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Landscaping Naturally

Windows Media Player 10 series  (download free)
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Chicago Academy of Sciences video on native landscapes
December 14, 2000

(real media)

 

You can read the entire transcript while watching the video.
Green lawns are the staple of America's residential and commercial landscape.  We spend $27 billion dollars a year - ten times more than we pay for text books to grow and maintain 20 million acres of grass.  Forty million lawnmowers cause five percent of the nation's air pollution and at least thirty percent of our water is used to irrigate lawns, washing fertilizers and pesticides into rivers, lakes and streams.

Now, corporations, universities, government offices and parks around the nation are looking at an alternative to Kentucky Blue Grass.  They are going back to their roots to find native prairie and wetland plants.

These grasses, flowers, forbs and sedges have adapted, over hundreds of years to our climate.  They survived heat and drought, extreme cold and fire, their long roots tucked deep in the ground.  They provide habitat for native birds and butterflies but discourage Canada Geese - birds that prefer lawns and open spaces.


Greenacres Video Transcript

(MUSIC AND SOUND OF MOWERS)

GREEN LAWNS ARE THE STAPLE OF AMERICA=S RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPE. WE SPEND $27 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR B TEN TIMES MORE THAN WE PAY FOR TEXT BOOKS B TO GROW AND MAINTAIN 20 MILLION ACRES OF GRASS. FORTY MILLION LAWNMOWERS CAUSE FIVE PERCENT OF THE NATION=S AIR POLLUTION AND AT LEAST THIRTY PERCENT OF OUR WATER IS USED TO IRRIGATE LAWNS, WASHING FERTILIZERS AND PESTICIDES INTO RIVERS, LAKES AND STREAMS.

 

(NATURAL SOUND AND MUSIC)

NOW, CORPORATIONS, UNIVERSITIES, GOVERNMENT OFFICES AND PARKS AROUND THE NATION ARE LOOKING AT AN ALTERNATIVE TO KENTUCKY BLUE GRASS. THEY=RE GOING BACK TO THEIR GEOGRAPHIC ROOTS TO FIND NATIVE PRAIRIE AND WETLAND PLANTS.

THESE GRASSES, FLOWERS, FORBS AND SEDGES HAVE ADAPTED, OVER HUNDREDS OF YEARS, TO OUR CLIMATE. THEY SURVIVED HEAT AND DROUGHT, EXTREME COLD AND FIRE, THEIR LONG ROOTS TUCKED DEEP IN THE GROUND. THEY PROVIDE HABITAT FOR NATIVE BIRDS AND BUTTERFLIES BUT DISCOURAGE CANADA GEESE B BIRDS THAT PREFER LAWNS AND OPEN SPACES.

 

IN SUBURBAN CHICAGO, SEARS CHOSE A NATIVE LANDSCAPE FOR PRAIRIE STONE B ITS 786-ACRE BUSINESS PARK, AND MANAGER BILL CONOPIOTIS SITES SUBSTANTIAL COST SAVINGS:

 

(2:11:43) 'You don=t have to put a full irrigation system in. You don=t have to lay down the expensive blue grass, and that can save up to 30-40% of the initial landscape budget for the building. Long-term, you have a maintenance savings. You=re not irrigating, so you don=t have the water bills. You=re not mowing. + You=re not clipping bushes or hedges. You don=t have that expensive labor charge. That could save you up to 40% every year.@ :27 

 

THE PARK IS ALSO A UNIQUE BENEFIT FOR EMPLOYEES OF COMPANIES LOCATED THERE:

 

(3:18:51) It=s a good break point for lunches and if we need to get out and talk. :05

 

(2:23:12) I like this park very much!

 

(3:22:44) It=s relaxing, y=know. You see the landscape and the water with the fountain over there B that=s always nice, the running water, and y=know, just seeing some of the wildlife.

 

AND WHILE THE TYPICAL CORPORATE CAMPUS CAN BE DULL IN THE WINTER AND SPRING, NATIVE LANDSCAPES ARE APPEALING ALL YEAR ROUND:

 

(2:13:21) What we=ve tried to do is blend different forbs and grasses and ornamental trees that have different bloom times throughout the year, so through most of the year it=s a wonderful setting from spring to summer to fall to winter.

 

WHEN THE SNOW MELTS OR WHEN IT RAINS, WATER IS RETAINED AND FILTERED BY THESE NATIVE LANDSCAPES. AT THE VILLAGE HALL COMPLEX IN MATTESON, ILLINOIS, ASSISTANT TO THE VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR JUDY HALDANE AND CONSULTANT HEIDI NATURA SAY THE SECRET IS IN THE ROOTS OF PRAIRIE AND WETLAND PLANTS:

 

 

(8:24:10) The native vegetation specifically helps to promote these pore spaces for water to move through because they have extensive and deep root systems. :07

 

8:02:09 It=s not like turf grass that has very short roots. These plants, many of them go down 2-3 feet beneath the ground, and that holds water in the earth. :11

 

IT=S A NATURAL AND POWERFUL MEANS OF FLOOD CONTROL. NO PIPES ARE NEEDED TO CARRY WATER TO ARTIFICIAL DETENTION BASINS. RUNOFF IS REDUCED AS WATER IS ABSORBED INTO THE GROUND, AND AS IT FLOWS ACROSS OVERLAND SWALES AND THROUGH THE GROUND, WATER GETS CLEANER:

 

3:06:51 By the time the water filters through here and it gets down to the central wetlands, on a thirsty day, if I=m down there, I would drink it. :08

 

AT GOMPERS PARK, IN CHICAGO, A MAN-MADE WETLAND HAS SOLVED OTHER PROBLEMS. LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT BARBARA WOOD SAYS THIS USE WAS IDEAL FOR A 2-AND-A-HALF ACRE SITE ALONG THE CHICAGO RIVER THAT WAS, HISTORICALLY, WET:

 

(4:16:50) When the river would rise, the area would flood. When it would rain, it would get soggy. They tried to mow the area. They were always leaving ruts. It was just a non-stop problem for 30 years. :13

 

NOW, THE PARK IS HOME TO BIRDS AND BUTTERFLIES, TURTLES AND FROGS NOT TO MENTION THE NEIGHBORS, LIKE JIM MACDONALD, WHO HELP TO MAINTAIN THE PARK ON A VOLUNTARY BASIS. THE GREEN DUCK WEED THAT COVERS THE SURFACE OF THIS POND IS NOT A PROBLEM, BUT LITTER AND DEBRIS IN AN URBAN PARK ARE. MACDONALD B A COLLEGE PROFESSOR BY TRADE B DOESN=T MIND CLEANING UP:

 

(4:09:08) I=ve learned a lot about water and mud and the things that live in them, and I=ve learned I like getting my feet wet too.@

 

NOT ALL RESIDENTS WERE SO ENTHUSIASTIC WHEN THESE PRAIRIE PLANTS CAME UP IN PLACE OF BLUEGRASS AND FORMAL FLOWER BEDS. ONE MAN WONDERED WHY THE PARK DISTRICT WAS NEGLECTING THE PROPERTY:

 

(4:20:21) I pointed out some of the more vibrant things that were in bloom, and I said there=s really lots of things to look at, and he agreed that he would think about it. Well I ran into him a couple of months later, and he=d been coming out every day.@

 

RESIDENTS OF HOMEWOOD, ILLINOIS ALSO COME OUT TO ENJOY THEIR NATURALLY LANDSCAPED PARK. PRAIRIE LAKES WAS CREATED WHEN A RACETRACK ON 200 ACRES BURNED DOWN LEAVING ASPHALT AND DEBRIS, SURROUNDED BY A CHAIN LINK FENCE:

 

(2:20:27) Nothing was here but a parking lot, and we=ve actually dug these lakes, put the dirt on the side and then put different species, seed and plants, in the embankment B cattails, bull rush, different species of water plants to use for purification of the water.

 

FORTY FIVE ACRES WERE SOLD TO COMMERCIAL DEVELOPERS TO COVER THE COSTS OF INSTALLATION, AND THE TAX REVENUE FROM THOSE BUSINESSES PAYS THE RELATIVELY SMALL BILL FOR MAINTENANCE:

 

(6:24:05) It=s a lot easier to maintain and manage this than you would say a given lawn. + It=s a no brainer. Let nature take its course and just keep it in check.@

 

 

(7:12:12) It saves money on the one hand, and what we=re finding is in commercial projects and even residential projects, there=s substantial market premiums associated with designing and building with nature.

STEVE APFELBAUM OF APPLIED ECOLOGICAL SERVICES DESIGNS NATIVE LANDSCAPES FOR OFFICE PARKS AROUND THE WORLD. DRAMATIC SURROUNDINGS LIKE THESE, HE SAYS, ARE A POWERFUL PUBLIC RELATIONS TOOL SHOWING THAT A COMPANY CARES ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT AND ITS EXECUTIVES UNDERSTAND THE NEEDS OF NATURE:

 

7:25:13 When you get involved with this process, you=ll probably get inspired by it because it=s a very different and invigorating experience to grow these native landscapes in contrast to conventional, formal landscapes.

 

SCHOOLS AND PARKS HAVE DISCOVERED THE EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF NATIVE PLANTS. AT NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, A RESTORED PRAIRIE, WETLAND AND OAK SAVANNAH ARE VALUABLE ASSETS FOR SCIENCE MAJORS, BUT TOM SIMPSON, A PROFESSOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, SAYS ANYONE WHO COMES TO THIS CAMPUS CAN LEARN FROM THE LANDSCAPE:

 

(12:27:19) APeople don=t live around nature. They don=t know what nature is. They see it on t.v., but they don=t experience it, and I think it=s particularly important to restore nature and naturalistic vegetation in and around where people live, where they work, where they go to school because that gives them an experience . It gives them something in their memory to hold onto even if they=re not going to study it. (:23) (27:48) Later on when we ask people to care about nature and to try to conserve it and preserve it, they have to value it. They have to be able to connect to somewhere.@ (:10)

 

AT THE PEGGY NOTEBAERT NATURE MUSEUM, LEW CRAMPTON SEES THAT CONNECTION BEING MADE. IN THE HEART OF CHICAGO, THE LANDSCAPE DRAWS BIRDS, BUTTERFLIES AND SMALL MAMMALS. THESE, IN TURN, ATTRACT KIDS.

 

(5:14:13) AOne thing kids do understand is the relationship between an animal and its habitat, and once you=ve gotten that relationship, then you understand why it=s not THE environment but OUR environment.@

 

WHILE NATURAL LANDSCAPING ATTRACTS WILDLIFE, THESE AREAS ARE NOT SO APPEALING TO PESTS. MOSQUITOES AND MICE ARE DEVOURED BY MANY CREATURES THAT THRIVE IN PRAIRIES, WETLANDS AND WOODLANDS.

 

SOME WHO CONSIDER LANDSCAPING WITH NATIVE PLANTS MAY FEAR THEIR EMPLOYEES, STUDENTS OR PATRONS WILL BE PLAGUED BY ALLERGIES. IN FACT, MOST PRAIRIE PLANTS HAVE HEAVY POLLEN THAT=S NOT CARRIED BY THE WIND.

 

BECAUSE FLAMES STIMULATE THE GROWTH OF PRAIRIE PLANTS, NATURAL AREAS ARE DESIGNED WITH FIRE BREAKS, AND A REGULAR CONTROLLED BURN KEEPS BRUSH FROM BUILDING UP:

 

(12:12:53) AWe have to get a permit from the city here to conduct prescribed burning. We contact the fire department on the day of the burn. We contact several people on campus to make sure everyone is aware that we=re burning, and with all of that, it usually goes off without a hitch.@ :16

 

IT TAKES TIME FOR LANDSCAPES LIKE THIS ONE AT TUTHILL CORPORATION=S HEADQUARTERS IN BURR RIDGE, ILLINOIS OR THE PROPERTY SURROUNDING TELABS OPERATIONS IN BOWLING BROOK TO MATURE, AND IN THE BEGINNING IRRIGATION AND WEEDING MAY BE NEEDED, BUT KEN JOHNSON, A BOTANIST WITH CONSERVATION DESIGN FORUM, SAYS LESS EFFORT IS REQUIRED OVER TIME:

 

(10:05:01) AIf you put the time and effort into those activities during the establishment period of native landscape, it really pays for itself after that fifth year because it=s really then on its own and just needs that annual fire in the spring.@ :15

ECOLOGICALLY, AND ECONOMICALLY, IT MAKES SENSE TO GO NATIVE.

NATURAL LANDSCAPES ARE CHEAPER TO MAINTAIN. ONE STUDY SHOWED THAT OVER A 20-YEAR PERIOD THE CUMULATIVE COST OF MAINTAINING A PRAIRIE OR WETLAND TOTALS $3000 PER ACRE COMPARED WITH A COST OF $20,000 PER ACRE FOR TURF GRASS.

 

MANY SITES CHOOSE TO HAVE A MORE FORMAL LOOK IN CERTAIN AREAS AND A NATURAL LANDSCAPE FOR THE REST, USING LAWNS SPARINGLY:

 

(5:12:00) AOn one side of the path out front, that area looks like Lincoln Park, but on our side, the museum side of that pathway, it=s a special butterfly garden. It=s special plantings that will be bird friendly, and we worked very closely with the community to plan and design all this.@

 

(MUSIC)

 

NATIVE LANDSCAPES CAN CUT DOWN ON AIR AND WATER POLLUTION. THEY PROVIDE HABITAT FOR WILDLIFE AND A DIVERSE, COLORFUL AND EDUCATIONAL SETTING FOR PEOPLE.

 

(10:9:00) AThe whole traditional campus is a fairly sterile, drug dependent campus on fertilizers and water, and this campus requires none of that. + (10:07:20) This is definitely the way to go. I=m just looking out at all the sunflowers and how the grass is in flower now out there, and all the habitat that that provides for insects and birds versus a sterile lawn environment which would be just browned out now in early September from lack of rain and here we have this beautiful, diverse landscape full of several dozen species of plants and just offering so much more.@

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THIS WEBSITE  https://www.epa.gov/glnpo/ecopage/landscape.html Or call 312-886-7594.

 


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