Founder Story : Michael McMahon
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As a young man I grew up in Buffalo New York. At age 12 I had 17 yards in my neighborhood that I maintained. I was an outdoor kid and hard work suited me well and this was my first landscape company- little did I know I would be doing this for the rest of my life. I had a large family and if I wanted anything I learned quickly I would need my own money to buy it.
I attended the University of New York at Buffalo because it was economically feasible. I graduated without debt but had to work full time throughout to pay for school and room and board. My degree was in the Engineering school an ultimately a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design which is all about wholistic problem solving and sustainability before sustainability became everyone’s buzz word. I even remember reading about Burlongs Green Revolution in Agriculture and a lot about unintended consequence of our actions. This was my first environmental awareness and I still remember the slogan at the time- “Think Global and Act Local” which is a modo I still believe in today.
Buffalo was in the rust belt and unemployment was high as were interest rates during the recession of the 70’s and early 80’s. During college I went coast to coast one summer hitchhiking and another summer on a bicycle. I worked along the way in construction and fast food. When I graduated after four years, I moved immediately to the place I thought had the most growth and took a greyhound bus to get to Phoenix, Arizona. I hadn’t been to Phoenix before and knew no one. What money I had didn’t last long and I didn’t have a car. I worked in restaurants and bars and landscaping and enter the master’s program at Arizona State University for a degree from the school of architecture with a master’s degree in Environmental planning. Dan and I coincidently were in the land use and development game.
After graduating I had a short stint as a planner at an international planning company. Although it was very intellectually stimulating, I missed being outdoors and thought I could make more money if I started my own landscape company. I started Agave Environmental Contracting in 1990 and still own and manage it to this day. I had many spinoff companies over the years including a 17-acre community garden and then a non-profit Urban Farming Education. These two companies require the skill sets I have honed over four decades. This is also where I developed a true sense of social and environmental awareness and realized I was in a unique position to become an agent of change. My children were raised I was ready for a challenge, and I had business and agriculture skill sets.
Both Dan and I believe we can help reverse global warming reduce hunger and produce more nutritious food through composting and vermicompost and the use of a lower water using multipurpose cover crop- hemp. We started Soil Seed and Water LLC on a large scale and expect it to grow substantially.
I attended the University of New York at Buffalo because it was economically feasible. I graduated without debt but had to work full time throughout to pay for school and room and board. My degree was in the Engineering school an ultimately a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Design which is all about wholistic problem solving and sustainability before sustainability became everyone’s buzz word. I even remember reading about Burlongs Green Revolution in Agriculture and a lot about unintended consequence of our actions. This was my first environmental awareness and I still remember the slogan at the time- “Think Global and Act Local” which is a modo I still believe in today.
Buffalo was in the rust belt and unemployment was high as were interest rates during the recession of the 70’s and early 80’s. During college I went coast to coast one summer hitchhiking and another summer on a bicycle. I worked along the way in construction and fast food. When I graduated after four years, I moved immediately to the place I thought had the most growth and took a greyhound bus to get to Phoenix, Arizona. I hadn’t been to Phoenix before and knew no one. What money I had didn’t last long and I didn’t have a car. I worked in restaurants and bars and landscaping and enter the master’s program at Arizona State University for a degree from the school of architecture with a master’s degree in Environmental planning. Dan and I coincidently were in the land use and development game.
After graduating I had a short stint as a planner at an international planning company. Although it was very intellectually stimulating, I missed being outdoors and thought I could make more money if I started my own landscape company. I started Agave Environmental Contracting in 1990 and still own and manage it to this day. I had many spinoff companies over the years including a 17-acre community garden and then a non-profit Urban Farming Education. These two companies require the skill sets I have honed over four decades. This is also where I developed a true sense of social and environmental awareness and realized I was in a unique position to become an agent of change. My children were raised I was ready for a challenge, and I had business and agriculture skill sets.
Both Dan and I believe we can help reverse global warming reduce hunger and produce more nutritious food through composting and vermicompost and the use of a lower water using multipurpose cover crop- hemp. We started Soil Seed and Water LLC on a large scale and expect it to grow substantially.