Living Walls: understanding, interest and expectations BC Municipalities - Summer 2014 Data compiled and analysed by Pauline Barlet

Living Walls: understanding, interest and expectations BC Municipalities - Summer 2014 Data compiled and analysed by Pauline Barlet

Report summary 1. Living Wall: Definition 2. Soil-based or hydroponics 3. Why Living Walls? 4. Survey dual objective 5. Questionnaire 6. Participants 7. Awareness Ecological involvement 8. Knowledge but desire for more info 9. Objections to Living Walls 10. Expectations 11. Conclusion 12. Things you should know 13. The researcher 14. ByNature

Living Wall: Definition A Living Wall is a system that allows plants to grow on a vertical panel. It can be either hydroponic (water-based) or soil-based. Defying gravity, a Living Wall Requires specific engineering, yet some systems are easier than others to install and maintain. There are interior and exterior Living walls.

Soil-based or hydroponic? Water consumption Watering frequency Cost Weight Installation Maintenance Risk Soil-based 20L per sq/ft per year (same as any landscape project) once a week $80-$100 per sq/ft 12 lbs per sq/ft Easy Low Low Hydroponic 80L to 100L of water per sq/ft per year 3-5 times per day $100-$200 per sq/ft 7 lbs per sq/ft Medium High High

Why Living Walls? Living Walls are an original and space-efficient way to help people reconnect with nature. Recent technological advances have made it easier than ever to install and maintain Living Walls. Throughout Europe and North-America, many organizations, corporations and municipalities are choosing to install Living Walls to improve people s everyday lives. Benefits: - Building beautification - Building envelope insulation - Improved well-being and indoor air quality - Biodiversity

Survey dual objective In the summer of 2014, we conducted a survey with BC Municipalities about Living Walls. 1. ByNature s perspective : To understand at which municipal level the decision of installing a Living Wall is taken 2. Municipalities perspective: To understand what is required in terms of knowledge, experience and system requirements for Living Wall installations.

Questionnaire A 22-question form was submitted to the municipalities. Questions were grouped in 4 categories: 1. Information about the municipality 2. Municipal organization and administration 3. Awareness and knowledge about Living wa lls 4. Expectations/interest

Participants Out of the 161 BC municipalities, 156 were contacted and 49 filled in the questionnaire (31%).

Awareness Ecological involvement Our results show that most municipalities in BC follow some kind of environmental program. This indicates existing environmental concerns and awareness.

Knowledge but desire for more information Although almost every respondent was familiar with the concept of Living Wall, we were asked many questions which indicated a lack of information : what is the difference between hydroponic and soilbased systems? Which is cleaner? More sustainable?

Objections to Living Walls Five municipalities (12%) had installed Living Walls - and were mostly satisfied with them. The reasons for not installing a Living Wall are : no opportunity no desire no space cost Half of the responders would be interested in installing a Living Wall.

Expectations When asked about the preferred look of a Living Wall for their municipalities, responders chose green (rather than flowered), and dense and lush (rather than groomed) They expressed equal interest in the following benefits: - Air quality - Biodiversity - Thermal insulation - Acoustic insulation - Temperature regulation

Conclusion A desire for more information We were pleased to see that the majority of the responders were not passively answering our questions, but trying to understand more about this still-new technology. This is encouraging us to continue with our education and information initiatives.

Living Walls Three things you should know Living Walls Are Not Necessarily Expensive! ByNature s Modulogreen system cost $27 per sq/ft empty, and depending on the size, your budget for an installed living wall can be as low as $80 per sq/ft. Soil-based Living Walls Consume Very Little Water!! On a square foot basis, a Living Wall will require as much water for one year as the average Canadian uses in one day! This is smart technology! Living Walls Maintenance and Installation is simple and straightforward. Plants as big as 1 gallon are planted in an engineered growing medium, roots will develop healthily, the green wow effect is immediate and plants will be happy for many seasons! No need to call for Living Wall experts, your municipal team is absolutely able to install a Living Wall by themselves!!

Info sessions - courses Our Living Walls consultants are happy to answer any of your questions and can schedule meetings either face-to-face or via skype. Nicolas Rousseau teaches the course on Living Walls at BCIT. Contact us for more details about programs. Contact Nicolas Rousseau: 778 321 8023 Nicolas@bynaturedesign.ca Fred Collay: 604 418 9217 Fred@bynaturedesign.ca

The researcher Pauline Barlet A 3rd year student in horticultural engineering at Agrocampus Ouest (Angers, France) Pauline is studying with the goal of developing new ideas and avenues in the field of Living Wall technology.

ByNature ByNature is the joint project of two Frenchmen: Nicolas Rousseau, a former researcher at the school of Architectural Ecology at BCIT, is a horticulture engineer. Fred Collay is a communications graduate and biophilia advocate. Today ByNature is 6-person company based in Vancouver. They have been installing and distributing Living Walls in North America for more than three years and have appeared in the Globe & Mail, Vancouver Sun, Georgia Strait and were on CTV and CBC Television. ByNature: 490 1000 Parker St Vancouver, BC, V6A 2H2 (604) 436 2919 cool@bynaturedesign.ca