Parks Development Division on garden layout, plant selection, and many other project details. In October 2010, D&R staff and their families joined members of the Parks Department and the community to plant 45 varieties of drought-tolerant, native plants. Bray & Scarff, a local kitchen and appliance retailer, provided financial support for the project. Greenlink, a local landscaping company, donated shrubs.
Visit http://www.drintl.com/social-responsibility and D&R’s Facebook page for photos and project information.
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Founded in 1985 and based in Silver Spring, Maryland, D&R International is an environmental consulting firm that serves business, government, and nonprofits.