Cipriano Landscape Design Awarding Four Scholarships to Rutgers Students

Chris Cipriano (left), foundation director of Keeping It Green Foundation and CEO/founder of Cipriano Landscape Design, with Rachel Napier, development specialist, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University.

Company Also Donating 20,000 Saplings to School Children in North New Jersey

Cipriano Landscape Design of Ramsey, N.J. will award four scholarships totaling $10,000 to students at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences Departments of Landscape Architecture and Plant Biology and Pathology.

The scholarship recipients will be announced in May 2009, with scholarships taking effect in fall 2009.

The firm’s “Keeping It Green Foundation” offers the scholarships and promotes landscape architecture, horticulture, ecological sustainability and environmental stewardship. The foundation also offers internships and workshops at its 10-acre farm and nursery in Mahwah, N.J., where large caliper specimen trees and other rare plants are grown.

Chris Cipriano, RLA, the CEO and /founder of Cipriano Landscape Design, works closely with Rutgers interns at Cipriano Farms to help them translate their classroom knowledge to the real workings of a nursery.

Rachel Napier, a development specialist with the office of the executive dean, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, at Rutgers University, told the Paramus Post that educating young people is clearly a priority for Mr. Cipriano.

The aims of Mr. Cipriano’s Keeping It Green Foundation is to collaborate with Rutgers to develop school programs that foster awareness for environmental conservation, and to integrate such practices into the firm’s work.

In recognition of the company’s 20th anniversary, Cipriano is celebrating Earth Day by donating 20,000 saplings to school children throughout North Jersey to help youngsters understand the importance of protecting our environment and adding to the urban tree canopy.

Established in 1989, Cipriano Landscape Design specializes in custom residential landscapes and swimming pools. With a design office headed by William Moore, RLA, the Cipriano team won the Northeast Pool & Spa Association’s 2007 Best in Competition swimming pool award and a silver medal at Association of Pool & Spa Professional’s International Awards of Excellence. In 2008, the firm received 11 Awards of Excellence for design and construction of custom swimming pools and landscaping.