National River Cleanup Day

In observance of National River Cleanup Day on May 18, 2013, RMC employees partnered with employees from May Design Services, Pacific Geotechnical Engineering, RHAA, Schaaf & Wheeler, and Urban Design Consulting Engineers to clean the West Little Llagas Creek. RMC is leading the design of a flood protection improvement project that encompasses this portion of Llagas Creek located in Morgan Hill, California.

Ballona Wetlands Restoration

In February 2013, RMC’s Santa Monica office employees continued their support of the restoration program sponsored by the Friends of Ballona Wetlands, a volunteer program focused on restoring the coastal ecosystem. RMC volunteers focused on dune restoration and non-native grass removal.

California Coastal Cleanup Day

In the spirit of volunteerism and stewardship, on Saturday, September 15, 2012, members of our San Diego office participated in California Coastal Cleanup Day. Over 7,200 volunteers at 88 cleanup sites in San Diego County (including beaches, bays, canyons, and open space areas) removed 125,000 pounds of debris!

Ballona Wetlands Restoration

In July 2012, RMC’s Santa Monica office employees participated in a restoration program sponsored by the Friends of Ballona Wetlands, a volunteer program focused on restoring the coastal ecosystem. RMC volunteers helped remove invasive species and restore dunes in Playa Del Rey, California.

Heron’s Head Park Restoration

In June 2012, RMC’s San Francisco office employees volunteered for a project to remove invasive species at Heron’s Head Park, located in a disadvantaged area of southeast San Francisco. The park’s restoration and stewardship is spearheaded by the non-profit group Literacy for Environmental Justice (LEJ). LEJ trains youth from Bayview Hunters Point (BVHP) to become authorities and activists in environmental health research, education, and advocacy; and environmental conservation, restoration, and horticulture. BVHP is predominantly a low-income community of color where industry has caused extensive toxic pollution.

Topanga Creek Trail Restoration
RMC’s Santa Monica office joined TreePeople and the Mountains Restoration Trust in restoring Topanga Creek to its historic natural beauty. The volunteers watered and weeded the creek-side native vegetation to eliminate non-native invasive plants, and carefully worked around a baby rattlesnake's den!

Friends of L.A. River Cleanup
In May 2010, RMC’s Santa Monica employees volunteered their Saturday and picked up loads of trash that wash through the river every day. The non-profit organization was founded in 1986 to protect and restore the natural and historic heritage of the Los Angeles River and its riparian habitat through inclusive planning, education and wise stewardship.

Santa Monica Beach Cleanup
In August 2010, RMC’s Santa Monica office donated their time after work to go to a local beach cleanup. RMC volunteers picked up a lot of trash and were thanked by locals on the beach as well as lifeguards!

Coastal Cleanup Day
In September, 2010 RMC hosted a site for Coastal Cleanup Day in San Diego. Our site attracted more than 60 volunteers who collected 255 pounds of trash while also providing data on the type of materials collected. Organizations such as I Love a Clean San Diego and San Diego Coastkeeper analyze the data about items collected to better understand potential sources and common problematic types of marine debris. Without Coastal Cleanup Day, these items would continue to spread to bays and beaches as they travel downstream.

Carbon Offset
Supporting the environment continues to be important to RMC. In December 2009, RMC offset our business-related travel for the year by purchasing carbon offsets for approximately 272 metric tons of CO2. According to EPA estimates, our contribution offsets the equivalent of 900,000 airline passenger miles, or 600,000 vehicle passenger miles.

RMC’s contribution will go directly to funding a biodigester facility in California that captures methane from animal waste and uses it to produce clean bioenergy. The carbon offsets were purchased through Carbon-fund.org, calculated using the American Carbon Registry/Environmental Resources Trust’s Monitoring, Reporting and Verification Protocol, and verified by Environmental Resources Trust. To learn more about the project visit CarbonFund.org

Dockweiler Beach Cleanup
The Santa Monica office had another successful beach clean-up day on June 27, 2009. Employees volunteered to collect trash and clean up the Jungle Beach in Playa Del Rey. Over 15 bags of trash were collected ranging from Styrofoam, socks, shoes, boxers and even a valve!

Tree People
In January 2009, RMC’s Santa Monica office personnel participated in restoring the native habitat in the Topanga Canyon State Park through TreePeople. TreePeople is a non-profit organization that provides solutions to urban ecosystem problems. RMC helped restore the native riparian habitat by removing invasive species (bamboo-like arundo plants and jacaranda) and planting native grasses and plants (willows, mule fat, alders and oaks). The restoration of the Topanga Creek watershed will specifically aide in the repopulation of the steelhead trout population that used to swim freely from the nearby Pacific Ocean in Malibu up the headwaters of Topanga Creek.

Top 200 Environmental Firms for 2009
For the third year in a row, RMC has been named one of the top 200 Environmental Firms as compiled by Engineering News Record. Companies are ranked based on gross revenue reported in 2008 for providing environmental services and products to domestic and international markets.