Site & Landscape

Written by Michelle McEuen

The North Texas Land / Water Sustainability Forum announces a national Low Impact Development (LID) Design Competition aimed at educating design professionals, built environment decision makers, local governments and the public on the positive impacts of LID. Teams will submit their LID design based on data from four actual properties within the North Texas area and criteria from the region’s integrated Stormwater Management (iSWM™) Program. Professional Categories are Green Street Urban Roadway, Mixed Use Development, Urban Redevelopment, and Multi-Family Development.  There is also a Student Competition.  The student project is in conjunction with a Habitat for Humanity project.

Registration is open from May 23^rd to July 1^st, 2012. Submittals are due October 1^st, 2012. Prize money of $15,000 will be awarded to the winning professional team from each category.

Competition Objectives:

• Provide a hands-on learning experience through which design, construction and development professionals in North Texas will gain meaningful experience in working with Low Impact Development and integrated Stormwater Management methodologies that can be applied to their everyday practices.

• Demonstrate to the local development and civic community the economic, environmental and marketing benefits that are available with respect to sustainable site development.

• Recognize and award winning design teams for their creativity, innovation and application of sustainable site design.

Design Goals:

• Conserve natural resources that provide natural functions associated with controlling and filtering stormwater.

• Use LID / iSWM decentralized site-based planning and design strategies to manage the quantity and quality of stormwater runoff.

• Use LID / iSWM techniques to reduce the amount of runoff by mimicking the natural hydrologic function of the site and matching pre-development hydrology.

• Focus on minimizing and disconnecting impervious surfaces and promoting bio-filtration and evaporation of runoff before it can leave the site.

• Use small-scale landscape features and LID-based iSWM Stormwater Controls to work as a system to clean, slow, evaporate and infiltrate surface runoff at the source.

The following leaders in their fields will comprise the Expert Judges:

• Civil Engineering – TBD

• Landscape Architecture – TBD

• Low Impact Development – TBD

• Architecture – TBD

• Hydrology – TBD

Site & Landscape

Written by Michelle McEuen

Most of Texas once again is suffering from a severe drought, making water conservation principles more important than ever. But you can save water, time and money by following the seven time tested principles of Xeriscaping — coined by the Denver Water Utilities in 1981 and more recently by Earth-Kind Landscaping from Texas AgriLife.

The steps include planning and design, soil analysis, practical turf areas, appropriate plant selection, efficient irrigation, use of mulches and appropriate maintenance.

These principles will help you in the long run by teaching you to choose the right plant for the right place, and then watering them correctly. Also, rainwater harvesting and rain gardens will allow you to capture rainwater from your roofs. This means free water for your garden — without the chemicals.

Of all these subjects, understanding your soil and irrigation can save you the most money and gallons of water.  Know this: most people overwater. It is bad for your landscape, a drain on our water supply and detrimental to the environment.  Watering correctly once a week during a drought will not be a problem for your landscape if you follow these principles.

Do you know whether you have heavy clay soil or light sandy loam?  Each has individual needs, and knowing the difference often leads to success or failure. By using a moisture meter or a soil probe when in doubt, you will know whether to turn on my irrigation system or not.

By being a responsible citizen, we can help our municipalities to conserve our precise and scarce water resources

To learn more about these principles, sign up for a class I teach at Collin College called Sustainable Landscapes.

Carrie Dubberly
Owner, Landscape Designer, Speaker, Writer
Dubberly Landscape
carrie@dubberlylandscape.com
dubberlylandscape.com