Here are the key things to assess regarding exposure: - Sunlight - Note direction of sun exposure and hours of direct sun. This will help determine shade-loving vs. sun-loving plants. - Wind - Assess prevailing wind directions and speeds. Strong winds may require wind tolerant species. - Microclimates - Note any areas that receive more/less sun or rain due to structures or landforms. These microclimates allow for more plant diversity. - Frost pockets - Low-lying areas prone to frost should be avoided for frost-sensitive plants. Documenting exposure will help select plants adapted to the specific sun/shade, wind and temperature conditions on your site. This improves plant health

1. Welcome Greenbelt Forest Stewards!
 Housekeeping Notes
 Restroom Location
 Agenda
 10-12 Ecosystem Overview and Smart Landscape Design
 12-12:30 Lunch Break/Pass out Resources
 12:30-2 Tree Walk in Buddy Attick Park

2. Upcoming Events
April 20th: Celebration of Earth Day and Arbor
Day with Stewardship!
 Please be at Springhill Lake Recreation Center by 12PM on
April 20th
 Address: 6101 Cherrywood Ln Greenbelt, MD 20770
 Agenda:
 12-2PM
 Install a rain cistern on the back side of Springhill Lake
Recreation Center to reduce storm water runoff
 Plant native shrubs that will address soil erosion and water
quality concerns
 2-2:30PM
 Break to check out other activities at Springhill Lake including
soil monitoring, forest art, and plantings for the Greenbelt
Food Forest!
 2:30-3PM
 Planting native fruit trees including Paw Paws, Persimmon, and
Red Maple

3. Smart Landscape Design
for the Environment
Lesley Riddle

5. Sustainability is…
Environmental sustainability has been defined as Meeting the
needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their needs

6. Shaping Landscapes
Humans are the only species on earth with
the ability to vastly alter our habitat -

7. Understanding our impact
What are the
consequences
of our
actions?

8. Disruption
 Removal of Biomass
 Altering the Limiting Factor
 Disturbing soil and land mass
 Covering soil and land mass
 Removing soil or land mass

9. Consequence
 Disruption in weather patterns
 Accelerated growth – algal blooms
 Sediment loading
 Excess runoff
 Reduction in biomass
 Loss of energy

10. Ecosystems
 An
ecosystem
is a
community of
living and
non-living
things that
work
together.

11. Ecosystems
 Ecosystems have no particular size

12. Ecosystems
 A healthy ecosystem has lots of species
diversity and is less likely to be seriously
damaged by human interaction, natural
disasters and climate changes

13. Parts and Pieces
 What are the major parts of an
ecosystem? An ecosystem includes soil,
atmosphere, heat and light from the
sun, water and living organisms

14. Water….
 Without water there
would be no life.
Water is a large
percentage of the
cells that make up all
living organisms

15. Getting Dirty
 Soil is a critical part of an ecosystem. It
provides important nutrients for the plants
in an ecosystem.

16. Take a Breath
 The atmosphere provides oxygen and
carbon dioxide for the plants and animals
in an ecosystem. The atmosphere is also
part of the water cycle. Without the
complex interactions and elements in the
atmosphere, there would be no life at all!

17. Sunbathing 101
 The heat and light from the sun are
critical parts of an ecosystem. The sun's
heat helps water evaporate and return to
the atmosphere where it is cycled back
into water.

18. Nutrient Cycling
Nutrient cycling: The amount of nutrients,
such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus,
calcium, etc., present in the soil at any given
time, is referred to as the standing state. The
movement of nutrient elements through the
various components of an ecosystem is called
nutrient cycling. Another name of nutrient
cycling is biogeochemical cycles.

19. Nitrogen

20. Phosphorus

21. What Systems We Impact

22. The Bay
 The shores of the Chesapeake Bay region
cover over 11, 600 miles of wetland,
islands and tidal tributary, the bay has a
64, 000 mile drainage basin or watershed.
. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest
estuarine water body in the United States.
With over 16.6 million people living in the
Bay’s watershed, the impact of human
activities has been an overwhelming
stressor on this fragile ecosystem
(Reshetiloff, 2004).

23. Reality
 Excess nutrients
from point and non-
point source
pollution that flow
into waterways can
have a significant
impact on the
balance of life
within a natural
ecosystem

24. Making A Difference
 Making a personal connection
 Understanding systems
 Reducing human impact

25. Our Goal
 To think of Nature and
people as equally
important

26. Understanding Natural Relationships

“Tug on anything at all and you'll find it
connected to everything else in the universe.” John
Muir

28. Where it all began….

29. Altering the Land Aesthetically
 The wealthy of practically any country
were able to employ professional
artisans to build gardens and landscape
their homes.

30. Tackling Nature
 Our desire to impose our will on nature
seems to be the predominant factor
behind the love of turf
 Formal garden design is created to
showcase the diligence of the person who
owns it, not the plants themselves
 Form over content

31. The Manicured Landscape
Many of our ideas about gardening and
landscaping derive from English design, brought
to America by our ancestors. Maryland, once
covered by vast stands of forest, gave way to
farmland, meadows and lawns. Today, lawns
cover between 30-50 million acres of land in the
United States.

32. Design History
 The stunning effect of Italian landscape design has also had
a strong influence on landscape design history all over the
world. Early 19th century architects were striving to keep
up with the continually increasing, wealthy population
following the Industrial Revolution.

34. Grand Ideas… but
Not enough space –
As forest, fields, water and other habitats
have been altered to accommodate
people, the environment receives a one-
two punch.
As species decline, both flora and fauna -
pollution increases, in our air and water.

35. Wisdom..
 In garden arrangement, as in all other
kinds of decorative work, one has not only
to acquire a knowledge of what to do, but
also to gain some wisdom in perceiving
what it is well to let alone.
Gertrude Jekyll

36. Landscaping with Nature in Mind

37. An Environmental Approach -
 Working with the natural environment is
not difficult. With a good understanding of
landform, soils, plants, water, climate and
wildlife characteristics, the landscape
designer can confidently work in harmony
with the natural elements on any site -
Livable Landscape Design

38. Sustainable Practice
 All species, including man, need five
elements for survival--food, water,
cover or shelter, adequate space and
clean air. Like a five-legged stool, the
removal of one leg (element) throws
the balance. The removal of more
than one leg (element) may collapse
the stool.
 Through simple landscaping practices,
the legs of the stool can be
strengthened. By implementing
sustainable landscape practices,
individuals can make a difference in
water quality, wildlife habitat, and
human health.

39. Low Impact Development
(LID)

40. LID
 Low Impact Development (LID) has
emerged as a highly effective and
attractive approach to controlling
stormwater pollution and protecting
developing watersheds and already
urbanized communities throughout the
country

41. LID
 LID is simple and effective. Instead of
large investments in complex and costly
engineering strategies for stormwater
management, LID strategies integrate
green space, native landscaping, natural
hydrologic functions, and various other
techniques to generate less runoff from
developed land

42. LID Runoff Control Objectives:
 minimize disturbance
 preserve and recreate natural landscape features
 reduce effective impervious cover
 increase hydrologic disconnects
 increase drainage flow paths
 enhance off-line storage
 facilitate detention and infiltration opportunities

43. LID
 LID is economical. It costs less than
conventional stormwater management
systems to install and maintain, in part,
because of fewer pipe and below-ground
infrastructure requirements

44. LID
 LID is flexible. It offers a wide variety of
structural and nonstructural techniques to
reduce runoff speed and volume and
improve runoff quality. When integrated
and distributed throughout a development,
watershed, or urban drainage area, these
practices substantially reduce the impacts
of development.

45. LID
 As urbanization continues to degrade our
lakes, rivers, and coastal waters LID is
increasingly being used to reverse this
trend, resulting in cleaner bodies of water,
greener urban neighborhoods, and better
quality of life.

46. Ten Common LID Practices:
 Rain Gardens and Bioretention
 Rooftop Gardens
 Sidewalk Storage
 Vegetated Swales, Buffers, and Strips; Tree
Preservation
 Roof Leader Disconnection
 Rain Barrels and Cisterns
 Permeable Pavers
 Soil Amendments
 Impervious Surface Reduction and Disconnection
 Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping

47. LID
 LID practices can be applied to all
elements of the urban environment. For
example, bioretention technology can
effectively turn parking lot islands, street
medians, tree planter boxes, and
landscaped areas near buildings into
specialized stormwater treatment systems

48. Conservation Landscaping

49. Conservation Landscaping
 Intelligent landscape management can
reduce water and air pollution, creation of
health risks for people and wildlife, and
threats to the environment and species
diversity. By implementing the principles
described below, you can also reduce
landscape maintenance costs, reduce
costs for heating and cooling of buildings,
decrease time spent on yard chores such
as mowing, and improve the health of
both humans and the planet.

50. Some facts about the traditional landscape:
 Gas powered garden tools emit 5% of the nation's air pollution.
 The average homeowner spends 40 hours/year, the equivalent to one-
week vacation, mowing the lawn.
30% to 60% of urban freshwater is used for watering lawns (depending
on locale). 1
 A 1,000 square foot lawn requires 10,000 gallons of water per summer to
maintain a "green" look. (US. News and World Report, 10/28/96)
 80,000,000 pounds of synthetic pesticides are used on US. lawns each
year.
 When pesticides are regularly applied, 60-90% of earthworms are killed.
Earthworms are invaluable for soil health. (PA Department of Agriculture)
 Over 100 million tons of fertilizers are applied to residential lawns and
gardens annually. (Audubon)

51. Concepts:
 Think in the long-term
 Natives, Natives, Natives
 Use water wisely
 Consider soil
 Reduce turf areas
 Encourage wildlife
 Cover bare soils

52. Long term outlook!
 The impacts of landscape decisions reach
far beyond individual property lines
affecting our neighbors, area wildlife and
the natural resources found throughout
surrounding communities. By planning the
management of our home landscapes over
the long term with these concerns in mind,
each of us can make a positive
contribution to the local and regional
watershed, to fish and wildlife habitats and
to the quality of our own lives

53. Use plants that are native to the area
 Native plants have adapted
to the growing conditions of
an area and are better able
to handle stress. Native
plants are available for
landscaping and often
require less work to
maintain than exotic plant
species. Plants grown from
local seed sources or taken
as cuttings from existing
native plants are best suited
to the soil and climatic
conditions of the area.

54. Minimize the use of supplemental watering
 Supplemental watering removes water from
ground and surface water sources, thus impacting
both water quantity and perhaps quality. By
minimizing watering, the landscaper/homeowner
can maintain a healthy landscape without a
dependence on supplemental watering.

55. Place plants in suitable growing conditions
 Before beginning to plan any landscape, have your soil
tested. Check with your county cooperative extension agent
to learn more about the soil testing services offered in your
county. Charting your soil conditions, sunlight and shade
conditions, standing water, wind, areas of great slope, and
shallow soil areas onto a map of your landscape can serve
as a guide to choosing plants that are best suited to the
growing conditions present

56. Minimize the amount of lawn
While lawn isn't inherently bad, a lawn of exotic
grasses requires large quantities of fertilizer and
pesticides to maintain a green and healthy
appearance.

57. Plantings to create windscreens, create wildlife habitats
 Plantings in the landscape can provide multiple
benefits: wildlife habitat, windscreens, energy
conservation, and a visual and natural buffer.
Most of the benefits are interconnected but one
must think about the main features and functions
of their backyard landscape

58. Minimize bare soil and stabilize slopes by
planting ground covers
 Bare soil quickly erodes,
carrying soil and pollutants
into our waterways. Soil in
the water can have a
number of negative
impacts, including heating
the water temperature by
absorbing sunlight,
covering important fish
spawning areas with silt,
adhering to pollutants and
adding nutrients

59. A Conservation Landscape:
1. Is designed to benefit the environment and function
efficiently and aesthetically for human use and well-being;
2. Uses locally native plants that are appropriate for site
conditions;
3. Institutes a management plan for the removal of existing
invasive plants and the prevention of future nonnative plant
invasions;
4. Provides habitat for wildlife;
5. Promotes healthy air quality and minimizes air pollution;
6. Conserves and cleans water;
7. Promotes healthy soils;
8. Is managed to conserve energy, reduce waste, and
eliminate or minimize the use of pesticides and

61. Landscape Site
Assessment

63. Site Assessment
Site assessment is a discovery. Doing these
steps will assist you in:
 Selecting appropriate plants for your site
 Preventing plant disease problems
 Saving money
 Identifying plant stress

64. Site Assessment
Is it something that has to be done to have a
successful garden or landscape? We think so,
although there are probably examples of success
without a site assessment. It’s like any risk. If you
discover a factor in a site assessment, you cope
better with it and make an informed decision.

65. Site Assesment
Should it be done only for perennial
herbaceous and woody plants or can it
be done for annual flowers, herbs and
vegetables?
It can be done on all parts of your garden or
landscape -- on any size property or section
of it.

66. Site Assessment
Can it be done on a corner or other
section of the garden only?
You can focus on study areas
or sections of your property.

67. Collecting Information -
 Copy of Plat
 Area
 Utilities
 Exposure
 Soil
 Drainage
 Wildlife

68. Utilities – Above and Below
It is in our best interests to know where
pre-existing overhead and underground
wires and pipes are before planting. It is
easier to avoid
a conflict of “interest” than it is to remedy
the
situation a decade or more from now.

69. Exposure
Not all plants are created equal some
are sun worshippers and need sun
throughout
the day during the growing season. Others
manage with morning sun or afternoon sun.
Still others can be in various degrees of
shade for longer periods

70. Hardiness
Plants are genetically capable of withstanding
cold up to a certain point. Built into their
genes is information on whether the plant
cells can tolerate the colder temperatures. If
temperatures drop below the tolerance level for
a particular plant, the cold or ice crystals that
form actually rupture cells in leaves, stems or

72. Soil
Compacted soil can slow or almost stop
growth for some plants. The soil is made
up of mineral particles -- sand, silt and
clay. But it also has essential pore spaces,
some small and some larger.

73. A nation that destroys its
soils destroys itself
Franklin D. Roosevelt

74. Compaction
 Ideally, soils are
approximately 50 to
60% pore space
comprising a variety of
pore sizes and lengths.
Compaction reduces the
diversity of pore sizes
and the amount of
space and pathways
available for larger
organisms to move
through the soil.

75. Erosion and Sedimentation
 Most soil organisms –
especially larger ones
– live in the top few
inches of soil. Erosion
disrupts and removes
that habitat.
Sedimentation buries
the surface habitat
and deprives
organisms of space
and air

76. Drainage
Many gardens and landscapes have been
devastated by poor drainage -- more than by
almost any other factor. Spots on your property
that puddle after a rain or are continuously wet
indicate a condition that is very stressful for
most plants.
The vast majority of our garden and landscape
plants have root systems that can only thrive
where the soil has both air and water available
to them. If the essential, vast network of pore
spaces in the soil are filled with water for long
periods of time or continuously

77. Get to Know Your Community
To gain a general awareness of soil organisms and their
effects, try these simple methods. Choose a few places to
take a close look at what lives in your soil. Look under a
shrub, in the woods, along a fence line, in a meadow, in a
field, etc. Take time to examine the litter on the surface
and look for organisms that move. Look for biotic crusts,
burrows, fungal hyphae, and other evidence of soil
organisms. Over the seasons, look for birds picking out
earthworms behind a tillage implement. Notice the amount
of a rain. . runoff or ponding after a rain event

78. Soil is Important…
Soil can make or break a good garden or
landscape. What the roots of plants have
surrounding them can affect their nutrition
and overall health. Plants need water
mineral nutrients and air.

79. Wildlife
 WHETHER YOU HAVE AN APARTMENT BALCONY OR A 20-
ACRE FARM, YOU CAN CREATE A GARDEN THAT ATTRACTS
BEAUTIFUL WILDLIFE AND HELPS RESTORE HABITAT IN
COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL AREAS.
 BY PROVIDING FOOD, WATER, COVER AND A PLACE FOR
WILDLIFE TO RAISE THEIR YOUNG

81. Right Plant – Right Place
 Sustainable landscape design considers the
garden as more than just a showplace for a
homeowner to exhibit their financial prowess: It
is a creation that considers the natural
provenance of plants and animals that inhabit
this space that we call our home. Sustainable
landscaping provides not only an attractive
environment but should provide balance with the
local climate and require minimal resource inputs,
such as fertilizer, pesticides and water.

82. Plant me in the sun??

83. Plant me in a dry spot?
Taxodium distichum

84. Fun with plants….
Name your favorite plant…
 Do you know its name
 Cultural needs
 Attractors
 Height at maturity
 Life span

85. White Oak…
 Quercus alba
 Will grow in poor soils
 Will sustain construction damage
 Attracts over 600 native insects and birds
 80’ at maturity
 Over 100 years +

86. Plants 101
 Getting to know plants on a personal basis will
allow you to make good design decisions.
 Your choice of plants should also consider the
regional character and history of your area.
 The species of plants that are selected for
installation should be native or indigenous species
that are considered non-invasive. The selection
of these plants needs to be thoughtful and also
consider the cultural needs of the plants and the
characteristics of the site they will be planted.
 When possible the species of plants that are
selected for installation should provide food
sources.

87. Woody Natives -
 Dogwood -

88. High bush Blueberry

89.  American beauty berry

90.  Red maple -

91.  Service berry -

92. Native Azalea