Landscape Architect Articles

LCN Off the Clock August, 200408-01-04 | News

Washington Non-Profit Improves the Environment
While Employing At-Risk Young Adults

At-risk youth from the Covenant House in Washington work as trainees as they build a greenroof by placing a drainage layer (top) and then cover the roof with an erosion blanket (bottom). The greenroof uses three mat layers to hold and nurture soil and root propagation. The first layer is a thick agricultural fabric that helps keep plant roots and soil separated from the roof. The next layer is made of industrial plastic and looks similar to an egg carton. The recesses capture and hold water, which helps roots to thrive. The final layer is the erosion blanket that helps to keep roots of new plants intact, so winds cannot blow them away. The blanket is made of natural fibers and will break down within a year?EUR??,,????'??+plenty of time for the roots to take hold.

D.C. Greenworks (DCG) is a competitive, insured nonprofit organization that serves the greater Washington DC area with consulting, design and installation services for low-impact developing (LID) projects, which offer ecologically-friendly storm water management benefits. All of their contracts involve training and employing at-risk young adults in the skills necessary to meet the growing demand for technical environmental services.

DCG opened and began pioneering greenroofs and rain gardens in late 1999. Since then the company has expanded its services to include bioretention, downspout disconnection, riparian restoration, permeable paving and wetland restorations.

Creating a Better Community

Community stewardship is encouraged through DCG’s treecare community programs that are run through D.C. “TreeKeepers,” a membership program to empower D.C. residents and neighborhood associations to take ownership and stewardship over their street trees and small parks.

Donating Time on an Award Winning Stewardship Project

DCG recently completed the Anacostia River project where they donated their time for site clean-up and planted shade trees and cherry blossoms as partner to the National Cherry Blossom Festival. In September 2003, DCG won the Anacostia Watershed Stewardship Award for outstanding efforts since 1999 to reduce non-point source pollution to the Anacostia River and educate the public by planting trees and installing rain gardens and greenroofs at sites throughout the district.

In Feb. 2003, the International Society of Aboriculture awarded their Gold Leaf Award for “Outstanding Landscape Beautification Activities” to DCG’s “TreeKeeper” Program. DCG was nominated for this award by D.C.’s Urban Forestry Administration for their continuing commitment to working with D.C. residents to clean and green their communities and for their efforts to restore the urban tree canopy.

Recent Projects

In early 2004, DCG finished D.C.’s first high elevation greenroof in a high-density commercial zone at 1425 K St. The 3,500-square-foot greenroof is being funded by the U.S. Environmental Health Agency and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. It will demonstrate and study the actual benefits (effective, and economical solution to storm water management and nonpoint-source air and water pollution prevention in high density commercial areas) that “greenroofing” can offer to Washington, D.C.

DCG is now priming to launch a rain barrel program to encourage residents to “unplug” from the storm water system. To learn more about D.C. Greenworks, log on to their website at www.dcgreenworks.org.