Green Infrastructure 7: Best Practices for Landscape

At the conclusion of this course, you will be able to:

• Describe Green Building principles and practices as they apply to Landscape
• Explain standards, specifications, zoning regulations, processes, and policies to encourage the proliferation of high-quality, attractive, and healthy landscapes
• Discuss maintaining and enhancing biodiversity and ecology
• List a diversity of ecotypes to repair or restore existing site systems
• Identify landscapes that are capable of high rates of stormwater absorption, infiltration, and treatment
• Discuss structural soils in trafficked planted areas or under pavements where planting will occur, to maximize plant health and minimize pavement damage
• Describe constructing earth berms to reduce unwanted noise, absorb excess fill, and to improve aesthetics and quality of life in residential neighborhoods where sufficient space exists
• Explain continuous soil trenches or root paths to provide greater area for root growth, better access to air, moisture and nutrients
• Discuss establishing a meadow or using native ground covers in lieu of turfgrass and using lower maintenance turfgrass species where recreational activities warrant need for mown grass
• Describe reducing water consumption and protecting water quality by designing a water-efficient landscape
• List biointensive integrated pest management (BIPM) techniques to minimize the use of synthetic chemicals for control of disease, invasives and pests
• Use the material from this course to develop your own checkists to improve existing policies and procedure