When you engage GeoEngineers in a project, many of the project team members are likely to be owners of our firm. This is because nearly 60 percent of our employees are shareholders. There are no outside interests invested in GeoEngineers. We are entirely employee-owned.

Our commitment to broad internal ownership is reflected in the fact that employees are eligible to invest after their first year of service, regardless of their position. We believe that having a large number of owners throughout our ranks results in staff being more invested in each of their engagements.

What if Facebook games aren’t games at all? What if they are a mechanism for collaboration, design and funding restoration? GeekWire today posted an interesting, and potentially game-changing “game.” 

University of Washington students have used the Facebook game Farmville to design and fund wetland restoration. Check out

Facebook’s Farmville and a New Way to Plan and Fund Wetlands Restoration

Last month I wrote a blog post about the advantages of spending time outdoors. In researching this topic further, I found diverse sources that tie even short amounts of time outdoors with improved health, learning ability, self-esteem, mood and thinking power:

• “The more high-tech we become, the more nature we need.” (Louv 2010)
• Fifteen minutes a day of exercise, such as walking, makes you physically three years younger than your couch-potato friends and cuts your chances of dying from pretty much anything by 14%.

It is the season where we sit back, reflect and give thanks for all the good things in our lives. Personally, I have much to be grateful for: family, friends, health and satisfying and challenging work. The other night I was surfing around and found an article from Fast Company, “Gratitude As a Business Strategy,” by Howie Jacobson.

It is Saturday. What are you doing today? Are you getting outside to enjoy nature? In our natural resources fields of geology, biology, hydrology etc., we likely started our careers with a strong desire to be outside. I know this is true for me. I wanted to be a biologist because I liked to spend time in the forest, the beach and even the ‘swamps.’ So now, 25 years later, how am I fulfilling this need? Many of you know I hike, climb and ski. What do you do? Do you golf, fish, hike, run, kayak? Is there a way for you to ‘plug into’ nature on a daily basis?

Is it important?

The rains are here in the Pacific Northwest. Are you prepared? Rain and runoff can cause serious property damage if not properly controlled. While the following tips won’t protect you from heavy flooding, they will help you protect your property under normal conditions:

• Check that your roof drains and downspouts are clear of debris. Also clear debris from any on-site catch basins.
• Collect any runoff at the top of slopes.