Industry: Landscape Architecture
Location: Mount Desert Island, Maine
Number of employees: 5
Became employee owned: 2016
Assistance: Cooperative Development Institute (CDI)
Acadia Landscape + Design (AL+D) is a 5-person landscape architecture, design / build company focused mainly on natural restoration projects on Mount Desert Island, Maine. The founders decided upon a cooperative model, as it provided more opportunity to strengthen team cohesion and to highlight team members skills and abilities on a wide variety of landscape projects, over more traditional top-down management styles. The initial idea for a cooperative first came from watching a 2016 gubernatorial debate where one of the candidates talked of his own experience running an employee owned company. The company adopted an LLC legal model with democratic principles built into their operating agreement, and are working to expand their team of partners within a competitive rural, and seasonal labor pool.
Learn more
