Every property on Long Island sits above a single aquifer, meaning every landscape decision impacts the water you and your community rely on. At Spadefoot, we design science-backed, nature-based systems that filter water, build soil, and create lasting ecological value—without chemicals.
At Spadefoot, we design and build systems that make land function again. Most properties today are hydrologically broken—water runs off, soils are dead, and invasive species fill the gap. We fix that by restoring how water, soil, and plant communities actually interact.
Our work centers on stormwater infiltration, water quality restoration, invasive species removal, and the establishment of native plant communities that are structured to persist—not decorative plantings that collapse in a few seasons. This is grounded in real soil science, field ecology, and years of applied work, not theory or trend.
The result is land that manages its own water, rebuilds fertility, resists pests through system function, and improves over time—ecologically and financially—without chemical inputs.
This is not landscaping. It’s applied ecological restoration, and it’s the only approach that actually protects the long-term value of your property and the water beneath it.
The traditional landscaping industry operates on a replacement cycle. Non-native plants that cannot survive Long Island’s salt air, diverse soil conditions, and temperature swings are installed, maintained with chemicals, and replaced when they fail. The client pays at every stage, for the installation, for the chemical inputs, for the irrigation, and again for the replacement.
That model is expensive. It is also ecologically destructive. Every fertilizer application adds nitrogen to the aquifer. Every pesticide spray eliminates the beneficial insects and soil organisms that a healthy landscape depends on. Every shallow-rooted ornamental sends stormwater across the surface instead of filtering it through the soil profile. Over five years, the average commercial or residential property spends six figures on a landscape that is worth less, not more, than the day it was installed.
The science is clear: this approach degrades soil biology, accelerates erosion, contaminates groundwater, and creates a property that requires more intervention every year, not less. It is the opposite of a sound investment.
Every great landscape starts with a plan. We design living systems that restore balance, from rain gardens to monarch meadows.
Conventional properties lose performance every year because they are fighting the ecology of the site instead of working with it. Native systems do the opposite. They establish deeper root networks, recruit more beneficial organisms, build richer soil, and expand their capacity to manage water, pests, and fertility on their own.
That means lower maintenance costs year over year. It means reduced chemical liability. It means stormwater infrastructure that is built into the biology of the site rather than bolted on as hardscape. And it means a property that meets regulatory requirements not through compliance paperwork, but through measurable ecological function.
For homeowners, it is the difference between a yard that drains your budget and a living system that builds equity. For commercial operators, it is the difference between a maintenance expense and a performing asset. For municipalities, it is the difference between engineered stormwater solutions that degrade over time and biological ones that strengthen as they mature. For industrial operators, it is the difference between a liability perimeter and a living buffer that cleans air, filters water, and reduces noise.
This is what sustainable land stewardship looks like when it is done with scientific rigor.
Your home is your most personal investment, and the land around it is either protecting that investment or quietly undermining it. We design beautiful chemical-free native landscapes tailored to Long Island’s specific ecology, from rain gardens on waterfront estates to suburban cottage gardens and meadow conversions that eliminate weekly mowing. Every installation is engineered to filter stormwater, support pollinators, and build soil health that compounds over decades. Your children and your pets walk on clean ground. Your property value reflects a living system, not a maintenance bill.
Commercial grounds should be a performing asset, not a depreciating expense. We design and build self-sustaining systems that manage water naturally and reduce operating costs. Our approach eliminates chemical dependency while improving long-term performance. Every solution is built to deliver lasting environmental and financial value.
Public land should protect the public. We design nature-based systems that support coastal ecosystem protection, manage stormwater, restore water systems, and create sustainable landscapes. Our work includes streetscape and green infrastructure projects that protect drinking water and reduce urban heat, while also supporting zoning strategies and sustainability funding.
We design and build systems focused on stormwater management and water restoration. Our biological treatment solutions reduce waste, eliminate odors, and improve disposal safety. We also install native buffers that filter runoff, reduce noise, and support air quality—ensuring environmental compliance through natural systems
Your home is your most personal investment, and the land around it is either protecting that investment or quietly undermining it. We design beautiful chemical-free native landscapes tailored to Long Island’s specific ecology, from rain gardens on waterfront estates to suburban cottage gardens and meadow conversions that eliminate weekly mowing. Every installation is engineered to filter stormwater, support pollinators, and build soil health that compounds over decades. Your children and your pets walk on clean ground. Your property value reflects a living system, not a maintenance bill.
Commercial grounds should be a performing asset, not a depreciating expense. We design and build self-sustaining systems that manage water naturally and reduce operating costs. Our approach eliminates chemical dependency while improving long-term performance. Every solution is built to deliver lasting environmental and financial value.
Public land should protect the public. We design nature-based systems that support coastal ecosystem protection, manage stormwater, restore water systems, and create sustainable landscapes. Our work includes streetscape and green infrastructure projects that protect drinking water and reduce urban heat, while also supporting zoning strategies and sustainability funding.
We design and build systems focused on stormwater management and water restoration. Our biological treatment solutions reduce waste, eliminate odors, and improve disposal safety. We also install native buffers that filter runoff, reduce noise, and support air quality—ensuring environmental compliance through natural systems
Our design methodology is grounded in three decades of native plant research, soil microbiology, and stormwater engineering specific to Long Island’s geology and hydrology. Every installation is site-specific, tested against your property’s actual soil composition, drainage patterns, light exposure, and microclimate.
Our living systems do what conventional landscaping cannot:
Mycorrhizal fungal networks connect plant roots underground, exchanging water, nutrients, and immune signals across the entire system. The landscape generates its own fertility instead of consuming purchased inputs.
Dense native plantings occupy every vertical layer, from canopy to groundcover, suppressing weeds through competition and supporting the predator insects that keep pest populations in check. No herbicides. No pesticides.
Deep-rooted native vegetation captures nitrogen, petroleum compounds, and sediment from stormwater, metabolizing pollutants through biological processes and returning clean water to the soil column.
Unlike conventional landscapes that depreciate from the day they are installed, a native ecosystem becomes stronger, more diverse, and more resilient with every growing season. Your landscape is the only line item on your property budget that compounds.
We are not a traditional landscaping company that simply added a few native plants to the truck. Field biologists and ecological designers founded Spadefoot. We spent years studying Long Island’s native ecosystems before we ever installed one.
When we walk your property, we read soil structure, drainage behavior, and plant community dynamics. We identify what is failing and install the exact biological systems needed to reverse it. Every recommendation we make is backed by field data.
Our work includes meadow and pollinator habitats, bird and butterfly sanctuaries, lawn replacements, pocket forests, woodland restoration, stormwater management, and ecological landscape design.
Our work helps restore natural landscapes while supporting healthy ecosystems. Through sustainable solutions and native plants, we create spaces that benefit both wildlife and the communities around them.
Spadefoot completely transformed our backyard. They removed all the invasive plants and replaced them with beautiful native species.
Spadefoot completely transformed our backyard. They removed all the invasive plants and replaced them with beautiful native species.
Spadefoot completely transformed our backyard. They removed all the invasive plants and replaced them with beautiful native species.
On Long Island, 100% of our drinking water comes from the ground. There is no backup supply. Currently, 95% of that groundwater is impacted by nitrogen contamination from conventional land management.
Every native plant system we install acts as a vital filter between the surface and your drinking water. Properties managed with native biological systems produce cleaner air, cooler temperatures, and healthier soil microbiology. When pollinators like Monarch butterflies return to your property, it indicates the ecosystem is recovering—and that recovery benefits everyone who lives and works on that land.
If most of your yard is dominated by a few aggressive, fast-spreading plants—especially ones forming dense patches or climbing over everything—you’re likely dealing with invasives rather than a functioning plant community.
The quickest way to confirm is to take clear photos and compare them to regional invasive species lists from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation or iNaturalist, or send us a picture at Spadefoot, we’re happy to help you ID it.
Stormwater management is about keeping rain where it falls and putting it to work instead of sending it off your property as runoff. When you slow it down, let it soak into the soil, and store it in the landscape, that water becomes an asset—recharging groundwater, supporting plant communities, and reducing flooding and pollution downstream.
At the site scale, this means shaping land to hold water, rebuilding soils that can absorb it, and planting systems that actually use it. It’s simple in concept but powerful in effect: if every property holds onto even a portion of its rainfall, the cumulative impact is massive—less strain on infrastructure, cleaner water, and landscapes that function the way they’re supposed to.
Spadefoot Ecosystem Solutions was founded by field biologists to bring science back into landscaping. Every project is grounded in ecological research, creating healthier, more resilient landscapes across Long Island.
More than 100 years of combined field experience in ecological restoration, native planting, stormwater management, and invasive species control. Project experience ranges from site-scale habitat restoration, stormwater management to complex coastal and bluff reconstruction requiring integrated design and construction execution.
Led by Frank Piccininni, an environmental attorney and biologist with deep experience in complex permitting, regulatory strategy, and agency coordination. Active leadership in regional policy initiatives.
Applied ecological research informs all projects, including contributions to regional native planting best management practices and ongoing development of field-based frameworks for ecological restoration and system dynamics. Work emphasizes translating ecological theory into constructible, defensible designs.
Hands-on construction capability with extensive experience in grading, stormwater systems, and coastal/bluff stabilization. Ability to implement restoration projects that meet both engineering requirements and ecological performance goals.
Certified erosion and sediment control specialists on staff, with expertise in stormwater compliance, site stabilization, and regulatory adherence throughout construction.
Regional licensee for EnBiomatic, a patented Bacillus-based bioaugmentation technology used to enhance biological treatment processes, reduce biosolids, and improve water quality in environmental and engineered systems.
Most properties on Long Island are caught in a costly cycle of chemicals, replacement, and decline. We offer a research-driven alternative—designed to restore your land, reduce long-term costs, and deliver measurable results across residential, commercial, and public spaces.
Ready to see what your land is actually capable of?
