In this episode of Changehampton Presents, host Francesca Rheannon speaks with East Hampton real estate professionals Eileen Mullen and Michael Schultz about an unexpected but essential partnership in the shift toward healthy, sustainable, pollinator-friendly landscapes: the real estate community.
Together, they explore how buyer expectations, long-standing lawn aesthetics, and misconceptions about deer, ticks, and “tidy” landscaping shape what gets planted—and what gets cleared. They also discuss how realtors, by virtue of their trusted relationships with buyers, can play a pivotal role in reframing what a beautiful, valuable, and healthy landscape looks like in the Hamptons.
From addressing fears about Lyme disease to challenging the dominance of chemical-dependent lawns, from advocating for preserving mature trees to envisioning a new luxury aesthetic based on biodiversity and resilience, this conversation illuminates how real estate can help catalyze landscape change—one property at a time.
Segment Summary: What You’ll Hear
1. Buyer Attitudes, Fears & Misconceptions
Eileen and Michael describe the landscape anxieties that dominate buyer conversations—fear of deer, ticks, Lyme disease, and “messy” vegetation—and how these fears lead to excessive clearing and unexamined reliance on pesticides.
2. The Power of Aesthetics—and How to Change Them
They discuss the entrenched Hamptons “look”: clipped hedges, large lawns, sterile green carpets. They explain how offering positive visual models, like ChangeHampton’s Town Hall pollinator gardens, is far more effective than admonishment or pamphlets.
3. Environmental & Health Impacts of Conventional Landscaping
Michael outlines how fertilizers and pesticides pollute the aquifer and potentially harm humans, pets, and children. He emphasizes that the problem isn’t “lawns,” but the chemicals required to maintain them.
4. The Value Proposition of Sustainable Landscaping
Can biodiversity increase property values? Eileen argues yes—when gardens are designed beautifully and communicated in terms buyers understand: “rich, natural, non-toxic, and thriving.”
5. Tree Clearing, Regulations & Builder Practices
Both guests underline the ecological devastation caused by mass tree removal. They discuss current clearing rules, enforcement gaps, and the need for policies that protect mature trees.
6. What Real Estate Agents Need
Resources such as knowledgeable ecological landscapers, demonstration gardens, and collaborative education—rather than one-off pamphlets—would help realtors confidently advise clients about sustainable options.
7. Moving the Needle Across the Industry
They call for broader conversations within the brokerage community, more education, and more visibility for successful pollinator-garden landscapes—from modest homes to Lily Pond estates.
Key Verbatim Quotes
On Buyer Fears & Misconceptions
· “People are wildly afraid of deer and deer ticks and Lyme disease… there’s a complete misunderstanding as to vegetation and deer and Lyme disease.”
· “Many buyers have never thought about their property maintenance. They see the green carpet lawn from suburbia and think that’s the standard.”
On Reframing the Aesthetic
· “If you give people something to look at—like the beautiful gardens at Town Hall—they get on board.”
· “A natural landscape is richer. Perennials return, they multiply… it becomes a legacy.”
On Environmental Harm
· “Pesticides and fertilizers contaminate the aquifer—the very water you drink.”
· “These chemicals are harmful not just to water, but to your dogs and your children.”
On Value & Beauty
· “A biodiverse landscape can absolutely increase value when people understand it’s beautiful and non-toxic.”
· “There’s a way to make pollinator gardens and indigenous grasses look elegant—but most people don’t know what they’re looking at yet.”
On the Need for Better Regulations
· “It’s shocking that you can take trees down so indiscriminately here. In many states you need a permit for mature trees.”
· “Builders overclear because it’s easy—then they just revegetate. But you’ve destroyed natural nitrogen filters that clean the water.”
On Educating the Industry
· “We need to open this conversation with the real estate community. Buyers say ‘100% cleared,’ and no one thinks about what that means.”
· “If there were examples—big homes with beautiful pollinator gardens—people would jump on. They love to follow a trend.”
