Water Sensitive Urban Design tour – part 3

Part of the fabulous green wall

Last stop on Marrickville Council’s Water Sensitive Urban Design tour was an old factory in St Peters. The owners Ricci & Judi have renovated the building into a residence with separate space for artists’ studios.  The building is thought to be built in the 1870s & to support this theory, a 1872-penny was found under the front door foundation during renovations.  This property has a number of amazing features & after reading the information sheet handed out by Council staff, I know I have missed things during our visit.

On the ground floor, where trucks would have once made deliveries, they have kept parking space, but have made a green wall & suspended a water tank 3 metres above the ground & against a wall. The green wall is lovely to look at & is watered by a well thought out drip-feeding system.  Rainwater from the 200 square metre roof of the property is captured into 2 rainwater tanks. The first has a 3,500 litre capacity & feeds the 5 toilets & the washing machine. Another 1,000 litre tank captures the overflow from the first tank & the water is used for the garden areas.

Water is pumped from the rainwater tanks to the rooftop garden. Here there are tough native plants & trees plus a vegetable garden that is growing well.  After watering the plants here, the rainwater filters through a series of pipes to water the vertical garden & an onsite rain garden.  Any overflow leaves the property to eventually flow into the Cooks River.  All the drip systems are hidden. You get the green feel & outlook without having to see pipes, although they wouldn’t look out of place anyway.

The rooftop garden is a delight & reinforces my desire to have these become a norm in Marrickville LGA.   One other thing about green roofs that I have written about previously is that they last around 3 times longer than ordinary roof treatments so it makes economic sense to create them. In this rooftop garden, 3 layers of waterproof membrane have been installed. Planter boxes have root barriers & drainage cells are at the bottom of each planter bed. These capture rainwater & any excess is channeled to the drains & used in a garden somewhere else on the property.

Ricci & Judi have reused most of the building materials in the property for the renovation. They have even made some very nice tables from old wood on the site. Essentially, this family recycled a most of the building materials that were on the property & much of what they brought from elsewhere was also recycled.

They don’t waste any natural resources, yet manage to live in a lovely & creative environment.  Although this is an industrial building in an industrial area, there are areas of great beauty.

There is much that I have not covered in all 3 properties.  If you are interested in this sort of thing & want to save money & lower your carbon footprint, I highly recommend attending this free! tour.  I’ll post details if I hear when a tour is available.  Well done to Marrickville Council for organizing such an activity & to their staff who were friendly, helpful & made sure we were not left behind.   They also watered & fed us which was an unexpected treat.  Do this tour if you can.

Thank you also to the residents who kindly opened their houses for us to see.  Your sharing has inspired us & shown that environmentally-friendly changes can be done around the home without too much trouble & with great outcomes.

I made a short YouTube video of  this residence here – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhtvOqHUl28

You can read about House Number 1 here – https://savingourtrees.wordpress.com/2011/06/26/water-sensitive-urban-design-tour-–-part-1/

& House Number 2 here – https://savingourtrees.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/water-sensitive-urban-design-tour-–-part-2/

I wrote about the benefits of green roofs here – https://savingourtrees.wordpress.com/2010/07/26/green-roofs/

A section of the rooftop showing one of the gardens. The tree is an Olive. There are plants in pots, a vegetable garden & plants in garden beds around the top of 2 of the exterior walls

International tree news

Shadows

1.      In a shocking case of environmental vandalism, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works chopped down around 250 100-year-old Oak & Sycamore trees across an 11-acre site called the Santa Anita Wash Oak Grove. The trees were razed so they can dump 500,000 cubic yards of silt that they intend to dredge from a nearby reservoir.  The community vehemently opposed the destruction of the Santa Anita Wash Oak Grove, but the destruction went ahead as planned & this in a state that prides itself on it’s climate change initiatives. I would have thought that the silt could have been transported to another place to be used rather than destroy a 100-year plus habitat.  To see the Santa Anita Wash Oak Grove for yourself, here is a 3.42min YouTube video –http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKJ2gEPBEts&feature=player_embedded#!   & article – http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-trees-protest-20110113,0,3043421.story

2.       We have always known it & now Australian research by Professor Burchett of the University of Technology Sydney has proven it …. pot plants relieve workplace stress. “We found that plants had a very strong wellbeing effect. It was a reduction of a whole lot of negative feelings: anxiety, anger, depression, confusion, fatigue & stress.” Trees are just bigger plants & have much the same benefits. http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/3460853

3.      In a bold move by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, 3.5 acres of carpark will be torn up to create an urban wilderness experience & exhibit.  What they intend to create by July 2011 is fabulous.  I hope this approach becomes commonplace.  http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/outdoor-activities/blogs/museum-unpaves-parking-lot-to-create-urban-wilderness

4.      Glenn Ridge in New Jersey US has established a new Shade Tree Commission that will oversee the health & well-being of publicly-owned shade trees.  I have not heard of this type of body before. The Shade Tree Commission will ensue that the care of public trees is open & transparent & will work with the community via outreach & public forums. http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/111579264_Keep_us_in_the_shade___and_the_sun.html

5.      Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons  (PAH) are in coal tar which is used to seal roads & carparks. Heavy pollution of US streams, ponds & lakes has been tracked to the use of PAH.  Everything we use ends up in our riverways or oceans eventually.  It’s time we stopped opting for the quick solution & chose more natural non-polluting products. They are available. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19829-organic-pollutants-tracked-down-to-us-parking-lots.html

6.      Research by scientists at the National Centre for Atmospheric Research found that deciduous trees absorb about 1/3 more of oxygenated volatile organic compounds & at a faster rate than expected, up to 4 times faster. Oxygenated volatile organic compounds are particularly bad for human health.  This is why as many trees as possible need to be planted along our main roads & thoroughfares.  http://greenopolis.com/goblog/joe-laur/trees-absorb-more-pollution-previously-thought

7.      Scientists from the Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow & Landscape in Zurich published research that examined “nearly 9,000 pieces of wood, mostly collected over the past 30 years by archaeologists who use tree rings to establish the age of ancient sites or structures, a technique known as dendrochronology. The result was a continuous – & precisely dated – record of weather in France & Germany going back 2,500 years. The study also showed that climate & catastrophe often line up.” http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/01/fall-of-rome-recorded-in-trees.html?rss=1

8.      Green building legislation & initiatives are becoming commonplace in the US with 12 federal agencies & 33 states implementing them despite the recession. In 2008, 156 Councils nationwide had green legislation. By September 2010, 384 Councils have jumped on board.  I like this as Australia often follows the US. http://earthandindustry.com/2010/11/despite-recession-u-s-green-building-sector-soars/

9.      ExxonMobil, the world’s largest oil company says they expect CO2 emissions to rise

Trees are essential in managing global warming

by nearly 25% in the next 20 years, “in effect dismissing hopes that runaway climate change can be arrested & massive loss of life prevented.  According to the UK Met Office, if emissions rises can be stopped by 2020 & then be made to reduce by 1-2% a year, the planet could be expected to warm 2.1C to 3.7 C this century, with the rise continuing even higher after 2100.” The Australian Bureau of Metrology said that ocean temperatures around Australia have already warmed by 1.5 degrees. A warmer ocean means greater evaporation, which leads to higher rainfall.  This lesson came via ABC TV on the day of the great flood that hit Brisbane & SE Queensland this past week.  I think this is a very important article.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jan/19/exxonmobil-carbon-emissions-rise?CMP=twt_gu

10.      Every year the city of Paris has 95 collection points across the city where its citizens can take their unwanted live Christmas tree which are mulched to be used in the city’s parks & gardens. “From 15,000 trees recycled in 2007-2008, the number grew to 27,150 in 2009-2010.” Does Marrickville Council have a collection for Christmas trees? If not, it would be easy enough to copy this initiative wouldn’t it?  http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/12/old-christmas-trees-help-other-trees-grow-paris.php

11.       Sudden tree death is killing the older trees in the UK. “Already 4 million trees have been felled or marked for destruction.” This is a tragedy.  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/8247580/Sudden-death-for-thousands-of-trees.html

12.       Friends of the Trees, a volunteer group in Portand have just finished planting their 400,000 tree since the group started 21-years ago. My deepest respect goes to them.  http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/01/friends_of_trees_plants_its_40.html

13.      In other good news, the Philippines have used Tree Surgeons to successfully heal sick

IKEA Fig January 2011 - doing well

trees. The emphasis is mine.  “Researchers claimed 24 narra trees aged 68 to 73years old were treated after they were on the verge of dying considering that they were described to be landmarks when the construction of the Binga power plant & other facilities commenced in the early 1960s.  Seven trees had major treatments using steel bars as mechanical support during the tree surgery while the seventeen others underwent semi-major surgery.  Experts claimed tree surgery is the practice of repairing sick & damaged trees to subsequently restore its physical appearance. It is done by removing the injured or deceased parts & treating the same with antiseptics & healing aids & filling the cavities with special materials & cement to fix the surface.” Why does this not happen any more? Or if it does, why do we not hear about it?  I know some specialist Arborists look after veteran trees or move trees & care for them like the IKEA Fig, but this kind of work used to be done routinely on suburban trees. Now it seems like if a limb is sick, the whole tree has to come down. http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/292102/tree-surgeries-save-benguets-sick-narra

Fantastic Fig tree in Marrickville Golf Course