Professional crews for trails, habitat, vacant land and green infrastructure.
For a decade Landforce crews have built and repaired trails, removed invasive plants, planted and cared for trees, stabilized vacant lots and maintained rain gardens and bioswales for municipalities, nonprofits, authorities and developers.
Four service lines, one crew standard
Allegheny County has almost 45,000 vacant lots and well over 10,000 acres of parks and land trusts. Our crews are built for exactly that landscape.
Trail construction & upgrades
New natural-surface trail, re-routes, drainage, wooden step installation, boardwalk replacement and the seasonal maintenance that keeps trails open and safe.
Recent: Crouse Run Nature Reserve boardwalk replacement; Emerald View Park; Dead Man’s Hollow; South Side Park.
Vacant land management & stabilization
Clearing, grading, seeding and erosion control that turn neglected lots into stable, mowable, community-ready ground; city steps clearing; garden bed installation and maintenance.
Recent: Homewood rehab work with Operation Better Block; Clairton play spaces.
Habitat restoration
Invasive plant removal and management, reforestation and tree planting, riparian-zone work and tree care that lets native habitat recover.
Recent: 755 trees planted in 2025 with the Pittsburgh Canopy Alliance; Pittsburgh Redbud Project with Western Pennsylvania Conservancy; Bear Run.
Stormwater & green infrastructure
Installation and maintenance of rain gardens, bioswales and other green infrastructure, with staff holding the National Green Infrastructure Certification.
Recent: Homewood North Rain Garden; Phipps HomeGrown; Hazelwood Green with JLL Pittsburgh.
What is a Landforce Crew?
A Landforce Crew usually consists of 6 crew members and 1 crew leader who work about 200 hours per week on projects, although size may vary depending upon the project.
Each crew provides professional level construction, restoration and maintenance services for trails, vacant lots, invasive plants, trees, garden plots, and other habitat and restoration services as needed. Our Land Stewardship Team provides logistical support. Crews are generally available May through November, although we can take on limited off-season work as well.
Visit our Past Projects page to view work Landforce Crews have previously done.
Parks, land trusts, municipalities, developers.
Landforce crews work for Pittsburgh’s nonprofit organizations, municipalities, authorities and developers. Clients have included the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, Allegheny Land Trust, Tree Pittsburgh, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Hollow Oak Land Trust, Operation Better Block, Trying Together and JLL Pittsburgh.
- Parks and conservancies: trail building and repair, invasive management, planting, seasonal maintenance at scale.
- Land trusts and watershed groups: habitat restoration, riparian work, reforestation.
- Municipalities and authorities: vacant-lot stabilization, city steps, stormwater and green-infrastructure maintenance.
- Developers and institutions: site stabilization, landscape maintenance and green-infrastructure care on large campuses such as Hazelwood Green.
From enquiry to finished site
Tell us about your project
Send the location, type of work, land type, planning stage and timeframe using the form below. Thomas Guentner, Director of Land Stewardship, follows up.
Site visit and scope
We walk the site with you, confirm ownership and permissions, and write a scope with crew-days and materials.
Crew scheduled
Your project is placed in the May to November season (or off-season where possible). A crew leader is your day-to-day contact.
Work and report
Crews deliver the scope safely and leave the site ready for use. Hours and outcomes feed our annual impact reporting.
Where crews have worked
- Bear Run
- Clairton Play Spaces
- Crouse Run Nature Reserve
- Dead Man’s Hollow
- Emerald View Park
- Homewood North Rain Garden
- Phipps HomeGrown
- South Side Park
- Hazelwood Green
- Hazelwood Greenway
- Polish Hill trail
- Brandt Trail, McCandless
- Hartwood Acres
Log recovery, milling and wood services
Responsible Wood Products (RWP) is one of two Landforce social enterprises that provide workforce training while creating lasting environmental impact.
We recover logs from urban trees scheduled for removal by certified tree service companies. Current services we provide are custom milling, kiln-drying, material transportation, chipping, and wood splitting.
Tell us about your project
Helpful details: location, type of work, land type, planning stage, who owns the site, permissions, funding and timeframe.