Hear what our staff has to say about working at Wildlands!

Our growth rate, in terms of employees, has averaged 21% annually over the past five years. We began as a seven-person team in Charlotte, NC in 2007 and have grown to 85 full-time professionals with offices in Charlotte, Raleigh, Asheville, NC; Charleston, SC; and Fairfax, VA. Our staff have dedicated their careers to improving the environment and we provide more than 15-years of experience as a firm. We recognize that people are our most valuable asset, and our firm has tenured employees that develop young talent. This approach results in low turnover and allows senior leadership to transfer knowledge, while building our internal culture.

We recently asked some staff what it is like working at Wildlands and here is what they shared:

“I enjoy working at Wildlands because I get to build my experience while working alongside professionals and experts in the field of stream restoration. At Wildlands, I appreciate having a balance between field work and office work, so that we never lose that connection, which really helps to ensure we get the best possible outcomes for our projects.”

“Working at Wildlands is exciting and engaging. The company is dynamic, innovative, and always working to improve. There are many ways to get involved and collaborating across teams, which is stimulating. Plus, co-workers feel like family and the perks are nice, too!”

“The ability to work on such a wide range of tasks throughout the year in both indoor and outdoor settings is continually refreshing. I relish the opportunity to make a direct impact through hands-on problem solving and applied resourcefulness in the reestablishment of native plant communities in my home state of North Carolina. I also love working for a company where I have room to grow in my role and work alongside people that I learn from daily and who help me succeed.”

“Working at Wildlands has been exciting in ways that I never imagined. While it has definitely included more ticks than I planned for, it has also included the most accepting and supportive work environment I’ve ever had the privilege to be a part of. I can’t wait to see what my future holds with Wildlands, because I know it will be awesome!”

“I’ve gotten to make various maps for different stages of projects for landowners, different cities, and different counties. I love working at Wildlands and being able to work with some of the best people I’ve ever met. In working with engineers, designers, and scientists, I’ve been able to understand what goes into different phases of our projects and how to do my job better. “

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Welcome Tim Morris to the Wildlands Team

We are pleased to announce that Tim Morris has joined the Wildlands team. Tim has been a long-time leader in restoration and mitigation in the southeast and mid-Atlantic regions, managing over 40 full-delivery mitigation projects and developing mitigation banks in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Maryland. His 30+ years of experience with a broad range of environmental restoration projects has given Tim a well-rounded approach to problem solving and a unique ability to manage complex, large-scale restoration projects. Tim’s philosophy on developing successful environmental restoration projects is to promote ownership of projects from the ground up. This involves informing and training the project team, contractors, landowners, regulatory staff, project owners and other project stakeholders through diligent communication and involvement, resulting in proud ownership of all parties involved.

Tim lives in Raleigh, NC with his wife and two kids. When Tim isn’t working, he is usually coaching or transporting his kids to their various sports activities. He also loves to ski, mountain bike, hike, and playing slow pitch softball. Tim is excited to join the Wildlands team and contribute to achieving our goals for 2022 and beyond.

Meet Wildlands’ newly created Land Stewardship Team

Wildlands takes a holistic approach to ecosystem restoration design and implementation, and we recognize the importance of thoughtful land stewardship throughout a project’s life cycle. During our recent growth, we added several new teammates to support an internal land stewardship initiative. These land stewards bring with them diverse expertise in ecology, permaculture, soil science, and conservation. Working with our managers and designers, they use their unique backgrounds to create design elements such as invasive species control plans, soil preparation specifications, and planting plans. Our land stewards also visit each site several times throughout the year and are equipped to provide timely land management solutions such as vegetation control, supplemental planting, and boundary marking repairs when appropriate. Back in the office, they share their field observations with the managers and designers, allowing for us to hone our designs through a positive feedback loop. We are excited to offer land stewardship services on our projects and welcome these newest members to Wildlands’ holistic ecosystem restoration team.

Wildlands’ project wins APWA-NC’s 2019 Project of the Year!

We are honored to announce that our Reedy Creek Stream Restoration Design-Build project was awarded the 2019 APWA-NC Stormwater Project of the Year in the category of Natural Systems! The selection committee was “impressed by the overall scope and success of the project.”

Wildlands served as the prime consultant for the Reedy Creek Stream Restoration Design-Build project, which was the first design-build project to generate stream and wetland mitigation units for the City of Charlotte Umbrella Stream and Wetland Mitigation Bank.

(below image-collage courtesy of APWA-NC)

Wildlands Advocates for Thoughtful Industry Policies

Early in 2019, the EPA began a process to rewrite the Clean Water Act definition of Waters of the US by publishing a draft rule for public comment.  The proposed rule threatens to significantly curtail the protection afforded under the Act to our Nation’s streams, wetlands, and waterways.  Wildlands worked with our state industry group, the NC Environmental Restoration Association, to develop a formal response letter representing our industry’s perspective on the proposed rule.  The association’s letter pointed out a number of technical and scientific flaws with the proposed rule.  For instance, one stated goal of the rule is to ‘create regulatory certainty for the regulated community’ however there are numerous terms that are introduced in the rule but are undefined and subject to interpretation.  We also pointed out significant flaws with the financial impact analysis that is discussed in the proposed rule.  As of September 2019, the EPA had announced plans to rescind the  2015 Waters of the US definition that was proposed under the Obama Administration.  This is the first step in a stated three prong approach from the Trump Administration to permanently rollback water quality protections under the Clean Water Act.  Wildlands is continuing to work with partners at the state and federal levels to limit the impact of such changes on our industry and the water resources we all work to restore and protect.

Wildlands Engineering celebrates 10 year anniversary!

“We are excited to reach this substantial milestone in the maturity and growth of our business. After starting the business ten years ago with six dedicated individuals and building upon the vision of excellence, innovation, and comradery, we have continued to add members to our team who value our unique approach to the science and the business of ecosystem restoration. Our pride in what we have built; our business, our projects, and our family, is only surpassed by our enthusiasm about what the future holds for Wildlands.” – Shawn Wilkerson, President of Wildlands

This season, we are grateful as we reflect on a decade of success. The past ten years have been full of developing innovative solutions, opening new offices, and growing our team. Check out the timeline of milestones below.

Click here to download the timeline »

Wildlands Engineering named a top employer in North Carolina!

Wildlands Engineering was recently named as one of the 2017 Best Employers in North Carolina by Business North Carolina, NC SHRM and Best Companies Group.

This awards program was designed to identify, recognize, and honor the best employers in North Carolina, benefiting the economy, workforce, and businesses in the state of North Carolina. The list is made up of 35 companies.

The process for selecting the 2017 Best Employers in North Carolina included two parts. The first part is an evaluation of each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems, and demographics. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration and survey process, analyzed the data, and determined the final rankings.

Wildlands is honored to be recognized alongside such great North Carolina companies! To view the complete list of top companies, click here.

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Wildlands adopts a portion of Little Sugar Creek in Charlotte!

Wildlands is pleased to announce our adoption of a portion of Little Sugar Creek (LSC) in Charlotte, NC. Our adopted portion of stream stretches from Morehead Street to Charlottetowne Avenue. Through this program, the Wildlands team has committed to cleaning our portion of LSC at least twice a year. This is just a small token of our dedication to improving the water quality and ecological health of our watersheds.

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Win Taylor receives Professional Wetland Scientist certification

Join us in congratulating Wildlands team member, Win Taylor, for receiving his Professional Wetland Scientist certification! This certification is awarded by the Society of Wetland Scientists Professional Certification Program, which evaluates each applicant based on a combination of academic coursework, continuing education training, years of working experience in the field, letters of recommendation, and an essay describing an area of expertise. Congratulations, Win!