Fisk Lawnscapes Wins Five ALCC ELITE Awards — Colorado Springs' Top Landscape Company Recognized in 2025
In 2025, Fisk Lawnscapes earned five ALCC ELITE Awards — more than any previous year in our company's history. For a Colorado Springs landscaping company, there's no higher industry recognition in the state, and we're proud to share the projects that earned us this honor.
What is the ALCC, and Why Does It Matter?
The ALCC — Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado — is the largest green industry trade association in Colorado, founded in 1962. Its ELITE Awards program exists to recognize professionalism, innovation, and outstanding projects across the Colorado landscape industry. Competing against some of the best landscape companies in the state, winning an ALCC ELITE Award is a true mark of excellence.
At Fisk, these awards matter because they reflect our core commitment to world-class, defect-free service — across residential design/build, commercial landscape construction and maintenance, and sustainability projects. Nine total awards over the last two years tell us we're delivering on that promise.
Here's a look at what we won in 2025, and the projects behind each award.
What Awards Has Fisk Lawnscapes Received?
As a team, we’ve had the honor of receiving 9 total awards the last two years—four awards in 2024 and five in 2025, where we received:
The GOLD ELITE Award for Commercial Landscape Construction
The SILVER ELITE Award for Commercial Landscape Maintenance
The GOLD ELITE Award for Commercial Property Sustainability
The SILVER ELITE Award for Residential Design/Build
The SILVER ELITE Award for Commercial Landscape Construction
Here’s a more detailed breakdown of our 2025 awards:
Gold Elite Award for Commercial Landscape Construction: Aspen Meadows Park
We received the Gold Elite Award for Commercial Landscape Construction for our work on Aspen Meadows Park.
This beautiful park features a playground structure for kids, walking paths, three boulders arranged into a Boulder Climber with Nets feature, swings, a turf soccer field, beautiful trees, shrubs, a flagstone patio, and more. Currently, we’re in phase 1B, which includes adding a basketball court and covered seating areas.
Our team faced a few challenges during the build of this park! We encountered an unmarked electrical line—which required an immediate and total redesign of the entrance space to the park. We also had to work around three high-pressure gas lines. This required re-configuration of irrigation systems to benefit the park and keep those gas lines safe.
This project also included several sustainability features. We utilized native grasses, which decreased the need for constant irrigation. We installed a maximum-efficiency irrigation system, utilizing a smart controller and high-efficiency irrigation heads. These features ensure that water is only used when and where it’s needed. Lastly, the team prioritized drought-tolerant and regionally appropriate xeric plants, which reduce long-term water demand and create a low-maintenance landscape.
We’re so proud of this project and the way it’s brought the community together since its unveiling in December 2024. We love working on park projects! Not only does it better the places we live and work, but it gives our team and their families a place to enjoy and experience the hard work we do. We’re honored to have received this recognition for our passion project at Aspen Meadows Park.
Silver Elite Award for Commercial Landscape Maintenance: Fallen Firefighters Memorial
We received the Silver Elite Award for Commercial Landscape Maintenance for our work on the Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial.
Work on this project included (but was not limited to): mowing, edging sidewalks and curbs, aeration, weed control, property detailing, seasonal pruning, tree healthcare, irrigation management, and more.
This property makes up 3.5 acres, and we have maintained the property since 2023. The Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial is the primary memorial honoring IAFF members in the United States and Canada who have given their lives in the line of duty.
We manage this property by using a meticulous, proactive maintenance program that’s designed to keep every aspect of the landscape in peak condition. Regardless of the season, our team visits the memorial multiple times each week to respond to the demands of a high-traffic downtown location, keeping the landscape in pristine condition.
The most significant milestone every year is the September Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial Ceremony. This event draws in upwards of 10,000 attendees, so ensuring the memorial looks phenomenal is high on our list of priorities. We work side-by-side with IAFF to ensure every detail is immaculate. From keeping the turf lush and uniform, to keeping the beds weed-free, to make sure the flowers are fresh and vibrant, to pruning the trees, and keeping the walkways clean, we work tirelessly to ensure it looks in top condition for the ceremony.
Our work on this project is not just about looks, though. It’s about creating a memorial that honors our fallen firefighters and their families with dignity, respect, and honor.
Gold Elite Award for Commercial Property Sustainability: Native Conversion at Library 21C
The Fisk Team received the Gold Elite award for Commercial Property Sustainability for our work on a Native Conversion at Library 21C.
The purpose of this project was to completely replace the landscaping at Library 21C with native plants. This allows for less water usage, and encourages local wildlife and sustainability.
Colorado Springs receives only 15 inches of rainfall per year on average. Kentucky Bluegrass—which was what previously existed at the Library—requires approximately 40 inches of water per year, making this a costly and potentially wasteful plant choice for Colorado Springs. For this project, we transformed over an acre of Kentucky Bluegrass into a lush, diverse mix of native and low-water use grasses.
To be exact, we installed:
7,200 sq ft of Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass
30,000 sq ft Native Prairie Mix
13,100 sq ft Western Wheatgrass interspersed with Russian Sage
4,350 sq ft Western Wheatgrass in a pure stand
3,900 sq ft Prairie Sandweed and Side Oats Grama Mix
Given that this project was a sustainability conversion, it addressed water conservation by replacing non-functional turf with low-water use alternatives. Once these native grasses are established, they require far less irrigation, which will reduce the property’s environmental footprint without sacrificing the aesthetic. Additionally, native grasses and plants invite pollinators, reduce the need for chemical inputs, and support biodiversity overall.
This project will:
Save approximately 900,000 gallons of water per year (projected)
Reduce annual fertilizer applications by 75%
Reduce chemical applications by 67%, using targeted spot treatments only
Reduce mowing frequency by 85%, cutting emissions and labor costs
Being able to bring a sustainable conversion like this to Colorado Springs is close to our hearts at Fisk, as we use sustainable practices when and where we can as a company.
Silver Elite Award for Residential Design/Build: Clove Hitch Court
The last ALCC award we received in 2025 was the SILVER ELITE Award for Residential Design/Build for our work on Clove Hitch Court.
The work on our client’s home on Clove Hitch Court had two primary goals:
Restore the native prairie character surrounding our client’s new home
Create a functional, welcoming outdoor living space for hosting, entertaining, and enjoying retirement
This project took place in the winter months. With frozen ground, cold temperatures, and wind, we had to get creative about overcoming these challenges. To do this, we adapted our approach. Some of our crews used additional heavy equipment to break through frozen soil. We scheduled work in a way that maximized sunshine and daylight hours, taking advantage of the warmest part of the day. We also closely monitored the weather forecasts for maximum work efficiency.
Our client’s home is located in a high-elevation prairie environment, so the design on this project prioritized beauty, durability, and minimal maintenance using drought-tolerant, regionally adapted plants. The outdoor living areas were scaled to suit both intimate family and larger social gatherings. Planting areas were proportioned to blend the home into the surrounding prairie without obstructing the landscape views.
During this project, we implemented GreenCo Best Management Practices (BMP) to ensure sustainability and environmental stewardship. Native and xeric plants were selected per BMP 3-1 to reduce water demand. Soil was amended per BMP 2-2 to improve infiltration and root health after post-construction compaction. Hydrozone-based irrigation per BMP 4-1 used high-efficiency emitters to minimize water waste, while mulching per BMP 3-3 conserved moisture and suppressed weeds.
For the hardscape elements, we followed ICPI (Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute) standards for all paver installations. Additionally, two Allan Block retaining walls were constructed using manufacturer-recommended specifications.
Another important facet of this project was the creation of a wildfire protection zone, in alignment with Colorado State University Extension wildfire mitigation guidelines. This defensible space reduces combustible materials near the home. To do this, we incorporated non-flammable hardscape services, gravel mulch, and low-growing, fire-resistant plant species.
Ultimately, this project was a pleasure to work on, and we’re honored to bring visions like this to life!
Silver Elite Award for Commercial Landscape Construction: Evans Elementary School
Our team attended the ALCC awards, where we received the SILVER ELITE Award for Commercial Landscape Construction for our work on Evans Elementary School in District 49.
Our work on Evans Elementary School was two-fold:
Create a safe, usable outdoor area for students, teachers, and staff.
Provide an aesthetically pleasing environment that reflected pride in the school and community.
To complete these goals, we first needed to completely remove the existing landscaping and hardscaping. Once that was completed, we installed new concrete walkways and curbing, updated the irrigation system, and incorporated intentionally selected plants, boulders, and rock.
The new walkways and curbing created a safer, more accessible walkway for all students, staff, and visitors. The updated irrigation system was installed to support healthy, sustainable planting and reduce long-term maintenance needs. The plants we selected were done so with a lot of thought—the goal was to bring vibrant colors and native plants, boulders, and rock to highlight Colorado’s natural beauty and the surrounding landscape.
In addition to these updates, we installed artificial turf—this provides a durable, safe, low-maintenance surface inviting play, outdoor lessons, and casual gatherings.
The most pressing challenge we faced during this project was the strict timeline—construction and updates needed to be completed before the start of the school year to avoid disrupting school activities. Additionally, multiple stakeholders were involved in this project—most notably the school principal, District 49 representatives, and maintenance staff. Keeping all parties updated required constant updates, detailed progress reports, and a collaborative approach to decision-making.
All in all, this project improved sustainability, and made for a more enjoyable, beautiful, functional outdoor space for the students, teachers, and staff at Evans Elementary.
What’s Next for Fisk Lawnscapes?
Now that we’re into 2026, we have lots of exciting projects in the works:
We are wrapping up a landscape project at First United Methodist Church in downtown Colorado Springs.
We are working on a ranch project.
We are doing a big project up in downtown Winter Park! We are transforming the playground at Hideaway Park. You can read more about the Hideaway Park project.
Nine ALCC awards in two years is a reflection of the trust our Colorado Springs community places in us — and we don't take that lightly. If you're ready to experience the same level of care and craftsmanship that earned us these honors, we'd love to hear about your project. Contact the Fisk team today.
