We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rosemarie Miner. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rosemarie below.

Alright, Rosemarie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

If I look back at the most interesting parts of my life story there is a common thread among them all, be it moving to New York City at 17 or to Australia with $200 USD or opening a brick & mortar location after a recession in 2023. What all of these events have in common is faith– I bet on myself to make the impossible possible.
If I really sat here and recounted the stories in detail I would have to include all of the small moments where I battled anxiety, thoughts of scarcity, acknowledgement of the lack of a safety net in my life, and the odds I was up against. But the universal part is what I feel compelled to share. The inner voice that has you dreaming big, its in all of us. The more we listen to it, in little moments, the more we can come to depend on it for more substantial guidance. In 2023, the business had its hardest financial year to date. I knew from other small business owners facing the same trend that this was indicative of a larger financial trend that many people were facing. I have been calling this moment “the silent recession.” It was alluded to in passing but no one wanted to cover it because once its called a recession consumer behavior and market response drive us deeper into the trenches of financial restriction and uncertainty. That’s the beauty of capitalism.
Nonetheless, I had a quiet voice telling me to give business in Brooklyn one more year. And so I stuck it out and racked up some credit card debt, like any good American. At the start of 2024, the opportunity to take the last of any business capital I had available to me and invest it in a brick and mortar, presented itself. Gracefully, really. A small space became available that would serve as a place to meet with clients, store tools, build team autonomy and offer minimal retail opportunities. On paper, this made no sense, but I was following a vision that went beyond logic. I was set on building a company that is the business we will need to support a livable future. I was all in on my idealism and had agreed (with myself) to take it all the way.
In 2024, the revenue of our worker owned ecological landscaping company was just over my $800,000 goal. Seeds that had been planted years ago, tended to with diligence, sweat, and love, started to sprout out of darkness. It was a test of patience, will, and the commitment to growth in all areas of my personhood. I welcomed Erika Meade as a second worker owner in 2024. Our vision of uplifting professional land stewards and craftspeople to work on residential, commercial and government green infrastructure projects is only just starting to actualize but our faith in our ability to make the impossible possible has solidified.

Rosemarie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a green infrastructure professional with more than 12 years of hands-on experience in nature based solutions to climate change. As a first generation college student I went to college wanting the most bang for my buck, thus I pursued science, a B.S. in Ecology at St. John’s University. I bopped around NYC working as a housekeeper, bartender, server, concierge and more. In 2012, I served as AmeriCorps with New York Restoration Project (and kept a lot of my other jobs) as an opportunity to get a start in my field. Simultaneously, I served as the first Organizing Fellow with 596 Acres, engaging communities across Brooklyn to increase community access to vacant public space. In 2014, I joined NYRP as staff and served as the Zone Gardener in Brooklyn, Citywide Volunteer Coordinator and Public Programs Manager. In my tenure with the non-profit, I worked on several facets of the Million TreesNYC Initiative and slaked my thirst for the inner workings of green infrastructure across our city.

Since the birth of my son, I have gone all in as the founder of Our Temenos, an ecological landscaping company revolutionizing the landscaping industry. My goal as founder of Our Temenos is to build a business that models the ways we can problem solve at scale when we center ecology and workers’ rights. Drawing on my history as a community organizer, I continue to work tirelessly to build environmental and social resilience across the five boroughs.

I have recently achieved LEED AP Neighborhood Development accreditation, and serve on the boards of Artemis Ecology & Arts Initiative and MetroHort. I enjoy community theater, dancing, making potions, cooking from nose to tail and a good book. I am proudly known to burst into spontaneous song.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

It may seem simple to listen more than you speak but perfecting this skill has built an immense amount of trust between me and our clients. Often times, designers will deliver the product that they want to associate with their brand or aesthetic rather than the product that solves the problems a client has. Our values are non-negotiable as an ecological landscaping company– put simply, I will not underpay staff to do dangerous and difficult work and we will not go against our best judgement as it relates to the long term impacts on the environment. I will however listen closely to what the client is and isn’t telling me about their problems and come up with creative ways to solve them within the confines of their budget. When we find a way to save a client money without sacrificing on the service, we tell them. When we come in under budget, we tell them. We listen, we observe, we problem solve and we are transparent. It seems simple enough, certainly,

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Growing up in abject poverty generates a myriad of outcomes. For me, it meant that I carried detrimental narratives with me about money and self-worth, I guess you could call it an inheritance. It took more than a decade of yoga, a few doses of magical mycellial fruiting bodies and countless hours of hands in the dirt to transmute those systems of thought and get back to my soul’s operating system. What that looked like in business was attracting clients who wanted to take advantage of me early on in my career, not charging enough for the services being rendered and poor boundaries with clients who were consistently late on payment. In unlearning the ideas impressed upon me I have attracted the best clients I could ask for! They share our values, pay on time and consistently and treat all of us as people, packing coolers full of beverages on hot days and remaining loyal to our service.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ourtemenos.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ourtemenos
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosemarie-miner/
• Other: https://www.angi.com/companylist/us/ny/brooklyn/our-temenos-llc-reviews-1.htm

Image Credits

Shayne Spencer 2024 photos 3,4, and 6
Elisa Grisales 2024 photo 5
Rosemarie Miner 1,2, 7 and 8