Good Neighbor Podcast: Auburn and Opelika

Ep.#105: Burns Environmental: Hydro Seeding Made Clear

• Susannah Hodges at Village Centre Press

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0:00 | 10:35

We explore how hydro seeding protects land on large sites and why the trades offer real paths to success. Chad shares how a values clash at work led him to launch a faith-centered company that now restores ground for solar fields and major contractors.

• what hydro seeding is and why it matters
• where erosion control fits on solar and construction sites
• how a job loss became a purpose-driven launch
• myths about college as the only route to success
• the role of faith and mission in daily operations
• family, community, and balance beyond work
• how to contact Burns Environmental for projects

www.alabamahydroseeding.com


SPEAKER_00:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your home, Good.

SPEAKER_01:

Welcome, and with me is Chad Burns. Chad is the owner of Burns Environmental. Welcome, Chad. Thanks for being with me.

SPEAKER_03:

Hey, Susanna, thank you for having me. Glad to be here.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. Tell me a little bit about Burns Environmental, what you guys do there, and um how you can help people.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah, we are a uh erosion control company that primarily focuses on hydro seeding. We uh we work as far north we've been to Maryland, East Coast, we've been as far west to Texas and then Midwest Missouri, but we we primarily do hydro seeding on solar fields, is that's kind of what we do. We uh we've got a lot of good guys, we collect anywhere from five to fifteen employees, and um and and that's what we do.

SPEAKER_01:

So tell me, what is hydro seeding? I don't know that I know anything about that.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, so it's it's uh it's a way to uh prevent erosion by applying uh oh a mixed slurry that that uh is versus traditional means of grassing, it's a way to do it mechanically with uh equipment. Uh and and it really helps with with hard to get to places. They're harder to do it traditionally.

SPEAKER_01:

And so you said mainly you were doing it on solar land. So what what is that?

SPEAKER_03:

That's correct, like solar fields, solar power energy. Yeah, we'll we'll go in and um try to reclaim the land once they strip it and get it, get it ready prior to construction before they start the solar fields.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, well, what are some of the uh instances that people might need hydro seeding besides you know a solar field?

SPEAKER_03:

Sure. Um large scale contractors, site site work guys, you know, site companies, they that's typically who we work for is guy earth movers, you know, we used to support them.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, all right. Well, how did you get into hydro seeding?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah, it was uh so so kind of a long story, but we I had worked in manufacturing primarily and um had always had a desire to to work for myself, had always had a desire to uh to build a business and grow a business and all those things, and um, you know, life happened and uh family and uh good jobs, and it it kind of just felt irresponsible to uh to leave you know good employment, good jobs that God had given me to to chase a air castle or pipe dream, or you know, it just felt irresponsible to do that. And time goes on and I'm doing it part-time, and uh so there's a lot in that story, but the um I had ended up with a company whose values and mine didn't necessarily meet. Um you know, there was some more secular kind of worldly um components of the business that was being pushed that uh I wasn't aligned with from a Christian value perspective. So with that, the uh it came to a head, you know, one day I'd always been successful, and um you know, I I found myself uh pushing back on a few agendas and um and and they basically told me the last stop, they told me that this is not your fault, this is not ours, take this money and go away, you know. And so I felt for the first time, uh, you know, the the pain that comes with trying to, you know, stand on your your Christian values and you know, trying to swim upstream at times doesn't always end well, or at least we we feel that way in the moment. But um, you know, I was ashamed, right? And so I'm I I'm I'm on my way home, and I know the wife and kids are still gonna be there, so I almost didn't stop. I almost pulled in a parking lot where I would I didn't have to face them. And then the uh when I got home, my wife told me it's fine. That's all I needed to hear. It was gonna be fine. And then that I started work that day full time for myself, and God blessed it. Um, it I never missed a a beat. He gave me the right work at the right time, and it it and honestly exploded. He he did things exceedingly abundantly above all we're able to ask or think. I I could have never dreamed it, and I could have never done it as well as what he did. Um, and and that's that's kind of how it happened. God, God nudged me in that direction. Thankful for it.

SPEAKER_01:

You know, um a big reason why I do this podcast is to um allow people to listen to business owners, their journey into how they got to be a business owner. And uh there's always, you know, something that pushes you forward. And for your instance, it was uh, you know, that problem at uh a traditional job that caused you to go full force into your business. And um that's you know, a part of it is sometimes you do need the Lord to go, hey, I'm gonna push you off this cliff here.

SPEAKER_03:

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01:

That's me, right?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, that's uh that's that's what he did. He knew he knew I wasn't gonna do it on my own.

SPEAKER_01:

So sometimes it takes that. You just you just gotta have a little push to give you the courage to to do uh what you need to do. And so you've been in this type of business for a while here. What are some of the misconceptions that people have about hydro seeding and erosion control that you've come across?

SPEAKER_03:

Well, I think that um I think when it comes to the this type work the or the trades, I think there's misconceptions with it, you know, a man or woman can't do well in the trades. You know, maybe that's that's hard work, you know, it's go to school and get the the education, which that's good. I I did that. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's not the only path. It's um and I guess the misconception is that you know, maybe hard work and and good character and doing what you say and and saying what you mean and those type things, uh you know that that can pay off too. That can uh and it can be very rewarding. And there's not a cookie cutter mold for everyone that uh you can do well outside of the misconception of the collegiate path is not. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01:

And I think I think what you're saying is absolutely um a trend now as people are learning, hey, you don't necessarily have to go into college debt to have a good job and to have a good business.

SPEAKER_03:

Sure, sure. And I I think for us, you know, we we strived from the beginning to uh to to make it a company that brought glory to him, and that's what it was about, and that's what it's still about. Um, you know, we we strive to to to meet the mission that's built off the passages of 1 Corinthians 10 31 and Colossians 3 23, and and we strive to do that um for his glory and and God's blessed that.

SPEAKER_01:

So I saw those Bible verses on your website when I was looking through it, and um, so it's uh good to know that you're a Christian-based uh business.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So let's talk about you and your and your family for a minute. What do you guys like to do for fun when you're not out hydro seeding?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, so so the hydro seeding is not the fun part, you're right. But the yeah, we've got you know, my family, we there's there's five of us. We have Casey and I have three boys, and um, one's graduating high school this year, and the one's 16, about to be 16 and 13. And so we we're into what they do. We enjoy uh a couple of them enjoy basketball. So we spend some time at the courts with them. Just you know, fun is whatever, whatever we do with them, right? Yeah, but that's that's fun.

SPEAKER_01:

I mean when you have young kids, you kind of tend your fun revolves around what's fun for them, right?

SPEAKER_03:

That's it, that's it. And then, you know, me personally, I plug in at our local church at First Baptist, and that's where I try to spend my time. That's what that's what's fun for me.

SPEAKER_01:

Good, good. Well, what's one thing you wish people knew about your business that they may not realize?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, I've tried to try to get it across in this this uh podcast with you, Susanna. It's just you know, we're we're Christ centered. Ultimately we seek to honor him. And that's that's we don't do a great, I mess this up all the time, but that's that's what I want to do. You know, that's what we want to do. That's what my guys want to do. Um, so that's you know, that's what we are good, bad, or indifferent. And uh, I think it's good. But yes, it's not it's not about the money, um, could care less about that. It's not about the prestige, it's not about the name behind the business. It's just trying to do all to his glory.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Well, how can people get in touch with you if they need uh some erosion control on their land or even need the hydro uh seeding? What how would they get how would they find you?

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, our website. It's uh it's the easiest way to get connected, but but you could just Google Burns Environmental or you could uh go to Alabama HydroSeeding.com.

SPEAKER_01:

All right. Sounds good. Thank you so much. I've enjoyed learning about you and Burns Environmental, and I appreciate you spending time with me.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, thank you, Susanna. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast Auburn. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to the bnpauburn.com. That's dnpauburn.com. Or calling the