The Castro Valley Boulevard project went in a couple of weeks ago in Hayward, CA. The installation occurred along this major thoroughfare between Nunes Avenue and Wilbeam Avenue. As you can see from the photos, this site has a fairly intricate stormwater component throughout the system. Permeable pavers will cover the parking bays to direct… More
San Francisco has already badly missed the point on trees once, and now it looks like they may be doing it again. According to a Bay Citizen article, Mayor Ed Lee recently proposed heavy budget cuts that include transferring the responsibility for the care and maintenance of 24,000 street trees to property owners.
There is a lot of discussion going around about the benefits of creating shared soil volumes for urban trees — in other words, connecting the rooting areas of two or more trees. Do they benefit? Do they not? In my mind, a shared soil volume is kind of like living in an apartment with a… More
Landscape Architects, like many other professions, have a variety of specialties. Some focus on site planning, others on urban landscape design, and some get down and dirty in residential design/build. It really runs the gamut. I have been trying to learn more about trees.
Occasionally we work on Silva Cell projects where the installation of the product and the soil it contains happen far in advance of any trees being planted. In these instances, we often get asked by concerned designers whether the soil biology can be maintained under sidewalks in the temporary absence of trees — and if… More
We’ve got two new Silva Cell case studies!
According to a recent article from Mark Kivner with the BBC, the first scientific study to examine what is commonly known as the nursery effect — that is, identical trees developing differently based on their growing conditions — has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Let the “trees don’t forget… More
In Part 1 I talked about the history of Bio Char. In Part 2, I discussed some of the controversy surrounding this soil amendment. Here in Part 3, I’ll look at how you obtain bio char and explore ideas for its future applications in cities. Bio char is made much differently than the charcoal we use… More
In Part 1 I talked about the history of Bio Char. In Part 2, I’ll discuss some of the controversy surrounding this soil amendment. I’ve only known about bio char for the last several years. My first experience with seeing modern manufactured bio char applied was by Dr. Kelby Fite at Bartlett Tree Laboratory over… More
I heard the joke I’m sharing with you today a long time ago from Darrel Morrison, FASLA. I have always liked it. There are not many tree jokes in the world, I wonder why? But here’s one for mixed company.
Bio char, or terra preta, is one of the best, longest lasting soil amendments known to humans. This pyrolysed carbon is a soil amendment that can include surprising ingredients such as rubber tires, biosolids, and food waste, has gotten a lot of attention as a low-cost, ecologically sustainable solution.
StreetsblogNY is reporting that green streets legislation has unanimously passed both houses of the New York State legislature recently, and is expected to be signed in to law by Governor Cuomo shortly. According to their summary, “Complete streets legislation would require planners to take account of all users, including those on foot, on a bicycle,… More
Soil. Stormwater. Sustainable Infrastructure.
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