Kent, Ohio – The Davey Tree Expert Company is proud to announce that its Science, Employee Education & Development (SEED) Campus is now open to employees.
The nearly 200-acre property opened on August 15 and now serves as the new home for the Davey Institute, the training and research arm of the company.
“The SEED Campus was designed to ensure Davey continues to attract and retain the most qualified, well-trained and engaged employees possible,” said Pat Covey, chairman, president and CEO at Davey. “We are beyond excited to bring Davey employees to Kent and begin this new chapter of training and research.”
Research Facilities
The SEED Campus features an expanded and upgraded diagnostic laboratory and introduces a second, brand-new research laboratory. The campus also includes four 600-square-foot greenhouses and a container nursery for controlled plant research.
Several other year-round, specialized research initiatives will take place at the SEED Campus, such as research on tree and shrub health, turf management, pollinator habitats, tree physiology, vegetation management, disease and pest control studies and soil science.
Training Facilities
Housed inside the main training center building is a 10,700-square-foot indoor, at-height climbing training center. With this, Davey employees can hold climbing demonstrations and training courses in a safe and controlled environment regardless of weather. This structure is part of the Education Now Safety Assured (ENSA) partnership, which allows other work-at-height professions that partner with ENSA to train on the structure, and Davey employees will have access to the other ENSA facilities across the country.
The main training center building also features four classrooms that more than double the size of the Davey Institute’s previous classroom space. The month-long Davey Institute of Tree Sciences (D.I.T.S.) training program, which is Davey’s flagship training program in biological sciences, safety, tree and plant care and management techniques, will continue to be held in Kent but will now have access to the entire property and the additional training features available.
Other on-site training facilities include 15 spans of non-energized utility lines for storm response training, asset management and utility inventory training and a 50-foot-tall canopy walk for easy climber-to-trainer interaction.
Sustainability
The SEED Campus training center building was constructed to achieve the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, and a Sustainable SITES certification is being pursued for the campus’ landscape.
To achieve these certifications, the building and campus were constructed with energy-efficient building materials and is powered by a two-acre solar panel array, making the property a net-zero carbon emissions campus. Additional sustainability features include a three-acre stormwater retention pond, electric vehicle charging, low-flow plumbing fixtures, bottle refill stations and LED lighting fixtures with occupancy and dim-control sensors.
For more information about the SEED Campus, visit www.Davey.com/SEED.
The Davey Tree Expert Company, headquartered in Kent, Ohio, provides research-driven tree services, grounds maintenance and environmental and utility infrastructure consulting for residential, utility, commercial and environmental partners in the U.S. and Canada. As one of the top ten largest employee-owned companies in the U.S., Davey's 12,000 employees have been dedicated to creating and delivering sustainable solutions since 1880. Apply today to join the Davey legacy, and learn about how we're growing with our new SEED Campus.
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