COMMUNICATING SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES

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Sherilyn Goodman
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1 COMMUNICATING SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES 2013 Arizona Community Tree Council Conference by Carol Kwan Carol Kwan Consulting LLC

2 WHAT IS COMMUNICATION? Conveying a message in such a way that the other person understands it

3 2-way communication works best Confirms that the receiving party got the message and understands what was meant

4 HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE? Oral face-to-face (one-on-one, group meetings) or by phone s, texts, faxes, memos, letters, contracts, etc.

5 COMMUNICATION OPERATES ON 2 LEVELS 1. Content messages what we generally think of as communication 2. Relational messages how the parties feel about each other Source: Communicating at Work: Principles and Practices for Business and the Professions, Fifth Edition, by Ronald B. Adler and Jeanne Marquardt Elmhorst, 1996.

6 RELATIONAL MESSAGES Affinity how much you like the other person in general Control how much influence each person has in the situation Respect how much you admire the other person s abilities or achievements Don t expect the other person to try to understand your perspective if you aren t willing to try to understand his or hers

7 WHY WOULD DIFFERENT PROFESSIONS NEED TO COMMUNICATE? Laws Clean Water Act, NPDES Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Programs LEED Cultural Environmental movement Sustainability

8 WHAT OTHER DISCIPLINES WOULD ARBORISTS COMMUNICATE WITH? Engineers - civil, electrical, geotechnical (soils) etc. Architects including landscape architects Contractors/construction workers (general, landscaping, civil, electrical, etc.) Planners

9 ENGINEERS ARE SIMILAR AROUND THE WORLD I have worked with engineers and/or architects from Australia Egypt England Ireland Japan Kenya Malaysia Philippines Scotland South Africa United States Wales

10 OBSTACLES TO COMMUNICATION Terminology Methodology plans A picture is worth a thousand words

11 TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY, ARBORISTS NEED TO LEARN THEIR LANGUAGE AND TRANSLATE OUR TERMINOLOGY SO THAT OTHER PROFESSIONS CAN UNDERSTAND

13 TOOLS OF ENGINEERING COMMUNICATION Construction drawings (AutoCAD) Specifications/Scope of Work Contracts Professional Reports Budgets Schedules (Gantt Charts)

14 ENGINEERING PSYCHOLOGY Bridge = beauty Linear thinkers Compulsive problem solvers Detail oriented Math Biology

15 ENGINEERING PRIORITIES Budget Schedule

16 ENGINEERING VIEWPOINT Compaction is good Organics are bad Differential settlement Structural failure

17 ENGINEERING VIEWPOINT CONT. Trees are demolishers of engineers hard work Root damage Tree failure impacting manmade target Trees are necessary evil where mandated by government, client, or activist groups

21 SELLING TREE BENEFITS TO ENGINEERS Avoid discussing aesthetics Trees are self-optimizing structures Grow additional wood at stress points are net oxygen producers remove pollutants from air (Clean Air Act) reduce water/pollutant runoff (Clean Water Act) filter water

22 SELLING TREE BENEFITS TO ENGINEERS CONTINUED Trees provide CO 2 sequestering (Climate Change) decrease energy consumption by shading buildings generally increase property values

EXPLAINING TREES TO ENGINEERS KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) Limit discussion to Need to know unless they show interest and ask questions Cutting buttress/structural roots near the trunk is like

23 EXPLAINING TREES TO ENGINEERS KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) Limit discussion to Need to know unless they show interest and ask questions Cutting buttress/structural roots near the trunk is like removing the footing from a building and expecting it to not fall down Major transportation system of a tree is just under the bark Trees don t heal they don t grow cells in the same location Girdling a tree = death

24 EXPLAINING TREES TO ENGINEERS CONT. Roots need oxygen so compaction is bad for trees Root damage to infrastructure is more likely in compacted soils because roots will grow to the surface to get to oxygen Trees need optimal moisture Not too wet, not too dry

25 EXPLAINING TREES TO ENGINEERS CONT. Use numbers 95% of roots are in the top 6-12 of soil Roots extend 2-3 times the diameter of the crown On average, trees can tolerate 40% root loss on one side of a tree Cutting one major root near the trunk can remove 25% of the root zone

26 TERMINOLOGY ENGINEERS & ARBORISTS HAVE IN COMMON Buttress Sail area Soil compaction Soil profile

27 TERMINOLOGY ENGINEERS & ARBORISTS HAVE IN COMMON CONT. Biomechanical terms Tension Compression Lever arm Bending moment Failure Forced Stress Strain Shear plane Safety factor

28 TERMINOLOGY ENGINEERS & ARBORISTS HAVE IN COMMON CONT. Human health terms Clogged arteries

29 TREE PROTECTION Problem to be solved together as a team Protect trees Least impact to budget and schedule Challenges erosion control and liability exposure

30 ARBORISTS CAN LEARN FROM ENGINEERS Pipes standing vertically buckle just like hollow trees Soil reports Soil texture Soil ph

Saying this makes engineers think arborists are ignorant.

31 ARBORISTS CAN LEARN FROM ENGINEERS The wetter the soil, the more the compaction is incorrect. Saying this makes engineers think arborists are ignorant. Optimal moisture provides maximum soil compaction Diagram courtesy Virginia DOT

32 ARBORISTS CAN LEARN FROM ENGINEERS Too wet makes soil pump, not compact

33 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Terminology can mean different things to different disciplines: Right tree, right place

) Arborist s viewpoint: What do the trees need to live long, healthy lives

34 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS LA viewpoint: how can trees be used as a design element to improve humans environment (aesthetics, shade, screening, etc.) Arborist s viewpoint: What do the trees need to live long, healthy lives without being a safety concern to humans? I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. Dr. Seuss

35 RAIN GARDENS, BIORENTION BASINS, ETC OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES A bioretention area or rain garden is a shallow planted depression designed to retain or detain stormwater before it is infiltrated or discharged downstream. Source: _Rain_Gardens.pdf

36 Source: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

37 Source: TION_clip_image014.gif Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

46 RAIN GARDENS IN ARIZONA Most if not all municipalities in Arizona require rainwater retention for non-residential landscapes (projects that require government approval) per Dr. Chris Martin, ASU Polytechnic. Generally designed by landscape architects and engineers, with no arborist involvement.

47 RAIN GARDENS IN ARIZONA Natural growing habitat (generally along streams or rivers) for cottonwood not considered. No supplemental irrigation. ASU Polytechnic

48 RAIN GARDENS IN ARIZONA This area was graded to create a rainwater retention basin. In the process, a mature Eucalyptus was killed. Approximately 50% of its root zone was removed. ASU Polytechnic

49 RAIN GARDENS IN ARIZONA Some landscapes are designed to appear to be rain gardens or desert washes, but they aren t. No rainwater is channeled to them. They are not irrigated with harvested rainwater. ASU Polytechnic

50 RAIN GARDENS IN ARIZONA Some rain gardens receive awards: Green Infrastructure Designs Win U.S. EPA RainWorks Challenge University of Arizona, Tucson, won second prize for a large institution for the redevelopment design of a 70,000 SF parking lot to be replaced with a campus common area featuring two rings of retention basins to infiltrate stormwater runoff; five underground cisterns to harvest runoff and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning condensate. Water collected would irrigate the landscape, reducing potablewater use from 700,000 gal to 90,000 gal per year.

52 RAIN GARDENS IN ARIZONA Biodesign Institute at ASU by Landscape Architect Ten Eyck Tempe, Arizona Landscape architectural master planning and design to transform an existing bleak east entry to the campus New streetscape, entry plazas, gathering areas, shaded seating, and an outdoor amphitheater nestled in a waterharvesting garden

53 RAIN GARDENS IN ARIZONA Biodesign Institute at ASU cont 5,000-gallon tank for rain harvesting used for irrigation Creates a shady respite for outdoor events in an urban context The project received a National ASLA Honor Award, an Arizona ASLA Honor Award, and two Valley Forward Environmental Excellence Crescordia Awards and a President s Award. The project s two buildings have received LEED Gold and Platinum Certification, respectively.

57 RAIN GARDENS 939 designer Kelly Pack photographer Garden Soft courtesy prescottwatersmart.com /GWImage.php?index=23&source=g g&page=4

58 RAIN HARVESTING 500 gal rain harvesting tank courtesy prescottwatersmart.com /GWImage.php?index=23&source=g g&page=4

59 PRESCOTT WATER SMART PROGRAM Publication Links - Water Smart - Conservation: Landscape tool: ource=gg&page=4

60 QUESTIONS?

Stormwater Management at The University of New Orleans

Stormwater Management at The University of New Orleans University of New Orleans ScholarWorks@UNO DRU Workshop 2013 Presentations Disaster Resistant University Workshop: Linking Mitigation and Resilience Conferences and Workshops 3-1-2013 Stormwater Management