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Philly’s Healthy Outdoor Public Spaces Bill

On October 30^th, Jay Archer testified before the Philadelphia City Council on behalf of Toxic Free Philly and in support of City Council Bill #200425, Healthy Outdoor Public Spaces (HOPS), to ban pesticides on public land in Philadelphia.

The bill proposes to “eliminate the use of toxic herbicides on publicly owned grounds and establish transparent and public reporting protocols for all pesticides used on public lands.”

If passed, this landmark environmental and public health legislation will finally standardize organic land management on city-owned parks and properties – the first step toward creating safe and ecologically valuable landscapes.

City Councilwoman Cindy Bass introduced the bill on September 10, 2020 with a team of co-sponsors including Parker, Jones, Thomas, Domb, Gilmore-Richardson, Johnson, Gautier, and Kendra Brooks

Learn more by reading the legislature and a fact sheet about the bill.

Pesticides, Public Health & Public Land

Philadelphia currently has no record keeping system of the date and quantity of pesticides being applied to publicly owned lands. This is especially dangerous given the extremely toxic chemicals in the city’s landscaping arsenal and their indiscriminate impact on the larger environment and human health.

Regularly used synthetic pesticides including Glyphosate and 2,4D have been linked to cancer, endocrine disruption, liver disease, kidney damage, reproductive issues and birth defects. See the full chart of health impacts for the most 30 commonly used pesticides, developed by Beyond Pesticides.

Public parks are a public good, where many Philadelphians find respite in the fresh air and greenery. They don’t realize they are walking, sitting and playing in areas of toxic exposure that compromise their health, especially for vulnerable populations like children and the elderly. This proposed ban on pesticides on public land is a long overdue public health and safety measure.

A pesticide free park sign in Reno, NV. Photo by KUNR.org

Jay Archer’s Testimony

After testifying in front of NYC’s city council for a similar proposal in fall of 2019, Jay was approached by Toxin Free Philly to provide expert testimony, as both an environmental advocate and professional organic land care provider, at the Philadelphia City Council haring on the bill. Below is his testimony.

Good Morning City Council Members. My name is Jay Archer, I am a landscape ecologist and designer and the president of Green Jay Landscape Design, an organic and ecological landscape company based in Rye, New York.

Before starting Green Jay, I began my landscape career as a traditional synthetic lawn care provider. Over the last thirty years, I have witnessed the destructive impacts of pesticides on landscape environments and human health; it inspired my transformation to ecological, organic landscaping. I am in strong support of the HOPS bill.

So, what exactly is the issue with synthetic landscape management? Many of the most widely used pesticides in the landscape industry have already been banned in parts of Europe, Canada, and hundreds of municipalities in the US (see map). For example:

Glyphosate – the key ingredient in Roundup (the most applied herbicide in the world) –banned or restricted in municipalities around the world due to carcinogenic properties and residual in food crops.

Dicamba — Banned or restricted for farming because of cross contamination in food crops and surrounding environment.

2,4 D — Persistent endocrine disrupter, also linked to neurotoxicity, kidney and liver damage.

No one anywhere can sincerely claim these products are safe!

Simple field test: would you want your children to apply these products or to be directly or indirectly exposed to them?

If you could smell them, either in concentrate or in the field, your nose would recognize them as toxic poisons!

What is the main use and objection to bans and restrictions on this generation of toxic chemicals?
The number one purpose for herbicides is to kill, suppress or eliminate plants.

Take invasive or unwanted plants and Roundup: Glyphosate is used because it’s cheap, dirty and easy.

Is it cheap?

Not in terms of sustainability or resilience in the landscape.

What about the real cost to human health?

In the midst of a epidemic of respiratory and immune system stress, when many of our children suffer from environmentally generated disease, from asthma to autism to leukemia, and adults from Alzheimer’s, cancer, etc, can we continue to believe there are no connections to how we treat our living landscape environments, where we work, eat, sleep and breathe?

Why is it so convenient to ignore the social justice impact? Cities provide parks as a benefit to urban communities that lack green space, yet they contaminate those prized outdoor areas with toxic pesticides! Why not make a positive model to truly serve the communities who need it most. Demonstrate our collective good will, now!

In my career as a pesticide applicator, contractor and professional consultant, I have spent considerable time and funding attempting to eradicate weeds with synthetic chemicals.

Many of these municipal projects are initially successful in temporarily removing vegetation, allowing for the installation of ambitious, expensive ‘ecological’ restoration projects. However, it soon becomes apparent that without funding for maintenance, the original vegetation/invasive species return. In part due to the negative effects on soil biology from spraying pesticides, poor planning and execution of replacement plantings, and lack of follow through with maintenance and management.

No one asked the question: why do the plants grow there?

Largest local case in point: Meadowlands Phragmites eradication program failure.

Phragmites is a non-native wetland reed grass that grows and spreads rapidly, especially in disturbed wetland or marsh environments. Millions were spent to attempt to remove the invasive species – at what cost? Scalping the marsh with machinery to remove the thick mat of rhizomes can impact the overall wetland topography and ecology; the other common method is applying herbicides, which in turn leak into the aquatic environment. These projects overlook the fact that Phragmites is so well adapted to cleaning pollutants from the water it became a dominant plant community and monoculture! Taking away the phragmities water filter is clearly unsustainable!

Tremendous amounts of labor and material cost on projects such as these have resulted in non-quantifiable long-term results. By killing soil microbes and naturally occurring soil organisms, we sterilize the ground, creating a habitat much more likely to be populated by more infamous invasives, who exudate hormones and enzymes to sterilize the ground/soil around them (ie. Norway Maples).

Many so-called invasive species are actually highly functional in providing ecosystem services.

Case in point: along all parkways in downstate New York, “invasive, undesirable” vines are choking the trees and altering the landscape; why, is it because these plants do a better job of growing with hydrocarbon exhaust in these auto-congested environments?

Should we remove them? At what cost? Is it even possible? And then what?

If we intend to replace them, we must design improvements, starting with the soil biology.

We must plant improved aggressive species in some cases.

In design, construction and consulting of ecological landscape projects, we need to look to the soil. Healthy soil, teeming with microbes, is the essential foundation for an organic landscape.

Applying synthetic fertilizers and pesticides destroys the soil microbial communities that strengthen plants’ immune systems. Instead, synthetics provide quick but unsustainable nutrition, and by “eliminating pests,” they also destroy valuable pollinators and beneficial insects upon which our native plants depend on to complete their life cycles.

Philly has done a good job cleaning up the water with successful storm water mitigation, riparian buffers, and rain gardens. Organic landscaping is the future, now!

These organic land management systems, if properly maintained, will conserve, protect and preserve our precious natural resources for future generations. We need to turn our solutions back to nature, for example: bio-engineering and constructed or structural soils for green spaces in urban environments.

Water, however does not clean soil. Plants clean water and soil and provide the biological diversity necessary to support life on Earth.

We cannot go backwards to a more pristine time in nature, certainly not by killing plants and soil biology, indiscriminately, with no regard for how ecosystems operate.

To survive the damage we have already caused by our disproportionately built environments (impervious vs. porous), we need every green space available to be a highly productive, Carbon Net Positive landscape environment. We can solve our climate challenges by putting the carbon displaced in the atmosphere to work for us!

For our environment to be healthy and resilient we need uncontaminated, highly biologically productive and functioning soil systems, plants and water working together to produce clean air and sequester carbon. In ecological terms, we look to regenerative landscape systems for the solution.

I have spent years of my life in the foolish pursuit of the weed free landscape, by killing it and myself, while pretending to embrace and cherish the natural environment, mostly in pursuit of profit. I am guilty…but I can change.

I have changed my world. I live in a much better place, in every way because first:

I do no harm.

The time for excuses and objections are long gone. The technologies are here, now, available and accessible.

Don’t try to tell me we can’t live without these toxic pesticides.

We live a fuller, healthier more productive existence without Clordane and DDT

I refer you to the EIQ or environmental impact quotient formula to reduce pesticide use.

The solution isn’t more cheap, fast food; it’s investment in more successful enduring health and longevity!

It’s not necessarily about product substitutions or one size fits all…that never worked! Environmentally sound policy and practices are economically sound and beneficial to all.

Let’s stop throwing our money away and at the problem. The public deserves healthy landscape environments to recreate in and reap the many benefits of the outdoors – not to suffer from undisclosed toxic exposures.

I am in strong support of City Council Bill #200425, Healthy Outdoor Public Spaces. Thank you to the Chair and members of the Committee for hearing my testimony.

—

Jay Archer

Landscape Ecologist, Designer, President

Green Jay Landscape Design

914-560-6570

Cover photo: M. KENNEDY/VISIT PHILADELPHIA™

This long-awaited pond and wetland restoration project was finally completed last week, after years of permitting and fluctuating site conditions. The scope of work involved constructing a concrete dam at the outflow of the pond, to maintain the pond’s water level, thereby upholding a functioning pond ecosystem.

The pond in fall, with the last remaining blooms from the wildflower & grass riparian buffer.

Landscape Site Conditions

No doubt, this is a rare and special property, spanning a range of ecosystems.

Full property view showing the range of ecotypes and habitats: upland field & forest, wet meadow, riparian buffer, pond and forested wetland.

In the rear of the property, a mature forested wetland borders a wet meadow and freshwater pond, surround by a riparian buffer; and closer to the home, upland habitat both forest and fields.

Black-eyed Susan makes a fabulous permitter around the pond, while preventing nutrient-loading and providing pollinator habitat.

This landscape is diverse and mature, an exhilarating example of the potential for carbon sequestration, habitat creation, and stormwater and soil conservation on every property.

The organic wet meadow in late summer, featuring goldenrod and New York ironweed.

It represents both a naturalistic landscape design and strategic ecological management of existing ecosystems (forest, meadow) to optimize the ecological potential and productiveness.

Another view of the organic wet meadow with the mowed walking path.

Pond Site Conditions & History

The one-acre pond in South Salem, NY is fed by Truesdale Lake via the Waccabuc River. The pond can experience extreme vacillations in water level, especially in the fall when the lake association performs a draw down, sending a surge of water downstream. Previously, there had been a temporary wooden dam in the same spot that eventually succumbed to the water pressure.

The forest wetland ecosystem borders the one-acre pond; the whole system is part of the NYC watershed.

In the summer months especially during a drought, the pond water level can drop significantly, bordering on a swamp / bog environment. Swamps, although valuable in terms of flood mitigation, run the risk of becoming mosquito-breeding grounds and are less desirable residential landscape features.

Swamps are mosquito breeding habitats. Photo by National Geographic.

Mosquito habitats bear the added public health risk of spreading diseases such as West Nile. We can design and manage landscapes to naturally discourage mosquito habitat, without using toxic chemicals. Learn more on our previous blog, Landscape Design for Natural Mosquito Control.

Vegetative riparian border circles the entire perimeter of the pond, absorbing runoff and preventing erosion.

Healthy, freshwater pond ecosystems such as this one naturally reduce mosquito potential by providing food, habitat and healthy competition among precious species.

Permitting & Engineering

To make things more complicated, this wetland system is part of the watershed that feeds New York City, entering another tier of environmental protections and additional permits required. The entire project was permitted and monitored by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.

Lovely seating area beneath mature trees around the perimeter of the pond.

We partnered with JMC, an engineering, planning and landscape architecture firm, who developed the engineering and construction plans for the dam, as well as detailed site protection instructions. JMC also conducted site inspections throughout the project. Special thanks to David Lombardi for being a great communicator and a pleasure to work with!

Designing Riparian Borders for Water Quality

The client wanted to preserve the pond environment, and to do so, we needed to maintain a consistent water level to support the aquatic plants and organisms.

Panoramic view of the pond with the native wildflower riparian border.

The pond perimeter was seeded with the Riparian Buffer Mix, Obligate Wetland Mix, and the Showy Northeast Wildflower & Grass Mix, all from Ernst Seed, to create a native vegetative border between the upper lawn and the pond area. This border effectively prevents nutrient-loading in the pond by intercepting stormwater runoff from the lawn. GJL also seeded winter rye for quick germination and soil stabilization while the other wildflowers and grasses filled in.

The wildflower riparian buffer in fall featuring native asters and goldenrod.

Native plants, especially wetland plants, naturally uptake and bio-filter water of pollutants. Of course, they also provide habitat for our native pollinators and birds; of extra importance for this property, given the surrounding forest and high bird activity.

Asters and goldenrod are both favorite late-season pollen sources for pollinators, and look fabulous paired together.

The designed vegetative border provides essential fringe and transition habitats for wildlife. Adjacent to the pond is a managed wet meadow, which also attracts a plethora of pollinators and birds. Learn more about this Organic Meadow Management on our previous blog post.

The carbon sequestration power of the wet meadow/riparian border and the mature forest is inspiring and a model of ecological land use.

Panoramic view of the organic wet meadow in summer, with mowed walking paths.

Site Protection in a Wetland Environment

GJL followed strict site protection protocols, as defined in our DEC permit. We installed a construction road to transport materials and constructed a temporary silt-fence to prevent sediment from washing into the pond (preserving water quality).

Construction road leading to dam site, and silt fence on the right (surrounding pond).

To divert the water from the future dam area, we installed a coffer dam made of sandbags and pond liner and staged a “de-watering area.”

Jay working on the sand bag and pond liner coffer dam, site development for the concrete dam.

GJL also installed a culvert pipe to allow water to overflow into the rear forested wetland during times of high-water volume.

Green Jay Crew carrying the culvert pipe to be installed to send excess pond water into the wetland.

Residential Concrete Dam Construction

We faced a number of delays because of the ever-fluctuating water level, but at last we were able to divert the water and begin dam construction.

Culvert pipe and overflow water (during construction process)

Jose and his team from J-R-One Contracting framed the dam, poured the concrete, and finished each side with a stone veneer. The resulting dam is far more structurally sound and more beautiful than the previous wooden dam.

Framing the dam and pouring the concrete, thanks J-R-One!

Installing the stone veneer on either side of the dam for a polished look.

A wooden walking bridge constructed adjacent to the dam was extended 10′ longer than the original design plan, due to erosion of the banks over the years.

The finished wooden walking bridge next to the the dam.

view of the concrete dam construction, and the coffer dam in background holding back pond water.

Now, with the means to maintain a consistent water level, the aquatic ecosystem has a chance to restore itself. We can’t wait to see how this diverse pond ecosystem thrives!

Stream corridor restoration and channel modeling was also necessary after dam construction, to allow for proper flow elevations and hydrology. The hydrology has changed significantly since we began the permitting process six years ago; the past three years received extraordinarily high rainfall (bordering on a temperate rain forest) and a resulting high water table.

GJL also seeded the former construction road with more native wildflower mix, which will again help to connect the wet meadow with the riparian border.

Culvert pipe & over flow area with finished grading around it.

The pond now has the foundation and structure to maintain it’s water level and ecology.

A thriving aquatic and terrestrial habitat in South Salem, NY!

What a uniquely beautiful site this Holmes, NY property is: lakefront, with an extremely steep hillside directly behind the house leading to the water. The slope is highly visible from the lake—the front of the house, from the boaters’ perspective—so we knew we had to elevate the landscape’s beauty and color. Hillside stabilization, preventing erosion and preserving the soil were essential ecological design criteria.

The site: a steep slope with large boulder features leading directly to the lake.

View from the boat. The lake view, as well as the existing staircase that extends the hillside, deserved a landscape updated with color and texture.

Soil in Crisis

Erosion is surely an overlooked environmental concern. Soil is one of our most precious resources, upon which humanity’s existence depends. Disconcertingly, it is not very renewable: it takes between 100 and 500 years to create one inch of topsoil (depending on climate and site conditions).

Soil erosion on farm land. Photo courtesy of Merrit or Myth.

It is estimated that in the US we are losing about 1% of our topsoil each year, largely due to industrial agriculture practices. One estimate reveals that 6 pounds of farmable soil are lost per every 1 pound of food eaten in the US. Our annual soil depletion rate is 18 times faster than the natural soil formation rate.

Sediment loading in the Chattahoochee River in Georgia. Photo courtesy of: USGS

Impact of Erosion

Erosion issues are especially poignant near waterways and waterbodies, like this lake in Holmes, NY. Sediment is listed by the EPA as the most common pollutant in waterbodies; furthermore, anthropogenic land use accelerates the erosion rate and accounts for 70% of sediment in waterways.

Sediment in the Green Bay in Wisconsin. Photo courtesy of University of Wisconsin.

Sediment in waterbodies poses a number of ecological problems including:

Resulting cloudiness in the water inhibits natural aquatic vegetation growth
Makes food harder to see and find for aquatic organisms and disrupts the foundation of the food chain, resulting in fish kills
Nutrients transported by soils can induce algal blooms, depleting oxygen in the water making it uninhabitable for many organisms and human recreation.
Sediment loading can alter the depth of rivers and lakes, impacting aquatic organisms and human recreation activities
These soil particles can clog fish gills, affecting growth and development
Sediment clogs storm drains and catch basins often leading to flooding
Often leads to expensive water treatment procedures to make water potable again

Designing on a Steep Hillside

Installing the native grasses, perennials, shrubs and ground cover on the hillside using an erosion blanket as a erosion control measure.

The design intent was clear; as Jay wrote in the Landscape Design Proposal:

We intend to create and construct a naturally beautiful hilltop landscape featuring low growing flowering native shrubs and grasses composed to convey peaceful tranquility. Your garden landscape will attract beneficial wildlife, birds and butterflies while providing enduring and sustainable stability to your lakeside retreat.

The scope of work included a vegetative removal phase, the installation of erosion control devices, and of course a strategic planting of mostly-native perennials, shrubs and grasses.

This will be achieved by manual and mechanical removal of unwanted vegetation (i.e. Sumac) to allow for elevating and contouring the grade by the addition of structural soil, engineered fill, natural boulders, erosion control devices (blanket netting) and planting with appropriate and attractive plant material for resilience and sustainabilisty (manageable maintenance).

Erosion blankets / netting cover the soil and are planted into, allowing the soil to be physically held in place while the plants root systems develop. Eventually the roots will work naturally to hold soil and the erosion blanket will biodegrade.

Step 2: install terraces for erosion control and add organic topsoil & compost mix.

Lower rock face escarpment to be denuded, where necessary, by removal of vegetative root mats, with the exception of proximity to existing trees that would be compromised.

Late afternoon light on the hillside. Ornamental grasses look spectacular in golden hour!

Picking Plants for a Steep Slope

This planting palette included ornamental grasses, which have deep root systems that are ideal for stabilizing sloped topography and look fabulous in the wind and full-sun, of which the site is abundant in.

Of course the mostly-native plant pallets will provide pollen and nectar sources for pollinators from spring-fall and nectar, seeds and berries for birds throughout the fall and winter months. Undoubtedly this project qualifies as a Pollinator Pathway site and fulfills criteria for Healthy Yards.

Hillside Garden Plants selected included:

Northern Sea Oats – this beautiful native grass is a favorite of birds including finches, native sparrows, juncos, and doves for both food (seedheads) and nesting materials. It is also the larval host plant for butterflies Pepper-and-salt Skipper, Bell’s Roadside-Skipper and Bronze Roadside-Skipper.

Northern Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) in fall ft. its fabulous & ecologically valuable seed heads!

Fountain Grass – A non-native grass that still provides fall/winter food in the form of seeds, and winter cover.

Switchgrass – Another native grass favorite, Switchgrass comes in beautiful cultivars like ‘Shenandoa’ and ‘Heavy Metal’. Songbirds feed on the seedbeds and the groups of the tall grass creates viable nesting sites as well.

Clethra – Summer-blooming native shrub that attracts native bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and more. It has a delicious sweet fragrance as well!

Blueberry – A permaculture superstar, blueberries are native shrubs that produce food for humans, birds and wildlife alike.

Fothergilla – a flowering shrub native to lowland and bog areas in the Eastern US. The beautiful spring-flowering, bottle-brush like flowers attract native bees and butterflies.

Gorgeous! This garden accentuates its natural features (stunning boulders), creates habitat for pollinators, and now preserves precious topsoil.

We can’t wait to see this garden fill in and develop. So far the erosion control measures are working and withstanding the week of rain we’ve had.

This organic meadow is now in its fourth year. Before our change in management practices, this field was a manicured lawn, one of many on the North Salem estate. Jay and the client agreed the area, as a lawn, was squandered potential and decided to convert it to a meadow simply by stopping the weekly mowing practices.

Native wildflowers act as a vegetative border between the lawn and the pond, an extension of the adjacent organic meadow.

Site Conditions for Meadow Making

Said area is adjacent to a large pond and bordered by forest, the perfect plot to connect two important habitats. The germination potential from the existing seedbank, the wetland, and all the local birds spreading seeds from the surrounding habitats was both encouraging and exciting. The full sun and moist soils were ripe to foster a new, organic meadow habitat. GJL also designed a riparian buffer of native wildflowers, an extension of the adjacent wet meadow. Riparian buffers are effective plantings designed to intercept stormwater runoff from the lawn before it reaches the pond and threatens eutrophication.

Goldenrod, aster and native grasses and forbs compose the late season meadow.

Converting a Lawn to Meadow

When converting to a meadow, it is crucial to disrupt the seedbank as little as possible, so as to not overwhelm the meadow with weeds. Within the first year of this North Salem native meadow, many ecologically beneficial native perennials appeared including:

Goldenrod and tall white aster make a beautiful and impactful late summer / fall pairing.

Goldenrod – The New England Wildflower Society declares this native, late-blooming perennial to be the number one attractor of native bees!

Joe Pye Weed has amazing stature and pairs well with fellow native goldenrod.

Joe Pye Weed – Tall and hardy, Joe Pye Weed is a favorite of bees, butterflies, and other valuable pollinators. Blooms at the same time as Goldenrod for a fabulous, habitat-building combination. Joe Pye Weed is also deer resistant, important in this part of Westchester.

New York Ironweed and Goldenrod — two ecological powerhouses!

NY Ironweed – Ironweed prefers wet soils and is also a tall late-bloomer. It is a favorite of Monarchs and numerous other butterflies and pollinators.

Monarch butterfly on native perennial New York Ironweed.

Asters — Several verities of asters emerged in this meadow including new England aster, tall white aster, and along the shadier riparian buffer section, white wood aster. Asters will attract bees, butterflies, and birds including: cardinals, chickadees, goldfinches, indigo buntings, nuthatches, sparrows, and towhees.

White wood aster along the riparian buffer that surrounds the pond.

Ecological Value of Meadows

Clearly, even the late-season snapshot of this meadow reveals how many functions each native plant provides when allowed to regenerate in its native environment. Not only do they attract numerous pollinators with their nectar, the overall meadow creates a fringe habitat between forest areas – creating safe spaces for birds to feed, gather nesting materials and transition safely between habitats.

The meadow in early fall — evolving and ever-beautiful.

These native plants also naturally absorb, filter and let infiltrate stormwater that would otherwise become mostly run off in a lawn area. In ecological terms this is referred to as bioretention and biofiltration.

Riparian border of native perennials surrounds the pond.

Aside from a meadows intrinsic benefits, the environmental costs avoided by not maintaining a lawn (fertilizer, water, energy) are enormous. Read up on our previous post on the cost of the suburban lawn, Lawnscaping Versus Ecoliogical Landscaping.

Asters and goldenrod in the riparian border.

Organic Meadow Management & Maintenance

It is important to mow regularly in the first few years of the meadow, to allow sunlight to reach wildflower seeds that are slower to germinate. GJL also mowed a walking path through the meadow – strolling the path and seeing the vibrancy of the meadow and all that it attracts is an inspiring reconnection with nature.

We never tire of walking the mowed paths through the meadow.

In the third year we disturbed the meadow in March, before the songbirds come out, and again at the end of the summer. Prescribed burns are also effective, but difficult to obtain permits for.

Joe Pye Weed, Goldenrod and Aster — nature’s beautiful combo! (Fence in the background for an in-progress project)

We achieved the desired meadow disruption using a tractor with a spike aerator. Afterwards, we reseeded with a northeastern wildflower meadow mix.

Mowed paths through the meadow are beautiful to roam any time of the year, like this early October shot.

This year, management was very minimal, as the new seeding began to fill in, bringing a fresh succession of wildflowers. We are pleased with the succession and for the time being only need to mow for access. GJL will continue to monitor for woody species, as a meadow naturally wants to convert to a forest overtime.

Meadow in fall, tall and dark NY Ironweed make a statement.

Thinking of converting your lawn to an organic meadow? We’d love to discuss your project! Contact us or reach out at 914-560-6570.

The Organic Mechanics Soil Company is an organic compost and potting soil manufacturer using 100% organic and locally-sourced ingredients. We use their Biochar Blend featuring organic compost, worm casting and biochar, in virtually every one of our landscape installations. We believe it is a key ingredient in developing healthy soil microbial populations, in turn producing thriving. organic gardens.

In the Pro Spotlight series, we highlight our partners, colleagues, and respected players in the ecological landscaping industry via short video interviews.

Founder Mark Highland, ‘the Organic Mechanic’, has serious credentials, with a BS in Environmental Horticulture and a MS focusing on compost and potting soil. He also helped the famous Longwood Gardens develop their composting program to create their own potting soil. In 2006 he founded Organic Mechanics, and we have been huge fans of his products since we began using them several years ago!

Learn more about Mark and Organic Mechanics in our video interview, at a 2018 NOFA Conference.

Watch the whole Pro Spotlight series on our You Tube Channel Playlist.

Ever wonder what a landscape designer’s home landscape is like? Westchester homeowners gathered on September 13^th at Jay Archer’s personal home to tour his ever-evolving wild landscape. The tour was part of a larger healthy yard garden tour of Westchester organized by Bedford 2020’s Healthy Yard project, an initiative promoting natural and organic landscape practices that work to improve the environment, rather than degrade it.

www.healthyyards.org promotes natural, organic landscaping in Westchester, NY communities.

Healthy Yards & Bedford 2030

Healthy Yards’ grassroots efforts to promote ecological landscaping practices are extremely commendable and we feel fortunate to have such passionate and effective partners in the community. Bedford 2020, founded in 2010 set out to reduce the town of Bedford, NY’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 by promoting a broad range of environmental practices. In May of 2019 they announced a staggering 70% reduction in emissions! Read about the new goals set for 2030.

Deck-view of the constructed waterfall, stream and stone pathway and bridge.

Attendees of the Healthy Yards garden tour got to view first-hand the potential of turning a lawnscape into a thriving, ecological masterpiece. Jay and Lora’s backyard used to be a lawn until they ripped it out and designed a waterfall, stream and fishpond surrounded completely by gardens.

Woodland walk around the perimeter of property, beneath mature trees.

River Birch allee along the pathway leading to the wetland.

Fungus growing on stumps lining the pathway create a focal point that celebrates natures processes.

Site Conditions: Use to Inform & Enhance Design

The backyard is part shade, bordered by mature trees, and abutting by a twenty-two acre wetland. Stone and wood chip paths meander through the mostly-native garden areas, each designed with an ecological purpose –creating habitat for pollinators, birds, absorbing rainwater, and enriching the soil.

Constructed waterfall framed by black-eyed susan and an evergreen berm.

Kinetic sculptures create focal points, especially during the winter months, as does the allee of river birch trees leading to the wetland paths. A berm of evergreens provides a backdrop to the waterfall, who’s soothing trickling fills the landscape for seven months of the year.

Natural stone walkway forks at the kinetic sculpture, turn either way for a full walking loop of the backyard perennial garden.

Beauty in the early fall garden featuring black-eyed susan, New York ironweed and hydrangea.

Joe Pye Weed and NY Ironweed — pollinator favorites in late summer / early fall.

This kinetic sculpture is a focal point at the culmination of three walkways. NY Ironweed and Black-eyed Susan make a fabulous pairing in the rear garden.

Pick Plants with Ecological Value

The shrubs and perennials were chose for the value to pollinators and birds – providing food sources, host sites, shelter and nesting materials for these essential species in need of protecting. Some native perennials, like New York Ironweed, migrated over from the wetland and returns in abundance every August. Ironweed is a favorite of Monarchs, and a delight in the garden when well managed – its height and proclivity can make it easily overtake a garden left unattended.

Design Spaces for Gathering, Observing, Touring

Fire pit patio & seating area, nestled among the woodland garden.

Natural stone and a simplistic fire pit design match the vibe of this wild garden.

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View from the balcony — a great atmosphere for entertaining!

Jay and Lora’s backyard features multiple seating areas, all with unique perspectives and experiences of the garden. The lower patio offers a direct view of the water feature and a ground-level perspective of the intricacies of a five-year-old, large native garden. Strolling along the gravel and stone path, you reach a natura stone firepit and Adirondack chairs. The second-story deck provides a birds-eye view of the entire layout, a direct sightline to the wetland, and a perfect birdwatching perch.

Bench tucked within the native perennials for a reflective, serene sit.

Ecologically Impactful Front Yard Landscape

The front landscape received a true facelift as well. The asphalt driveway was removed (4 layers!) and replaced with Porous Pave, a permeable asphalt substitute that allows stormwater to absorb through it and percolate into the aquifer. Catch up on the Porous Pave install on our YouTube video Stormwater Lab: Porous Pave vs. Asphalt. The front walkway was completely renovated, with the help of Louis Fusco Landscape Architechts. To the left, a pollinator garden frames a stone pathway leading to the backyard.