Steven Rodie

How does LEED ND differ from SSI.

does anyone know of speakers or events that discuss/educate/explain more about SSI, that are taking place in the Seattle area?

Hey Kerri,

I’ll do my best to be there!

Thanks,
Andrew

Jon Q. asked about construction documents for green street work. After mining Portland’s BES site, i found a lot. Very helpful.

The Sustainable Sites Initiative: Metrics for a greener City” with Allegra Bukojemsky and April Philips
June 10, 2010 6:30 pm
AIA San Francisco, 130 Sutter Street, Suite 600

The Sustainable Sites Initiative SITES TM is the nation’s first rating system for the design, construction and maintenance of sustainable landscapes. This missing link in g…[Read more]

Thanks Stephanie, I see what you mean. Thanks so much!

Hope to see you all on May 22 for the 2010 PGASLA Banquet featuring Keith O’Connor. Check out http://www.pgasla.org to register!

Hello Tamera,
Well, As a LEED AP, I can tell you that LEED doesn’t deal with the spaces BETWEEN the buildings on a level that is watershed centric, site planning, soils responsive. LEED does not give points for passive solutions, but favors mechanical solutions. In so many ways, LEED is very narrow, and SSI is very broad. Those are just a few…[Read more]

Joy, have your Chapter Trustee or President check in with Liz at ASLA national and she can certainly help find appropriate speakers for you. Also, the ASLA Sustainable Design & Development PPN can help guide you as well. We have many talented speakers that can address many different aspects of this topic.

The NY Upstate Chapter of the ASLA is teaming with the NY State AIA for the first time ever to put a JOINT conference together! Sustainability is a particular topic that is HOT on both arenas. Please feel free to let me know if there are people interested in presenting at the conference regarding the SSI to LEED roll out, or to a particularly…[Read more]

Feel free to use the group’s forum to post questions and discussion topics. Just click the “+ Start Discussion” link.

Thanks!
Andrew

Charles,
Perhaps they are hiring knowledgable Landscape Architects? Clearly they need help.

My civil engineer handed me a brochure on the Filterra Bioretention System which appears to be a vault, filled with gravel, sand and a little peat moss that takes in and filters storm water. The vault is topped with a tree grate where you plant a plant from the recommended list provided by Filterra. Has anyone used this system? They recommend that…[Read more]

I agree with Heather about building a track record of using the SSI. It is through application in the real world that tools like the SSI show their strengths and value.

I am anxious to see the outcome of the pilot projects. I think the real world application and testing of Sites is of the upmost importance and we will learn a great deal from this process.

In order to continue building natural capital through the design construction and maintenance of regenerative systems, we need to see the application of…[Read more]

Hi Heather! You and I have had many past conversations when you were in the trenches with SSI. So what are your current thoughts from your new perspective relative to what needs to happen to keep the SSI momentum going? Is practical application the key….or are there other issues that are just as critical?

You’ve been a great resource…..hope…[Read more]

Hey Folks! Just a quick note to say hello and introduce myself. After completing the 2009 report, I resigned as project manager of the Sustainable Sites Initiative to pursue other opportunities and spend more time with my 7 month old son. I am excited to hear your thoughts and concentrate more strongly on the practical application of the…[Read more]

Well said Mark, our proffesion is so variable that it makes it easy for others to put us in a box on one side of it which I find to be simply ‘lanscaping’. We need to work together as a profession to be “armed with facts and calculations” to give creditability to the profession across the board.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This issue is complicated and to say that rain gardens are the answer is not much different than the traditional infrastructure approach, where one solution can solve all problems. In most instances and geographic locations, the solution needs to include water quality and quantity solutions to solve the problem. Rain gardens, bio-swales and…[Read more]

Charles,

“Blame it on the Rain” – Milli Vanilli

Well, not really. I just wanted to quote them! Policy is a difficult thing. Until every land owner is charged by the city for the real cost of thier stormwater impacts from a pre development hydrology, there will be uncecesary systems put ini place.
The cool thing about rain gardens is that for…[Read more]