Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Going green with native greens

by STEVE NICHOLS
FOX 13 NEWS

ST. PETERSBURG - City councilmember Karl Nurse thinks the persistent drought requires a fresh look at city development regulations.

"Changes would need to include: Limitations on turf as a percentage of landscapes, limitations on areas with traditional irrigation systems, and...ending the requirement that Florida Friendly landscaping plans be designed by a landscape architect," Nurse wrote in a memo.

Nurse used one of his own properties to demonstrate Florida friendly landscaping. He claims, "This is all stuff that, once it's established, doesn't need any water besides what God brings us."

He says native plants also do not require pesticides or fertilizers because they have adapted to local conditions.

Nurse also wants the city to look for more ways to use native plants on its own properties. Some medians already employ such landscaping and native plants will be used at a new Water Department administration building and a new fire station.

"I'm just trying to pick up the pace," Nurse says, "because this water crisis sort of mandates that we change."

Thursday, November 20, 2008

TIPS ON FIREWISE LANDSCAPING


A Firewise home needs at least 30 feet of defensible space on all sides. In this space, the landscape is managed to prevent flames from reaching the home.
Landscaping Tips Carefully space plants and trees to maintain vertical and horizontal separation .

TIPS ON FIREWISE LANDSCAPING
A Firewise home needs at least 30 feet of defensible space on all sides. In this space, the landscape is managed to prevent flames from reaching the home.
Landscaping Tips Carefully space plants and trees to maintain vertical and horizontal separation .
./ Plant trees and shrubs in groupings separated by grass
./ Remove "ladder fuels" like vines and shrubs that link the grass and tree tops
./ Utilize driveways, gravel walkways and lawns as fuel breaks
./ Choose a more fire resistant mulch made of chunky bark or stone
Fire Resistant Plant Characteristics:

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

I want to help out with this so let me share

Organic landscaping school

The Nantucket Land Council, in its continuing mission to rejoin Nantucketers with Mother Earth, is offering 10, $1,000 scholarships for island landscapers to go to a five-day accreditation class in organic land care.
The course is sponsored by the Northeast Organic Farming Association and is the Land Council's way of educating landscapers and gardeners in organic practices designed to prevent the pollution of the island's ponds, drinking water and shellfishing industries with heavy fertilization.
The Land Council believes that overuse of fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus has a significant negative impact on island groundwater and is likely one of the causes of shrinking scallop populations in our harbors.
If you are interested in this scholarship, pick up an application at the Land Council office at 6 Ash Lane and sign up for one of the four sets of dates that the course is offered at the following link: www.organiclandcare.net/ OLC%20Course/8thannualOLCcourse.php. The deadline for applications is Dec. 1. Call 228-2818 for more details. I

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The Wild Fire

It is on everyone minds here. This is the information I found out from the state click for important news about the fire

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Brown is the new green

Green may be a misnomer for residents trying to create environmentally conscious yards in California. But, landscape designer Sherri Osaka is working to dispel the myth of green yards in favor of ones that are a little bit browner.

The Bay Area and most of California sit in a Mediterranean climate -- also found in South Africa, Chile, Australia and the Mediterranean -- which is known for hot dry summers and cold wet winters. The European-derived foundation landscape of shrubs, annual flowers and green grass usually leads to an artificially sustained landscape in a Mediterranean climate, which involves heavy maintenance, petrochemicals and negative effects on the environment.

Osaka will be teaching a class at Common Ground in Palo Alto on Nov. 22 to show that landscapes with native plants, proper irrigation and prudent use of resources can create a yard that is sustainable, environmentally sensible and still aesthetic.

She always had an interest in nature and holism, but her previous career was notably computer technology. In 1981, she graduated from the University of Michigan with an electrical engineering degree and went straight to work at Hewlett-Packard and later other software companies. to read all of the articles ckick here

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Report Offers First Comprehensive Look at Creating Sustainable Landscapes

WASHINGTON & AUSTIN, Texas, Nov 10, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Today, the Sustainable Sites Initiative invites public comment on a new report that offers the most comprehensive set of voluntary, national guidelines ever developed for sustainable landscapes. Titled Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks Draft 2008, it provides more than 50 prerequisites and credit options that cover everything from initial site selection design to construction and maintenance. The report is available for comment and download at www.sustainablesites.org, with a public comment period open until Jan. 20, 2009.
The report is particularly timely because of increased concerns about such environmental issues as scarce resources, climate change, waste and air and water pollution. Landscapes have the potential to use resources more efficiently, improve air and water quality, reduce the urban heat island effect and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere -- helping reduce global warming. However, previous efforts to address sustainable practices in the design and construction industry mostly focused on buildings.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Designers Learn from Nature to Achieve a Platinum-Perfect Building

LOS ANGELES, Nov 10, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- USGBC Awards LEED Platinum to Los Angeles' Center for Community Forestry
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The US Green Building Council (USGBC) awarded its highest level of recognition, LEED(R) Platinum certification, to the Conference Center at the newly re-opened TreePeople Center for Community Forestry. TreePeople, an environmental non-profit, has served the Los Angeles region for 35 years with the goal of "helping nature heal our cities." The state-of-the-art Conference Center provides a gathering place for local, national, and international leaders to create healthy, sustainable cities.
The Conference Center is the focal point for the Center for Community Forestry, a four-acre environmental educational campus located in L.A.'s Coldwater Canyon Park. Furthering TreePeople's mission to provide environmental and watershed education to the public, the Conference Center utilizes natural principles to minimize the building's need for imported heating, cooling, energy and water.