Hindsight Is 2020
Landscape Trends That Are Making a Difference
By Kelli Ra Anderson
Although we can officially mark 2020 off our calendar, the shockwaves of its many unprecedented challenges are still being felt in 2021. Moving forward, as we enter spring, many landscape trends for the new year are a direct result of the impact from COVID-19, the economic downturn and environmental extremes.
And yet there is good news. Necessity, the proverbial mother of invention, forced us to creatively adapt, adjust and address better ways of using landscaped spaces that ultimately save money, improve the health of society and the health of our environment. Landscaping done right can be so much more than a decorative flourish or routine afterthought. It can be a significant game-changer. It can make a real difference.
More Functional Space
One of the biggest trends—a demand for even more functional outdoor sites—is the result of newfound public appreciation for experiencing nature and all the benefits that come with it. The mental health benefits in particular as people looked to outdoor activities to escape the confines of their homes during phases of lockdown was an enormous catalyst for this increased demand.
"In general the use of outdoor environments has skyrocketed. After the initial months of COVID-19 and parks opened back up, we saw the numbers increasing," said Michelle Kelly, PLA with Upland Design Ltd. in Plainfield, Ill. "People weren't able to go on vacation or the movies or restaurants, but they could use a trail or park and sit under a picnic shelter to enjoy a homemade meal. Now they see how important these spaces are."
Similarly, reported increases nationwide in biking, hiking, trail walking, camping and birding are continued evidence of the public's expanded appreciation of the great outdoors.
Outdoor seating and eating areas also multiplied last year when social distancing requirements pushed people into landscaped space in an effort to keep businesses afloat and functioning. From university fitness facilities to municipal rec centers and everything in between, people who seldom had time or opportunity to exercise or take lunch or coffee breaks outside during an ordinary weekday suddenly found they could incorporate nature into their daily 9-to-5. And many decided they liked it.
To that end, landscape designers continue to answer the call to enhance existing outdoor social spaces and to repurpose purely decorative ones. With the addition of sensory elements like soothing water features, more fragrant, colorful plantings and overhead weather protection, landscape designers then and now continue to make the best of a very difficult situation.
But last year's indoor-to-outdoor challenges also created a whole new way of experiencing recreation. The requirement to social distance compelled us to appoint new uses for landscaped areas that had been little more than a patch of lawn or a floral afterthought.
CLIMATE POSITIVE DESIGN
For some time scientists have known about the amazing capability of trees and plants to absorb and store carbon dioxide in wood, roots and in the soil (a process called carbon sequestration). It's a natural climate change solution that exists all around us. In the quest to combat rising global temperatures, landscape architects are creating projects and designs that can become climate positive. That is, landscapes that, over time, sequester more carbon dioxide than they produce.
However, in the average landscape design process, measuring and quantifying carbon emissions and sequestration has not typically been part of the discussion. One reason, in large part, is because until now there has not been a tool in the landscape architect's toolbox that makes calculating the carbon footprint and sequestration elements easy to measure.
Enter Pamela Conrad, ASLA with CMG Landscape Architecture and founder of Climate Positive Design, developer of a free online webpage carbon calculator app called Pathfinder.
"Out of curiosity, I began analyzing case study projects from our work at CMG," Conrad explained about her initial research, which led to the launch of the Climate Positive Design Challenge and development of the calculator.
"A few years back, I read the book 'Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming.' It was the first time climate solutions were broken down and made accessible. I started to grasp that what we do as designers can make a big difference when we scale up all of our work around the world. I realized it is relatively easy to improve the carbon impacts of our projects without reducing the quality or performance."
Since the introduction of Pathfinder, almost 1,500 projects totaling more than 43,000 acres with an expected 777,000 trees planted over 10 years have already benefited from the use of this innovative tool. The estimated result of these projects is the removal or sequestering of 1.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gases. Recognizing the tremendous value of this award-winning tool, data from the research will be used in upcoming LEED pilot credits and landscape carbon SITES. But parks and rec are particularly well positioned to take advantage of its information.
Unlike standard urban spaces (plazas, streetscapes), which can take up to 20 years to reach a positive state, greener areas like parks, gardens and campuses may only take five years. The website is a wealth of practical tips, practices and eco-friendly dos and don'ts. In an effort to keep it from being overwhelming, however, Conrad recommends five basic practices that provide the biggest bang for the buck:
- Plant more.
- Pave less (a ratio of 75% green space to 25% paving is ideal).
- Use materials with lower embodied carbon (the carbon emissions associated with the manufacture and transportation of materials, which Pathfinder helps to compare to make better, more informed decisions).
- Update specifications to meet best sustainability performance standards (such as using cement substitutions).
- Be thoughtful about maintenance and operations, such as limiting the use of fossil fuels to operate landscape maintenance equipment or switching out fertilizers made from fossil fuels to organic-based fertilizers.