[Gabriel S. Metz]

In arid regions of the country 2:1 manufactured slopes are common place.  In areas with higher precipitation rate 3:1 is generally the recommended max.  However in overpass construction, slope and shoreline restoration 2:1 can be common to meet and connect to existing stable slopes.

As a general rule, if you are specifying any company’s product like this you should not detail it out in your plans, but instead write “install per manufacture’s specifications and recommendations.” Provide manufacture’s contact info, preferably the rep you are dealing with. You don’t want that liability.

Are you talking about an erosion control blanket (temporary and biodegradable lasts a season allowing plant establishment) or a geotextile fabric (permanent non-biodegradable)?

How long is you slope going to be?  You may need temporary wattles to slow water down and other BMPs.   

I prefer to use the coconut fiber erosion blanket in lieu of straw because I seem to have much better results.  Tensar has a great product I started using for slopes that is 100% organic and biodegradable.  Otherwise Coir, Curlex and Futerra products are pretty standard. One other thing you may need to consider, not all erosion control blankets are created equal.  Some are rated for short term (less than 12 months), and some are rated long term 18 and 24 months.  

If you have a turf or native grass application that requires permanent erosion control, Tensar has Permanent Turf Reinforcement Mats that work great.  Installation is critical for this application.  

If you are looking for permanent geotextile erosion control, take a look at Geotextile Systems by Propex.  They would be one of the industry standard products.   

Tensar and Geotextile Systems by Propex are both good place to start. Both sites have lots of valuable information.

Planting shrubs and trees through erosion control blanket or geotextile fabric is really no different than planting in landscape fabric.   Unless the contractor is doing something stupid, I won’t tell them how to cut a hole or what to install first.  Make sure the contractor is using enough staples and installing blanket or geotextile fabric per manufacture’s recommendations.  Live staking is also common depending on plant species you are planning to use. 

If budget allows you could use a Geocell, Geogrid or Geoweb product!  This all really depends on the length of slope, transitions, benches, how much water is going fall on and flow over the slope area and what drainage steps have been taken.   

[Gabriel S. Metz]

Yep that is the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

[Gabriel S. Metz]

I use the same technique as you describe.   This is by far my favorite way to render plans.  I can render quick and dirty just adding color or I can build up color layers creating depth.  I like to render on the back while highlighting and shadowing on the front.   I found that 13 pound trace works the best.  It is heavier and more durable than the standard light weight trace and scans much better than vellum.  I have scanned sheets for planning projects that are 60 plus inches long and 42 inches wide on a roll scanner.   As long as I have good clean edges I don’t worry about it binding in the scanner.  You may have to request the 13 pound trace at your art supply or reprographics store.  The stuff I get is 42 inches by 150 feet.  I believe the standard roll of  trace is only 7- 8 pound.

I use curves in Photoshop as Nick describes to get rid of pencil and color pencil layout lines.  Using curves I can get rid of all color lines and pencil marks without worrying about erasing them first.  I have also scanned color trace rendering with a clean sheet of paper as someone else described.  I found it is best to just tape the leading edge of the 2 sheets to reduce the chance of wrinkles and binding. 

[Gabriel S. Metz]

In my opinion, if you have never been to the Getty, you should most definitely spend a day there.  You can learn equally from bad design as you can from good design and form your own opinions. 

A few more worth seeing…

Huntington Library in San Marino (LA area) is a must see for me!

http://www.huntington.org/

Gamble House and surrounding neighborhood in Pasadena

http://www.gamblehouse.org/

Hearst Castle is a good place to stop on your way up the coast.

http://www.hearstcastle.org/

[Gabriel S. Metz]

TJ

I just remembered another project that may interest you, check out Kate Orff’s work and her firm Scape in New York.  She also teaches at Columbia.  Here is a link to her TED Talk given earlier this month.  Think you will find some aquaculture ideas near the end of the talk.

http://www.ted.com/talks/kate_orff_oysters_as_architecture.html

[Gabriel S. Metz]

Are you by chance working on the Lincolnshire Coastal Grazing Marshes project?  If you are, it sounds like a great ecotourism project, so many things going on.  If it is not this project, check it out for ideas.  I was just looking at that project a few days ago and a couple recent articles came to mind.  I am a NPR news junky and recently they have had a couple of programs involving shellfish production you may use as case studies (links below).  The first one is bringing back oyster production in the Chesapeake Bay (its a podcast well worth the listen).  The second is the oyster bed restoration project going on in New Orleans after the oil spill. 

The Journal of Applied Ecology would be a good resource for you especially Volume 37, Issue 5. It is an older Journal that talks about when the British Government came up with the ESA (closed program) scheme to provide incentives to farmer to retain grazing marshes and laid out management guide lines.  Also reverting adjacent aerable farm to pastoral grasslands.

Attached is a summary by the solent forum. http://www.solentforum.org

In recent years there has been tons of research completed.  You just have to define your scope and drudge through the information that matters to your project. I wouldn’t imagine you will have to dive into the pros and cons of cattle grazing and the effects it has on the N cycle or microbial biomass.  The position of the government programs is that grazing is good.

If you do a google search, try using google scholar as well for research information. 

If these link for some reason don’t work, just go to npr.org and search oyster.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=133173248

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129452345

http://www.npr.org/search/index.php?searchinput=OYSTER+

http://www.cumulus-consultants.co.uk/portfolio-programmes.html

 

Good Luck, hope this helps.

[Gabriel S. Metz]

We use Garn Wallace with Wallance Laboratories for projects throughout the US. http://www.bettersoils.com/. He and his team are great to work with and can full all your needs. I send him soil samples by fedex all the time.

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