Working Earth

Working Earth is an Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard organic landscape company founded in 1980 by Jude Villa, offering organic and biological lawn programs, garden design, stonework, driveways, irrigation, and tree care. The company holds an A+ Better Business Bureau rating, and its staff includes a NOFA-certified organic land care professional and a licensed pesticide applicator; the founder is also a Certified Tree Ambassador. Older coverage from Martha's Vineyard outlets describes Jude Villa and her crew bringing "the best" out of clients' yards and gardens, with design work spanning raw construction sites to overgrown landscapes. More recent local news coverage from 2022 described a different situation: the Oak Bluffs zoning board of appeals held hearings over the company's use of a piece of a 55-acre property, following months of complaints from neighbors, with attorneys for both sides making accusations at the hearing. A separate 2022 report noted the company had used a portion of that property for years. Given the contrast between the company's long-standing reputation for its organic landscaping work and the more recent, unresolved zoning dispute with neighbors over property use, anyone hiring Working Earth should ask directly about how equipment, staging, and operations are handled at job sites near residential neighbors.