Community Partner SPOTLIGHT: EcoGardens757
Your name: Dan McGregor
Your position: Owner/Landscaper
Company name: EcoGardens757
Phone Number: 757-708-8946
Industry: Landscaping
Pronouns: He/Him
Describe what EcoGardens757 Does:
EcoGardens757 is a small gardening and landscaping business focused on supporting the local ecology in Hampton Roads. Our mission is to improve the health of our human and nonhuman communities by increasing biodiversity, educating our clients, and fostering a connection to the region we call home.
We do everything from design to installation to maintenance of native plants and edible food gardens. We also work with nonprofits such as the Elizabeth River Trail and the Elizabeth River Project to educate volunteers on the maintenance of native plant gardens.
Tell us about yourself and your work in the organization?
I grew up in Virginia Beach near London Bridge Creek. My dad helped me gain a love of the outdoors by taking me paddling all around Hampton Roads; the North Landing River, Lynnhaven River, and various creeks and waterways. When I was in my late teens I discovered a love of foraging. I would walk the old Norfolk-Southern line by my parents’ house and pick blackberries, mulberries, and black cherries. I then realized I could plant those same plants in my yard and that there was such a thing as a “food forest.” After learning that, I started wondering what plants the Indigenous people of this area cultivated before colonization. That started my love of native plants and helped deepen my love for this bioregion.
I started EcoGardens with Chris Beach because we both wanted to live in a place that celebrated its native flora and fauna. We want to live in a neighborhood that is alive with bees, butterflies, and birds. We want to walk down the street and pick blueberries and pawpaws. We want our community to be a part of the land and the water that surrounds us instead of being at odds with it.
How did you get connected to the Elizabeth River Trail?
I live in the Kensington neighborhood, just across Hampton Blvd from the ERT, and I am so happy to live in a bikeable and walkable area! Whenever I have free time, I love to bike along the trail through West Ghent to Plum Point Park or through Lambert’s Point to the old golf course or to the bridge on Hampton Blvd. We got connected to the ERT through our work at the Elizabeth River Project’s Ryan Lab. I would love to see the trail as a habitat corridor running throughout Norfolk.
Given your background and the nature of what you do, what benefits do you feel the trail has for the community?
Being able to walk and bike places in our city is crucial to our mental, physical and spiritual health. When we can experience our community at that pace, it helps us feel like we really inhabit this place, rather than just move through it from point A to point B. Being able to run into friends and neighbors and have a quick chat, or to notice a new garden or business, is so important!
What’s your favorite trail moment?
I think it is the first time I ever went to Lambert’s Point Open Space. Seeing the river and the city from such a height seemed impossible in our coastal plain city. It was breathtaking.
Favorite Trailgrazing spot? (i.e. best local food spot steps from the trail)
The mulberry tree between W. Olney Rd. and Boissevain Ave, by Reverend Spirits.
Best view of the Elizabeth River from the trail?
The Lambert’s Point Open Space.
