We are passionate about restoration ecology. We are not landscapers, and we don't do traditional landscaping. Our aim is to make room for indigenous plant and animal communities that have long been suppressed and marginalized in the landscapes we live on. PDC studies and restores native plant communities using a strict ecological model, for private and public entities. The restorations double as biodiversity education efforts by involving clients and their communities in aspects of the project. An identifying characteristic of our projects is that we transform lawns and species-poor old fields, as well as other systems in a poor state of health, into rich plant communities that are modeled after natural plant communities nearby. We also utilize local genotype plants as a priority in plant and seed sourcing. Our designs and installations integrate native systems and cultural landscapes

We conduct education-based biological surveys for private and public entities. We offer this service on a variety of scales, from simple single-day natural resource assessments, to detailed and involved plant community classification and mapping. Want to know what natural resources you have on your piece of land and how best to manage them? Want to know the unique natural history story that your landscape holds? Want an exhaustive list of all biota on your property? Our surveys accomplish these goals.

We offer research project solutions that explore the relationships between biodiversity renewal and urban ecosystem restoration. These include detailed comparative analysis of natural and anthropogenic contexts. We are also involved in many local and regional conservation efforts. For example, we are engaged with a developer and the community to install wildlife road crossings at an ecologically sensitive site in Albemarle County. We are also directly involved in assisting municipalities inventory, assess, and track biological resources.

We have created a network of local genotype native plant growers. This network not only fulfills a significant percentage of PDC's native plant installation needs, but also provides the general public with quality local native plant material. We currently grow around 50,000 plants and our network of growers includes Twinleaf Native Nursery, Little Bluestem Nursery, Hummingbird Hill Native Nursery and others. While options for purchasing our Local+Native plants are limited at this time, we do offer our surplus of plants to the public for sale throughout the season and our partner growers provide both wholesale and retail options so the general public has access to plants grown from the seeds we collect.

We publish materials related to native plants, animals, and habitats. These include presentations, flyers, posters, articles, exhibits, and interpretive signs. Well researched creative writing and high quality illustration are the backbone of the publications. Our vision is to help foster ecological literacy in the general public through our services and publications. A signature feature of our publications is that, while they may pertain to a specific species or habitat, the information published draws attention to connections and plant community dynamics as they exist on local landscapes.

We create custom state-of-the-art interactive tours of the geography, flora, and fauna of your property. We call this tool the "Explorer". It is built upon rigorous biological survey and features a dynamic map interface that is embedded with text, images, maps, and audio. The Explorer offers a simple and easy-to-share resource so you can introduce friends, family, and colleagues to the unique ecosystems, plants, animals, fungi, and geology of your landscape. Optimized for mobile devices, the Explorer can be enjoyed from your desktop or brought with you into the field.

PDC creates programming related to our projects, for schools, clubs, and other public and private groups, all focused on local ecology and biodiversity. We work regularly with private and public groups and individuals to provide quality consulting, training, and education on matters pertaining to natural resources in the Piedmont. In addition to natural history training and curricula development, we offer custom natural history and ecology presentations and expeditions.

Our trail designs integrate cultural and natural landscape elements. The language of your landscape drives the design. We aim to create an experience of tranquility while maximizing the ability of users to learn more about the natural and cultural resources on the landscape. PDC employs a unique trail design approach that doubles as a biological survey and cultural resource inventory. With this approach PDC identifies experiential hot-spots and unique opportunities previously unseen. Our trails utilize existing historic paths/roads and allow unique cultural and natural resources to direct navigation. We route trails with the contours to minimize impact and reduce erosion and always try to involve the clients in a way that fosters biodiversity education.