“Going Green”… what?

So I went to a seminar this past Saturday to educate myself on the benefits of going green. And I am happy to report that it was a wonderful success (please stop laughing). The seminar was on how to handle and use the rain water that falls on your property in an environmentally friendly way.

The seminar started out with explaining the benefits of containing and using the rain water that falls on your property. The speaker explained that the water we receive from a typical rain storm has many pollutants that can’t be filtered out by channeling it to a drainage sewer. He explained that by using it on your property through a variety of different ways you can actually filter out many of those harmful pollutants.

He went on to show some techniques for water retention and redistribution. The first technique he showed was the use of rain barrels. Rain barrels are a great way to collect the water before it even enters the soil. And with the use of multiple rain barrels connected together, one can store enough water to irrigate their gardens even through the driest of summers. Another water collection technique that works well is the cistern. The cistern is a wonderful idea for those who want to practice water collection without having to see the barrels above ground. The cistern is buried underground and can be attached to all the downspouts as well as the sump pump. Another added benefit is the capability of keeping the downspouts and sump pump connected even in the winter time since the cisterns don’t freeze. This allows you to collect water in the winter and use it in the spring. And probably the biggest benefit is the capacity. Usually these cistern are about 6’ across by 7-8’ deep (now that’s a lot of water).

Some other techniques he went through involved the use of native plant material. He explained the use of green roofs, water gardens, and bio-swales in the residential landscape. These techniques may sound complicated, but are actually very easy to understand and implement. And all of these techniques can be done on any property no matter the size or soil condition. And with the use of water gardens and bio-swales you can actually improve the soil quality on your property with absolutely no fertilizer!

The last technique that we went over was the use of permeable surfaces. This can be accomplished with the use of the more common permeable pavers or with the lesser know gravel grass. Both of these techniques allow a significant amount of water retention to happen right under the surface of the pavers or grass. This gives the water more time to percolate into the existing soil with a lot less runoff.

The first question I had when he was finished was what kind of a cost increase these techniques would have over our conventional techniques. His answer was simple, none or very little, and in some cases less. The one thing he did stress was time. Some of the techniques where plants are used can take up to 3 years to look good, especially if you are starting from seed. But the benefits in time saved from weeding and watering probably cancel that out.

So all in all I think I had a pretty educational weekend. If these are things that you have been thinking about please give me a call (847-658-3883 x.22) and I’d be happy to discuss them with you. Have a great rest of February and I will see you in March.

Rob Baughman