Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or “drones” evoke a variety of responses from people ranging from anger over privacy invasion to awe over the new perspectives on our world. But like the Force, drones are merely tools that can be used for either the Dark Side or the Light. My interest in drones is related to… More
Last month’s blog was the first in a series that focuses on maintenance considerations for Green Infrastructure (GI) systems. We touched on how the design of GI systems should be guided by maintenance funding, equipment, material, staff, and frequency. We saw how early consideration of operations and maintenance (O&M) factors can streamline feasibility assessment, refine… More
This year’s European Forum on Urban Forestry (EFUF) was held in Helsinki and Vantaa, Finland. The theme “Increasing Cities, Decreasing Green Areas: Challenges to Urban Foresters and Green Professionals” was very appropriate as both cities are expanding rapidly. Don’t know about EFUF? For 21 years, EFUF has held an annual conference in various European countries,… More
The term “stormwater” does not evoke positive imagery for many people. It’s likely that the term conjures polluted water, pipes, and ponds rather than artful design features. However, the need for stormwater management has only become more important as the frequency and severity of storm events has grown. Over the past 20 years, this topic… More
This blog is the first in a series of three that focuses on maintenance for Green Infrastructure (GI) systems and includes design considerations for selecting and designing GI systems, developing O&M manuals, and training maintenance staff to maintain the installed GI facilities. Conventional or grey stormwater infrastructure systems require maintenance in order to provide the… More
Over the last several years, DeepRoot has written about reusing urban soils as a planting medium. To date, the following have been covered via the DeepRoot blog: Reusing Existing Urban Soil for Planting Urban Soil Assessment and Reuse: Part 1 and Part 2 Search for the “Perfect” Soil Specification The articles above create a basis… More
If you love trees but aren’t familiar with Diana Beresford-Kroeger, it’s time to acquaint yourself with her work. A botanist, medical biochemist, author, and activist, her background combines western scientific training with traditional folk-knowledge and methods. Perhaps her strongest talent is her ability to bring an understanding and appreciation of the scientific complexities of nature… More
We hear a lot of discussion about the need to increase urban tree canopy, and the area people often focus on when planting new trees is the strip of land along the street in front of homes or businesses. This strip is known as a planting strip, buffer, neutral zone, park strip, or in Great… More
A common concern when integrating street runoff into a Silva Cell system is the effect that deicing salt may have on trees. In areas with cold winter climates, we commonly see salt damage to street trees. Deicing salt from roads is picked up by stormwater runoff and enters tree pits. Often, roots are damaged when… More
Public parks share dynamic relationships with the communities they serve. The way we design parks can either promote or hinder their diversity of use, exclude or empower neighborhoods, resemble anywhere or reflect the history and collective values of the place. To create parks that enable residents to feel more connected to place, community development project… More
It’s difficult to convince people to commit time, money, and energy to an abstract concept. Show people an image or some thoughtful calculations, however, and suddenly it is easier to motivate them in your favor. Such is often the case with planting trees in our cities and parks. Environmentalists, designers, arborists, and others have known… More
A big shift in how stormwater is managed is occurring as more and more agencies begin planning and implementing green infrastructure to reduce volume and increase quality of stormwater runoff. While regional climate considerations, agency operations and maintenance practices, and the physical use of adjacent space (e.g. if the stormwater facility next to a road… More
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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