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Posted By Administration,
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
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 As with adults, plants and landscapes have an enormous positive impact on children, especially regarding their classroom learning capabilities and behavior. Plants and green environments have been shown to reduce the behavioral problems in children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. Learning is improved in classrooms with a view to a landscaped outdoor environment. Children’s play is more diverse, and their socialization improves on playgrounds that are near or integrated with natural landscape elements, such as trees or a wooded area (Lindholm, 1995).
Plants Help Kids with ADD Andrea Faber Tayor (2001) conducted a study of children with severe attention deficit disorder to see if the "greenness” of their play area affected their behavior while playing and after playing in that environment. Faber Taylor found that the ADD symptoms were worst in a room without windows, engendering extreme ADD behaviors that lasted for days. On the other hand, green play areas (i.e., those with grass, trees and landscaping) seemed to reduce the ADD behaviors, and the children were reported to be calmer and more focused the day after playing in the green area.
Contact with Nature Supports Healthy Child Development In a review of the all the studies relating to the impact of nature and landscapes on children, Faber Taylor (2006) concluded that: While we wait for more carefully controlled studies providing evidence of a causal relationship (between natural environments and children) current evidence suggests that the general hypothesis may be correct: contact with nature is supportive of healthy child development in several domains—cognitive, social and emotional. Until proven otherwise, we can continue to assume, just as they need good nutrition and adequate sleep, children may very well need contact with nature. (pg. 136)
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Posted By Administration,
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
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 Curb appeal. That’s what it’s all about in residential real estate values. Does a home look good from the street and invite people in? If you can’t get prospects in the front door, you can’t sell the house.
And how do you generate curb appeal? Landscaping is one of the keys. Landscaping that is consistent with the tone of the neighborhood and that creates an aura of owner attention and care provides the best return on investment for the homeowner. Landscaping that is properly done can add 10%-15% to the value of a home (Niemiera 2007 and Behe 2005).
Return on Investment The greatest return on landscaping investments are those features that increase the utility of the home to the homeowner as well as adding aesthetic appeal. Patios, decks and outdoor kitchens, for example, in scale with the home with a view toward the landscaped area of the yard typically offer a high return on dollars invested.
Residential Energy Savings But beyond resale value, landscaping, particularly trees, provides other economic benefits as well. Properly placed deciduous trees can reduce the summer heat load on a house by 10% to 30%, cutting air-conditioning costs. Additionally, well-placed evergreens can reduce winter heating requirements by a similar percentage, acting as a break against cold winter winds. And as the trees grow and mature, so do the savings.
Economic Value of Trees And mature trees have intrinsic economic value. While the appraised value of a tree depends on many variables, the Council of Tree & Landscape Appraisers (CTLA) estimates that a mature tree in a residential landscape can have a value of from $1,000 to $10,000.
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Posted By Administration,
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
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 To a certain extent, some of the same principals that apply to residential landscapes also apply to commercial landscapes in terms the value of the real estate itself. The landscape is a reflection of the owner’s level of care for his property and a proxy for how he maintains his buildings. This not only translates in to increased value at the time of sale, but also produces higher rents and lower vacancy rates over the period of ownership.
Higher Occupancy Rates
According to a study by Professor Joel Goldsteen, at the University of Texas, Arlington, landscape amenities had the highest correlation with occupancies of any other architectural and urban design variables evaluated. His conclusion was "landscaping amenities pay back the developer as evidenced by the higher occupancies (and rents) clearly justifying the investment.” A shopping center in San Diego cites landscaping as the reason for high occupancy and the ability to charge rental rates that are double those of other shopping plazas. The carefully designed project uses landscaping to create a refuge in the midst of a busy shopping area. A Chicago developer points to unique interior landscaping in glass-roofed atriums as a major selling point and reason the building occupancy rates are 21% above the national level.
Shoppers Spend More But in addition to the real estate value impact, there is also a growing body of research that shows that a well-maintained commercial landscape can have a positive influence on consumer buying behavior in retail shopping areas. In a Wall Street Journal article by Lucinda Harper, entitled "Landscapers Help Spruce Up Main Street,” several revitalization efforts around the nation were cited where landscape was key to creating a sense of community and bolstering the local economy. The city of Valdosta, Georgia, according to Harper, had tried everything from incentives to restoring the facades of buildings only to find that $9 million in landscaping brought shoppers to the district who spend longer periods of time, which in turn, brought more shops.
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Posted By Administration,
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
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Landscapes adjacent to highways provide the opportunity for increasing biodiversity. Ecological systems are more robust and are able to rebound from stresses if they are more diverse. Recent research, especially that of Doug Tallamy (2007) at the University of Delaware, is showing that landscapes designed with attention to plant selection that includes regional natives can have a dramatic positive effect on the biodiversity of that area.
Lack of Biodiversity  Most areas adjacent to highways are not now designed with an eye toward increasing biodiversity. As the plant palette that we use in landscapes adjacent to highways narrows, we unwittingly also determine the fate of many species of butterflies and birds that have relied on the native plant communities for their survival. Tallamy has compiled the research that connects plant selection with the wildlife communities that rely on these plants.
Highway development has reduced habitat for many species, but by careful attention to plant selection in the design of adjacent landscapes, we can restore the ecological balance that once existed in these places. The result can be highway landscapes that provide aesthetic value to the traveler as well as environmental value to the butterflies and birds.
Better Use of Adjacent Land
We can achieve the environmental benefits outlined above by more creative and thoughtful use of highway rights-of-way, including road sides, interchange infields and median strips. The land that is a part of our highways is a public resource that is greatly underutilized to provide cleaner air, cleaner water and to reduce net carbon emissions. In the United States, we have an estimated 4 million miles of roads with 60 million acres of right of way, which now is largely managed by mowing and spraying with herbicides as an afterthought and nuisance (Thompson, 2006). Federal transportation policy should incorporate a component that incorporates better use of this resource in new projects and converts existing rights-of-way to improve the ecological services they provide.
In urban areas and along corridors where the right-of–way does not permit development of robust ecological services, projects can be planned in the adjoining neighborhoods, parks and other public spaces to accomplish similar objectives.
Delaware Leads In Green Highway Design The State of Delaware is a leader in improving the ecological services provided by its highway rights-of-way. Through its "Livable Delaware” initiative, DelDOT has developed standards for roadside plantings and maintenance that consider the ecological services that these areas could provide if planted and maintained properly.
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Posted By Administration,
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
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 Green roofs, building roofs that actually use living plants as the exposed surface, are very prevalent in Europe, but are just now catching on in the Untied States. Literally any building can be designed with a green roof. The advantages to a green roof are that it can reduce energy use by moderating temperature on the roof and surrounding areas. It also can dramatically reduce storm runoff volume and peak flow rate by holding and releasing stormwater slowly. A green roof can also restore the ecological and aesthetic value of urban open space by replacing a stark conventional roof with a green, softer roof line. Last, a green roof will protect conventional roofing systems, typically doubling the service life of the underlying waterproofing membrane.
As a matter of public policy PLNA recommends that any new public building be designed with an energy-saving, stormwater managing green roof.
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stormwater
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