Since 2009, the City of Boise has implemented 28 projects to revitalize historic downtown in a healthy and sustainable way. By adopting innovative and cost-effective solutions to long-standing challenges such as stormwater management and low tree canopy cover, Boise has emerged as a leader in green stormwater infrastructure. In the past, the city struggled to… More
In previous blog posts we discussed the history of biochar, we offered our thoughts on its possible application, and examined potential controversies. Most recently, we interviewed Kelby Fite about his work with biochar and held a webinar to discuss what designers need to know about the product. The following post is a collection of questions… More
Soil is essential to life. That’s why we hear more every day about the microbes that inhabit soil1. What many don’t realize, however, is that those microbes are related to the emerging field of “soil health.†Microbes also affect how soils are tested in laboratories. This topic has captured the attention of farmers, scientists and… More
Chris Buck works for San Francisco Public Works, which regulates the planting, care and removal for sidewalk and median trees in the city.  After serving as an inspector for the last eight years, he is now the Urban Forester. Chris often volunteers for the Western Chapter ISA and California Arborist Association and is a judge of… More
A few weeks ago we published a post about 13 steps to evaluate trees. It was written by a longtime contributor to this blog, Peter MacDonagh, who is an arborist, horticulturalist, adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota, and Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Some people in our community took issue with… More
There are many significant benefits to an MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) approach to managing urban stormwater. Many newer cities are fortunate to have such a system in place, but a great many don’t. Instead, they have a combined sewer system (CSS) where the same set of pipes handles both stormwater runoff and waste… More
Maria D’Agostino is a Community Forester and Consulting Arborist. After many years of learning and sharing urban forest practices in the San Francisco Bay Area, she moved to Alaska when the Municipality of Anchorage hired her to be their Municipal Forester. Later, she started her own consulting practice to help Alaskans understand the value and… More
I’ve known Dr. Bryant Scharenbroch, a soil researcher at Morton Arboretum and assistant professor of soil science at University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, for 11 years. In that time, he’s been involved in some excellent research. One of his most recent projects, done in collaboration with Katie Klaus (Morton Arboretum), James Urban (Urban Trees… More
Today I had the privilege of talking to Austin Troy, Professor and Chair of the Department of Planning and Design at the University of Colorado Denver. He recently presented preliminary results of his research on “The Effect of Urban Tree Canopy on Microclimate and Heat Islands†in a webinar and I was interested in learning… More
The Queensway is a major thoroughfare in Toronto that, after its construction in the 1950s, incorporated streetcar service as well as vehicle traffic. Starting in the 2000s, there was an increase in residential development, and the area has undergone new construction projects in order to accommodate a growing population seeking easy access to downtown. During this… More
Bioretention media is an important topic in the design world. As green infrastructure solutions gain acceptance, there is increased focus on finding the most effective media for on-site stormwater management. But there isn’t (yet) a lot of agreement on what the media consists of, and how to make it both functional for stormwater while being… More
Thanks to widespread efforts to raise awareness of the large declines in bee and Monarch butterfly populations, most people are aware of the need to protect pollinators. Monarch butterfly populations have declined 90% in the last 20 years. Bees and other pollinators are in trouble too. Primary causes of the drastic declines in pollinator populations… More
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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