Landscape and Horticulture Association - Landscape Juice Network

Open association for the landscape and garden for industry

Sustainable Landscaping United Kingdom: Share; Share on Twitter; Share on Facebook

Blog Posts (25)
Discussions (137)
Events
Groups (4)
Photos (7)
Photo Albums
Videos (1)

Sustainable Landscaping's Apps (1)

Sustainable Landscaping's Friends

View All

Sustainable Landscaping's Groups

Lawn Care forum

60 members
British landscaping and…

116 members

Tree and Woodland

40 members
Sustainable Group

175 members

View All

Sustainable Landscaping's Discussions

Needs to pack in the silk cut , but can get lonely working by urself

Replied Mar 1

Sustainable Landscaping's Page

Latest Activity

Justine M. Jobson joined Sustainable Landscaping's group

Tree and Woodland

A group for Arboriculturists, Silviculturists and anyone interested in Trees and Woodland Management.

August 13

Sustainable Landscaping updated their profile

July 13

Andrew Hugh Dixon commented on Sustainable Landscaping's group 'Tree and Woodland'

Looks like the union was slightly included, which has caused it to be weakened. As long as wood decay fungi dont get too strong a hold it shoud be OK from a physiological perspective. Mechanically the tree will now be weakened at that point, but bec…

April 11

pete commented on Sustainable Landscaping's group 'Tree and Woodland'

Thought probably so but thanks for the reassurance Pip.

April 11

Pip Howard commented on Sustainable Landscaping's group 'Tree and Woodland'

That was a good deal - Great trees these, my father had a really old one in his garden, where a massive limb came down in a gale, much worse damage than this and tree didn't seem at all perturbed by it, They are naturally self brashing and although…

April 11

pete commented on Sustainable Landscaping's group 'Tree and Woodland'

Cedar is it - sorry - no Pip, it was a heavy branch pulled off from it's own weight - good for us though as its in our street and we offerred to clean up - nice old lady I used to chat to at the garden gate, she can't get out now so she offered us h…

April 11

Pip Howard commented on Sustainable Landscaping's group 'Tree and Woodland'

Cedrus Atlantica Glauca, really nice and expensive tree, still quite young, looks to me like it should stand a very good chance for a long time yet, (but a decent mulch circle at base will help). Any idea how it was damaged? looks like from the side…

April 11

Sustainable Landscaping added a blog post

Dry Stone Walling Cornwall. An engineering solution for bank stabilisation & drainage.

Dry Stone walling in Cornwall is enjoying a renaissance at the moment. Principally due to the costs compared with alternatives. An additional factor is that as the actual mechanics of these historic structures are being researched properly, (mainly…

April 7

Profile Information

Company name (if applicable)

Sustainable Landscapes for UK and France

First Name:

Pip

Surname:

Howard

Telephone:

+33 05 49 87 56 95

Email:

info@paysagedurable.com

Website:

http://www.paysagedurable.com

Twitter

http://twitter.com/paysagedurable

About Me:

CSL was a unique enterprise, which was the first model co operative landscaping and land management unit in SW England. Due to legislation and largely as a result of its own success CSL disbanded in late 2009. Several smaller outfits were borne out of it and are successes in their own right.

This blog remains as a small illustration of some of the sustainable techniques and associated blurb, written to highlight sustainable practice as a guide for others hoping to expand their businesses and practice into this arena.

Your Blog

http://www.landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blog/list?user=3qgs87...

What is your profession i.e. Landscaping, gardening, greenkeeping - other

Comprehensive Land Management

If you are a professional gardener, landscaper or garden designer, list the services or special skills that you have

Sustainable Landscaping techniques

How did you find this site?

Browsing

Sustainable Landscaping's Photos

Loading…

Sustainable Landscaping's Videos

Wall

Added by Sustainable Landscaping

Sustainable Landscaping's Blog

Dry Stone Walling Cornwall. An engineering solution for bank stabilisation & drainage.

Posted on April 7, 2010 at 9:30pm — 2 Comments

Traditional Quay Construction in South West UK - Part II.

Further to last Quay construction blog this is the second quay.

In this one we had to construct from base as there was no existing material to use. Stone was from Tredinnick Quarry and a total of 30 tonnes was used.… Continue

Posted on December 29, 2009 at 9:00pm —

Landscaping - THE Sustainable Industry in the UK.

We are restructuring CSL and in doing so one factor keeps cropping up - how do we continue to advertise our sustainable credentials effectively. One route was to start utilising the words 'Traditional and 'Heritage' to header the work we do.

The reality is that no new wording is required, indeed for us to use 'sustainable' as a selling header is in itself a little daft. 'Green-space… Continue

Posted on December 11, 2009 at 2:30pm — 3 Comments

Insurance Companies and the landscaping Industry

As traditional landscaping techniques creep into suburban areas or more often suruban areas creep into ex agricultural areas with elements of traditional landscaping maintained as features as prescribed by planning authorities and quite rightly. There is an increasing problem with the insurance implications. The following is an example of such a problem:

Further from the retaining wall failure blog, the r… Continue

Posted on December 5, 2009 at 2:30pm —

Retaining Stone Walls in Cornwall - Failure in Older Structures

Following the recent adverse weather some older Cornish retaining walls have collapsed and there have been several enquiries relating to this, there have also been some real problems for clients with regards dealing with the insurance companies. Assessors tend to have a knowledge only within the construction industry which consequently leads to confusion and then often refusal of payment, this subsequently leads to the loss of a historical and traditional feature of the region. However often the… Continue

Posted on November 18, 2009 at 7:30pm — 3 Comments

Comment Wall (21 comments)

At 12:17pm on February 22, 2009, dgeorgea said…: In many ways accessibility, in terms of getting to the location is not really your issue to deal with. Accessibilty once there is of course a major issue for you.

Public areas need to be accessible to all, this can bring some very interesting challenges if you think about who may use the area, it's location etc. Wheel chair use is an obvious one, but even a short walk for someone with back problems can be challenging. The ability to stop and sit down at times helps a great deal. This doesn't have to 'seating' as such.

A major side issue with accessibility is encouraging people from deprived areas to want to go to/use these facilities. Here is where you are probably struggling. From talking to TMOs around the country I know there are areas where people spend most of their lives in their own community, going to the local town is a major excursion that needs planning and most people don't bother.

I don't know your experiences, and it may be that you will need to do some rethinking. Many contractors are used to getting a contract and doing it. With government bodies, trusts etc this may work on small projects but not on larger ones. Think about the way public policy is going, it is about local empowerment, involving residents/service users. What are the main issues? Education, health, capacity building - buzz word meaning giving local people the knowledge and skills to do things for themselves - and worklessness.

Do some research, what are the aims of organisation/quango, who are the top people? what are their particular hobby horses? Because these will be filtering down.

Bottom line, you need to bidding for the contract, but you will also need to be adding in something to involve local people/communities into your calculations. Possibly even to the extent of employing a community worker.

Yes it would be quicker and cheaper to just do the job yourself, but large organisations like the ones you are talking about are probably looking for more, because that is what is expected of them.

Getting local communities involved helps to give them a sense of ownership and pride, which in turn makes the project more community friendly, sustainable and used.

Lets take the forestry commission. One aim could be to encourage more families/children to use the area. Look at involving schools, toddler groups, family groups. Even think of producing a booklet that encourages children to look for particular features, and gives some facts. You don't have to produce the books, just supply them to the client in pdf format or whatever to distribute. Many secondary schools struggle to find opportunities for work experience. If the project is due to take place during this period that could be another way.

If they are wanting to encourage minority groups then approach the local mosque, or other group which these people use regularly.

Disability? get the local special schools involved, or liaise with Contact a Family.

Think about how you can use these groups, both for the project and when it is completed. On a large project you may decide to do a butterfly walk. After you are gone it will need to be maintained, a local school may be interested in taking it on long term. Or it may you will be required to maintain the project afterwards, long term local involvement might certainly help.

But what about the other end of the project, how involved are these various people in design stage? Who is making the choice between which materials to use? who is designing the rest area? Deciding what options to use? Your client has probably got a duty to consult and are looking for partners who can work with this.

Other things to consider is that various people use spaces differently. For instance there is a wealth of research on how young people use open spaces. Anti social behaviour is often inappropriate behaviour in the wrong place. Playing ball games where young people are likely to make a nuisance of themselves or break windows in anti social. Therefor you 'legitimise' their behaviour by providing areas where they can play ball without causing so much disturbance, or break windows. You will still get young people playing ball in the wrong place, but you minimise the problem. The same with open spaces. By involving local people you will get to learn their expectations and aspirations. These can in turn be fed back to the client.

You might also want to look at other resources you can tap into. For instance if you are working with a council estate you might want to link them up with Trafford Hall where they can learn skills like planning community gardens. Training is free for social tenants, and they will help with travelling costs.

In effect you are now covering all the main bases, education, health, local consultation, empowerment, capacity building, worklessness. You are getting the local communities engaged with organisation and probably helping to meet one of its core aims. You have created a huge press opportunity and advertising that would be expensive to pay for. You will probably find you are also able to tap into other funding opportunities for the project to meet some of the objectives. If you do use Trafford Hall what you won't see advertised is that you will be tapping local groups not only into a range of training opportunities but also a funding stream they can use. Trafford Hall offers grants of up to £3000 for groups who use their training.

It may take a lot of work on your part and it will probably mean a different way of working for you, but it would certainly put your bids head and shoulders above those who are simply applying for the project. I would be very surprised if you had a couple of successful projects that it didn't start opening other doors to large contracts, and also smaller community projects.

Another thing to consider, and this is just starting to catch on is participatory budgetting. On a large project you will set aside part of the area and let the users decide what will go there. For instance you may find in a largish forested area there are people who want to use it for cycling. Remember what I said about anti social behaviour? They might decide that they want a cycle path which will test them. So you put aside part of the money and you approach the cyclists and ask what they want, and work with them and your client to create an area where they can do their thing without causing a nuisance or possible accident with pedestrians. They get their say in its design and possibly location. They are happy, your client is happy other users are happy.

Hope this helps.

At 5:43pm on February 23, 2009, Jonathan Hall said…: No problem, my pleasure. Let me know how you get on.

At 6:51pm on March 17, 2009, Invicta said…: Hello,
elgarparadigm@aol.comshould work?
Hope this helps,
Bern

At 9:01pm on March 29, 2009, cornwall garden landscaping said…: hay thanks 4 message pipastalis hope alls well with lindsey and speak soon ....roge

At 4:19pm on April 2, 2009, Neil Petrie BSc Landscape Mgt said…: Hi there

I've just been reading through some of your website and find it most interesting. Although most of my work is in grounds maintenance I do have past experiece in the wider landscape and the countryside. You seem to have your finger in many different avenues of what I would generalise as 'landscape'.

Are these all areas that you have simply picked up on as you journey through the years or did you have specific experience in certain aspects of landscaping and landscape management?

I am currently reviving a woodland that makes up the majority of the grounds of a large house in troon, south ayrshire that was once designed with paths, tennis courts, raised islands and many other features that are now nestled in years of leaf mould. This was referred to me by the window cleaner who is a friend.

What avenues did you go down in order to be able to offer such wide array of interesting services?

Your reflections and ideas would be very much of interest to me.

Many thanks in anticipation.

Neil

At 8:33pm on April 12, 2009, pete said…: Hi CSL, I've got something I hope is quite dramatic to say on Dr Shigo - I have a photo but can't stick it to the text, I've been trying for a month, on and off. Took me ages to write this tiny bit (cos I don't know what I'm talking about really) but now you've put this up, I'll make a concerted effort. Good for you CSL. Too much talk of work on here.

At 11:49pm on April 15, 2009, dgeorgea said…: Thanks Pip,

Don't worry too much about the amount of bumpf, I've got very good at reading through papers and drawing out what I need.

Hope you had a good Easter.

At 10:57pm on June 2, 2009, Cat Fereday said…: Wheel out the joke, then - we're both fairly new to this Morris dancing lark, so you're fairly safe that we won't have heard it! Fereday will be pleased to be stunning French folk - he lived there as a child.... BTW, there was a French Folk side over 'on exchange' with White Rose MM recently....and thanks for the positive feedback on the blog - can get a bit disheartening when you don't get any comments under them and there are no counters... feels a bit like confessing to cyberspace!