Components of a Sustainable Garden - Seminar

Landscape for Life Brown Bag Lecture: Components of a Sustainable Garden

Event Type: USBG Program or Event

Category: USBG Workshop

 

What: Components of a Sustainable Garden

When: Oct 21, 2011 12:00pm – 1:00pm

Where: U.S. Botanic Garden

Ray Mims, USBG Conservation and Sustainability Horticulturist – Soil, Water and Materials

Holly Shimizu, USBG Executive Director – Human Health

The Sustainable Sites Initiative recognizes the importance of human health and wellbeing as a critical factor in sustainable landscapes. Considerations include creating outdoor spaces for social interaction, providing views and quiet outdoor spaces for mental restoration, reducing light pollution and protecting and maintaining unique cultural and historical places. At this lecture, learn why human health is integral to a sustainable landscape and how the appropriate use of water, soil and materials is crucial to your success.

The USBG, in partnership with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, has developed Landscape for Life, a program for home owners on sustainable gardening and based on the principles behind the Sustainable Sites Initiative. This Landscape for Life series serves to highlight how home gardeners can incorporate sustainability into their personal landscapes. These brown bag lectures can be done individually or as a series.

www.landscapeforlife.org

Code: LH102111

Location: Conservatory Classroom

FREE: Pre-registration required

Early registration ends on 08/14/2011.
Regular registration starts on 08/15/2011 and ends on 10/22/2011.

More Eco-Friendly Resources for Metro DC

Last month, in conjunction with National Pollution Prevention Week, I decided to create a post that listed ALL of the great, eco-friendly resources in the Metro DC area. Hah! Once I got started, I realized what a monumental task I had undertaken. There are just so MANY great environmentally focused groups in the area, it was really foolish of me to try to list them all. It was even more foolish for me to call my post “Everything you Need to Know to Be Eco-Friendly in Metro DC” because, of course, we’ll probably never know EVERYTHING we need to know.

 I have since changed the name of the post and the resource list to Eco-Friendly Resources for the Metro DC Area and would like to invite everyone to please contact me with any information that I may have left off of the list.

 I’m grateful to Kimberley Knox, Community Outreach Manager of the Washington Suburban Sanitation Commission (WSSC) for sharing some of the information available from WSSC. The WSSC Community Outreach Group is very active in programs throughout the area to educate and encourage others to be better environmental stewards. The group works with community volunteers, high school students and college students on environmental stewardship projects, such as planting trees and removing invasive weeds. In fact, Kimberley recently received the Izaak Walton League Wildlife Honor Roll Award in recognition of her work with volunteers to remove invasive weeds and to conduct planting projects along the Patuxent River. Congratulations Kim!  And again, thanks for sharing these links with our readers.

WSSC's Native Plant Garden for Butterflies and Birds - WSSC created a native garden for butterflies and birds at Brighton Dam, 2 Brighton Dam Road, Brookville, MD 20833. You can see photos and learn more about the garden here.

Scott's Cove Streambank Restoration Project – WSSC works with volunteers to restore streambanks along its watershed. You can see photos and learn more about this project here.

WSSC has some great photos of birds of the Patuxent Watershed

Birds of Prey

Water Birds

Song Birds

And illustrations of Fish of Triadelphia and Rocky Gorge Reservoirs

Their Facebook page, Friends of Brighton Dam, provides a variety of tips for gardeners throughout the year.

And of course, the wonderful publication, Water Conservation Landscaping, which is being used as text by the National Capital Area Watershed Stewards Academy can be downloaded in pdf in both English and Spanish.

 Water Conservation Landscaping. pdf file (English)

 Water Conservation Landscaping pdf file (Spanish)

Check our online calendar to learn how you can participate in some of the great eco-friendly programs that WSSC has planned for the Metro DC area.

For more information about WSSC events, contact the Communications and Community Relations Office at 301-206-8233 or kknox@wsscwater.com.

Conservation Landscaping Training and Demonstration Garden Installation

Conservation Landscaping Training and Demonstration Garden Installation

Sat, 10/22/2011 – 9:00am – 5:00pm 

 

About the workshop:

Homeowners can learn how to manage stormwater runoff from their homes utilizing conservation landscaping techniques. These landscape features, which include native plants and a substantial mulch layer, can effectively collect and treat stormwater and reduce localized flooding.  To effectively manage stormwater, conservation landscapes must be accurately sized and properly constructed. In addition to a lecture portion and hands on installation, this 1-day workshop will present a design segment for sizing and designing a garden and detail proper construction techniques for homeowners.

As a result of this training you will:

• Understand why stormwater needs to be managed,
• Understand the principles of conservation landscape garden location, design, construction and maintenance,
• Be able to select appropriate vegetation,
• Select and use design templates, build and plant a conservation landscape garden, and
• Help to install a demonstration garden in public place that may help other homeowners decide to utilize this residential stormwater management tool on their own property.

What

The workshop will include a 3-hour lecture with hands-on design component and then participants will install a conservation landscape garden on the IWLA property. Wear appropriate work clothes and no open-toed shoes.  Participants should also dress accordingly for the weather (this event will take place RAIN or SHINE unless severe weather threatens the safety of participants.  Note – if garden installation is disrupted by weather, the garden will be installed on Wednesday the 23^rd.) This is a full day course, so bring a lunch and plenty of water for the day.

Where

IWLA headquarters, 707 Conservation Lane, Gaithersburg, MD 20878 in Gaithersburg. (Muddy Branch Watershed, in Montgomery County)

IS THERE A FEE?

No fee is charged for this class.

How to register?

Use this link:  http://www.muddybranch.org/event/conservation-landscaping-training-and-demonstration-garden-installation

 NOTE: Registration will be on a first come, first served basis, and will be limited to 20 participants.  Sign-up now to reserve your spot.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month - Take the Girls Out

Have you noticed all of the "pink" popping up everywhere? Even some of the NFL players are donning pink socks or armbands to help remind everyone that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.An estimated three million woman are living with breast cancer. One million don't know it yet. This year, nearly 2,000 men will also be diagnosed. And did you know that Washington, DC has the highest breast cancer death rate for women in the United States? Through Take a Bite Out of Breast Cancer, you can donate money to breast cancer education and outreach just by taking the girls out on the town! Take a Bite Out of Breast Cancer is an outreach and fundraising campaign focused on educating Washington, DC area residents about the importance of early detection and breast cancer awareness. For the entire month of October, chefs and restaurateurs commit their establishments to helping in the mission of reaching tens of thousands of men and women in the area. For one day, a week, or the entire month, participating restaurants generously donate a portion of their food and beverage sales to promote the work of Pink Jams! Pink Jams!, is a DC area non-profit promoting breast cancer awareness to young men and women by combining this important message with fashion, art, social events, live music and now dining! There are many great restaurants participating in Take a Bite Out of Breast Cancer. Check out the list on the Pink Jams! website and take your girls out on the town!

Spanish Fly, Black Widows, Corpse Eaters and Zombies (Oh My!)

What do you get when you mix Spanish Fly, Black Widows, Corpse Eaters and Zombies? If you said ‘A great idea for a hugely successful horror movie’, you are probably right. But a better answer would be ‘chapters in Amy Stewart's new book, Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon's Army & Other Diabolical Insects.

In Wicked Bugs, Stewart shares a darkly comical look at the sinister side of our relationship with the insect world. Customer reviews on Amazon.com range from “Lot’s of Stinging Fun”, “Light, Breezy and Terrifying”, and “Deliciously Wicked”.

Another great review, from the New York Times, said this:

"Wicked Bugs defines bug in the amateur sense — that is, anything creepy-crawly, including worms, snails, slugs and other insects that are not, technically speaking, bugs. A true bug, Ms. Stewart acknowledges, has six legs and wings, like all insects, as well as piercing and sucking mouthparts. And wicked, she makes clear, lies in the eye of the beholder, whether you’re a Roman with scorpions falling into your eyes or a Marylander with stink bugs falling into your hair... Wicked Bugs has some good tips for gardeners, like putting out rolled-up newspaper or cardboard tubes at night to trap earwigs and dumping them into soapy water in the morning... In fact, no bug is truly wicked. It is just eating.”—New York Times
(The New York Times )

If you want to meet the author of Wicked Bugs and pick up a few copies of the book for great gardening gifts, join the Silver Spring Garden Club for their monthly meeting (free and open to the public) on Monday, October 17th at 8:00 pm, at Brookside Gardens Visitor Center to hear Amy Stewart discuss her new book.

Amy Stewart is a bestselling author of five books on the perils and pleasures of the natural world. She has been featured on NPR, in the New York Times, and on CBS “Sunday Morning.” She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and the American Horticultural Society’s 2010 Book Award.

Prior to the talk, Amy’s book will be on sale at Brookside’s gift shop.

Amy will be signing the book before and after the talk.

WHEN: Monday, October 17

Store opens at 7:00PM

Talk starts at 8:00PM

WHERE: Brookside Gardens Visitors Center,

1800 Glenallan Avenue, Wheaton, Maryland

Visit http://www.amystewart.com/ for more.

Super Foods - From Your Garden to Your Table

What: Superfoods: From Your Garden to Your Table

Where: Arlington Public Library, Central Library Auditorium

When: Wednesday, Oct. 5th, 6:30 p.m.

Come on out on Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 6:30 p.m. for a program in the Central Library Auditorium on growing and eating Superfoods – like bitter melon, goji berry, billberry, jicama and enoki mushroom – in Northern Virginia. 

Jennifer Abel (Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent) and Kirsten Buhls (Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agent) of the Virginia Cooperative Extension will explore cultural practices as well as preparation guidelines for including superfoods in your diet, with a focus on which superfoods are easiest to grow in our area.

This program is designed for both beginning/advanced gardeners and cooks, and is based on both Tonia Reinhard's book: Superfoods: The Healthiest Foods on the Planet and current research being conducted at Virginia State University.

Native Plant Sale - University of Maryland Arboretum

Native Plant Sale at University of Maryland Arboretum
When: October 5, 2011 12:00 noon – 5pm

Location: University of Maryland Arboretum Outreach Center at the Apiary
Sponsoring Organization: University of Maryland Arboretum

Description:
Locally native wildflowers and grasses will be available, including bushy beardgrass, great blue lobelia, cardinal flower, wild stonecrop, pink fuzzybean, downy wildrye, orange coneflower, swamp rose mallow and many more.

Plants were lovingly grown by volunteers using seed descended from local wild populations.

Proceeds will be used to support native gardens on campus.

More Information:
Parking is available immediately adjacent to the plant sale at the Stadium Drive
Parking Garage ($3/hr pay stations).

Both the Apiary and the Stadium Drive Garage may be found on GoogleMaps.
Please visit www.arboretum.umd.edu.

Low Cost Plants and Garden Supplies

I saw this message on a local garden forum and thought I would pass it along:

Hi everybody – Ruthie here, from Community Forklift, the nonprofit thrift store for home improvement. Please forgive me, I usually behave myself and let other folks on this listserve recommend CF, but we have an unusual situation right now, and we need to get the word out very quickly!

Please help spread the word: we have TRUCKLOADS of landscaping materials, grasses, trees, & edible plants arriving this week at our warehouse (leftover from the Solar Decathalon). We don't have any way to water them, so we need to find homes for them very soon. Starting Wednesday, they will be available to the public at very low cost.  More details at the bottom of this message.

Thanks so much!
Ruthie
301-985-5180
Ruthie(at)CommunityForklift.com

Our cavernous warehouse is located in the Hyattsville area, about 15
minutes southeast of Takoma Park, at 4671 Tanglewood Drive, Edmonston MD 20781.

Call 301-985-5180 or visit www.CommunityForklift.com for store hours & directions

ABOUT THE PLANTS AND LANDSCAPING:

All of this great stuff is coming from the Solar Decathalon down on the National Mall. As you may know, the U.S. Department of Energy challenged collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive (This year, the hometown team won grand prize – congratulations to our friends at UMD!!!)

The teams are currently breaking down their exhibits, and many have asked us to pick up their leftover landscaping items so it won't go to waste. We've gotten offers of decking & railing, as well as hundreds of shrubs, small trees, native grasses, edible plants, and straw bales (Purdue University even offered us a 24' garage. It took us hours on the phone to find a crane & flatbed, but we finally arranged for it to be transported to DC Groundworks, a great nonprofit in need of a storage building).

So, we're still not sure exactly how much we'll be able to get, but starting this Wednesday, Oct. 5th, it will be here waiting for you! (Note that we are closed on Mondays & Tuesdays – visit www.CommunityForklift.com for store hours & directions)

PRICED TO MOVE – we gotta find 'em good homes before they die. We're not set up to water hundreds of plants, and it would be a shame if they wilted before they find homes. So, we'll be pricing them to move! For example, we expect that most shrubs, grasses, edible plants, and trees will be priced at one to ten dollars each. Straw bales (perfect for a fall or Halloween display in your yard) will be only two bucks each.

******

ABOUT COMMUNITY FORKLIFT: We are a nonprofit thrift store for home improvement & architectural salvage. Instead of donating clothing or couches, folks donate renovation leftovers like cabinets, doors, lights, and lumber. The building materials are then made available to the public at very low prices (40% to 90% below big-box stores), and donated to local nonprofits. To improve our financial stability, we have also brought in consignment partners to offer higher-end products: unusual antiques & primitives, raw-edge hardwoods, & reconditioned appliances. We are owned & operated by local 501c3 nonprofit Sustainable Community Initiatives, so donations are tax-deductible.

Since opening in 2005, Community Forklift has made it possible for thousands of DC-area homeowners and nonprofits to repair substandard housing. Not only have 18 green jobs been created at the store, but hundreds of local contractors have been able to keep their estimates low, allowing them to attract clients and keep working despite the tough economy. Reuse of materials also means that fewer materials go into the landfill, which reduces the burden on local governments; and that less energy is used to extract, manufacture, and transport new materials. Reuse is better for our wallets and our world!

It's National Child Health Day

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, today is National Child Health Day. AND the month of October is Children's Health Month.

That makes October the perfect month to start plans for your eco-friendly garden.

There are many reasons that eco-friendly gardening is great for kids. Here's a list of ten of them.

10 Reasons that Eco-Friendly Gardening is Good for Babies

1) Eco-friendly gardening means gardening without chemicals. Eliminating chemicals from our landscapes makes our gardens safer places for children to play. Because babies, kids, and pets spend most of their time playing outdoors on the grass, or indoors on carpets, where lawn chemicals have been tracked in on shoes, the tiniest members of our family are also the most vulnerable.

2) Eco-friendly gardening conserves water. Conserving water in our gardens helps to insure that we preserve the world’s water supplies for future generations – water is not a renewal resource.

3) Eco-friendly gardening creates wildlife friendly spaces. Creating wildlife friendly landscapes allow children a bird’s eye view of all of the wonders of the world.

4) Eco-friendly gardening insures that these wonders, such as hummingbirds and butterflies, will be around for them to appreciate and share with their own children.

5) Eco-friendly gardening prevents storm-water runoff. Preventing storm water runoff helps us maintain clean drinking water and provides beautiful recreational resources for future generations.

6) Growing food in eco-friendly, organic gardens provides healthier food sources for children.

7) Eco-friendly gardening saves time, which leaves more time for you to play with your kids (or grandkids). Choosing plants which are compatible with your site conditions will require less work.

8) Eco-friendly gardening saves money which you can spend on your kids (or grandkids). Learning to work with Mother Nature, Not Against her, will save money on water, chemicals and plants that don't flourish and need to be replaced.

9) Eco-friendly gardening decreases energy use (and air pollution associated with its generation) because less pumping and treatment of water is required.

10) Eco-friendly gardening is good for your soul. And good souls are important for raising good kids.

UMD's "Watershed" Wins Solar Decathalon, Protects Chesapeake Bay

The University of Maryland took first place Saturday in the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon 2011 with a solar-powered, energy-conserving WaterShed House that not only produces lots of solar power, but also incorporates many eco-friendly aspects that help to protect the Chesapeake Bay.

A team of 200 Maryland students, faculty and mentors from multiple disciplines designed and built WaterShed to blend solar energy efficiency and water conservation. They drew their inspiration from the Chesapeake Bay.

Below are some  highlights from the Watershed website.

WaterShed is a solar-powered home inspired and guided by the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, interconnecting the house with its landscape, and leading its dwellers toward a more sustainable lifestyle. 

The house is formed by two rectangular modules capped by a split-butterfly roof that is well-suited to capturing and using sunlight and rainwater. The spacious and affordable house features:

• constructed wetlands, filtering storm water and grey water for reuse
• a green roof, retaining stormwater and minimizing the heat island effect
• an optimally sized photovoltaic array, harvesting enough energy from the sun to power WaterShed year-round
• edible landscapes, supporting community-based agriculture
• a liquid desiccant waterfall, providing high-efficiency humidity control in the form of an indoor water feature
• a solar thermal array, supplying enough energy to provide all domestic hot water, desiccant regeneration, and supplemental space heating
• engineering systems, working in harmony and each acting to increase the effectiveness of the others
• a time-tested structural system that is efficient, cost-effective, and durable

---

WaterShed’s inspiration comes from the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. Covering 64,000 square miles across six states and the District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay watershed includes over 100,000 smaller rivers and streams that eventually drain into the Bay. The bay itself is the largest estuary, or body of water where fresh and saltwater mix, in the United States. 

The Chesapeake Bay has a complex balance of salinity and nutrients that must be maintained. Nearly 4000 species of plants, fish, and animals rely on the Bay’s unique environment to survive. Water runoff from the 16.6 million human inhabitants of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the cities, towns, power plants, and farms that make their lives possible upsets this subtle ecological balance in catastrophic ways. The long-term success of this ecosystem is challenged by inadequate storm water management systems combined with expanding development of houses, businesses, and infrastructure that increasingly put pressure on the Bay.

WaterShed brings attention to the threats the Bay faces. Its design serves as a model for how our built environment can help preserve the richness of watersheds everywhere by managing storm water on site, filtering pollutants from grey water, and minimizing water usage.

Congratulations to this team for their inspiring efforts!

To learn more about this project, visit the Watershed website.