Sept. 27, 2024

A new lawn and landscaping business focuses on a carbon-neutral approach and “mindful landscaping.”

Cody Siewert started Greenie Lawn & Landscaping in the spring. He has a doctorate degree in higher education and spent many years working at universities and health care systems.

“It’s my passion,” Siewert said. “I have a different background than a lot of folks. In March, I quit my job of 11 years at Avera to start this business.”

Siewert, who grew up on a small farm near Yankton, said using organic chemicals and electric tools allows him to “go home at night knowing I didn’t poison any of my workers or the environment.”

Greenie Lawn & Landscaping offers eco-friendly mowing through the use of electric lawnmowers. Siewert said electric mowers are “whisper-quiet” compared with gas-powered mowers and eliminate the exhaust fumes, which contain pollutants.

“As electric tools are not belt-driven, they require basically no maintenance for me,” Siewert said. “In the many years I’ve been working with machines, there’s been barely any regulation to improve the productivity of small gas/diesel-powered engines, let alone to mitigate the environmental hazards coming out of those machines.”

Siewert said the EPA estimates that 5 percent to 10 percent of air pollution is emitted through gas-powered lawn tools in the U.S.

“I’m focused more on carbon neutrality than anything,” Siewert said. “I’ve got a trailer with solar panels, and all of my commercial equipment is electrically charged. The average mower puts out like eight cars’ worth of pollutants a year.”

On top of thinking green, Siewert said his services stay affordable because of the lack of maintenance the tools require.

“Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of interest in mindful landscaping at the moment,” Siewert said. “But I believe there is going to come a time when people will have to plant way more heat-resistant and less water-consuming plants.”

Greenie Lawn & Landscaping currently employs three people and is considering hiring seasonal help, Siewert said. It offers landscaping services, tears out old landscaping, works on drainage-type projects and will offer snow removal and holiday lighting in the winter.