Ecological “Green” Consulting

With Ecological (Green) Consulting the goal is to harmonize your landscape with the larger biotic community and ecosystem in the immediate and surrounding bioregion. Simply, it is natural design that works with, rather than against nature. We can increase visual aesthetics by using a lot of colorful wildflowers in the buffer strip along the people area. By incorporating a natural landscape approach, we can show the benefits of NSM (Natural Stormwater Management) BMP’s (Best Management Practices) and beautify the area at the same time. Education information in the form of signage, brochures, pamphlets, a website may be provided to help educate the public about the project, natural benefits and potential for other projects in your area. Other benefits of these BMP’s are to cool an area or reduce UHIE (urban heat island effect), reduce air pollution, replace lost habitat, create positive public image using ecologically friendly technologies, and improve the quality of life with Greenways/Open Space development.

Our goal is to design the premier and state of the art natural landscape that is integrated into a beautiful park-like setting. Traditional and native landscaping will blend to provide an inviting gateway to your site and surrounding community by foot, bike, car, or boat. Native wetlands and buffers will beautify the park space with colorful plants and flowers that improve water quality. Uplands will mimic the native ecosystems that once thrived in the region. Nativescape’s team offers a full-service package to complete design and construction services through the following stages:

• Survey’s
• Conceptual Design
• Preliminary Design
• Final Design
• Construction Administration
• Establishment & Monitoring

We highlight the unique features of our creative approach as follows:

Nativescape’s ecological full-service approach provides a seamless survey backed by experts who can interpret its results.

• We conduct wetlands surveys, delineation and mapping.
• We conduct natural features inventory on the site and surrounding properties. The inventory will give a basis for native plantings that will be beautiful and successful in the wetlands. The natural features inventory is an essential foundation to our design approach.
• Site analysis an evaluation of existing conditions, presettlement ecosystems, recreational, historical and cultural information.
• We may conduct threatened and endangered species surveys.

The conceptual design phase of the project will lay a firm foundation for our design approach. During the Conceptual Design phase, we will present time and budget saving strategies, new and innovative natural landscaping concepts, cutting edge technologies in soil bioengineering, and the science needed to restore and enhance the native ecosystems of the site.

• Any Wetland Mitigation Permitting would be part of this phase.
• Rain Garden designs for the storm water treatment for all the impervious surfaces on the site to be integrated into the landscape around the buildings, which become outdoor classroom opportunities.
• Native shoreline rehabilitation of any coastal wetland.
• Native restorations of existing natural areas.
• Conceptualize and design greenway connections and interpretive trails.
• Help develop interpretive signage and language.
• Help develop Landscapes for Learning and multi-functional native landscapes for the site.
• Develop innovative BMP (best management practices) for reducing construction costs. For example, we could significantly reduce project costs by not removing concrete debris from an old building and incorporating it into geological land features on the site. The elimination of removing debris will speed up the project schedule and free up project funds for the high-profile portion of the project.
• Develop all the potential recreational opportunities for the site and contiguous area.
• Helping develop the connections needed to the surrounding communities, local conservation organization, programs and projects to integrate the site into the regional plans.

The preliminary design stage will reveal our unique approach to the design of the site.

• Developing wetlands and native vegetation on the site will increase flood storage and conveyance and stabilize the stream banks.
• Bioengineering may be used along the any shorelines along lakes, rivers, or wetlands.
• Planting the slopes with beautiful native vegetation will draw the visitor to the banks and enhance the biodiversity of the region.
• Treatment wetlands will fit with the natural surroundings by eliminating the proposed connecting pipes and allowing for multi-functional natural landscaping.
• We can establish rain gardens in place of traditional flowerbeds to exhibit to the community an effective and beautiful way to manage storm water. We will meld all these unique approaches to design with the traditional upland landscape design with native plants to highlight the site.
• Links to existing and planned Greenways will connect the site via land and water to other ecological and recreational destinations.
• Green walls can be created with concrete debris and soil, from day lighting a drain or creating wetlands, as a noise and visual barrier of any adjacent industrial properties.

Nativescape’s quality assurance and quality control produces high quality information that addresses complex issues. Our clients can rest assured that an experienced professional who attends project progress meetings will be doing the day-to-day design of for your project.

We will have a qualified ecologist inspect the site and provide the expertise of a landscape architect and designer during construction. Additionally, a native ecological restoration specialist can train contractors on the implementation of innovative bioengineering and native planting techniques that may be foreign to contractors. Our construction administration team will strive for a quality installation.

Nativescape offers native landscape establishment plans and monitoring of your site to ensure the long-term success of your project. See Establishment Plans and Wetland Mitigation Monitoring for more information regarding these services.

Based on presettlement vegetation and natural community types Nativescape can restore native ecosystems from aquatic to desert.

This ecological management plan provides BMPs that provide many overlapping benefits for a company as well as the environment. With many of these practices providing direct reduction of potential environmental contamination, i.e. stormwater purification, State and Federal agency water quality requirements are met. Air quality remediation requirements could be met with native plantings and other restoration practices through carbon sequestering.

These are environmental metrics that will be covered in this plan.

• Fugitive dust control
• Stormwater management
• Waste water management
• Reduce maintenance

The Wildlife Habitat Council site certification program requirements can be met with any of the BMPs in this ecological restoration plan.

These are wildlife metrics and other goals that will be cover in this plan.

• Increase visual aesthetics of the plant property
• Create nectar producing areas for butterflies and hummingbirds
• Screen areas of the plant
• Wildlife habitat areas
• Reduce open ground and increase cooling effect
• Water quality preservation