In the case of Angela Grannan, broker-owner at The Grannan Group in St. Petersburg, Fla. The trees have always fascinated and intrigued her. When she is with me at an old-fashioned coffee shop, she is wearing a silver-toned pendant of the tree adorned with different colored stones.

“Trees are our lifeline,” she affirms. “It’s no coincidence that the branches of a tree look like the branches of our lungs.”

She’s had a long-lasting relationship with nature that began in her college years at Indiana University, where she pursued a degree in environmental science. She then built a successful career of over a decade as an expert in ecological consulting for business properties.

Her passion for the business of real estate has always matched her love for the earth. According to her, both go hand-in-hand.

“There’s no reason why real estate and the environment shouldn’t be a symbiotic relationship.”

She and her husband, Chad, decided to go off independently to establish the GRANNAN Group in April 2022. She says they wished to integrate an element into their business model which would allow the creation of an enduring, lasting legacy.

“I kept coming back to my passion, and we landed on the decision to plant native trees for every property we sell.”

She contacted the local conservation group Keeps Pinellas Beautiful to form partnerships, and they devised a plan to implement her plan. In January, Plant Your Roots was established in a park near where she lived.

The Plant Your Roots program’s(link is external) mission to “increase the native canopy and reduce greenhouse gases for the good of humanity” requires various strategies, Grannan says. Community involvement is an integral part. Education is also essential, and Grannan recognizes that considerable investment is needed from everyone in the process for a significant impact.

Grannan and her husband contribute a portion of their commission from every residential sale to the planting of a tree. Because sustainability is a significant pillar of their business, the agents also contribute to planting trees. Its size will depend on the cost of the property that is being sold.

“For instance, we plant one 15-gallon tree for a $500,000 home.”

 

From Left to Right: Michelle N. Shoup, licensed assistant and transaction coordinator; Chad Grannan, broker-owner of The GRANNAN Group, and Angela Grannan, the broker-owner of The GRANNAN Group, show off their Plant Your Roots Program t-shirts.

Clients have the choice of planting the tree on their property, or they may choose to plant it elsewhere in the city. If they choose the latter option, they can select the tree and the place to produce it. Grannan gives the customer a flipbook of choices that are all from Florida. When the tree is established, Grannan sends money to Plant Your Roots, then alerts Keep Pinellas Beautiful, who swoops into the area, securing the tree before planting it. The customer receives the “Certificate of Environmental Stewardship,” which includes the species of tree that was produced and GPS coordinates to locate the tree.

In addition to Keep Pinellas Beautiful, Grannan claims she’s also built relationships with her local City of St. Petersburg as a beneficiary from the tree. If a customer wishes to donate the tree instead of plant it in their backyard–and doesn’t prefer the kind of tree or the location–a group of city workers, including the Director of Urban Forestry, assists in determining where a tree will be needed in the city.

“It was important for us to be in contact with the people on the ground that have really pertinent information about the community itself and what’s needed,” Grannan states.

The Grannans are set on expanding this Plant Your Roots program past the initial tree planting. The brokerage holds its share of the market for luxury homes in this area for residential clients. Additionally, they represent clients in commercial transactions. The Grannans know that they can increase the impact of their program on these high-value transactions.

“I think about what’s possible, and I’m asking myself what might be possible in the luxury space right now,” she states. “We could possibly undertake an exclusive eco-friendly restoration project in the name of the owner, and we might be able to have a greater impact. In the context of commercial and the new development phase, we may be able of doing something more substantial than that.”

Grannan declares she’d like to hold events on the topic of environmental restoration to ensure people in the community know what’s required and feel that they are part of the discussion. She’s in talks in this with green-friendly businesses from the local area. One of them is the locally-owned Sans Market in downtown St. Petersburg. The store sells products–toiletries, kitchen necessities, bulk soaps, detergents, and the like–made of environmentally friendly materials that promote a zero-waste lifestyle.

“We want to be a true community partner, so we want to support community businesses and organizations that are aligned,” she adds.

The city, which is a gulf-coast town, is just the beginning, Grannan states. The brokerage has already expanded southward to Naples. In addition, the Plant Your Roots program has been extended beyond Pinellas County as well. The organization planted trees in four counties surrounding it in just three months. The founder hopes this Plant Your Roots program becomes a national brand with affiliates nationwide.