New Jersey ASLA Today | January 2010

January 24                Open meeting at Atlantic City, 5:00 PM, Taj Mahal Hotel
February 18               Conference call meeting.
March 18                   Offices of Bruce J. Davies Associates in Florham Park
April 15                      Conference call meeting
May 20                      The James Rose Center, Ridgewood, NJ
June 17                     Conference call meeting
July 15                       Garden of Ilonka Angalet, Princeton, NJ
August 19                  Conference call meeting
September 16           RU SEBS Blake Hall, if available
October 21                 conference call meeting
November 18            To Be Determined
December 16            conference call meeting

Notes:
All meetings begin at 6:30 PM, unless noted.
Members with new business or wishing to attend a meeting are requested to contact NJASLA (609.393.7500, Kelly Biddle or Patricia Brewer) for confirmation of meeting, directions and conference call access phone number and password.

ASLA has begun a series online that examines aspects of sustainability in residential design. Below, NJASLA presents the first of the series, Improving Water Efficiency. Additional parts of this four-part series will explore other aspects of integrated site design in a residential context, including energy efficiency, the productive uses of plants and soils, and innovative materials. Once completed, these definitive guides will be used to create a central, client-targeted residential resource to be posted in the ASLA Website at: http://www.asla.org/ContentDetail.aspx?id=24988

Due to reoccurring drought conditions worldwide, using potable (drinkable) water for landscapes is increasingly unviable. Homeowners often wastefully irrigate their lawns with water than should be reserved for human consumption. According to the Sustainable Sites Initiative, irrigation of unsustainable residential landscapes accounts for more than a third of residential water use—more than seven billion gallons of potable water per day in the U.S.

Through "integrated site design," a comprehensive approach to sustainable building and site design, sustainable residential landscape architecture practices can not only decrease energy usage, but also improve water efficiency. Sustainable residential landscape architecture, if part of a broader integrated site design, can dramatically reduce water usage over the long term

while creating a healthy residential environment. Local governments are partnering with non-profit organizations to increase public

awareness about using sustainable residential design practices for improving water efficiency.

Integrated site design is a framework for increasing the quality of the built environment, and involves maximizing existing natural systems to minimize water use. These types of designs leverage the many benefits of natural systems, thereby significantly cutting down the need for centrally distributed water. Decreased water usage also means homes are more resilient to shifts in the availability of water and climate change.

Sustainable residential design practices can promote the infiltration, storing and recycling of water, and limit the use of valuable potable water for landscapes. Bioswales / bioretention ponds, rainwater gardens, and local sustainable water recycling and drip irrigation systems can all be used to efficiently conserve water. Homeowners can use these systems to recycle and reuse greywater (and even blackwater) for landscape maintenance, car washing, and toilet flushing.

Homes that include natural stormwater management technologies, such as a bioswales or bio-retention ponds, which infiltrate and remove pollutants, not only better manage stormwater runoff, but also reduce the massive energy costs associated with running complex stormwater management systems. Water utilities' centralized stormwater management infrastructure are heavy users of energy in local areas. Sustainable water management practices can dramatically improve water efficiency while reducing costs.

Detailed Information Links:

Residential Bioswales / Bioretention Ponds
Residential Rain Gardens
Residential Water Recycling
Residential Drip Irrigation

Designer Vivienne Westwood & Artist Maya Lin Call for Crucial Forest
Agreement at COP 15

Copenhagen, 16 December 2009 Heads of state from Guyana, Gabon and Papua New Guinea, as well as artists, and fashion designers turned out in force for the world's forests at a special gala event in Copenhagen.

The event, during the UN climate change meeting, was aimed at supporting more funding toward slowing deforestation, a major contributor to climate change, also linked to poverty.

So far, six developed countries have committed US$3.5 billion (€2.4bn) in early funding for forest preservation in the first concrete financial commitment in Copenhagen.

The US, UK, France, Japan, Australia and Norway have pledged money over the next three years to kick-start a global financial fund, called REDD+, under which rich countries would pay developing nations to preserve and enhance their climate-vital forests.

According to the rainforest nations, 20-25 billion euros is needed for capacity building, so that countries can deliver the full mitigation potential of forests for climate and local communities, when performance payments are due after 2013.

REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) has had wide support from rich and poor countries in the talks in the Danish capital, but kick-start funding has been a key demand from developing nations.

"We have shown over and over again that leaving forests standing saves billions of dollars. I ask us all to celebrate tonight, but not to be starry eyed. It is not money for free, it is payments for performance. REDD will not develop its potential outside of an ambitious climate deal," said Bharrat Jagdeo, President of Guyana, during the gala event.

"REDD represents one of the greatest opportunities for dealing with the twin challenges of climate change and environmental degradation. It is also a central measure towards a Green Economy in terms of jobs and livelihoods," said Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme.

Deforestation is responsible for nearly a fifth of mankind's greenhouse gas emissions and curbing forest loss is regarded as a key way to brake the pace of global warming.

Maya Lin, the world-renowned artist and designer debuted her new media piece - Unchopping a Tree and Vivienne Westwood and Anvil Knitwear joined forces to launch a limited edition T-shirt today to support the efforts of rainforest nations.

"I am so glad to have had the opportunity to do this tiny, tiny thing - design a T-shirt - every little bit helps," said British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. "ACT FAST/SLOW DOWN and stop climate change. That's the message. We must all commit ourselves. Say YES to the Rainforest."

For more information, see the following article and links to Further Resources.

Mapping the Climate Change and Biodiversity Impacts of REDD - Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation

New Report Underlines Multiple Benefits but Also new Challenges to Biodiversity-Rich Sites from Possible Copenhagen Climate Deal

Copenhagen, 14 December 2009 - An agreement in Copenhagen to fund reduced emissions from deforestation may generate multiple environmental and economic benefits if investments simultaneously target sites that are both carbon and biodiversity-rich.

But the new report, published today in the journal Conservation Letters, also warns of challenges in countries such as Brazil and parts of East Africa unless safeguards are followed.

Map of the richness index

This is because funding Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) might also displace and intensify activities such as agriculture into lower carbon but equally biodiversity-rich locales. Such areas include parts of East Africa and Brazil.
The study has involved a wide range of organizations and institutions including the Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment at the University of East Anglia; the UN Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) in Cambridge; the Institute for Global and Applied Environmental Analysis (GAEA)in Rio de Janeiro and Stanford University, California. It is claimed to be the first map-based analysis of the distribution of carbon and biodiversity and indicates that governments face a series of choices on how best to maximize the benefits and minimize the challenges presented by a possible REDD deal at the UN climate convention this week.

The colour maps allow the identification of areas where these double benefits could be highest, which include many of the global biodiversity hotspots. For example the maps show that the Amazon hosts very high concentrations of both carbon and overall species richness whereas Sumatra and Borneo represent an opportunity to conserve carbon while conserving a high level of threatened species.

If the aim is to conserve high quantities of carbon while also conserving species found nowhere else in the world - so called endemic species - then the island of New Guinea would be one of the top priorities. The study also identified areas where carbon funding would not solve the problem by itself, but could provide crucial complementary financing to biodiversity initiatives.

Finally it highlights areas that have high value for biodiversity conservation, but are poor or less rich in carbon and could thus be under increased threat if REDD is implemented including the Brazilian Cerrado or the savannahs of the Rift Valley in East Africa.

The Morris Arboretum and New Directions in the American Landscape will co-sponsor the 21st annual landscape design seminar entitled “Environmental Landscape Design: Learning from Experience.” It will be held on March 11 and 12 at Haverford College in Haverford, PA. Continuing education units are available for landscape architects and designers.

Lawn alternatives, reforestation, and habitat creation – these and other responses to new environmental priorities have only recently become prominent. Consequently, design protocols are sparse, and not well tested by time. This conference will feature designers, growers and ecologists whose long experience with native vegetation can shed light on the real world challenges of environmental design.

• Dr. Eric Sanderson, Founder and Director of the Manhattan Project, recently featured in National Geographic Magazine, has investigated what the landscape of Manhattan was like before European civilization and what that means for creating landscapes today.

• Dr. James R. Ault, Director of Environmental Horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG), will discuss cultivars and selections of native perennials based on extensive trials over many years at CBG.

• Thomas Brightman, Land Steward at Longwood Gardens will describe the long and arduous but ultimately successful process of creating a native meadow at Longwood Gardens.

The goals for this symposium are to provide speakers with high levels of expertise, to emphasize innovative practices, and provide opportunities for a lively exchange of ideas between participants.

Revelations that many buildings certified as green under a broadly accepted national standard for energy savings are not performing as well as predicted recently prompted changes to the program and are forcing San Francisco officials to consider amending city rules that are tied to the older guidelines.

The certification program, called the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), is widely seen as the industry standard for green buildings. It uses a checklist and point system that rewards energy-efficient building designs and features such as low-flow water fixtures, bike storage, nontoxic paints and solar power.

Developers have used the stamp of approval as a way to expedite projects through city bureaucracies and charge high rents. Governments increasingly demand that new buildings adhere to the rules.

San Francisco boosted its reputation as one of the nation’s most environmentally progressive cities in August 2008 when the Board of Supervisors and Mayor Gavin Newsom approved an ordinance requiring that all new large commercial buildings be LEED certified.

The legislation was based on LEED standards established several years ago and it cemented the rules in place through 2012.

Meanwhile, studies released this summer by the U.S. Green Building Council, which developed the LEED system, suggested that 25 percent of the new buildings that have been approved nationwide do not save as much energy as expected, and most do not monitor their energy use. In June, the council announced a new requirement: Owners of all newly constructed buildings must agree to provide utility bills for the first five years of operation as a condition of certification.

Some construction and energy experts are urging the council to get even stricter and make certification contingent on meeting specific energy savings.

Council representatives note a gap between energy predictions made during buildings’ design phases and how much energy they consume when actually operating. Tracking energy use and making it part of the certification process is an important development in the LEED system, they say.

“LEED is about how a building is designed, but we’ve always understood the building’s performance is really critical,” said Dan Geiger, executive director of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Northern California chapter.

“This is evolving in the direction that it should evolve.”
San Francisco officials said Tuesday the city has long followed stringent state energy codes for new construction, which has kept building energy use down even before the rules adopted last year. But LEED’s recent changes mean that the city should review

Announcing a Call for Abstracts
Share new developments in the practice and application of geotechnical engineering technologies.

Geo-Frontiers 2011
13-16 March 2011
Sheraton Dallas Hotel
Dallas, TX

Abstract Submission Deadlines
Abstracts due: 08 March, 2010
Acceptance notification: 01 April, 2010

We look forward to receiving your 200-300 word abstract on any topic relevant to the event.

Current tracks include:
Soil/Rock Mechanics and Modeling
Geotechnical Testing and Site Characterization
Foundations and Ground Improvement
Slopes, Embankments, and Earth Retaining Structures
Geosynthetics
Geoenvironmental Engineering
Geo-Hazards (Earthquakes, Landslides, Erosions, Others)
Transportation Materials and Pavements
Other Geotechnical Related Issues

Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve Presents
10th Annual Land Ethics Symposium:
“CREATIVE APPROACHES FOR ECOLOGICAL LANDSCAPING”

Time: 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Location: Sheraton Bucks County Hotel, Langhorne, Pennsylvania
Fee: $99; fulltime students - $65; Pre-registration with payment required by February 8. Continuing education credits: NJ-ASLA (5 CEU’s) and ASLA-PA/DE (5 LA Continuing Education clock hours). The Preserve is an approved provider of the Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System. LA CES.

Brochures available at: www.bhwp or contact Amy Hoffmann at hoffmann@bhwp.org , (215) 862-2924 ext. 102..

Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve presents its 10th Land Ethics Symposium: Creative Approaches for Ecological Landscaping on Thursday, February 18, 2010 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Sheraton Bucks County Hotel in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.

This Symposium features timely presentations by national and regional experts who will focus on innovative ways to create low-maintenance, economical and ecologically balanced landscapes using native plants and restoration techniques. The program is geared toward landscape architects, designers and contractors; land planners, managers and developers; horticulture industry professionals, environmental consultants and state/municipal officials. Home gardeners and students are welcome.

The featured speakers are :Steven Apfelbaum, Founder, President and Senior Ecologist of Applied Ecological Services; Susan K. Weiler, FASLA, Partner, OLIN Partnership; William Cullina, Plant and Garden Curator, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens; Peter Scott Johnson, RLA, Partner, ThinkGreen LLC and William Sweeney, Program Supervisor for the Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.


	Sustainable Residential Design Rutgers Job Openings Landscape Design Symposium Green Buildings Standard Flawed Mapping the Climate Change USGBC-NJ LEED Green Associate Seminar Registration Open!	NJASLA Annual Meeting Advances in Geotechnical Engineering Call for Crucial Forest Agreement Livability Grant Opportunities Lectures at the Morris Arboretum Invitation from DIG IT Online Land Ethics Symposium





Volume 15 \| Issue 1 January 2010