Landscaping: GLRPPR Sector Resources

News: Scotts Miracle-Gro Removes Phosphorus From Lawn Maintenance Products

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:47:31 GMT

Scotts Miracle-Gro today said it has achieved its goal of removing phosphorus from its Turf Builder brand lawn food maintenance products.

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News: Goats to graze among runways at O'Hare

Wed, 08 May 2013 14:00:09 GMT

The city's Department of Aviation is expected to announce Wednesday that it has awarded a contract to Central Commissary Holdings LLC -- operator of Lincoln Park restaurant Butcher & The Burger -- to bring about 25 goats onto airport property, helping the airport launch its pilot vegetation-management program.

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News: To Tackle Runoff, Cities Turn to Green Initiatives

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 19:49:20 GMT

Urban stormwater runoff is a serious problem, overloading sewage treatment plants and polluting waterways. Now, various U.S. cities are creating innovative green infrastructure -- such as rain gardens and roadside plantings -- that mimics the way nature collects and cleanses water.

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News: Roundup of higher education sustainability in the Great Lakes Region

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 17:30:52 GMT

Links to recent sustainability activities from the region's colleges and universities.

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News: In Midwest, Bringing Back Native Prairies Yard by Yard

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 16:08:23 GMT

Across the U.S. Midwest, homeowners are restoring their yards and former farmland to the native prairie that existed in pre-settlement days. The benefits can be substantial -- maintenance that uses less water and no fertilizer, and an ecosystem that supports wildflowers and wildlife.

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News: 'Message in a Bottle' project to to preserve memories, promote recycling at UW-Green Bay

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 17:08:44 GMT

UW-Green Bay's sustainability team is hoping the campus community gets -- and gives -- their "Message in a Bottle" during an awareness campaign Sept. 17-21. The campaign involves the new Student Services plaza/roof deck, currently under construction. The plaza project will include a number of large, deep planters -- some are so deep that the plants going in them don't require them all that much soil to thrive. Rather than paying more for soil, UW-Green Bay's sustainability and facilities management teams will reuse capped plastic bottles collected from recycling bins on campus. The bottles will add the needed volume and won't decay for a staggering 450 years or so (maybe longer) -- which serves as a reminder of what happens (or more accurately, doesn't happen) when bottles end up in the landfill, rather than the recycling bin.

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News: Stormwater Calculator to Manage Rainfall Runoff

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 16:41:10 GMT

A new tool developed by EPA allows planners and property owners to assess how green infrastructure can be used to reduce rainwater runoff from development sites.

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News: PA: Shoemaker Green opens at Penn

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 16:14:56 GMT

On Monday crews removed construction fences and quietly opened Shoemaker Green, Penn's new landscape link from Penn Park through to College Green at the historic core of the campus. Shoemaker Green was designed as a pilot site for the Sustainable Sites Initiative, which will measure the performance of the landscape and serve as a test case for other campus landscape projects.

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Resource: Reclaiming the Right of Way: A Toolkit for Creating and Implementing Parklets

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 15:56:22 GMT

The purpose of the Parklet Toolkit is to provide city staff and community members with practical guidance to support the development of small-scale parks, called parklets. Parklet programs and projects are spreading quickly across the nation, from San Francisco to New York and other cities profiled in the toolkit. This decision support toolkit is designed specifically to facilitate the development of parklet projects in the city of Los Angeles and encourage a parklet program that creates an institutionalized pathway for their installation. Despite the focus on Los Angeles, the program case studies, project guidelines, and other best practices presented in this toolkit are easily transferable to other communities across the nation.

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News: CA: In L.A.'s 'pocket parks,' smart design taking root

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 13:55:45 GMT

Massive urban parks, the likes of Golden Gate or Central, are a real treasure to tourists but they do less for residents who cannot easily access them. In large, dense cities such as Los Angeles, park quantity can trump size. That is why L.A. is in the midst of a campaign to bring 50 "pocket parks" to its densest, least green neighborhoods. City planners consider pocket parks to be less than 20,000 square feet. They're designed expressly to serve residents who live within a short walk of the park. But where does a city get access to these lots? In L.A., planners are turning to an unfortunately ample stock of foreclosed homes.

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