Greening Your Community

Francis J. Reilly, Jr.

P A G E 2

3 Questions affect our ultimate actions in common grounds

1. How does it affect people?• particularly regarding safety

2. How does it affect the environment?

3. How does it affect the bottom line?

Remember Risk can be cheap to ignore but expensive in the long run!

P A G E 3

Agenda

• Common grounds maintenance

• Storm water facility maintenance

• Clubhouse Operations

• Considerations for any new construction

• Education of owners/residents

P A G E 4

Common grounds maintenance

• Lawn care

• Plant problems

• Landscaping

• Right plant, right place

• Water usage

P A G E 5

Lawn care

Use Best Practices

•Proper fertilization

•Mowing

•Core Aeration

P A G E 6

Proper Fertilization is Key

• Get a soil test

• Do it at the right time– Cool-season Fall – Warm-Season Summer

• Use the right amount (~1 Lb. of Nitrogen per 1000 ft2)

• Put it out the right way– Calibrate the spreader

– Skip the sidewalks and

driveways Contact Cooperative Extensionwww.PWCGOV.org – search for Best lawns

P A G E 7

Mowing is important

Sharp Blades

•Reduce disease

•Better look

Mow at the right height

•no more than 1/3 at a time – no scalping

•Proper height

P A G E 8

Core Aeration

•Reduces compaction

•Good time to overseed and fertilize

P A G E 9

Pest Control

• Shouldn’t need it

• Consider a task order contract

• You do not need preventative – even crabgrass if the rest of the work is OK.

P A G E 10

Lawn care

• Check the contracts

• Buy what you need not what they are selling

• limit contracts to:– needed tasks – right times– using correct amounts of nutrients

P A G E 11

Landscaping - Right plant, right place

• How Big will it get?

• Is it a safe plant?

• Fire and design?

P A G E 12

Landscaping - Water usage

• Irrigation do you need it?

• Water long and deep

• Water in AM

• Avoid windy days

• Use a rain gage

• Group the plants

P A G E 13

Systems Approach

http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/xml/services/home/environ/water/wq/maintman/MaintManFinal2-22-05.pdf

P A G E 14

Plant problems

• resources to help you correctly identify problem sources and appropriate, least toxic corrective measures

• Certified Arborists– http://www.isa-arbor.com/findArborist/findarborist.aspx

• Virginia Cooperative Extension– http://ext.vt.edu/ or (703) 792-6289

P A G E 15

Clubhouse - Operations• Repair to buildings and grounds

• Snow removal

• Recycling – composting – community gardening

• Energy reduction

P A G E 16

Repair to buildings and grounds

• Look at repairs as opportunities to upgrade to Green

• Keep up with repairs often saves costlier repairs and waste– Dressing on blacktop– Missing shingles– Doors and windows that don’t close correctly

P A G E 17

Snow Removal

• Fertilizer isn’t “Green”

• Think about where you pile the snow– Don’t clog storm

sewers– Don’t pile it “uphill”

P A G E 18

Recycling – Composting – Community Gardening

• Recycling center at the clubhouse– Have rules– Good signs– Arrange a pick-up– They don’t pay for themselves

• Recycling days at the clubhouse – PWC Solid Waste www.pwcgov.org recycling or

703-792-4670

P A G E 19

Recycling – Composting – Community Gardening

• Composting doesn’t smell

• Yard waste can make up to 40% of landfill volume

• Someone has to commit to doing it

P A G E 20

Recycling – Composting – Community Gardening

• Community Gardens build community

• Think about the need

• Be organized

• You need sun

• They are not pretty for all 12 months

P A G E 21

Energy reduction

• Energy star appliances

• Lighting for adequate safety– Aesthetics vs energy and COST– SSL – is the coming thing!

• Programmable Setback thermometers

P A G E 22

Storm water facility maintenance

HOA responsibilities

• Check with PWC (703)792-7070

• Major maintenance, inspection, and repair probably PWC

• Trash, floatables, algae odors etc. are the HOA responsibility

P A G E 23

Storm water facility maintenance

Maintenance practices

• Services $100-$8K /month– Aerator maintenance– Weed removal– Treatments– Overflow valve cleaner

• Dredging ROM $55K– ~20 year cycle– You should do everything

you can to lengthen that

P A G E 24

Storm water facility maintenance

• No dumping leaves and clippings

• No dumping in storm sewers

• Keep trash out

• Algae & Weed Control

• Rodent holes beaver dams

• Clean forebay

P A G E 25

Considerations for any new construction

• Low Impact Development (LID)

• Rain Gardens

P A G E 26

Considerations for any new construction

• Disconnect from Stormwater

P A G E 27

Considerations for any new construction

P A G E 28

Considerations for any new construction

LEED

• Retrofit can be expensive

• Upgrade during repair can be cost effective

• Use it as a tool

• Checklistshttp://www.usgbc.org/

P A G E 29

Education of ownersWhat they should do and where they can find help/information

www.ext.vt.edu - (703) 792-6289

• Impact on storm water facility – run off volume, sediment, nutrients, pesticides…

• Practices to minimize impact

• Lawns and landscapes

• Drainage

• Litter and debris

• Vehicle fluids

– Household Hazardous Waste Collection (703)792-5750

P A G E 30

Know about RPAs

• Chesapeake Bay Improvement Act

• 100 Foot Buffer

• Call Public Works (703)792-7070

P A G E 31

Comparison of Conventional and LID Site Conditions

P A G E 32

Can Be Aesthetically done – even in suburban NOVA

•Tree conservation

•Rain gardens

•Narrower streets

•Open drainage

•On-lot detention storage and infiltration

Discussion – Questions?

Francis J. Reilly, Jr.www.AdvancedMasterGardener.org