Frontline workers, including healthcare professionals, emergency responders, and other essential employees, have served their communities selflessly during the coronavirus pandemic. To recognize their exceptional efforts in this time of need, SOLitude Lake Management has helped launch the Hometown Heroes program.

Through this new program, SOLitude's team of freshwater management professionals delivered care packages to deserving healthcare, childcare, senior living, and military organizations in their local communities across Florida, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Colorado and Arizona. Each package contained handwritten notes, entertainment and restaurant gift cards, snacks, branded gear and additional goodies. Team members also delivered catered meals to clients and valued partner organizations. In collaboration with SOLitude's parent company, Rentokil, colleagues were able to impact more than 8,100 individuals throughout the nation.

SOLitude Lake Management has been named one of the 50 fastest growing companies in the Commonwealth by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. SOLitude was ranked 10th out of 50 companies recognized in 2020. 

SOLitude is an industry-leading environmental firm dedicated to providing sustainable solutions rooted in technological and scientific research and innovation. SOLitude has always focused on preserving the natural ecological balance of our freshwater ecosystems while providing clients with premium value and expertise in lake, stormwater pond, wetland and fisheries management.

Through SOLitude’s corporate volunteering and community outreach program, The SOLution, the company has named Aquatic Specialist Robert Finnick of SOLitude’s North Florida team as Volunteer of the Quarter for the first quarter of 2020. Robert participated in an array of volunteer events from January through March.

As an active member of The SOLution program, Robert plays an important role in identifying volunteering efforts for SOLitude’s Jacksonville, FL, office. Most notably, in March, Robert helped assist with a controlled burn event hosted by the North American Sarracenia Conservancy, an organization with which he regularly volunteers. He mobilized several colleagues to spend a full day as volunteer firewatchers to ensure flames did not jump the firebreak. They also helped start "back burns,” which serve a critically important role in the controlled burn process by removing fuel from the downwind portion of targeted burn areas. Likewise, Robert and his colleagues used their knowledge of rare and endangered species, including carnivorous plants and native orchids, to ensure several acres of biologically sensitive land remained protected throughout the process. In total, the group generated 49 total volunteer hours through this event.

1. What led you to pursue a career in freshwater management?

I was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. As the youngest of six siblings (of which four were older sisters!), I had a deep love for Mother Earth and knew from an early age that I wanted to work outdoors. In 1979, I entered the University of Wisconsin, Stephen’s Point. 

During the first few weeks of Forestry classes, listening to my instructors preach about the loss of the nation’s farming lands to multiplying shopping malls, I determined that my influence and education should reflect a homage to my professorial rantings. So, I graduated in 1983 with dual Bachelor of Science Degrees in Soil Science and Natural Resource Management.

In addition to serving as a space for peace and natural solitude in the face of coronavirus (COVID-19), our lakes, ponds and wetlands are an investment. One of the best ways to enjoy and protect these essential resources is by ensuring the progress you have made towards your freshwater goals is not reversed. Ongoing proactive management through the upcoming spring and summer months will prevent serious and costly problems from developing that could be detrimental to the health of the waterbody, as well as the surrounding community:

Following another successful year of volunteering and community outreach efforts through The SOLution program, SOLitude Lake Management is excited to announce that the company’s annual Heart & SOL recognition was awarded to Aquatic Specialist Jim Sheeran of Southwest Florida (second from left). 

The Heart & SOL award recognizes one individual within the company each year who goes above and beyond in personal volunteering, inspiring others, and displaying a true commitment and passion for making the world a better place. Sheeran was selected for his never-ending dedication to supporting charitable initiatives in his local community of Fort Myers.

A Florida community in the Greater Tampa area is home to a bird rookery, giving it an up close look at the unique species that call the property home. Wood storks, great egrets, snowy egrets, great blue herons and white ibis are enjoyed by residents and local bird watchers alike. However, this exciting window into nature is accompanied by a severe nutrient loading problem. Over the years, watershed inputs, recurring bird feedings, and bird droppings from the trees above the 2-acre community pond have created imbalanced water quality conditions that support the growth of unrelenting algae and cyanobacteria blooms. In addition to causing an eyesore, these harmful blooms are known to create toxins that can threaten the rare wildlife and endanger the health of community members.

The bird species that live on the property are protected, making long-term management of the undesirable blooms a challenge. The community chooses to avoid many traditional solutions to ensure the natural characteristics of the ecosystem are maintained year-round. Often, this commitment means sacrificing the aesthetic beauty of the property. However, in 2019, SOLitude Lake Management introduced an alternative option to the community - one that aligns with the environmental principles of the residents while also nurturing the health and appearance of the aquatic environment.

The nation's largest freshwater management firm has established an official presence in Long Island, NY, through the acquisition of The Pond Guy, Inc.

SOLitude Lake Management is an industry-leading environmental firm providing turn-key lake, stormwater pond, wetland and fisheries management solutions to clients in more than 36 states. The rebranding of The Pond Guy, which will be officially completed in April, further expands SOLitude’s nationwide presence in the state of New York and across the East Coast.

Founded in 1998 by owner Joe Kastalek, The Pond Guy, Inc. is one of the original lake and pond management companies to serve Long Island's Nassau and Suffolk Counties, Westchester, and New York City's five Boroughs. Kastalek's team specializes in a broad range of freshwater management services, including fountain and aeration system design, aquatic plant and algae management, wetland remediation, mosquito control, and fish stocking.

SOLitude Lake Management is proud to recognize many of our nationwide colleagues for their new or recurring volunteer leadership roles with prestigious industry organizations across the country. SOLitude employs some of the most experienced and well-connected professionals in the freshwater management industry who share the same goal of making water a more healthy and beautiful part of our world through sustainable lake, stormwater pond, wetland and fisheries management.