Friendship Village wins Best Maintained Landscape Award from the village of Schaumburg

Last week, Friendship Village of Schaumburg won the Best Maintained Landscape Award from the Village of Schaumburg. The honor is a testament to Friendship Village's commitment to creating and maintaining a beautiful environment for its residents, visitors, and community. Friendship Village has earned a number of landscape awards from Schaumburg on its 60-acre campus.

Rick Paisley, the director of resident support services, said that award-winning landscaping and grounds maintenance provides health benefits, instills pride, and enhances curb appeal.

"Spending time connecting with nature has a positive impact on our physical, mental and emotional well-being. Therefore, we need to make sure that our grounds are inviting to our residents. We want to provide opportunities for them to enjoy their time outside," Paisley said. "Furthermore, landscaping is one element of the community that should contribute to a resident's sense of pride in their home. The size of our campus and the unique features such as the woodlands and large ponds provide a degree of landscaping diversity that other communities can't replicate."

Paisley said that it's also important to make a great first impression for potential residents and guests to the community.

"Our goal is to provide an environment that makes everyone feel welcome and instills a sense of belonging." Well after the first impression, he added, "the grounds remind residents on every subsequent return that they are home."

Additionally, it's essential that residents at Friendship Village have abundant opportunities to pursue lifelong hobbies or start new ones. This includes participating in environmental, landscaping and other related activities for many. Two resident committees very involved with the exterior spaces and earning the Award from the village of Schaumburg are the Land Stewardship Committee and the Building and Open Spaces Committee. In addition to sharing ideas, concerns and perspectives with Friendship Village leadership, many committee members also undertake hands-on missions including clearing buckthorn from the woods, seeding planting beds, planting summer annuals, establishing a butterfly garden, maintaining their Illinois Heritage Garden and more. The Award is, thus, the result of the collaboration between staff and residents.

The village of Schaumburg Environmental Committee launched the recognition program in 2005, in order to honor residences, businesses and organizations that have made a strong commitment to their landscape management program.

The award was accepted for Friendship Village by Nancy and Bob Lyons, chairwoman and member of the land stewardship committee.