GREEN KEEPERS WORKSHOP OUTLINE:
I. INTRODUCTION
Speaker: Joe Evans, Principal of Evans + Lighter Landscape Architecture
Understanding Green Infrastructure
- What is:
- “green infrastructure”?
- “stormwater”?
- a “watershed”?
- Explain how our traditional grey infrastructure works.
- Explain how stormwater works in New Orleans - where it drains, why we flood.
- Explain the difference between impermeable and permeable surfaces – use of visqueen as a weed barrier vs. landscape cloth, concrete vs. soil, etc.
- Explain how every property affects our sewerage system – and how a green infrastructure “system” is necessary to truly remediate our stormwater problems.
- Explain what groundwater is and how it is used and recharged.
- Explain different scales of green infrastructure from the small-scale residential catchment to city-wide systems that can impact large amounts of stormwater.
II. PLANT MATERIALS
Plants and Their Role in Green Infrastructure
- Classroom Discussion | Speaker: Dana Brown
How Plants Affect Stormwater
- Define the “Urban Forest”
- Discuss different plant species - best and worst trees and plants for absorbing stormwater - best shrubs and other understory plants for absorbing stormwater and its pollution
- Explain a tree’s physiology and the myriad of ways it affects the environment around it
- Discuss the importance of native plants and water loving plants in our landscape and how they help remediate our stormwater problems
B. Field Trip Discussion
Speakers: Dana Brown + Susannah Burley (If the group is too large we can break into 2 groups, and then switch)
Plant Identification and Discussion
- Identify the biggest water absorbing trees, and how to choose the right spot for them, considering power lines and other urban landscape elements
- Identify shrubs and other understory plants that absorb stormwater well. Discuss which ones are appropriate for the urban landscape and which aren’t due to invasiveness, maintenance, cold weather tolerance, etc.
- Field Trip to Green Infrastructure Site where appropriate vegetation is showcased, and the architecture and infrastructure of project can be visually explained. Also, walk around neighborhood to identify other appropriate vegetation.
III. VEGETATED DEPRESSIONS
Speaker: Landscape Architect Dana Brown
Rain Gardens and Vegetated Swales in the Urban Landscape
- Classroom Discussion (1 hour) – Introduction to and definition of Rain Gardens and Vegetated Swales– how they alleviate pressure on the sewerage system, what plants work best in these systems, examples of these systems at different scales
B. Field Trip (1 hour) to visit strong examples of Vegetated Swales and Rain Gardens. Discussion of plant materials used, how to prevent erosion, how to use rain gardens to prevent flooding.
IV. ROOFTOP GARDENS and VERTICAL GARDENS | Speaker: Emily Bullock of Spackman, Mossop + Michaels
Reusing Stormwater on the Tops and Sides of Buildings
- Classroom Discussion – How do these design interventions remediate stormwater problems? A brief history of Rooftop and Vertical Gardens and their hydrologic purpose will be presented. Then, the speaker will talk about how to scale down these ideas for usage at home.
- Field Trip to New Orleans Botanical Gardens to view Mossop Michaels’ vertical wall. Participants will participate in the building of several different models that can easily be replicated at home.
IV. HARVESTING RAINWATER part.1
Speaker: Hilarie Shackai of Longue Vue Gardens
Capturing and Reusing Stormwater at Home
- Classroom Discussion – Examples of ways to capture and reuse rainwater at home.
- Field Trip/Hands-on demonstration will explain how to build your own rain barrel, and how to install it onto the gutter system on your home. Participants will help construct rain barrels and install them.
V. HARVESTING RAINWATER part.2
Speaker: Joe Evans, Principal of Evans + Lighten Landscape Architecture
Capturing and Reusing Stormwater at the Larger Scale
- Field Trip – Joe Evans takes participants on a field trip to two demonstration sites.
- Andrew Wilson Charter School – Evans’ design captures the school’s roof water, storing it in an enormous cistern, where it is then reused for irrigating the landscape.
- Another example…
VI. REUSING STORMWATER AT URBAN FARMS + COMMUNITY GARDENS
Speaker: Dan Etheridge, Architect
Reusing Stormwater for Food Production
- Field Trip - Different methods for capturing and reusing stormwater for food production. Ehlinger discusses his design for the Magellan Street Community Garden, which uses hydroponics growing methods, harvests rainwater from its roof, and has eradicated its flooding problems.
- Best Practices for Water Usage at Urban Farms and Community Gardens | Speaker(s): Hydrologist and Sewerage & Water Board Representative
- Speakers discuss the S&WB’s irrigation requirements at Urban Farms + Community Gardens; How growers can help protect the municipal water system from contamination via backflow; The importance of capturing runoff from urban farms and community gardens.
