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Implementing a Green Scape landscape can save you time, money and protect the environment,
by simply putting nature to work in your yard. Rain gardens, using recycled materials, permiable pavers,
planting perenial gardens and shrubs and storm water management are all environmentally friendly ways to
implement beautiful, long lasting, landscapes.
Rain Gardens
A rain garden is a planeted depression that is designed to allow rainwater runoff the opportunity to be
absorbed for impervious urban areas like roofs, driveways, walkways, and compacted lawn areas.
This reduces rain runoff by allowing stormwater to soak into the ground (as opposed to flowing into storm
drains and surface waters which causes erosion, water pollution, flooding and diminished groundwater).
Rain gardens can cut down on the amount of pollution reaching creeks an streams by up to 30%.
Recycled Materials
- Recycled concrete - Used as base material for patio and wall foundations
- Mulch - Harvested from storm damaged and unhealthy trees
- Composite Pavers - Composed of up to 95% recycled tires and plastic milk jugs. Excellent choice fo driveways and/or pavers.
Gardens
Perenials and shrub beds provide a greater opportunity to reduce water runoff to curb and street.
Permeable Pavers
Permeable paving is dfferent that pervious paving or porous pavement, by virtue of the fact that
rainwater passes around the paver as opposed to passing through the paver, helping to redue or eliminate "clogging"
found in pervious or porous systems. "Permeable" is a term used to describe paving methods for roads, parking
lots and walkways that allow the movement of water and air around the paving material. Although some porous paving
materials appear nearly indistinguishable from nonporous materials, their environmental effects are qualitatively
different.
Storm Water Management
Stormwater runoff is generated when precipitation from a rain and/or snowmelt event flows over land or impervious
surfaces and does not percolate into the ground. As the runoff flows over the land or impervious surfaces (paved
streets, parking lots, and building rooftops), it accumulates debris, chemicals, sediment or other pollutants that could
adversely affect water quality if the runoff is discharged untreated. The primary method to control stormwater discharges
is the use of best management practices (BMPs). Rain gardens, permeable pavers, detention ponds are examples of landscaping
methods to manage storm water runoff.
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