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Your perfectly purposeful permaculture theme landscape will be a completely functioning eco habitat designed to conserve resources and fulfill your desire to create a cosmos within a cosmos (a complex orderly self-inclusive system).This high function eco system will act as a model of a pollinator pathway landscape and a carbon net-positive planet rescue mission.

Plants staged in the sweeping, organic lines of the new front yard garden beds.

Not a minor set of design goals…but our landscapes seek to do nothing less! This Fairfield County, Connecticut property required a front landscape that met specific permaculture objectives, while also creating a functional, beautiful outdoor space that maintains front yard curb appeal. Green Jay Landscape Design was hired to create the design, construct the hardscape and install all garden beds.

New natural stone walkways enable ease of circulation and promote daily mindfulness in the garden.

Permaculture Design Plan

The natural wood fence will enclose, contain and focus your good intentions on producing fruits and flowers throughout the growing season. The landscape planting spilling out and over the fence containment area will integrate your experience to the greater outdoor space afforded by your ample front yard.

Step One: new garden beds de-thatched of turf grass on the front slope.

This front yard is situated on a slope, whose grade we manipulated to achieve terraced permaculture gardens. We employed a dry-stacked retaining wall and fence (yet to be installed) to enclose the area for the client’s chickens. Yes, this is a permaculture landscape through and through!

Step Two: De-compacting the soil before planting and amending ensures aeration — air pockets in the soil that are critical for root development.

Permaculture Plant Pallet & Landscape Installation

The final permaculture garden features a mix of native edibles and perennials, flowering shrubs, ornamental grasses, and trees for wildlife and pollinators. Although fenced in, the property is still an extension of habitat, part of the Pollinator Pathways network, helping to link larger environments with a map of habitats along otherwise developed corridors.

Step Three: incorporate organic compost with biochar, green sand and other soil amendments for the organic garden.

All garden beds will be constructed by manual removal of all turfgrass surfaces followed by mechanical decompaction of existing soil to be further amended and enriched by the addition of premium quality high-grade compost and soil amendments, including green sand and biochar.

Plants will be inoculated with myco-fungii and beneficial bacteria, organic fertilizer and yucca. Planting beds will be mulched with triple ground dark brown natural hardwood mulch.

Step Four: Native plant staging is critical! Designs are often revised in the field based on site conditions.

With organic landscapes and organic gardening, it is essential that you foster a strong foundation for your plants to thrive on. This means enriching the soil with organic matter and the accompanying soil microbes that help deliver minerals and nutrients to plants. Compacted soil can also inhibit root development and overall growth; decompaction before planting is an important step to maintain soil structure. Learn more about Cultivating Healthy, Organic Soil w. Microbes on our previous blog.

Sample plant palette presentation for the client

Permaculture Sample Plant Selections

Elderberry *
Pawpaw *
Hazelnut *
Nepeta
Geranium
Fountain Grass
Bee Balm
Yarrow *
Coneflower
Mountain Mint
Summersweet
Chokeberry
Amelanchier

*edible for human consumption

Progress on the dry stacked retaining wall that separates and defines the garden terraces.

Hardscape, Walkway Circulation

Stone was mined on-site at the property to construct the freestanding stone wall that created a level base for the fence. The fence (still to be installed) contains and frames the permaculture garden while functionally enclosing the chickens. The chickens do their part by aerating the soil via pecking and digging for worms, as well as fertilizing the soil through their excrement.

Finished dry-stacked stone retaining wall with permaculture gardens on either side.

In order to construct the fence and dry-stacked wall, we needed to elevate the grade on the right side of the house. Green Jay Landscape Design also installed a small subsurface button drain to capture stormwater. Fieldstone steps were installed to connect the upper lawn with the lower grades.

Fieldstone staircase with river rock border fits a naturalistic landscape design.

The unique combinations of pathways will provide practical access for maintenance while encouraging circulation, recreation and relaxation amongst the beneficial wildlife and abundant plant life.

Side view of the front yard permaculture garden.

We can’t wait to see this garden thrive, produce and give back. Stay tuned for more photos!

Contact us about your permaculture or ecological landscape design project – 914-560-6570. We are also available for landscape consulting – see our Eco Consulting page.

Fairfield County, Connecticut is a beautiful place for landscape design. With the natural landscape ranging from mature forests to coastal wetlands, there is much inspiration to draw from, not to mention incredible ecological value worth protecting! Jay Archer has worked as a landscape designer in Fairfield County for over thirty years .

Native Echinacea (Coneflower) is a superstar plant for pollinators, is low maintenance, and looks amazing with Daisy and Blackeyed Susan.

We’ve compiled our favorite Connecticut landscape design & construction projects. Contact us about your project: 914-560-6570.

Green Jay Landscape Design’s Top Landscape Designs in Fairfield County, CT

Naturalistic pollinator gardens soften the clean modern lines of the pool area and patio.

#1: Modern Pool Landscaping: Natural Stone Masonry, Habitat Gardens & Wetland Mitigation | Greenwich, CT

We loved designing the landscape for this newly constructed modern farmhouse style home. We chose a contemporary patio design: an array of bluestone rectangles with grass joints. The poolside garden is a magnificent pollinator perennial garden featuring northeast natives.

Read more about this landscape design project in Fairfield County on our previous blogs: Pool Landscaping & Modern Design & Build.

Rectilinear flagstone patio with grass joints for a modern hardscape design in Greenwich, CT.

GJL also planted the front entrance garden and front landscape garden that creates a frame around the organic front lawn.

The front entrance walkway makes a statement with its modern design, while perennials soften and provide much-need color and nectar.

#2 Front Yard Pollinator Garden Lawn Replacement | Stamford, CT

A symphony of color where once was a monotonous green lawn.

Bravo to another client who realized the futility of their front lawn! We had so much fun removing this front lawn and replacing it with a pollinator garden featuring native perennials, shrubs and grasses!

This front yard now creates habitat for innumerable pollinators and birds — a true Certified Wildlife Habitat.

Check out the entire project on our previous blog Front Yard Pollinator Garden in Fairfield County, and in our Portfolio Gallery!

Watch the video below — a compilation of pollinator footage filmed by our client, all in this small front yard!

Colorful native perennials create a dynamic home for pollinators.

#3 Hillside Gardens, Stream Construction & Pool Landscaping | New Canaan

Perennials help stabilize this steep slope, and provide critical habitat for butterflies, bees and birds.

This property is in its second year of phased landscape design. We were originally hired to construct a naturalistic stream leading to an existing koi pond, and to plant the hillside next to it with a pollinator habitat garden.

Naturalistic constructed stream / waterfall adds circulation and aeration to the koi pond.

Fieldstone steps add to the rustic design and integrate seamlessly with the hillside garden.

In the second year, we updated the pool-side garden to be more ecologically-friendly (it mostly consisted of annuals before). We also weeded and planted the rear steep slope with soil stabilizing natives that are a continuation of the pollinator habitat from the stream side garden.

Ferns and perennials makeup this lush poolside garden.

Rustic gardens around the pool befit this bucolic farmhouse estate in New Canaan, CT

Follow the progression at this Fairfield County, CT property on our previous blogs from year one and year two, as well as our Portfolio gallery.

#4 Rooftop Terrace Container Gardens for Pollinators | Stamford, CT

Pollinator-attracting container garden brightens up this fifth story terrace.

You don’t need a yard to have impact! We designed this terrace garden in Stamford for seasonal impact and ecological value: annuals and perennials that attract pollinators and birds even from five stories up! We typically spruce up a few containers twice a year for spring/summer and fall/winter. The others contain strong year-round architectural elements– evergreens or ornamental grasses.

Juniper and trailing Creeping Jenny add height and depth to the garden.

Ornamental grasses and birches were part of an earlier iteration of the terrace design.

Learn more about the project on our previous blog: Rooftop Landscape Design & Installation w Native Plants.

#5 Certified Wildlife Habitat Bird Sanctuary | Landscape Design in Fairfield County

Learn more about the project on our previous blogs: Designing a Bird Sanctuary Part One & Part Two.

Our passion is all aspects of landscape design in Fairfield county, from full-scale property designs to in-house construction, installation and organic maintenance.

Green Jay Landscape Design has served the community of Westchester County, New York with ecological landscape design, landscape construction, and sustainable land stewardship for ten years! Our founder and president Jay Archer has over thirty years of experience transforming outdoor spaces into natural oases that improve both our clients’ quality of life and the local environment. Read Jay’s story here. We’ve re-imagined countless outdated landscapes into functional spaces using native plants and ecosystems as our inspiration. Looking back at the last ten years, some projects are true stand outs. Below are our top ten landscape design projects in Westchester County EVER!

We would love to work with you! Please fill out a form or give us a call at 914-560-6570 to schedule a consultation.

Note: this blog has been updated! Read the archival post here.

European form meets native planting in this lakeside parterre garden.

#1 Ecological Parterre Garden

We absolutely loved the design intent here: reimagine the classic European parterre garden with ecologically valuable native plants.

Detail shot of one of four garden beds within the parterre. Designed and installed by Green Jay Landscape Design.

We designed a planting that was less rigidly symmetrical as the traditional style but used repetition to connect the individual parterre gardens. The upper terraces received new natural stone walkways and a patchwork of shade-loving ground covers.

River rock bio swale with an ecological planting on either side aids with stormwater management.

Vegetated, river rock bioswales direct stormwater intentionally through the front slope.

From the client:

“We had heard wonderful things about Green Jay, and love their respect for the environment, but didn’t know if they would want to work around our firmly held vision of an English country cottage garden. Boy did they! They took our dream and created a reality so stunning we (and our neighbors and casual walkers-by) are in heaven. Blossoming times and colors seem to have been perfectly executed so that there is interest in all seasons. Bumblebees, butterflies, and hummingbirds abound. Jay has checked in frequently to see how things are coming and responded quickly to requests for additional help elsewhere on our property. We absolutely couldn’t be happier!”

Natural stone walkway lined with native ground covers for an elegant entrance to the main garden.

Read the full project blog and portfolio case study.

A trio of garden terraces progresses from formal entryway to wild habitat as you navigate the backyard slope.

#2 Naturalistic Terrace Gardens

This property had an impressive series of existing terraces to navigate the backyard slope, but the plantings were tired, traditional, and overgrown. We incorporated native plants for pollinators and birds in a naturalistic, matrix planting to effectively soften the hardscape.

Around the pergola, we chose high-impact summer bloomers: Anabelle hydrangea, Coneflower, Russian Sage.

Perennials for pollinators and spilling ground cover softens the powerful natural stone staircase.

The stone steps leading to the pergola received a rock garden plant palette of cascading ground covers.

The sun dial is a visual focal point as well as a spatial juncture between three paths.

In the formal entrance off the backyard, we designed a symmetrical planting to guide the gaze toward the sun dial focal point.

Hedges of hydrangea make a tidy border for a more biodiverse hillside planting.

Read about the full project blog here

#3 Backyard Courtyard with Natural Stone Masonry

The inspiration for this backyard renovation was the mature trees that encircle the space, lending a sense of enclosure and intimacy. GJLD designed a courtyard garden featuring a natural stone patio off the house for dinning, entertaining, and relaxing, and several stone paths that meander through the garden. Benches are strategically placed throughout the garden for unique viewpoints of the landscape.

Naturalisitc plantings and natural stone – a natural pairing!

GJLD designed a cottage-style native planting that looks stunning year-round. From the earliest spring bulbs to the architectural red and yellow twig dogwoods in fall and winterberries in winter, this landscape provides food for wildlife and visual stimulation 365 days a year.

Garden stroll paths that lead to seating nooks – two ways to contemplate the garden.

In the words of the client:
“I am sure that my words will not do justice to the happiness that Jay and his wonderful team have brought me. They transformed a plain yard into the most glorious garden! It is peaceful, serene and my most favorite place for morning coffee. I would never hesitate to use Green Jay Landscaping, Jay really listens to what you want and then makes the dream a living reality. They are truly marvelous.”

This landscape design invites quiet strolls through the circular paths

Learn more about our natural stone masonry construction, landscape design process, and organic installation on our project blog and portfolio case study.

A prairie-style native planting for this full sun pool area in Westchester, NY.

#4 Native Pool Landscaping & Entry Courtyard

This stunning Westchester property had a decades old landscape that was overgrown and outdated. We transplanted the non-native miscanthus from the pool area, creating a new ornamental grass within the backyard lawn. The pool area got a planting redesign with an emphasis on long-blooming summer perennials.

In fall, asters, golden rod, and pink muhly grass keep the show running and the late-season pollinators fed.

We love how the warm summer perennial colors pop against the white picket fence.

Entry courtyard layout featuring lush, cottage style garden beds.

For the front entry courtyard, we added new garden beds along the walkway and fence, adding a wealth of native plants to the mostly exotic existing plant material.

Vegetable garden with pollinator-attracting perennial and grass border.

The vegetable garden received a perennial and grass border to help attract pollinators and yield more veggies and herbs.

Read all about the project on our blog and portfolio case study.

Backyard fire pit nook with native plantings and natural stone masonry. Designed and constructed by GJLD.

#5 Celestial Wild Garden with Waterscape, Lawn Removal

This landscape renovation began at the early days of Green Jay and has been a continuously edited and expanded upon over the last ten years. The original scope of work was to remove the backyard lawn entirely and design a waterscape and native woodland garden.

Constructed waterfall and stream contribute a multitude of habitat and ecosystem functions.

The waterscape features a constructed waterfall, stream, and fishpond with bog plants along its borders.

Streams provide drinking and bathing sources for wildlife, and also dragonfly habitat (a natural mosquito predator).

A series of paths from a variety of natural materials – woodchip, gravel, and natural stone – wind through the garden to various seating nooks. Kinetic garden sculptures are focal points throughout the landscape.

Gravel stroll paths culminate in a central sculpture.

Before the backyard transformation, the client rarely used the backyard because of the insufferable number of mosquitos – the property borders a 22-acre wetland. Since the native plant transformation and waterscape construction, there are far more mosquito predators (dragonflies!) and the client enjoys daily walks through the garden.

Front walkway framed by naturalistic planting navigates from front entrance to backyard.

Recently, the front lawn was completely removed and planted in a gradient of full sun to full shade. The color and curb appeal is unmeasured, and the biodiversity unparalleled.

Roadside perennial makes a statement! And delivers habitat for countless insects and birds.

Learn more about the project in our portfolio case study.

#6 Shady Hillside Planting

Sometimes design constraints produce the most innovative thinking. For this property, a small steep slope made up most of the backyard. By designing a natural stone staircase that turns into a woodchip path, the clients can enjoy more of their backyard.

Native woodland understory garden in Westchester, NY.

GJLD designed a series of shady garden terraces with adjacent gravel seating areas. The planting is composed of native woodland understory plants – shrubs, evergreens, grasses, perennials, and groundcover.

Terraced gravel seating area expands the useable space of the backyard slope.

The backyard patio was reconstructed with natural stone, to match the new staircase and overall naturalsitic aesthetic.

Natural flagstone patio elevates outdoor entertaining.

The full sun front yard received a makeover to create more pollinator habitat, more biodiversity and sequester more carbon dioxide than the lawn it replaced.

High impact pollinator garden in a high visibility area – we love to see it!

Stunning summer plant combinations for the front yard garden. Designed and installed by GJLD.

Read all about the project on our blog!

Perennial and grass border for effortless garden beauty (and habitat) all summer long.

#7 Certified Wildlife Habitat with Natural Swimming Pond; Front Lawn Removal

Another property that has evolved wonderfully over the years, gradually removing more and more lawn, leaving it only where it serves a function! We started with the backyard, removing about a third of the lawn to construct a natural swimming pond with bog garden filtration.

Bird eye view of the landscape plan for the backyard.

Constructed waterfall cascades into a Natural Swimming Pond.

To retain the backyard border planting, we reconstructed the sea wall in the channel that the backyard borders. Then, we had ample space to plant a diverse, contemporary, salt-tolerant border.

Bench framed by perennial border, with sea channel and pond focal points.

A few years later, we removed the entire front lawn, replacing it with spreading groundcovers and dwarf shrubs for a low maintenance front yard garden.

Learn more about the project in our portfolio case study.

Sitting boulders offer a whimsical gathering space to enjoy the expansive gardens.

#8 Ecological Playscape with Woodland Trail

GJLD designed this backyard with the objective of making it a family friendly escape, with plenty of nooks, trails, and play areas to entice everyone outside. We added native perennials and ornamental grasses to modernize the pool area planting and designed an expansive pollinator garden on the outside of the stone wall surrounding the pool area. The property had many mature tree and shrub plantings but lacked herbaceous diversity and continuous color!

Updated pool border features ornamental grasses and long-blooming summer perennials.

We also directed gutters from the house into a rain garden to aid with stormwater management.

This woodland stroll trail invites you to get lost in the great outdoors.

Encircling the backyard border, beneath a mature tree canopy, we designed a meandering stroll path, dubbed by the client’s daughters the fairy trail.

Learn more about the property on our blog and portfolio case study.

Central patio overlooks a series of garden terraces.

#9 Permaculture Terrace Garden

This client wanted to transform a weedy sloped front yard into a permaculture paradise. GJLD designed garden terraces navigated by woodchip paths, increasing the functionality of the space, and acting as erosion prevention. A natural stone staircase navigates the slope and connects the two pathways.

Garden terraces are interspersed with woodchip walkways on this hillside property

The pathways culminate in a natural stone patio overlooking the landscape. A recirculating waterfall completes the nature immersion transformation.

The planting is a mix of native plants and vegetables, herbs, and fruits. This was such a fun project!

Tomatoes next to perennials for a true permaculture approach to the front yard!

Read all the project details on our portfolio case study.

Pollinator perennials, ferns and shrubs for the front landscape

#10 Hillside, Front Yard Native Garden

Probably our favorite front yard transformation to date! We renovated a weedy monoculture front yard into a biodiverse native garden ranging from part shade to full sun. The plant biodiversity translates directly to insect biodiversity and the client has become an amateur etymologist!

Sneezeweed, Daisies and Coneflower are pollinator favorites.

We extended the planting to the sidewalk hell strip (with permission) – it completes the composition! Recently we added ferns and woodland perennials to the side yard along the existing stream.

After removing invasives by hand and re-planting.

Learn more about the project on our Portfolio and blog.

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Green Jay Landscape Design

Where Design Meets Ecology

914.560.6570

Jay dives into one of the most important tasks on your fall landscape maintenance checklist: feed your shrubs and ornamental trees!

Always choose natural-source products for an organic landscape. We look for the OMRI-approved label. Plants must also be fed according to their pH preferences — some plants prefer a more acidic environment, some prefer more alkaline, and some are happy right in the middle. We collect soil tests at each property and send them to Rutgers to ensure we know exactly what base level pH, organic matter and nutrient content are in the soil.

Pesticides are NEVER part of our holistic land care program. They kill indiscriminately and are especially troublesome for beneficial insects and pollinators. Synthetic fertilizers are a “cheap fix” of nutrients, but do nothing to improve the health of the soil, and the soil microbes that develop partnerships at plants’ roots. Synthetic fertilizers can actually weaken plants’ immune systems, not to mention their impact on eutrophication of freshwater bodies.

Learn more about or Organic Land Management program and contact us about your ecological landscaping project! 914-560-6570.

In residential landscape design and landscape architecture, concrete can be largely avoided. Below we’ve outlined our go-to alternative hardscape materials that don’t require concrete use.

This is Part Two of our series on concrete. Catch up on part one, The Hidden Cost of Concrete and Cement, where we examine the human health and environmental consequences of pervasive concrete.

Natural Source Front Walkway: irregular fieldstone on a stone dust base allows for interplanted with “steppables” for a beautiful green entrance.

Natural Stone, Superior to Pavers

For high-use or more formal residential hardscape areas, such as front walkways, patios, and staircases, we most often use natural stone on a stone dust base. From a design perspective, natural stone lends an irreplaceable sense of permanence, timelessness, and grandeur.

Natural bluestone and fieldstone are combined in these front entry walkways and landing.

Since it is a natural product, there are no manufacturing emissions, unlike for concrete pavers. There are of course are some emissions associated with transporting stone, and a degree of environmental disturbance involved with quarrying, but New York State regulates quarries and requires them to properly dispose of waste and replace and restore the “overburden” – the rocks and dirt removed to reach the harvestable stone.

BEFORE PHOTO: client’s existing concrete paver walkway. The grade has warped and the scale of the pavers leaves much to be desired aesthetically.

That brings us to another benefit – locally sourced materials. We use local landscape supply companies, such as Bedford Gravel and Prospero, which source their stone from New York and Pennsylvania and New England. Using local quarries cuts down on transportation emissions and also achieves a design aesthetic that aligns with the sense of place and history for each property. For example, Bluestone is a unique and beautiful form of sandstone only quarried in NY and PA; using it in our landscapes celebrates this natural resource

AFTER: large natural fieldstone on a stone dust base creates a grand front entry that avoids the negative effects of concrete.

Natural stone also has superior durability and lifespan – it will last forever with very minimal maintenance. Concrete pavers, on the other hand, have usable lifespan of just 25 years.

When it comes to recycling or repurposing, concrete pavers also fall short. Although they can in theory be recycled into composite for roadways, it is difficult to find such vendors to accept it. Often, it is less expensive for the homeowner to take it to a landfill than to transport it to a recycling vendor. Natural stone, on the other hand, does not lose its value or function, it can be easily repurposed into a number of stone applications.

Installation of rectilinear bluestone walkway on stone dust base — no concrete needed! Greenwich, CT.

Natural can be modern! Rectilinear fieldstone patio with grass joints.

“Soft Base” Versus Concrete

Natural stone patios, walkways, walls, and staircases can be constructed on either a soft base (a mix of gravel and stone dust ) or a hard base (concrete). Concrete is valuable in extremely high traffic public areas, but is mostly unnecessary in residential landscapes, barring pool construction. To construct a soft base, we excavate and fill with 6-8″ of Item 4 gravel that we compact at 2″ intervals to ensure long-lasting stability that can withstand freezing. The stone is then laid on 1″ of stone dust. In choosing to construct a soft base over concrete, we keep all of our building materials natural-source, and avoiding the leaching, pollution, and potential respiratory harm associated with concrete.

Fieldstone staircase installed using “rammed Earth” technique, lined with river rock to improve drainage and for a natural aesthetic. Hastings, NY.

Gravel

Gravel is another natural-source material with a wide variety of applications in the landscape, from driveways to garden paths to patios to stormwater infrastructure.

The biggest benefit of using gravel as a hardscape material is its permeability – that is, its ability to allow stormwater to infiltrate through it and eventually return to the aquifer. Gravel has natural filtration qualities at well that remove impurities collected during runoff.

Gravel and wood chip pathways are an environmentally-sound hardscape choice because of their permeability — especially important at this Hastings, NY property that was prone to erosion because of the steep slope.

Some clients worry about gravel migrating to other parts of their landscape, but installing landscape edging simply and elegantly solves this problem. We apply OMRI-approved organic herbicide sprays to suppress weeds in gravel.

Gravel walkways with landscape edging prevent the gravel from migrating into the garden beds.

Gravel driveway lined with boulders in Irvington, NY.

Porous Pave

Porous Pave is a fantastic innovation made of recycled rubber and a special bonding agent that allows water to run through it. Check out our video Stormwater Lab: Porous Pave vs Asphalt for a powerful demonstration!

Porous Pave’s lifespan is far superior to asphalt and does not require any re-applications throughout its lifetime (although it does require some periodic cleaning to ensure dust is not clogging the pores and reducing permeability).

Wood Chips

Wood chips are a great low-cost solution for garden pathways and playground bases. They are permeable, easy to install, and align perfectly with a naturalistic landscape design. We like to use milled cedar woodchips in these applications; the lighter color contrasts with the dark brown mulch we generally use in our garden beds. For playground bases, the cedar wood repels insects, making it a safe landing spot for children. Building codes actually specify ‘Playground Mulch’ as cedar wood chips.

As you can see, almost of all our preferred materials are natural-source. We believe that with sustainable harvesting practices, these materials are more environmentally-sound than manufactured materials, and they deliver superior durability and design aesthetic.

For more examples of our hardscape work, check out our ‘Stone’ photo gallery.

We see concrete everywhere. It’s ubiquitous in buildings, highways, infrastructure, sidewalks, homes, patios, and walkways. It’s cheap, strong and relatively predictable, but for too long we’ve collectively overlooked the cost of concrete: the human health impacts, the immense greenhouse gas emissions from its production, and the environmental consequences of our impermeable concrete world.

Emissions Associated with Concrete Production

Concrete is made from aggregate (sand, gravel or a combination), water and cement. Creating cement is incredibly emissions intensive: for every one-ton of cement produced, one-ton of CO₂ is emitted. That ratio is actually lower than some other materials like iron and steel, however given the prevalence of concrete the cumulative impact is great.

Pouring concrete. Image courtesy of equipmentcontracting.com

Shockingly, if concrete were a country it would rank third in the world of GHG emitters – right behind China and the US. It’s CO₂ emissions amount to 8% of global anthropogenic emissions, an annual 2 billion tons! To put that in perspective, it is triple that of the aviation industry.

Global cement CO2 emissions from 1920 – 2007. Graph courtesy of Geos Technologies.

Concrete is the second most used substance on Earth, behind water.

Cement: Energy & Emissions Intensive

Globally, 9 billion tons of cement are produced annually, mostly for use in concrete

Limestone is a key ingredient of cement, and 2/3 of the emissions associated with cement production result from the calcification of limestone. That is, using very high temperatures to separate limestone (CaCO₃) into lime (CaO) with CO₂ as a byproduct.

The remaining GHG emissions associated with cement production are from burning fossil fuels and purchasing electricity.

Cement manufacturing plant. Image courtesy of Understanding Cement.

Then, the lime is mixed with silica products (creating what is know as “clinker”) and finally with gypsum to make cement – Portland cement is the most widely used.

Silica, it turns out, is extremely dangerous as an inhalable dust, and some European countries have categorized it as a carcinogen. We’ll further discuss the human health impacts below.

Respirable Crystalline Silica is airborne silica dust released from cutting or demolishing concrete; it is extremely harmful to lungs. Photo courtesy of Minnesota Occupational Health.

Human Health Consequences of Concrete

Cement poses a number of serious health problems. Wet cement is extremely toxic and can cause caustic burns to the skin if touched – this is because of its extreme alkalinity (a pH of 12 or higher). Serious burns can occur if the cement exposure goes undetected and remains on the skin; some of these alkaline burns can even reach the tissue, muscle and bone.

Healthy lung versus lungs exposed to silica, developing silicosis. Image courtesy of Canadian Design and Construction Report.

Dry cement is dangerous as well. When cutting, drilling or demolishing concrete, silica dust or RSC – respirable crystalline silica – can be inhaled, severely inhibiting lung function over time. Silicosis is a condition where scarring of the lung tissue occurs from inhaling RSC, causing chronic wheezing, arthritis, cancer, and reduced life expectancy. RSC can also lead to asthma, pulmonary disorders, and kidney disease.

Environmental Impact of Concrete

As we mentioned concrete is a strong, relatively durable material. It is also impermeable to stormwater, contributing broadly the problem of polluted runoff and greater disturbance of aquatic environments.

Instead of designing landscape systems to capture valuable stormwater to percolate into aquifers, most development sought to pave, pipe and displace stormwater, letting it accumulate pollutants from industrial surfaces (concrete, asphalt, roofing) in the process. Most people do not realize that storm drains and municipal stormwater infrastructure does not treat the polluted water; it simply transports it – directly into streams and rivers. Stormwater pollution has vast consequences for our freshwater environments.

Stormwater run-off collecting in a storm drain, surrounded by a concrete sidewalk and road.

Furthermore, there is evidence that concrete itself can leach into the environment and raise the pH of the surrounding soil or water. One study found that freshly cured concrete (4 days or less) is most likely to leach – in one example, newly cured and installed culvert pipes raised the pH of the water around it to 11 (waters normal pH is 7). Vast fluctuations of pH have implications for the survival of plants and organisms that live in that local environment and are accustomed to more moderate pH levels.

Final Words on Concrete, Cement

Perhaps after reading this blog you also concur that concrete’s costs outweigh its benefits in most applications. At Green Jay Landscape Design, we’ve pledged to avoid using concrete as much as possible. The health risks from silica inhalation, the emissions associated with its manufacturing, and the direct environmental impacts from its impermeability make it a losing material in our opinion Stay tuned for our follow up post: GJL’s Ecological Hardscape Alternative to Concrete.