Changing Landscapes and Lives

Alabama Crew Changes Landscapes While Changing Lives

“We aren’t simply enhancing beauty in the world. There is a bigger purpose—blessing those who we work with.”

This is how Anna Snuggs outlines the mission of her family-run landscaping business in Birmingham, Alabama. Anna and her husband, Jacob, manage a design, build and maintenance firm that works on commercial and residential properties throughout the area. The couple launched the business to chase a love for the outdoors and a desire to enhance the spaces in their community. Their ultimate passion, though, is serving others, and they use landscaping to fulfill that goal.

When Jacob began his adult career, he pursued a life in ministry. He hoped to foster relationships with those who needed special support and guidance and saw himself in the church working with youth groups. Jacob studied to become a pastor, but felt called in a different direction shortly after school. He was drawn to the outdoors. Jacob fostered a special skill for landcare since childhood and even worked for a grounds crew in his teen and college-age years. He decided to obtain his Alabama landscape licensing and join a landscaping team. Then, several years later, he considered starting his own practice. With Anna’s support, Taproot Landscaping opened in 2014.

Anna was hesitant at first, but “Jacob really has an amazing eye for this,” she says. “The first job was a patio, and it turned out beautiful. I knew he loved it, so we kept working, and here we are nearly a decade later. I’ve really grown to love it, too.”

Ministry remained a top priority for the couple, and as they developed their business plan, they worked to incorporate it.

“That is how we found Urban Purpose,” Anna recalls. “The group works with local community members who have challenged backgrounds and are struggling to find a job.

"They’ve dealt with things like a criminal record, homelessness, addiction—just brokenness.
Jacob needed a team & decided this was
the perfect partnership."

To work with Urban Purpose, Taproot Landscaping forgoes background checks for their potential employees and accepts people with little to no landscaping experience. There is one important prerequisite when joining the team, though: getting to know Jacob. He works closely with each applicant to gauge their skillset, work ethic and overall character, and typically welcomes anyone who fits in well with the crew. Once on staff, Jacob continues building close relationships with each member, staying true to his ultimate goal of service and ministry. Since launching the business, roughly 100 team members have worked with Taproot Landscaping through Urban Purpose.

“It is so great getting to know everyone and watching how they grow,” says Anna. “For example, one man on our team, who is phenomenal, is very open with his story. He was living under a bridge when he started working with us. Now he works with a sobriety group and is a leader in the company.”

Taproot also hosts an intern program to engage younger landscapers in the field. They partner with a local high school to find students who are either interested in the job or are unsure of what to do after graduation. The students go through early training steps, assist on job sites and help manage the Taproot firewood department during the winter months. Anna says some students return after graduation to join the team full-time.

“We’ve hired people who don’t even know how to use a weed eater!” she says. “Jacob is truly a great teacher. He just wants people with teachable attitudes. Even though we accept people with little to no experience, we don’t let that negatively influence our product or service. We are very passionate about our quality of work and want to do the best job possible for our clients.

"Our team not only learns skills, they learn to work hard & take pride in what they do. Then, they teach others who come after them. Our crew encourages & learns from each other."

Taproot also has skilled and experienced landscape professionals on staff to round out the diverse team. Together, the group manages commercial properties throughout the Birmingham area. They handle residential design and build projects as well, specializing in hardscaping, outdoor fireplaces and stone patios. The crew also takes on irrigation-focused projects to help drainage at various sites and creative work that involves things like art installments and retaining walls.

“A lot of times, our clients come to us not knowing what they want,” Anna says. “They just know they want certain additions, like a fire pit or a hot tub. Then, we get to develop ideas with them based on their tastes, lifestyles and the property we are working with.”

Anna says drawing up the designs can be the most challenging piece of the project, but is often Jacob’s favorite step. For Anna, she loves the relationships built on the job and getting the whole family involved. The Snuggs’ three children often join mom and dad at work, visiting project sites and engaging with the crew. The children are some of Taproot’s biggest supporters, too. They proudly wear the company gear and show off the work their parents are doing around the area. This family engagement and community enhancement are two of the many rewards reaped through Taproot Landscaping’s ultimate mission to create “beauty with a purpose.”

“We’ve learned a lot about how to love and care for our team, our clients and our family,” Anna adds. “We want to always do what is best for everybody involved, and it often feels like we are still learning how to do that.

"It is a big responsibility & we wear a lot of hats,
but it has been such an incredible journey."

Anna & Jacob with their three kids

GET IN TOUCH WITH...

Jacob Snuggs
Owner of Taproot Landscaping

www.taprootlandscaping.com

urbanpurpose.or