Green Infrastructure

Bumblebee program by entomologist Amber Tripodi based on 2011 study of various northwest Arkansas prairie remnants presented in meeting of Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association

2012-01-30T09:44:00.015-06:00

Short takes on Cox 218 and AT&T channel 99 something for today through the weekend

2012-01-16T01:35:00.000-06:00

Park board hears comments on value of preserving soil and native plants on proposed construction site on Rochier Hill west of Pinnacle Prairie and World Peace Wetland Prairie

2012-01-07T13:01:00.002-06:00

December 20, 2011, meeting of Fayetteville AR city council draws comment on several important local issues on a 3-hour, 37-minute video

2012-01-01T02:25:00.002-06:00

Aubrey James Shepherd wears 2011 Louisiana Tech WAC Tshirt on first part and 2001 WAC La Tech shirt on second part of Fayetteville public-television video

2011-12-18T22:40:00.000-06:00

Please click on individual images beneath the video file to enlarge view of wet-prairie and tree-protection area slated to become construction site.

More than 100 photos of mounded wet prairie parcel proposed as site for convention center on north side of Holiday Inn Express available on Flickr near bottom of urban infill set. A sample of the photos appears below the meeting video. Discussion of the site occurs near the end of the meeting. A slide bar at the bottom of the video allows a person skip over discussion of other subjects.

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE.

View east shows tiny wooded-wetland tree-protection area on low corner of several acres of remnant of mounded wet prairie.

Mowing vegetation out of swale that carries water north to a creek unnecessary and harmful.

Healthy habitat important especially where it also protects watershed

Existing tree-protection area is best place for natural swale and sheet-flow surface water to soak in.

Ditch and pipe from existing Holiday Inn Express parking lot exemplies outmoded high-impact water management

Existing stormwater pipe causes erosion of big ditch that sends dangerous flow to swale along road toward creek, increasing erosion and flooding of downtream property.

Natural swale through wet prairie takes water to low, wooded wetland at NW corner of property

Park Board approves accepting money in lieu of land that will result in destruction of all habitat on Hollywood Prairie despite plea to preserve bit of wetland

2011-12-13T22:57:00.003-06:00

Park Board approves destruction of Hollywood Prairie despite plea to preserve wetland by Aubrey James Shepherd

2011-12-13T22:53:00.002-06:00

Joe Neal introduces 'In the Province of Birds' at 7 p.m. Friday, December 9, 2011, at Nightbird Books on Dickson Street in Fayetteville AR

2011-12-09T11:39:00.003-06:00

Hi Aubrey -- just wanted to let you know that Half Acre Press has a new book out from Joe Neal, In the Province of Birds, in case you'd like to mention it on your blog. There will be a booksigning and slideshow/bird talk by Joe at Nightbird Books on Friday, December 9 at 7 pm. Hope to see you there!

Thanks,
Liz

---------------------------------------------------
Liz Lester
479-236-0992
Liz Lester Design
lizlesterdesign@yahoo.com
www.lizlesterdesign.com

Half Acre Press
liz@halfacrepress.com

Please click on image to ENLARGE.

Nature photos on next week's video include frost flowers from this week and last year

2011-12-02T23:39:00.002-06:00

Please click on image to ENLARGE for easy reading.

High water after rain in Northwest Arkansas as seen at confluence of West Fork of the White River and the Town Branch of the West Fork

2011-11-08T23:48:00.002-06:00

Video of Ward Four meeting at 7 p.m. September 26 includes explanation of importance of renewing sales tax by vote on Oct. 11, 2011. See detail below

2011-09-28T09:51:00.002-05:00

Please click on image below to ENLARGE for reading. Click on the enlargement for even easier reading.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Ward 4 Meeting

City Clerk

Time: 7:00 PM

Location: Room 111

Fayetteville Environmental Action Committee meeting of 15 September 2011

2011-09-24T09:03:00.002-05:00

Town Branch Neighborhood Association meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, August 30, 2011, welcomes everyone who chooses to attend at S. Hill Avenue

2011-08-25T15:30:00.001-05:00

Church of Christ to discuss plan for apartment complex adjacent to National Cemetery, streamside-protection ordinance, neighborhood watch, urban wildlife-habitat certification of private property, natural-yard option approved by City Council and anything of importance in our neighborhood and city

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view. Click on enlargement for easy reading.

Traditional landscapes suck Energy, Water and Money, says Neil Diboll at The Native Plants in the Landscape Conference

2011-08-20T20:28:00.000-05:00

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE. Click on enlargement for closer view.

« Welcome to The Native Plants in the Landscape Conference

The Future of Gardening by Neil Diboll

The Future of Gardening: Why Going Native is the Answer

Presented at the 20^th Millersville Native Plant Conference
Millersville, PA
June 4, 2010

by Neil Diboll
Prairie Nursery, Inc.
P.O. Box 306
Westfield, WI 53964
www.prairienursery.com
800-476-9453 (800-GRO-WILD)
Traditional landscapes suck. They suck Energy, Water, and Money. These three “Future Factors” will determine to a large degree the shape and structure of our landscapes in the coming years.
The old whipping boy, the lawn, indeed deserves a good whipping. It is emblematic of an expensive, unsustainable, energy and chemical hungry landscape that supports few forms of life and consumes valuable resources that could be better invested elsewhere.
Size of the American Lawn
There are over 50 million acres of lawn in the United States, twice the size of the state of Pennsylvania.
The total American corn crop for 2009 was 86 million acres.
The total American soybean crop for 2009 was 77 million acres.
The total American wheat crop for 2009 was 65 million acres.
Lawn is the fourth largest crop grown in America today.
Water Use by the American Lawn
Thirty percent of the water consumed on the East Coast of the US goes to watering lawns. Sixty percent of the water used on the West Coast is dedicated to maintaining green lawns, in a region that is facing looming water shortages.
A 1000 square foot lawn requires an average of 10,000 gallons of water per year to maintain in good condition.
One acre of irrigated lawn requires nearly half a million gallons (435,000) of water every year!
Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides Applied to the American Lawn
The average lawn receives 10 times as much chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides as the typical farm field, according to a Yale University graduate study.
Over 80 millions pounds of chemical pesticides are applied to American lawns each year according to the USEPA.
More than 70 million tons of chemical fertilizers are applied to American lawns per year.
The USEPA estimates that 40 to 60 percent of the Nitrogen fertilizer applied to lawns ends up in our surface water and groundwater.
Forty four percent of the Nitrogen and 28 percent of the Phosphorus applied in the Mississippi River watershed ends up in the Gulf of Mexico, greatly exacerbating the anoxic “dead zone” that preceded the BP oil spill of 2010.
Solid Waste Created by Lawns
The EPA also estimates that grass clippings and yard debris account for 20 to 40 percent of the landfill space consumed in America.
Energy Consumption by Lawns
The amount of energy required to mow and maintain manicured lawns is surprisingly large, and is used in every phase of lawn care:
Mowing: Gasoline or diesel fuel to is required to power riding mowers and most push type rotary mowers. Electricity that powers electric lawn mowers is produced primarily by fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas, and by nuclear power plants.
Pesticides: Most herbicides and insecticides are derived from or combined with petroleum-based compounds. Of the 80 million pounds of pesticides applied to lawns in American every year, most are synthesized from oil.
Fertilizers: Fertilizers are applied to lawns in staggering quantities. The energy required to mine and transport the 70 million tons of chemical fertilizers that are dumped on lawns every year is significant. Most Nitrogen fertilizers are produced using the Haber Process, in which Nitrogen in the air is converted into a solid or liquid form that can be readily handled and applied. The Haber Process is extremely energy intensive, and vast quantities of natural gas are consumed to produce nitrogen fertilizer for lawns.
Irrigation: Even watering the lawn consumes energy. Electricity is used to purify water at treatment plants, and to pump water to homes and businesses. The underground plastic pipes that are used in lawn irrigations systems are produced from petrochemicals derived from crude oil.
Carbon Footprint of Lawns
As an energy-dependent landscape, the carbon annual footprint consumption of lawns is high compared to prairies and other natural landscapes that require only occasional mowing, no fertilizers, no irrigation, and few if any pesticides. Prairies release carbon into the atmosphere when burned, and when dead organic matter such as leaves and stems decompose through microbial action. However, these releases are offset by new plant growth which absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and incorporates it into new leave, roots, and stems.
The incredibly rich prairie soils of the American Midwest are a result of the accumulation of organic matter in the soil over hundreds and thousands of years. Unlike most forest ecosystems, in which organic matter is sequestered in the upper 12- 18 inches of soil, prairie soils typically exhibit high organic matter content from three to six feet in depth. They also have significantly higher total organic matter content than forest soils. This would indicate that over time, prairies are one of the most efficient plant communities at removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and providing long term carbon sequestration in the soil.
Economic Costs of Lawn
Americans spend over $25 billion per year on lawn care (USEPA).
Americans spend over $2 billion per year on lawn and garden chemicals.
A 4000 square foot lawn (1/10 acre) produces an average of 1200 pounds of grass clippings per year. The City of Philadelphia Streets Department reported in 2005 that it costs $75 per year to dispose of this material.
Wildlife and Lawns
The US EPA estimates that between 60 and 70 millions birds are poisoned annually due to the application of lawn pesticides.
On lawns that receive regular applications of pesticides, 60 to 90 percent of the earthworms in the soil are killed.
Air and Noise Pollution
In summer months, 5 percent of air pollution is attributable to gas powered lawn and garden equipment (National Vehicle and Fuel Assessment Lab, Ann Arbor, MI)
Per hour of operation, a typical lawnmower emits 10-12 times as much hydrocarbons as an automobile.
Health and Safety
Of the most commonly used lawn pesticides, 13 are known to cause cancer, 14 can cause birth defects, 11 can interfere with reproduction, and 21 can cause damage to the nervous system. (US EPA)
111,000 Americans are sickened every year due to exposure to pesticides. (US EPA)
Over 230,000 people are treated in the Emergency Room every year for accident related to lawn equipment. (US EPA)
Time
The average homeowner spends 40 hours a year mowing his or her lawn – the equivalent of a week’s vacation!
HOW DID WE ARRIVE AT OUR LAWN-DOMINATED LANDSCAPE MODEL?
AN HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
The New World of North America once appeared to be a seemingly inexhaustible resource that held immense promise for the early colonists and settlers. True to their culture, the northern Europeans that swarmed into the vast hinterlands of America created a landscape in the image of their forebears: cut, grazed, plowed, and fenced into submission. The newly broken land yielded great bounty for a growing nation. As the country expanded, the towns and villages took on the names and character of our former homes across the Atlantic: Amsterdam, Birmingham, Gloucester, Berlin, Warsaw, and Rome, to name but a few.
Our goal as a nation and a culture was to tame the wilderness and make it safe for civilization. In so doing, we re-created the Old Country in the New World. As we brought the wilderness under our heel, we took little time to appreciate its unique character and beauty. Most settlers sought bounty, not beauty. In the rush to convert forests and meadows into farms and fields, the flowers mostly went unnoticed. Unplowed, unproductive wild land was a sign of sloth, savagery, and the devil’s work. Indeed, our mandate was to subdue the earth. And subdue it we did.
When our work was finally done, we sat back to take stock of our immense labors, and it appeared that it was good. Mostly. What we had not considered were the terrible losses associated with our great gain. We had gained ascendancy over our young country. In the process, we lost the character of a continent.
Yea, even unto our gardens, we banished the wildflowers and wild things to the far reaches of the countryside and to the corners of our consciousness. And nothing suffered the utter demise and near-total destruction such as that which was visited upon the American Prairie.
The American Prairie: the once-vast kingdom of flowers, grasses, bison and butterflies. This unbelievably rich, unique ecosystem blanketed millions of acres of America’s heartland. These were the flower gardens of North America. Hidden deep underground, among the intertwined roots of a universe of prairie plants, lay the black gold that was to become the currency of the prairie farmer. Here was the inheritance of a million sunny days, hoarded away in the bank account of the prairie soil.
Agricultural, the Industrial Revolution, and the Rise of the American Middle Class
The farmers that tapped into this prairie trust fund found the dividends to be prodigious. No fertilizers were needed to grow bumper crops. The immense yields increased agricultural productivity to levels previously unheard-of, revolutionizing the farmer’s relationship with the land. Now one family could produce food for dozens of others. The day of the subsistence farm was over. Human labor was set free to tend the factory instead of the field. The dawn of the American Industrial Revolution was reflected in the glow of the forge that John Deere used to construct the first sod-busting steel plow in 1836. With the industrial dawn came the sunset of the American Prairie.
The Eastern Tallgrass Prairie of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska was all but obliterated in the span of a few short decades at the close of the nineteenth century. That which was not plowed under was closed in with fences and grazed to the ground by millions of cattle. What were once wide open spaces became food factories and feedlots. Still, we knew not what we had done.
A full century later, we are just beginning to grasp the scope of the loss. The Eastern Tallgrass Prairie is now one of the rarest plant communities in the entire world. Rainforests are commonplace by comparison. Less than 1/10th of 1% of the Tallgrass Prairie remains today. The small refuges where it can be found occur only in small tattered fragments, ripped from the original cloth. Only those pieces that could not be drained, plowed, grazed, or otherwise turned to the service of mankind remain. There was simply no place for wildness in this new American landscape.
The conversion of the New World into the Old Country was complete. All that remained now was to tend the fields and the gardens of plants brought over from Europe, and to make sure that the lawns that replaced that prairie were kept mown and in order.
Order. The watchword of a Puritanical culture that sought to carve structure from the chaos of wilderness. Everything in control. Nothing out of place. Even our gardens reflect this directive. Designs are precise, with each plant in its pre-ordained place, ensconced in a thick bed of bark mulch. The vegetable world must supplicate itself to our omnipotence. Those plants that fail to stay in their assigned seats are branded as weeds, and banished from the garden. And if they should grow wild in nature, how could such peasant plants of common breeding be sufficiently refined to have a place in our gardens?
If the garden is truly the place where people and nature meet, it is almost always the gardener who determines the terms of the meeting. Will the gardeners of the earth choose to work with Nature to create beauty in the landscape? Or will we attempt to overpower her with an arsenal of chemicals, machines, and “maintenance programs?”
We are finally coming to realize that the practice of paying homage to a uniform, idealized landscape of seamlessly interconnected lawns is an illusion. This becomes eminently clear when one realizes that the centerpoint of this landscape is a nearly lifeless, two dimensional expanse of turf, to which we slavishly devote much of our increasingly rare and precious free time. We pour on the chemicals, mow the grass to within an inch of its life, and kill any and all bugs that have the temerity to share the landscape with us. Perhaps most annoying, this national pastime called Lawn Care is really quite expensive.
For many, their lawns are like an addiction. They will pay almost any price to satisfy the cravings. The price is paid in money, time, environmental degradation, and in some cases, one’s health. We have so completely divorced ourselves from Nature that the only connection to the natural world is by watering and mowing their green carpets!
It is indeed a costly divorce from Nature. Enforcement of our unnatural landscapes consumes billions of dollars every year. Lawns, ornamental plantings, and even perennial gardens require constant attention if the desired order is to be maintained. Without intervention by the human hand on a regular basis, these landscapes soon fall victim to the invading hordes of weeds, trees, brambles and vines. Left unguarded, the walls of the domestic garden are stormed by the Vandals and Visigoths of the Vegetable Kingdom. Without the indulgences of their human benefactors, the meeker and fairer plants of the garden are quickly pillaged and displaced by the roving thugs of the plant world.
History of the American Lawn
The modern lawn has it origin in the country estates of landed gentry in England in the 16^th and 17^th centuries. It was a status symbol of the wealthy, for the working classes typically possessed no land, and could ill afford a lawn eve if they did. With our Anglo-American heritage, we looked to the mother country for our social cues in the 18^th century as the American middle class emerged during the industrial revolution. The newly wealthy purchased homes and estates and installed lawns as one of their symbols of having “made it.” Lawns quickly became one of the status symbols associated with the new middle and upper classes.
The great American landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead, referred to the lawn in the late 18^th century as “The Great Democratizer” of a newly ascendant nation. Rather than installing fences and barriers between neighboring properties as was common in Europe, Americans had a seamless carpet of green grass unifying their properties, all sharing in the new ethos of a mutual affluence.
The lawn quickly became a socio-economic symbol, denoting order and devotion to a non-economic crop that only those with expendable income could afford. As the middle class in America grew after World War II, the occupants of newly-built suburbs embraced the lawn as one of their icons of success and comfortable living.
The lawn was now cemented into American culture. Woe be unto he who violated the unspoken contract of “keeping up appearances” and allowing one’s turf to “go native” and grow beyond the socially acceptable four inches in height. An un-mowed, unkempt lawn was a sign of slovenliness and anti-social tendencies. Social breakdown and chaos could not be far behind.
This is why the lawn is so ardently defended by so many. It is a symbol of an entire social class and lifestyle. It is far more than a near-lifeless green expanse that requires an inordinate amount of time, money and chemicals to maintain. It embodies the hopes and dreams of average Americans, and symbolizes the triumph or order over entropy. It is a shared middle class bond that transcends politics, religion, and ethnicity. In many communities you are judged by your lawn first, and your character as a human being second. And do not for one minute believe that the first does not influence the second.
Why do we Persist with Our Addiction to Lawns? What About Wildlife?
1)    It’s simple and easy! We know how to do it: Fertilize it, spray it, and mow it!
2)    You don’t really have to know anything about plants or gardening to grow and manage a lawn – just follow the directions provided by the purveyors of fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides provide you!
3)    Lawn is a cheap fix. Although less costly to install than native landscapes, lawn has a high life cycle cost over a period of many years. Native landscapes typically have low long-term maintenance costs, with lower life cycle costs.
4)    Lawns don’t attract bugs or wildlife (except for geese), so you know you and your family will be safe from snakes, vermin, and those annoying insects! So what if insects are the foundation of the food chain, and support a myriad of birds and other desirable creatures. We’ve been brainwashed that bugs are bad, so we have to make sure they don’t inhabit our outdoor living spaces.
5)    NO BUGS, NO BIRDS!
6)    Everybody says they love Nature, but nobody ever invites her over to their yard.
7)    I knew my prairie was a success when I saw Meadow Jumping Mice (Zapus hudsonianus) and Hog Nosed Snakes (Heterodon platirhinos) in it. These creatures provided evidence that I now had a functioning ecosystem, not just a garden. If you like hawks and owls, you better be able to feed them: rodents and reptiles are some of their preferred foods.
WE ARE NOT A NATION OF GARDENERS:
WE ARE A NATION OF MOWERS!
WHY DO WE CARE WHAT WE PLANT IN OUR GARDENS
AND LANDSCAPES?
Many of us care deeply about the state of our planet and the loss of biodiversity that is occurring on a global scale. Although we all think globally, most of us can only act locally. Together, we can have an impact in our own gardens and landscapes, as well as those of our friends and neighbors. For those of us in the landscape design business, we can promote sustainable landscapes composed of native plants that require little or no fertilizers, pesticides, watering, or mowing (just burning!). This alone, when compounded over time as more people opt for sustainable landscapes, can have an impact.
The looming question for us today is the on-going loss of biodiversity. Restoring native ecosystems is one way we can help support not just native plants, but also invertebrates such as rare butterflies and moths, bees, wasps, and all manner of the generally unloved lower castes of bugs and creepy crawly things. Yet they are all important, and each has an important place in the web of life.
Homo sapiens, is presently presiding over what is believed to be the Sixth Great Extinction. Although we have yet to reach the catastrophic levels of past extinction events, we are well on our way and showing only a few signs of abatement in our drive to subdue and conquer the earth, as we serve our ever-expanding need for food, fuel, water, and living space.
But does it really matter what we do as individuals? A society is composed of all its individuals, and their actions determine the face of that society. Most of us are working to restore the integrity of native ecosystems because we believe it is the “right” and good thing to do, and that we are “doing it for the planet.” But does it really matter? Does the planet really respect our actions? Or is it all irrelevant?
The Earth has been subjected to massive extinctions in the past, some fairly recent in geological history. The planet has always recovered, with the development of new species and a wealth of new life forms. Nature does indeed abhor a vacuum, and she apparently fills it rapidly. All of the work I am doing on my property to control invasive species and restore native plants will someday be negated by the next advance of the glacier, as unlikely as that may seem at this point in geological and meteorolical history. Of course, my landscape will probably be invaded by garlic muster, buckthorn, honeysuckle and other non-native thugs soon after my demise, unless some equally deranged and determined individual picks up where I leave off.
SO WHY RESTORE THE PLANET? DOES IT REALLY MATTER?
If one takes a long-term geological perspective, it doesn’t really matter what we do. Even if we nuke the joint, something will survive and a whole new set of life forms will evolve. Maybe the next sentient beings will be smarter than us, and actually take care of the planet.
We Restore the Earth Because It Is Good for Us!
We need a quality of life that includes clean air, clean water, trees, flowers, ferns, birds, and all the wonderful life forms with which we share the planet. We aren’t just preserving habitat and restoring native plant communities out of the goodness of our hearts – Our very economic and psychic survival depend upon it!
We have yet to fully value the economics of a healthy environment. But as the planet is further degraded, the value of high quality living spaces only increases.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Ultimately, our future landscapes will be in large part determined more by economics than ecology. This is an unfortunate consequence of the human condition. As a quality living space becomes more valuable, more value will be placed upon it. We will protect it more diligently. It will sell for a higher price. People will begin to view the natural environment more as an asset, rather than as a resource to be exploited.
All of this will most likely be precipitated by shortages of water, rather than a shortage of oil or other energy source. You can live without oil, but you cannot live without water. As the price of water increases, the incentive to conserve it will increase. We will need landscapes that do not require huge inputs of water and chemicals to sustain them. We will need to overcome our cultural taboos of “messy” natural landscapes and move beyond viewing lawns as status symbols and a rite of passage into the middle and upper classes.
Someday pride of place will belong to those with the least lawn, lowest water bill, and no chemicals in their garages. Society will value those who work to preserve our environment, rather than those who can make the most money by despoiling it. I personally cannot wait much longer for that day to come.
AT A GLANCE:
TODAY: LAWN, an ecological and economic disaster

TOMORROW: SUSTAINA LE ECOSYSTEMS, composed of native plant
communities that require little or no fertilizers, pesticides, or irrigation, o
TODAY: MONOCULTURES of mowed lawns

TOMORROW: DIVERSE ECOSYSTEMS that support a wide variety of life
TODAY: FEAR and mistrust of the natural world and its attendant organisms (bugs,
mice, snakes, etc)

TOMORROW: RE-INTEGRATION of people into nature and an understanding that
everything is connected and interdependent
WE MUST ENTER INTO A JOINT VENTURE WITH NATURE TO PRESERVE OUR PLANET AND THE SYSTEMS UPON WHICH ALL LIFE DEPENDS.

ONLY THEN WILL WE LIVE IN HARMONY WITH OUR FELLOW CREATURES ON THIS PLANET.

OUR QUALITY LIFE AND LONG-TERM SURVIVAL DEPENDS UPON THE SURVIVAL OF THE SYSTEMS AND ORGANISMS THAT SUPPORT US.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 26th, 2011 at 3:39 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

University of Vermont Extension
Department of Plant and Soil Science

Summer News Article
FUEL-EFFICIENT LAWNS AND LANDSCAPES
Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension Professor
University of Vermont
With the price of gasoline and natural gas on the rise, most are looking for ways to cut their costs and save energy. If you have a lawn or garden, you may not realize just how much fossil fuels you are using. By knowing where these are used, you can look for ways to reduce consumption. This will reduce your costs, and help the environment.
In a recent PPPro online newsletter Paul Tukey, editor of People, Places and Plants magazine, provides some sobering facts and helpful suggestions. Each year, a family with a one-third acre lawn will on average:
*consume five gallons of gas for mowing and trimming;
*apply the equivalent of seven gallons for fertilizing;
*burn up to five gallons for watering; and
*consume an additional gallon for cleanup.
That’s 18 gallons of fuel per household. With 120 million U.S. households, that’s the equivalent of almost 2.2 billion gallons of fuel used just for lawn care each year. This does not count other landscaping activities. So just how do we use so much?
Yale University has estimated that the United States uses more than 600 million gallons of gas to mow and trim lawns each year — about two gallons of gas for every man, woman and child, or five gallons per household. Mowers also consume engine oil in their crankcases, and two-stroke mowers consume oil in their fuel.
In addition to fuel consumption, mowers and outdoor power equipment contribute heavily to air pollution. Operating a typical (4 HP) gasoline-powered lawnmower for one hour produces as much smog-forming hydrocarbons as driving an average car between 100 and 200 miles under average conditions. Gasoline-powered string trimmers are actually more polluting than many lawn mowers. One estimate (mindfully.org) states that “the 20,000,000 small engines sold in the U.S. each year contribute about one tenth of the total U.S. mobile source hydrocarbon emissions, and are the largest single contributor to these non-road emissions.” These include power blowers, rakes, and brooms.
Creating synthetic nitrogen for fertilizers requires the heating of natural gas to combine atmospheric nitrogen and hydrogen into ammonia. The amount of natural gas required to make approximately 200 bags of lawn fertilizer would heat your home for a year. Each 40-pound bag contains the fossil-fuel equivalent of approximately 2.5 gallons of gasoline. Transporting these bags of fertilizer from the factory and to your home requires additional fuel.
According to a California study, in many areas — especially in the West, where water must be moved great distances from reservoirs — the amount of fuel needed to pump the water is at least equal to the fuel used in mowing.

So what can you do? Here are ten tips to have a “fuel-efficient” landscape.
*Use an electric or non-powered push mower. An electric mower maintaining one-third of an acre for a season consumes only $3 of electricity on average. Electric mowers are 75 percent quieter than gas mowers. Push mowers, of course, consume no fuel and make little noise.
*Similarly, use traditional hand rakes and brooms instead of power ones and blowers to save fuel, and at the same time reduce air and noise pollution. If you employ a landscape maintenance firm, encourage their use of these too. Minimize the need for string trimmers. Mulch along walks and around structures such as lamp posts to avoid having to trim weeds in these areas.
*If you have an old mower, consider replacing it. Newer small engines run much cleaner. EPA emission standards for such engines, to be in effect by 2007, are expected to reduce ground-level ozone emissions by 70 percent or 350,000 tons each year.
*Reduce the area mowed through use of groundcovers. This is especially true in areas with water shortages. Allow parts of large areas to grow, only mowing once or twice a season, creating a natural meadow. You can still mow areas near drives and homes to maintain the more formal manicured effects in such highly visible and high traffic areas.
*Save rainwater and gray water. Gray water is that water from home use, except from toilets, and can make up from 50 to 80 percent of home waste water. It comes from sinks, showers, and laundry and can be used for irrigating landscapes and lawns.
*Water deeply once per week on average, rather than frequently. Drip irrigation and mulches also conserve water. Using less water saves on energy use, whether you’re buying water that has to be pumped, or are paying an electric bill to pump your own.
*Use natural, organic fertilizers not derived from fossil fuels.
*Recycle grass clippings, mow higher and mix 5 percent clover into your lawn seed. All these help recycle nutrients back into the soil. Mulching-type mowers allow you to leave grass clippings on the lawn. If you don’t have such a mower, and remove the clippings, add them to compost or use them to mulch gardens.
*Compost all yard wastes, except for diseased plants and plant parts. They can go into compost piles, saving gasoline hauling such to landfills and recycle centers. If your landscape generates many twigs and other brush, consider buying or renting a home-size brush chipper.
*Finally, consider landscaping to reduce up to 25 percent of home energy consumption. Foundation plantings can lessen heat loss from buildings. Evergreen windbreaks can reduce heating costs in winter in windy areas. Deciduous shade trees can reduce energy needs for cooling in summer. According to the Department of Energy, only three properly placed trees may

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"You can't learn much from a lawn,
but a garden has a whole world of wonders."

history

Lawns started out as grazing areas around the manors of the landed gentry. Having a nice lawn around the house was a sign of power as you owned sufficient land to raise sheep and cow.
As the industrial revolution took hold and animals were less a sign of wealth, the lawn itself became the status symbol. You could indulge yourself in sparing land and time to recreational grounds.
As people moved to the cities so did the grass, on ever smaller plots. First lawns were cut by hand and later with the mechanical lawnmower, (an automated, resource depleting, pointless cow.)
The 20th Century saw an explosion of lawn making as commercial interests produced endless grass seed, fertiliser, pesticides, mowers, spreaders and irrigation equipment whilst developers discovered they could pass off cheap ‘gardens’ by spreading 3 inches of soil over hard subsoil and laying turf on top.
Nowerdays, many lawns are rarely used and some are so covered with chemicals children have been permanently injured after walking barefoot on them.[1]

the modern lawn - a waste of resources

The modern pure grass lawn is artificial... you need effort and chemicals to maintain a monoculture.

Misuse and the inherent toxicity of standard pesticides cause short and long term poisoning, cancer and disease in people and wildlife. [a]

Extensive use and overuse of fertilisers (due to lack of restrictions) causes water pollution problems and wastes resources. [b]

Endless summer irrigation to keep lawns green wastes massive amounts of water and depletes water tables. [c]

Lawnmowers, strimmers and other lawn machinery unregulated for environmental emissions, use vast amounts of petrol and are a significant factor in urban air and noise pollution. [d]

The lawn is the worlds third agriculture. It is probable that westerners spend more person hours, energy and resources on their lawns than any agricultural resource of the third world.[8]

In the early 1990’s in the United States…

$ 25 billion a year was spent on lawn care products.
Of this,
$ 5,250 million was spent on fossil fuel-derived fertilisers and...
$ 700 million was spent on 28 million kgs of poisonous synthetic pesticides.

Meanwhile 20 million acres were planted in residential lawns
and the average city sprayed its lawns with 30 to 60 % of its fresh water supply.[2]

The lawn is a green desert. Adoption of a monoculture for a garden drastically reduces the habitats available for wildlife. Birds, bees, butterflies and other animals all begin to disappear. Often leaving an unstable ecosystem where common ‘pest’ species seem to flourish.

alternatives

Aside from keeping animals or ripping up the turf to plant trees and bushes, build vegetable beds, a pond or a greenhouse there are many things you can do to keep the same purpose of a lawn whilst adding diversity and removing chemical and mechanical dependence. (Unless the area you have is subject to heavy traffic and abuse, where turf is probably the most suitable thing to use.) If you just want somewhere to sit, try making a bench a focal point of your garden.
Lawns can be made more edible, medicinal, beautiful and nice smelling by adding low growing aromatic herbs and flowers. The plants below have been specially selected because they will tolerate at least infrequent mowings. For best results don’t cut as often or as short as a normal lawn and try to lay off for at least 3 weeks in the summer to let the taller plants flower and set seed. You could try sowing them into small gaps in the grass or better still plant them out. For low maintenance choose plants that will like your local conditions.

	lively lawns Apart from the obvious dandelions (Taraxacum officinale), daisy (Bellis perennis) and plantains (Plantago major, plantago media) which are all excellent in lawns, freely self seed, add variety and can also be eaten once you get past seeing them just as ‘weeds,’ try… White Clover, Trifolium repens: 10cm H, spreads, adds nitrogen to the soil, attracts bees and butterflies. You can eat the flowers and leaves, (bit fiddly though) Camomile, Chamaemelum nobile: 15cm H 30cm W, Plants for a future[9] recommend for smell but not for medicine, (no flowers), a cultivar called ‘Treneague’ which is low growing, spreads and will succeed if the grass is cut low and often, however you'll have to find a cutting, there are no seeds. Wild thyme, Thymus serpyllum: 10cm H 30cm W Forms spreading clumps, pink flowers attract bees in summer, drought tolerant, needs sun. High in antioxidants and an essential kitchen herb. Lemon thyme, Thymus x citiodorus: 10cm H 30cm W. Likes light well drained soil and full sun, can be planted by division. Coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara: 25cm H, spreads invasively. Tolerates shade, does well in all soils, flowers edible mar-apr, leaves appear afterwards, used for treatment of respiratory problems. Rough Hawkbit, Leontodon hispidus: 40cm H 30cm W. Similar to dandelion, prefers chalky soil, flowers all summer, attracts bees & butterflies, edible leaves most of the year.
	Salad burnet, Sanguisorba minor: 55cm H 30cm W. Prefers chalky soil and slightly longer grass, flowers May-Aug and provides edible young leaves all year round. Self Heal, Prunella vulgaris: 15cm H spreading to form clumps 30cm W. Prefers moist soil, tolerates low cutting and shade, flowers mid to late summer, attracts bees & butterflies, eaten in salads and an healing herb for cuts and wounds. Yarrow, Achillea millefolium: upto 60cm H spreads, hardy, drought resistant, good in poor soils, and a very useful medicinal herb. beautiful bulbs By lengthening the time between mowings you can also grow taller plants such as bulbs. Planted surreptitiously they are a nice surprise. All below are edible and most spread naturally. It is advisable to plant bulbs of similar flowering times together to make any lawn maintenance more straightforward. Field & Crow garlic, Allium oleraceum & A. vineale: 60cm H, 5cm W. Both almost invasive in grass if left to form bulbils in jul-aug, tolerant of mowing, leaves edible autumn to following summer. If cows eat them, their milk is tainted. Quamash, Camassia quamash: 50cm H 10cm W. Does well in short grass and under trees, flowers late spring, very edible bulbs when cooked.
	Dog's Tooth Violet, Erythronium den-canis: 15cm H 10cm W. appears in spring for a few months each year. bulbs edible raw or cooked, also try E. revoltum 'pagoda' for a bigger, version. Tassel Hyacinth, Muscari botryoides: 40cm H clumps 20cm W. Easy to grow, does well in short grass, almost invasive, 3.5cm bulbs edible, but a little bitter. Or for beauty, there are many other bulbs, such as daffodils, bluebells, crocus etc that can be planted into the lawn. wonderful wildflowers Perhaps you could turn some of your lawn into a ‘wildflower meadow’. This will attract butterflies and insects as well as bringing nature a bit closer to home. Choose a sunny position on poor soil to get the most flowers. Mow only after the seeds have set (around August) and remove the clippings to keep fertility low. Sow a mix of wild flowers into bare earth, or if grass is already established, grow in pots and plant out in Autumn or Spring, this is more work but gets better results. Most of the above taller lawn plants will do well as these edible ones below... Meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria: 120cm H. Likes moist rich soil non acid soils, a useful medicinal and culinary herb. Sheep sorrel, Rumex acetosella: 30cm H. prefers suny and moist spot, sharp edible salad leaves all year round. Red clover, Trifolium pratense: 60cm H. attracts butterflies, moths and bees, put round apple trees for better fruit, edible leaves, fixes nitrogen. Alternatively you could purchase a conservation wildflower mix from a local supplier, you won't be able to eat them though. For some more lawn fun see the guerrilla gardening pages. Notes [a] Many pesticides have never been adequately tested for toxicity to humans or wildlife. According to the National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, 13 of the most commonly used lawn care pesticides can cause cancer, 14 can cause birth defects, 21 can damage the nervous system, 15 can injure the liver or kidney, and 30 are sensitizers or irritants. [3] The pesticide MCPA, used as an ingredient is some lawn pesticides, has been found to damage the blood brain barrier which protects against neurological illness.[4] Organophosphate pesticides have been shown to cause memory loss and short attention spans.[5] Other studies have linked long term pesticide use with prostate[6], brain and lung cancer.[7] It is estimated that each year in the US, 67 million birds are poisoned by legally used pesticides.[3] Pesticides are often misused especially by homeowners, increasing the risks. [b] Fertiliser is often over applied, causing runoff problems in nearby watercourses, as well as the obvious waste of fossil fuels in its manufacture and transport. [c] It is estimated that 44% of domestic water consumption in California is used for lawns[8] In many areas ground water tables are being depleted. [d] The manufacture of garden machinery uses energy, depletes resources and creates pollution as do the engine fumes or the power plants producing the electricity they run on. In the early 90’s it was estimated that 580,000,000 gallons of petrol were used to run lawnmowers in the US every year.[2] References [1] The Pesticide Scandal, Sayan, Kathyrne, Family Circle 2 April 1991. [2] Redesigning the American Lawn, F. Herbert Bormann, Diana Balmori, Gordon T. Geballe, Yale University Press, 1993 [3] Spring, 1997 edition of The Arlington Environment, Volume Four, Number Four [4] Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 65:23, 1982 [5] Annual Reviews in Public Health, 7:461, 1986 [6] Occupational Environmental Medicine, 56(1):14-21, 1999 [7] Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 71(1), July 1983 [8] Permaculture a designers manual, Bill Mollison, Tagari publications, 1988. [9] Plants for a future- edible and useful plants for a healthier world, Ken Fern, Permanent publications, 1997.

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"You can't learn much from a lawn,
but a garden has a whole world of wonders."

history

the modern lawn - a waste of resources

The modern pure grass lawn is artificial... you need effort and chemicals to maintain a monoculture.

Misuse and the inherent toxicity of standard pesticides cause short and long term poisoning, cancer and disease in people and wildlife. [a]

Extensive use and overuse of fertilisers (due to lack of restrictions) causes water pollution problems and wastes resources. [b]

Endless summer irrigation to keep lawns green wastes massive amounts of water and depletes water tables. [c]

Lawnmowers, strimmers and other lawn machinery unregulated for environmental emissions, use vast amounts of petrol and are a significant factor in urban air and noise pollution. [d]

The lawn is the worlds third agriculture. It is probable that westerners spend more person hours, energy and resources on their lawns than any agricultural resource of the third world.[8]

alternatives

	lively lawns Apart from the obvious dandelions (Taraxacum officinale), daisy (Bellis perennis) and plantains (Plantago major, plantago media) which are all excellent in lawns, freely self seed, add variety and can also be eaten once you get past seeing them just as ‘weeds,’ try… White Clover, Trifolium repens: 10cm H, spreads, adds nitrogen to the soil, attracts bees and butterflies. You can eat the flowers and leaves, (bit fiddly though) Camomile, Chamaemelum nobile: 15cm H 30cm W, Plants for a future[9] recommend for smell but not for medicine, (no flowers), a cultivar called ‘Treneague’ which is low growing, spreads and will succeed if the grass is cut low and often, however you'll have to find a cutting, there are no seeds. Wild thyme, Thymus serpyllum: 10cm H 30cm W Forms spreading clumps, pink flowers attract bees in summer, drought tolerant, needs sun. High in antioxidants and an essential kitchen herb. Lemon thyme, Thymus x citiodorus: 10cm H 30cm W. Likes light well drained soil and full sun, can be planted by division. Coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara: 25cm H, spreads invasively. Tolerates shade, does well in all soils, flowers edible mar-apr, leaves appear afterwards, used for treatment of respiratory problems. Rough Hawkbit, Leontodon hispidus: 40cm H 30cm W. Similar to dandelion, prefers chalky soil, flowers all summer, attracts bees & butterflies, edible leaves most of the year.
	Salad burnet, Sanguisorba minor: 55cm H 30cm W. Prefers chalky soil and slightly longer grass, flowers May-Aug and provides edible young leaves all year round. Self Heal, Prunella vulgaris: 15cm H spreading to form clumps 30cm W. Prefers moist soil, tolerates low cutting and shade, flowers mid to late summer, attracts bees & butterflies, eaten in salads and an healing herb for cuts and wounds. Yarrow, Achillea millefolium: upto 60cm H spreads, hardy, drought resistant, good in poor soils, and a very useful medicinal herb. beautiful bulbs By lengthening the time between mowings you can also grow taller plants such as bulbs. Planted surreptitiously they are a nice surprise. All below are edible and most spread naturally. It is advisable to plant bulbs of similar flowering times together to make any lawn maintenance more straightforward. Field & Crow garlic, Allium oleraceum & A. vineale: 60cm H, 5cm W. Both almost invasive in grass if left to form bulbils in jul-aug, tolerant of mowing, leaves edible autumn to following summer. If cows eat them, their milk is tainted. Quamash, Camassia quamash: 50cm H 10cm W. Does well in short grass and under trees, flowers late spring, very edible bulbs when cooked.
	Dog's Tooth Violet, Erythronium den-canis: 15cm H 10cm W. appears in spring for a few months each year. bulbs edible raw or cooked, also try E. revoltum 'pagoda' for a bigger, version. Tassel Hyacinth, Muscari botryoides: 40cm H clumps 20cm W. Easy to grow, does well in short grass, almost invasive, 3.5cm bulbs edible, but a little bitter. Or for beauty, there are many other bulbs, such as daffodils, bluebells, crocus etc that can be planted into the lawn. wonderful wildflowers Perhaps you could turn some of your lawn into a ‘wildflower meadow’. This will attract butterflies and insects as well as bringing nature a bit closer to home. Choose a sunny position on poor soil to get the most flowers. Mow only after the seeds have set (around August) and remove the clippings to keep fertility low. Sow a mix of wild flowers into bare earth, or if grass is already established, grow in pots and plant out in Autumn or Spring, this is more work but gets better results. Most of the above taller lawn plants will do well as these edible ones below... Meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria: 120cm H. Likes moist rich soil non acid soils, a useful medicinal and culinary herb. Sheep sorrel, Rumex acetosella: 30cm H. prefers suny and moist spot, sharp edible salad leaves all year round. Red clover, Trifolium pratense: 60cm H. attracts butterflies, moths and bees, put round apple trees for better fruit, edible leaves, fixes nitrogen. Alternatively you could purchase a conservation wildflower mix from a local supplier, you won't be able to eat them though. For some more lawn fun see the guerrilla gardening pages. Notes [a] Many pesticides have never been adequately tested for toxicity to humans or wildlife. According to the National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides, 13 of the most commonly used lawn care pesticides can cause cancer, 14 can cause birth defects, 21 can damage the nervous system, 15 can injure the liver or kidney, and 30 are sensitizers or irritants. [3] The pesticide MCPA, used as an ingredient is some lawn pesticides, has been found to damage the blood brain barrier which protects against neurological illness.[4] Organophosphate pesticides have been shown to cause memory loss and short attention spans.[5] Other studies have linked long term pesticide use with prostate[6], brain and lung cancer.[7] It is estimated that each year in the US, 67 million birds are poisoned by legally used pesticides.[3] Pesticides are often misused especially by homeowners, increasing the risks. [b] Fertiliser is often over applied, causing runoff problems in nearby watercourses, as well as the obvious waste of fossil fuels in its manufacture and transport. [c] It is estimated that 44% of domestic water consumption in California is used for lawns[8] In many areas ground water tables are being depleted. [d] The manufacture of garden machinery uses energy, depletes resources and creates pollution as do the engine fumes or the power plants producing the electricity they run on. In the early 90’s it was estimated that 580,000,000 gallons of petrol were used to run lawnmowers in the US every year.[2] References [1] The Pesticide Scandal, Sayan, Kathyrne, Family Circle 2 April 1991. [2] Redesigning the American Lawn, F. Herbert Bormann, Diana Balmori, Gordon T. Geballe, Yale University Press, 1993 [3] Spring, 1997 edition of The Arlington Environment, Volume Four, Number Four [4] Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 65:23, 1982 [5] Annual Reviews in Public Health, 7:461, 1986 [6] Occupational Environmental Medicine, 56(1):14-21, 1999 [7] Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 71(1), July 1983 [8] Permaculture a designers manual, Bill Mollison, Tagari publications, 1988. [9] Plants for a future- edible and useful plants for a healthier world, Ken Fern, Permanent publications, 1997.

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Next week's shortakes on public-access television previewed on You Tube: See link below

2011-08-12T22:16:00.002-05:00

Lioneld Jordan, mayor of Fayetteville, Arkansas, congratulates Doug Bryson, manager of Pinnacle Foods Inc. facility in Fayetteville for protecting the largest piece of green infrastructure and wet-prairie wildlife habitat in south Fayetteville

2011-08-05T16:40:00.000-05:00

Fayetteville Council of Neighborhoods' meeting July 28, 2011, video

2011-08-05T11:10:00.002-05:00

Two five-minute nature videos recorded on 28 July 2011 to be run on Fayetteville Public Television from Monday, August 1, 2011, through Friday, August 5, 2011

2011-07-30T21:33:00.000-05:00

Video of slide show to run June 27-July 1, 2011, on Fayetteville Public Television

2011-06-24T20:49:00.002-05:00

Shortakes recorded Monday, June 13, 2011, to run June 20-24, 2011, on Public Access Television at 218 on Cox Cable and U-verse 99 on AT&T as well as simulcast on the Your Media Web site

2011-06-17T17:40:00.002-05:00

Fayetteville Council of Neighborhoods spearheads food drive for Joplin and hears report on City Plan 2030 and public comment on threat to Old Main Lawn and campus arboretum

2011-06-02T20:59:00.003-05:00

Old Main lawn threatened by construction road plus flooding photos from Fayetteville, Arkansas

2011-06-01T20:07:00.002-05:00

Climate-action forum Friday week: See information and map below

2011-05-11T20:30:00.000-05:00

Please click on image to ENLARGE.

View Larger Map

Environmental Action Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. today in Fayetteville City Hall

2011-04-14T09:13:00.002-05:00

Sarah Lewis' morning email:
Our agenda this evening's meeting that will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 in room 111 of City Hall will focus on the following topics;
1) Introductions
2) Mikel Lolley from the Green Economy Group of the FFEAC and Treadwell Institute will tell us about the Earth Day events taking place
3) Updates on projects
4) Discuss an educational outreach idea
5) Close
See you tonight.
Thank you for coming!
Sarah
Ward 4 City Council Member
(479) 575-4296 office
(479) 263-2087 mobile

“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher


Lonicera sempervirens, a native trumpet honeysuckle that is not invasive and perfect for anyone's fence line and already blooming on many prairies and woodland edges. For more local wildflower photos, please see

World Peace Wetland Prairie wildflowers on Flickr

Shortakes to run April 11-15, 2011, on Fayetteville public-access televion, channel 218 on Cox Cable

2011-04-10T15:46:00.002-05:00

Video running this week (11 a.m., 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. Monday through Friday on Fayetteville public-access television

2011-04-04T23:22:00.003-05:00

2005 November 27 to December 4 video

2011-03-30T09:38:00.002-05:00

March 17, 2011, video on Community Access Television with Aubrey Shepherd's photos from Fayetteville's two-river watershed

2011-03-18T21:03:00.001-05:00

Night before Streamside Ordinance was passed by City Council, it was discussed during Ward 4 meeting

2011-03-05T11:27:00.000-06:00

March 30 to April 13, 2007 video of water & sewer work on South Duncan Avenue and other outdoor activities in Fayetteville, Arkansas

2011-01-20T15:42:00.000-06:00

Audubon's Wilson Spring wetland nature area on Jan. 19, 2011: 185 photos from a 2-mile walk with Mike Mhlodnow

2011-01-20T11:53:00.002-06:00

Wilson Spring nature area: Tagging along with one of Northwest Arkansas' most dedicated and talented birders.

Please click on image to ENLARGE and use link above to view more photos of Mike and the scenes along the way.

September 18, 2006, video of eroded fill dirt washing off the Aspen Ridge (now Hill Place) construction site at 11th Street and South Duncan Avenue

2011-01-14T21:35:00.002-06:00

Jim Bemis speaks at Telecom Board meeting on December 16, 2010

2010-12-18T21:58:00.001-06:00

GOVERNMENT CHANNEL SCHEDULE published Friday, December 17, 2010, the day following Telecom Board meeting, does not include Telecom Board meeting video to be run during week of 12/17/2010 through 12/12/2010. Bemis' comments, therefore, will not be shown on Cox Cable or AT&T U-verse until long after the Fayetteville City Council meeting at which the CAT contract will be voted on Tuesday, December 21, 2010.
Please click on individual pages to ENLARGE for easy reading.

World Peace Wetland Prairie was once approved to be an apartment complex but Town Branch Neighborhood gathered friends to make it a city nature park

2010-12-11T23:56:00.002-06:00

World Peace Wetland Prairie's Earth Day 2010 celebration video

2010-12-11T10:55:00.002-06:00

Buy a federal duck stamp to provide habitat for waterfowl and many other species all over the continent

2010-12-05T11:24:00.002-06:00

Please click on image to ENLARGE.

Hunting season dates in Arkansas

December meeting of Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Cox

2010-11-21T19:19:00.001-06:00

DSCN1828Hill Place herbicide.AVI

2010-11-12T08:09:00.000-06:00

aubunique: Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Charleston, South Caro...

2010-11-10T09:05:00.000-06:00

aubunique: Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Charleston, South Caro...: "The Home Depot Foundation Tackles Cities’ Sustainability Challenges with Innovative Program Two Cities Selected for $1 Million Invest..."

aubunique: Please fill out online survey of opinion of perfor...

2010-11-09T20:44:00.000-06:00

aubunique: Please fill out online survey of opinion of perfor...: "Greetings Everyone! CAT Performance Survey 2010 As we reach the end of 2010, Community Access Television (CAT) requests the favor of yo..."

Cox Cable pulls surprise on city of Fayetteville, Arkansas, with plan to move public-access, government channel and educational channel to EXPENSIVE digital tier of channels: So much for open government when thousands of people will not be able to afford access to the public channels

2010-11-08T21:32:00.002-06:00

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of Cox Cable advertisement in recent issue of The Northwest Arkansas Times.

For several years I have been able to turn away phone and online salesmen wanting me to take the satellite systems and later the Uverse TV system of AT&T.
But now Cox has set up a situation that will require me to drop their service and take the Uverse, which will automatically cut my cost because I have AT&T phone service already.
Cox has one thing the others don't have: The local public stations at minimal cost.
This is the time for the city administration to begin negotiating with COX. This is a draconian measure that will hurt COX in the long run.

Election-eve comment from David Whitaker, Northwest Arkansas' candidate to take seat in House of Representatives from 3rd congressional disctrict

2010-11-01T19:57:00.003-05:00

Aubrey Shepherd quoted on UATV on October 20, 2010, on significance of demolition of old grain elevator in south Fayetteville, Arkansas

2010-10-20T22:51:00.002-05:00

Highway Commission vote could end mowing and dredging practices that cause erosion, loss of wildlife habitat and decrease beauty of roadsides in Arkansas

2010-10-17T10:50:00.002-05:00

Please click on image to ENLARGE. Two hours after this photo was made on October 12, 2010, this area had been brushogged into oblivion. Sure, the swamp milkweed will sprout from its roots next summer. But these plants not only held pods offering hundreds of milkweed seeds but also were feeding milkweed caterpillars that could have made chrysalises and become final 2010 generation monarchs traveling to Mexico and with a chance to return in spring and find fresh milkweed on which a new generation of monarchs could have been raised to keep the cycle of life intact for this seriously threatened species of migrating butterfly. If you want to talk to your Northwest Arkansas representative on the Highway Commission, he is Dick Trammel.

Monarch caterpillars were still eating the foliage of these swamp milkweeds and the seed pods were almost mature when the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department Mowers came down the road and crushed and cut them off near the ground. Amazing hypocrisy for a state agency that touts its wildflower program. And possibly worse hypocrisy is touting its stormwater-protection work and then mowing and dredging ditches repeatedly every year.

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view.

To learn more about the Arkansas Highway Commission, please see AHC link.

aubunique: Insect Festival coming up

2010-10-06T20:30:00.000-05:00

aubunique: Insect Festival coming up: "Please use live links on site to navigate and read more detail. Bumpers College Home Entomology Home O..."

aubunique: Tree and Landscape Committee sets annual city tree...

2010-10-06T10:57:00.000-05:00

aubunique: Tree and Landscape Committee sets annual city tree...: "12th Annual Celebration of TreesSaturday October 9, 2010 7:00 am Town Center entrance on the Fayetteville SquareEvery year the Tree and Lan..."

Fayetteville's proposed 2030 plan to be be shared for public comment and discussion October 7 and 15

2010-09-30T09:56:00.001-05:00

TO THE LAND USE PLANNING AND GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE OF FFEAC----

PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO REVIEW AND COMMENT ON THE UPCOMING 2030 PLAN http://www.accessfayetteville.org/government/strategic_planning/projects/City_Plan_2030_.cfm

MEETINGS: OCTOBER 7 6:00-7:30pm Bank of Fayetteville on Square

or OCTOBER 15 9:30 -11:00am at the Fayetteville Public Library

Questions: Call Strategic Plannning 575-8268

#####################################################################################

ALSO ! Please be aware and comment on:

http://www.nwarpc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=100&Itemid=131

The Northwest Arkansas Western Beltway Feasibility Study will examine the feasibility of providing a new north-south highway west of I-540 in Washington and Benton Counties.

Previous transportation studies indicated the need to study a potential north-south route that parallels I-540 and could; afford additional traffic capacity, relieve I-540 congestion, improve service to the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, provide more efficient routing for trucks and provide a major roadway corridor to serve land use changes occurring in the western regions of the two counties.

#######################################################

ALSO ! Help please. There will be a Fayetteville Forward Economic Accountability Council working session from 9-noon on Saturday morning Oct. 2, Room 111 in City Hall.

I have a family gathering to attend that day and will be unable to go to this session. If there is anyone who would like to attend this meeting and see what the FFEAC is

trying to do to organize how the council will function in the future, please call me at 442-5307 or my cell 530-8510. Thanks! Fran

NWAOnline.com

City Looking To Future

FAYETTEVILLE RESIDENTS, OFFICIALS BEGIN PLANNING FOR 2030

Monday, September 27, 2010

FAYETTEVILLE — The city of Fayetteville is updating its comprehensive land use plan, giving residents several chances to say how they want their city to look in 20 years.

“It affects decisions that are made by staff and elected and appointed officials regarding growth and development,” said Karen Minkle, director of strategic planning and internal consulting for the city. “It’s critical, especially in an area that’s one of the fastest growing in the country.”

The city will launch a series of public sessions in October designed to update what’s been known as City Plan 2025. More than 800 people participated in drafting the city’s current plan. With the update, it will become known as City Plan 2030.

There will be several opportunities to provide input, including two public meetings, a webinar and online input on the city’s website.

Mayor Lioneld Jordan said longterm planning allows citizens to have a say in balancing growth with other issues.

“The thing is you want to preserve the quality of life of the city without, say, just coming in and bulldozing down every tree,” Jordan said. “You’ve got to preserve that landscape while you allow growth as well. That’s where the balance comes in.”

Plan 2025 was successful, Minkle said. Developers use the document as a guideline when planning their projects and regularly reference it when arguing their cases for approval before the Planning Commission and City Council.

The document also spawned several development and land use ordinances, such as curb cut regulations and regulations about how street cross-sections are designed in the city, Minkle said.

City Plan 2025 called for the city to discourage sprawl and make infill and revitalization the highest priorities. What changes are made to create Plan 2030 remain to be seen.

“I think it’s an update that will reflect, partly, what’s on the community’s mind, what do they feel is important, things we’ve seen over the past five years we think needs to be clarified just to eliminate confusion and to help with the decisionmaking process,” Minkle said. “Then, of course, we’re getting public input so we’re open to a lot of new ideas and there may be things out there that we haven’t thought about yet that we’d be happy to include.”

Planning Commissioner Tracy Hoskins said a comprehensive land-use plan allows the city to use form-based zoning as opposed to fearbased zoning.

“I think City Plan 2030 is an opportunity for us to look back and see the elements of the 2025 Plan that worked and the elements that didn’t work so good, or the things that need to be adjusted that make those elements work,” Hoskins said.

Hoskins added other city ordinances and regulations need to be reviewed and possibly modified as well to make sure they are not at odds with a Plan 2030 philosophy.

Ward 3 Alderman Bobby Ferrell said the city needs to look at its long-range strategic plans regularly.

“We need to figure our course, so in that respect it’s better to have a plan for where we want to go and what we want to do,” Ferrell said. “But, a vitally important thing to remember is that the master street plan, the 2025 Plan, soon to be 2030 Plan, these are all, capital letters, tools for the consideration of the council.”

Ferrell said the plan is one factor of many that the city should use in making city growth decisions, including comments from staff and citizens and the planning commission.

Green-infrastructure meeting to see final Green Infrastructure Network Map at 6 p.m. Wednesday, October 6, 2010

2010-09-24T09:10:00.001-05:00

Green-infrastructure planning recently featured on KUAF radio at this link.
www.kuaf.org/ozarksatlarge/showfeed

Greetings from the Green Infrastructure Planning Executive Group,

We have finished our Green Infrastructure Network Map and filed our final report; come see how the plan turned out and what your contribution has helped create.

We'll look at how the Green Infrastructure Network Map can assist in the planning process. We’ll talk about what how we can accomplish what we all would like to see happen in the future. There is a homespun analogy for the many implementation possibilities that are out there and the flexible approach that serves well for assembling the best means to complete a project - it’s called an “implementation quilt”. We’ll talk about some of the choices we have for assembling the patchwork of tools that can be applied to many types of projects.

Join us on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at the Pat Walker Center for Seniors on the Washington Regional Hospital campus.

Time: 6:00 - 8:00pm

6:00 - 6:30 showing of our gorgeous new informative video, ”Green Infrastructure in our Communities”

6:30 - 7:30 slide presentation

7:30 - 8:00 Reception and view the final maps

Location: Pat Walker Center for Seniors
12 E Appleby Road, Fayetteville
map:http://www.wregional.com/documents/wr%20and%20pat%20walker%20map.pdf
On behalf of Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association, Arkansas Forestry Commission and Beaver Water District we hope to see you and your guest there.

Barbara

PS: Recently NPR's "Ozarks At Large" aired an interview of Patti Erwin, Barbara Boland, and Chris Wilson talking about our Green Infrastructure Project.
Hear it online here: http://www.kuaf.org/ozarksatlarge/showfeed Green Infrastructure Planning is the first item on the September 9th show.

Barbara Elaine Boland
Green Infrastructure Planning
Project Co-ordinator, GIS technician, and Cartographer
Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association
148 E Spring Street
Fayetteville, AR 72701
(479) 521-2801 homebarbaraboland@hotmail.com

"Green Infrastructure is our nation's life support system - an interconnected network of waterways, wetlands, woodlands, wildlife habitats, and other natural areas; greenways, parks and other conservation lands; working farms, ranches and forests; and wilderness and other open spaces that support native species, maintain natural ecological processes, sustain air and water resources and contribute to the health and quality of life for America's communities and people." USDA Forest Service, Green Infrastructure Working Group's definition of Green Infrastructure.

Bob Caulk shares message from Jacqueline Froelich about FNHA's green-infrastructure program on KUAF

2010-09-08T22:05:00.002-05:00

From: Jacqueline Froelich 

Date: Wed, 8 Sep 2010 15:08:10 -0500

Bob, Patti, Barbara and Chris:

My report on your Green Infrastructure Planning Project will air 
tomorrow, September 9th at noon on Ozarks at Large our daily news 
hour on 91.3fm, repeated at 7pm.

We also post the show on our website, so expect to see it 
by 3pm. Go to KUAF.com and scroll down to the Ozarks at Large section 
and click on the show, you should see the entire news hour and the 
individual segment as well.

Or just click directly on the audio archive here: 
http://www.kuaf.org/ozarksatlarge

Also you can download the free podcast: http:// 
www.kuaf.org/ozarksatlarge/showfeed

Thanks so much for meeting with me!

Bob I will leave the binder in an envelope at our front desk lobby 
for you to pick up. The DVDs are in there. One was corrupted? But I 
watched the other. Wonderful film, very nicely done.

Jacqueline Froelich
News Producer & Station-Based National Correspondent
National Public Radio KUAF 91.3FM
9 S. School
1 University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701-1201
479-575-6408
www.ozarksatlarge.com
www.kuaf.com

Aug9 aubrey.asf

2010-08-27T09:16:00.000-05:00

Please attend tonight's meeting of the Council of Neighborhoods: Agenda below

2010-08-26T13:31:00.002-05:00

Please double-click on the image to ENLARGE and widen view of swallowtail on World Peace Wetland Prairie in the Town Branch neighborhood on August 25, 2010, or scroll down to read about Fayetteville's Council of Neighborhoods and Thursday night's meeting of that group in city hall. Please see agenda for the meeting at the bottom of the post.

Please check the agenda and notice that there are two significant presentations slated for Council of Neighborhoods for August 26, 2010. In addition, all people who attend may report on anything of interest to them or others in their neighborhood or on any matter of importance to residents of the city. Many important issues have first surfaced when one person showed up and shared at Council of Neighborhoods. Chances are good that you may get to meet the people who are running for half the positions on the the City Council. And other candidates for public office also may be there. People who attend are not required to speak but have the opportunity to speak on Government Channel or simply meet representatives of other neighborhoods before and after the meeting and suggest subjects for future agendas. If you have never been contacted by anyone from your neighborhood association or don't believe there is an organization in your neighborhood, you can give your address to Julie McQuade, whose contact information is at the bottom of the agenda below, and she can tell you whether one exists and who to contact or how to form one if none exists. Everyone is always welcome at Council of Neighborhoods and often multiple city employees are on hand to answer questions and offer advice on problems people may mention during the meeting. I hope to be early and help create a "quorum." If you have never attended, please give it a try. If you can't attend, watch for the broadcast on Government Channel starting Friday, Saturday or Sunday or one day next week. The Government Channel schedule for the coming week usually is online on Friday afternoon. Of course, if we don't show up, there may not be a quorum and the meeting won't be recorded and shown on City 16.

AGENDA FOR A MEETING OF THE

FAYETTEVILLE COUNCIL OF NEIGHBORHOODS

Thursday, August 26, 2010, 6:00 p.m.

Room 326, City Hall

Call to Order

1. Introduction of neighborhood representatives

2. No minutes from July meeting to approve.

3. Eco-Logical Communities - Michele Halsell

4. Certified Community Habitat

5. Chairman’s report

6. Treasurer’s report

7. Neighborhood Updates & Announcements

8. September 30, 2010 Meeting - Candidate Forum

Adjourn

Julie McQuadeCommunity Outreach Coordinator
City of Fayetteville

113 West Mountain, Suite 320

Fayetteville, AR 72701
(479) 575-8302

www.accessfayetteville.org

TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) 479-521-1316

Two such wetland plants growing together are a strong indicator of wetland

2010-08-15T20:43:00.003-05:00

Please click on image to ENLARGE and widen view of Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) and Verbena hastata (swamp vervain) growing together on south Fayetteville wetland.

Land-use planning and green-infrastructure committee of Fayetteville Forward to meet at 11 a.m. Tuesday, August 17, 2010

2010-08-12T13:48:00.003-05:00

Hello Members and/or interested by-standers of the Fayetteville Forward Land Use Planning and Green Infrastructure Committee

Meeting: Tuesday August 17, room 326, City Hall ----------- 11:00 am !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This month our committee will be meeting with the city administration staff, and members from Planning, Engineering, Parks, Urban Forestry, etc. for a presentation by Fayetteville Natural Heritage Assoc. on Green Infrastructure. This is a general information session for the purpose of acquainting people, who work for or serve the city in some capacity (volunteers, commissioners, council, etc.) with terminology, concepts, unique local attributes, and the need for Green Infrastructure planning and implementation.

All interested citizens are welcome.

Last month our committee focus was on the Storm Water/Green Infrastructure Conference sponsored by EPA, the UA/Wash. Cty Extension Service, Illinois River Watershed Partnership, and Beaver Water District.

A useful link for learning more.

Tree and Landscape Committee sets annual city tree giveaway for 7 a.m. October 9, 2010

2010-08-12T13:42:00.001-05:00

Please click on image to ENLARGE.

Greg Howe, Fayetteville's urban forester, is seated at far left. Members of the committee (from left to right) are Betty Martin, James Gibson, Chairman Cindi Cope, J.P. Peters and Chris Wilson. The Tree and Landscape committee has four vacancies. Contact the Fayetteville city clerk's office to apply to serve on the board. Only people who live in the city and who are registered to vote in the city qualify to serve on city boards and committees.

Fayetteville Natural Heritage founding members Margo and Pete Heinzelmann create new fund to support the organization's effort to protect special natural areas in Fayetteville, Arkansas

2010-08-12T13:41:00.004-05:00

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view of Margo and Pete Heinzelmann celebrating the creation of a fund to protect natural areas in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Pete and Margo Heinzelmann Day, July 30, 2010, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Winged loosestrife, a valued Arkansas native plant, abundant on World Peace Wetland Prairie: Lythrum alatum, variant alatum

2010-07-28T11:13:00.001-05:00

Please click on individual images to view six-petaled, Lythrum alatum in bloom on July 25, 2010, on World Peace Wetland Prairie.

Land-use and green-infrastructure committee of Fayetteville forward to meet at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 28, 2010, in Room 11 of city hall to discuss stormwater managment and erosion-control ordinance being considered by City Council on August 3, 2010

2010-07-24T10:01:00.002-05:00

To the Fayetteville Forward Land Use Planning and Green Infrastructure Committee-------

Not much has been happening this summer with our committee, but that doesn't mean green infrastructure matters aren't moving right along. One in particular will be on it's third and final reading at the next City Council meeting on August 3, 6pm, City Hall.

This is what is being considered for the council's vote:

Amend Chapters 169: Physical Alteration of Land and Chapter 170: Stormwater Management, Drainage and Erosion Control: An ordinance amending Chapter 169: Physical Alteration of Land and Chapter 170: Stormwater Management, Drainage and Erosion Control of Title XV of the Code of Fayetteville (Unified Development Code), to clarify stabilization requirements, require phased construction for sites larger than 20 acres, clarify re-vegetation requirements, clarify requirements for cut and fill slopes and retaining walls, define maintenance responsibility for stormwater management systems, restrict location of dirt and topsoil storage and define stabilization practices for dirt and topsoil storage, define a qualified inspector for erosion and sediment control best management practices, and require site plans for one and two family residences to contain a plan for erosion and sediment control and final on-site drainage. This ordinance was left on the First Reading at the July 6, 2010 City Council meeting and on its second reading, July 20.

Amend Chapter 177: Landscape Regulations: An ordinance amending Title XV: Unified Development Code of the City of Fayetteville, to amend Chapter 177: Landscape Regulations in order to modify existing requirements and regulations that address perimeter landscaping for development. This ordinance was left on the First Reading at the July 6, 2010 City Council meeting.

THE COMPLETE TEXT CAN BE ACCESSED FROM THE FRONT PAGE OF THE CITY'S WEBSITE www.accessfayetteville.org OR DIRECTLY AT:

http://www.accessfayetteville.org/government/engineering/documents/CHAPTER_169_final_draft_May4.pdf

The yellow highlighting on the document is where changes have been made, and which are being voted on . Members of this committee with interest in land use should pay special attention to this amendment so please look over it . Sarah Wrede, from the city's engineering department and who handles matters involving storm water, will be available to explain the amendment and to answer questions. We will be meeting with her next week so please come if you can.

Thanks, Fran

Wednesday, July 28, 3:30 pm in Rm 111, City Hall

Also don't forget the conference next week June 29-30 that I sent notice out about last month.

THE IRWP INVITES YOU TO JOIN US FOR THIS IMPORTANT WORKSHOP ON GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE ILLINOIS RIVER WATERSHED TMDL.   EARLY REGISTRATION BY JUNE 30, $35.
SPONSORED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS, IRWP, AND BEAVER WATER DISTRICT.

Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure
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Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure Workshop
Agenda   |   Registration   |   Location and Parking   |   Contact

Workshop Information
Date: July 29 and 30
Location: Fayetteville Town Center, Fayetteville, AR
Cost: $35.00 until July 1, and $50.00 after July 1
Agenda
Contact Us
EPA Region 6, the Northwest Arkansas Stormwater Education Group, the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension, the Illinois River Watershed Partnership, and the Beaver Water District are proud to announce the "Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure" Workshop to be held July 29th & 30th at the Fayetteville Town Center in beautiful downtown Fayetteville, AR.
What is Green Infrastructure?
Green infrastructure is an approach to wet weather management that is cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly. Green Infrastructure management approaches and technologies infiltrate, evapotranspire, capture and reuse stormwater to maintain or restore natural hydrology. Additional information on EPA's green infrastructure program is available at www.epa.gov/greeninfrastructure.
Why attend?
Participants will leave the conference with knowledge of tools and practices needed to effectively implement GI and different approaches to linking GI to prevent/mitigate water quality impacts. This meeting will be highly informative and will benefit all participants. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) may be available.
Suggested Attendees

Anyone interested in improving their quality of life is welcome! Employees, managers and supervisors of organizations interested in learning about new opportunities and initiatives to "green" their communities. This includes, but is not limited to, those who work in:

City, County and Regional Governments including:
Environmental or Sustainability Departments
Energy offices
Departments of Public Works, Solid Waste, Parks and Recreation
Water Departments
Mayor’s Offices and Planning Departments
Tribal Governments
DOD Base Planning and Military Installation Administrators
School Districts
College and Universities
Places of Worship
Engineering and Architectural Firms
Landscape Architecture
Landscape Design
Real Estate Development
Construction
Vehicle Fleet Maintenance and Operations
Energy Service Companies
Renewable Energy Technology
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) working with local cities
Homeowners’ Associations

Top of page
Agenda
Day 1
7:45 - 8:30 Registration
8:30 - 8:45       Welcome, Introductions, Purpose
8:45 - 9:15       Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure
      Overview of stormwater dynamics and defining the concepts of Green Infrastructure/LID
      Nelly Smith, EPA Region 6
9:15 - 10:00       Benefits of Green Infrastructure and Retrofit Opportunities
      Dan Christian, Tetra Tech
10:00 - 10:15       Break
10:15 - 11:00       Prevention, Listing, and De-listing of 303(d) Impaired Waterways
      Jim Wise, ADEQ
11:00 - 12:00       TMDLs - What does it mean for the Illinois River Watershed?
      Phillip Massierer, FTN Associates
      Claudia Hosch, Associate Director, Water Quality Division, EPA Region 6
12:00 - 1:00       Catered Lunch
1:00 - 1:45       Local Codes and Ordinances
      Dan Christian, Tetra Tech
1:45 - 2:30       Construction Site BMPs, Inspections, and Effluent Limitation Guidelines
      Jamal Solaimanian, ADEQ
2:30 - 2:45       Break
2:45 - 3:15       MS4 Reporting and Program Audits
      Nick Willis, ADEQ
3:15 - 3:45       Managing Nutrient Runoff through Arkansas' Nutrient Regulations
      Patrick Fisk, AR Natural Resources Commission
3:45 - 4:30       Fayetteville's 5-Year Nutrient Management Plan
      Bob Morgan, Beaver Water District
      Sarah, Wrede, City of Fayetteville
4:30 - 6:00       Green Infrastructure Reception - sponsored by the Illinois River Watershed Partnership
Top of page
Day 2
8:00 - 8:15 Welcome
8:15 - 9:30       Panel Discussion: Building a Case for Green Infrastructure - Clear Creek Stormwater Management and Flooding
      Mayor Lioneld Jordan, City of Fayetteville (moderator)
      Mayor Doug Sprouse, City of Springdale
      Jerry Davison, Clear Creek property owner
      Charles Rhodes, Clear Creek property owner
      Beth Breed, FTN Associates, Ltd.
9:30 - 9:45       Break
9:45 - 12:00       Incorporating Green Infrastructure in Northwest Arkansas:

Bioretention (bioswales, rain gardens and green roofs)

Kyle Engler, Sam's Club

Brandon Nikolish, Wal-Mart

Eco-Vista Landfill

Kirby Thompson, Waste Management

Green Infrastructure Planning Project

Bob Caulk, Fayetteville Natural Heritage Commission

Bob Morgan, Beaver Water District

Patti Erwin, AR Forestry Commission

Sager Creek Project

David Cameron, City of Siloam Springs
Registration
To register for the workshop, please download the registration form here (PDF) (1 pp, 92K).
Top of page
Location and Parking
For more information and directions to the Fayetteville Town Center, visit http://www.twncenter.com . A parking deck is available below the building.
There are many hotels in area but the closest hotel (a one block walk) is
The Cosmopolitan Hotel70 Northeast AvenueFayetteville, AR 72701(479) 442-5555
Top of page
Contact Us
If you have questions about the workshop or would like more information, please contact:
Nelly SmithEnvironmental EngineerPermits & Technical Assistance Section (6WQ-PP)NPDES Permits & TMDLs BranchWater Quality Protection DivisionUS EPA Region 61445 Ross Ave.Dallas TX 75202Phone: (214) 665-7109Fax: (214) 665-2191
This workshop is offered to all persons regardless of race, sex, marital status, age, or any other legally protected status. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (large print, audiotapes, etc.) should notify the Washington County Cooperative Extension Service office as soon as possible prior to the program at (479) 444-1755.
Top of page

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Last updated on June 14, 2010 1:29 PM
URL:http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/greeninfrastructure/giconference.cfm

Springs beneath Bates School may be dug into to create underground storage of stormwater after Bates is demolished to make space for new high-school buildings

2010-07-23T19:16:00.001-05:00

Diana fritillary on butterfly milkweed on June 21, 2010 CATRO_Title_03_0...

2010-07-22T19:31:00.001-05:00

Diana fritillary on butterfly milkweed on June 21, 2010 CATRO_Title_03_0...

2010-07-22T19:31:00.000-05:00

DSCN7073Clasping leaf milkweed SEED.AVI

2010-07-18T14:40:00.000-05:00

Doug Tallamy to speak in Fayetteville at 7 p.m. August 20 on Bringing Nature Home

2010-07-13T10:32:00.001-05:00

Please click on image to ENLARGE for reading.

Tree and Landscape Committee sets 4 p.m. Wesnesday, July 14, 2010, meeting

2010-07-08T13:51:00.001-05:00

TO: Members of City Boards, Commissions and Committees

FROM: Don Marr, City of Fayetteville Chief of Staff

DATE: June 8, 2010

SUBJECT: Coverage of meetings by The Fayetteville Government Channel

As a member of a City of Fayetteville Board, Commission or Committee, we appreciate tremendously the time, effort, and commitment you provide for the City of Fayetteville. It is citizens like you that help make our City as great as it is, and we thank you for your service. It is also service like yours that has helped make Fayetteville a state-recognized Volunteer Community of the Year. Thank you!

As you are probably aware, The City of Fayetteville operates The Fayetteville Government Channel, which provides television coverage of the meetings of City of Fayetteville Boards, Commissions and Committees for the citizens of Fayetteville.

While not every meeting receives coverage, most likely there will be a time when you will be in a meeting that is being covered by The Fayetteville Government Channel. I wanted to provide you with a few pointers and some information that can make your participation in these filmed meetings better for both those attending the meetings in person and those viewing at home. The ability for audiences in the meeting room, watching on TV, or viewing the meeting on the City’s website www.accessfayetteville.org to hear and see all that is taking place in the meeting is of prime importance to The City of Fayetteville and a major part of the initiatives of assuring open government and an informed citizenry. Also, your ideas are important, and we want to do everything possible to assure that your ideas are effectively heard by the audiences. Below are a few broad recommendations that will assist in these goals:

1. Be aware of your audience. Remember there are people there in the room, and there are people watching on television. When you talk, speak loudly enough that the people in the room can hear you clearly.

2. Some rooms have microphones on the tables. If there are microphones on the tables, please use one. If you do not see microphones on the tables, they are mounted somewhere else. Just speak in a way that everyone in the room can hear you clearly and the television audience can hear your comments as well.

3. When using a microphone, place it about a foot away and pointed at you, and talk in a normal tone of voice. If it is too close to your mouth, your voice will sound overly loud and distorted. If it is too far away, your voice may not be heard at all.

4. You may be on camera, whether you are speaking or not. It is not our intention to make you uncomfortable, but to make you aware. The audience in the room may be paying attention to the person speaking, but the camera may be on a wider shot and see you as well.

5. If a meeting is not called to order by the Chair within 15 minutes of its scheduled start time, the Fayetteville Government Channel staff may leave and not provide coverage for the meeting. This is to help minimize costs associated with having city staff waiting to film a meeting that will not take place for reasons such as lack of a quorum.

6. The Fayetteville Government Channel may not cover meetings in which no business is conducted.

7. The camera is in the meeting room in the role of an observer, so please avoid addressing the camera directly when speaking in a meeting. You are encouraged to engage in your meeting in the same way you would if the camera was not present. Fayetteville Government Channel coverage of meetings is direct, non-editorial programming regarding the operations and deliberations of the City government, not a mechanism for building support for a particular policy, program, or issue. If you would like to present government-related information to the television audience directly, the Fayetteville Government Channel can assist you in producing an informational program that can be telecast on the Channel.

We appreciate your involvement in helping make our City great. If you have any questions about the television coverage The Fayetteville Government Channel provides for your meetings or ways you think that the Fayetteville Government Channel can improve the viewing experience of government meetings, please call Fritz Gisler, the Manager of the City of Fayetteville Television Center, at 479-444-3434.

Again, thank you for your service!

John Rule to read from his own poetry today at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 22, 2010, at Nightbird Books on Dickson Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas. TONIGHT!

2010-06-22T17:33:00.001-05:00

Please click on image to enlarge to read introductory page and half of book's first poem.

This buckeye butterfly was on nonnative butterfly bush in the peace-circle portion of the World Peace Wetland Prairie on June 11, 2010. You may be able to see it and many other pollinators Saturday June 12, 2010, at some of the 8 private gardens on the OMNI Tour of Peace Gardens

2010-06-11T18:47:00.002-05:00

Please click on image to ENLARGE view of Buddleia with
Precis coenea nectaring on it on June 11, 2010, at World Peace Wetland Prairie in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
For interactive map and information about 2010 OMNI Peace Garden Tour, please see OMNI Peace Gardens blog.

Agenda for 4 p.m. Wednesday June 9, 2010, meeting of Tree and Landscape Committee

2010-06-04T21:48:00.005-05:00

Please click on image of agenda to ENLARGE for reading.

'New report shows aquatic life declines at early stages of urban development'

2010-06-03T12:19:00.000-05:00

'New report shows aquatic life declines at early stages of urban development'

Slide show of photos of elderberry flowers on May 27, 2010

2010-05-26T23:34:00.000-05:00

Find more photos like this on elderberries.com

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Green Infrastructure

Bumblebee program by entomologist Amber Tripodi based on 2011 study of various northwest Arkansas prairie remnants presented in meeting of Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association

Short takes on Cox 218 and AT&T channel 99 something for today through the weekend

Park board hears comments on value of preserving soil and native plants on proposed construction site on Rochier Hill west of Pinnacle Prairie and World Peace Wetland Prairie

December 20, 2011, meeting of Fayetteville AR city council draws comment on several important local issues on a 3-hour, 37-minute video

Aubrey James Shepherd wears 2011 Louisiana Tech WAC Tshirt on first part and 2001 WAC La Tech shirt on second part of Fayetteville public-television video

Park Board approves accepting money in lieu of land that will result in destruction of all habitat on Hollywood Prairie despite plea to preserve bit of wetland

Park Board approves destruction of Hollywood Prairie despite plea to preserve wetland by Aubrey James Shepherd

Joe Neal introduces 'In the Province of Birds' at 7 p.m. Friday, December 9, 2011, at Nightbird Books on Dickson Street in Fayetteville AR

Nature photos on next week's video include frost flowers from this week and last year

High water after rain in Northwest Arkansas as seen at confluence of West Fork of the White River and the Town Branch of the West Fork

Video of Ward Four meeting at 7 p.m. September 26 includes explanation of importance of renewing sales tax by vote on Oct. 11, 2011. See detail below

Please click on image below to ENLARGE for reading. Click on the enlargement for even easier reading.Monday, September 26, 2011

Fayetteville Environmental Action Committee meeting of 15 September 2011

Town Branch Neighborhood Association meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, August 30, 2011, welcomes everyone who chooses to attend at S. Hill Avenue

Church of Christ to discuss plan for apartment complex adjacent to National Cemetery, streamside-protection ordinance, neighborhood watch, urban wildlife-habitat certification of private property, natural-yard option approved by City Council and anything of importance in our neighborhood and city

Traditional landscapes suck Energy, Water and Money, says Neil Diboll at The Native Plants in the Landscape Conference

« Welcome to The Native Plants in the Landscape Conference

The Future of Gardening by Neil Diboll

University of Vermont ExtensionDepartment of Plant and Soil Science

Next week's shortakes on public-access television previewed on You Tube: See link below

Lioneld Jordan, mayor of Fayetteville, Arkansas, congratulates Doug Bryson, manager of Pinnacle Foods Inc. facility in Fayetteville for protecting the largest piece of green infrastructure and wet-prairie wildlife habitat in south Fayetteville

Fayetteville Council of Neighborhoods' meeting July 28, 2011, video

Two five-minute nature videos recorded on 28 July 2011 to be run on Fayetteville Public Television from Monday, August 1, 2011, through Friday, August 5, 2011

Video of slide show to run June 27-July 1, 2011, on Fayetteville Public Television

Shortakes recorded Monday, June 13, 2011, to run June 20-24, 2011, on Public Access Television at 218 on Cox Cable and U-verse 99 on AT&T as well as simulcast on the Your Media Web site

Fayetteville Council of Neighborhoods spearheads food drive for Joplin and hears report on City Plan 2030 and public comment on threat to Old Main Lawn and campus arboretum

Old Main lawn threatened by construction road plus flooding photos from Fayetteville, Arkansas

Climate-action forum Friday week: See information and map below

Environmental Action Committee meets at 5:30 p.m. today in Fayetteville City Hall

Shortakes to run April 11-15, 2011, on Fayetteville public-access televion, channel 218 on Cox Cable

Video running this week (11 a.m., 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. Monday through Friday on Fayetteville public-access television

2005 November 27 to December 4 video

March 17, 2011, video on Community Access Television with Aubrey Shepherd's photos from Fayetteville's two-river watershed

Night before Streamside Ordinance was passed by City Council, it was discussed during Ward 4 meeting

March 30 to April 13, 2007 video of water & sewer work on South Duncan Avenue and other outdoor activities in Fayetteville, Arkansas

Audubon's Wilson Spring wetland nature area on Jan. 19, 2011: 185 photos from a 2-mile walk with Mike Mhlodnow

September 18, 2006, video of eroded fill dirt washing off the Aspen Ridge (now Hill Place) construction site at 11th Street and South Duncan Avenue

Jim Bemis speaks at Telecom Board meeting on December 16, 2010

World Peace Wetland Prairie was once approved to be an apartment complex but Town Branch Neighborhood gathered friends to make it a city nature park

World Peace Wetland Prairie's Earth Day 2010 celebration video

Buy a federal duck stamp to provide habitat for waterfowl and many other species all over the continent

Cox

DSCN1828Hill Place herbicide.AVI

aubunique: Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Charleston, South Caro...

aubunique: Please fill out online survey of opinion of perfor...

Cox Cable pulls surprise on city of Fayetteville, Arkansas, with plan to move public-access, government channel and educational channel to EXPENSIVE digital tier of channels: So much for open government when thousands of people will not be able to afford access to the public channels

Election-eve comment from David Whitaker, Northwest Arkansas' candidate to take seat in House of Representatives from 3rd congressional disctrict

Aubrey Shepherd quoted on UATV on October 20, 2010, on significance of demolition of old grain elevator in south Fayetteville, Arkansas

Highway Commission vote could end mowing and dredging practices that cause erosion, loss of wildlife habitat and decrease beauty of roadsides in Arkansas

aubunique: Insect Festival coming up

aubunique: Tree and Landscape Committee sets annual city tree...

Fayetteville's proposed 2030 plan to be be shared for public comment and discussion October 7 and 15

NWAOnline.com

City Looking To Future

FAYETTEVILLE RESIDENTS, OFFICIALS BEGIN PLANNING FOR 2030

Green-infrastructure meeting to see final Green Infrastructure Network Map at 6 p.m. Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Bob Caulk shares message from Jacqueline Froelich about FNHA's green-infrastructure program on KUAF

Aug9 aubrey.asf

Please attend tonight's meeting of the Council of Neighborhoods: Agenda below

Two such wetland plants growing together are a strong indicator of wetland

Land-use planning and green-infrastructure committee of Fayetteville Forward to meet at 11 a.m. Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Tree and Landscape Committee sets annual city tree giveaway for 7 a.m. October 9, 2010

Fayetteville Natural Heritage founding members Margo and Pete Heinzelmann create new fund to support the organization's effort to protect special natural areas in Fayetteville, Arkansas

Winged loosestrife, a valued Arkansas native plant, abundant on World Peace Wetland Prairie: Lythrum alatum, variant alatum

Land-use and green-infrastructure committee of Fayetteville forward to meet at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 28, 2010, in Room 11 of city hall to discuss stormwater managment and erosion-control ordinance being considered by City Council on August 3, 2010

Managing Wet Weather with Green Infrastructure Workshop

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Springs beneath Bates School may be dug into to create underground storage of stormwater after Bates is demolished to make space for new high-school buildings

Diana fritillary on butterfly milkweed on June 21, 2010 CATRO_Title_03_0...

Diana fritillary on butterfly milkweed on June 21, 2010 CATRO_Title_03_0...

DSCN7073Clasping leaf milkweed SEED.AVI

Doug Tallamy to speak in Fayetteville at 7 p.m. August 20 on Bringing Nature Home

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Monday, September 26, 2011

University of Vermont Extension
Department of Plant and Soil Science