COMMUNICATING SUSTAINABILITY DESIGN: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES

2013 Arizona Community Tree Council Conferenceby Carol Kwan

Carol Kwan Consulting LLCwww.carolkwanconsulting.com

WHAT IS COMMUNICATION?Conveying a message in such a way that the other person understands it

Confirms that the receiving party got the message and understands what was meant

2-way communication works best

HOW DO WE COMMUNICATE?

• Oral – face-to-face (one-on-one, group meetings) or by phone

• Emails, texts, faxes, memos, letters, contracts, etc.

COMMUNICATION OPERATES ON 2 LEVELS

1. Content messages – what we generally think of as communication

2. Relational messages – how the parties feel about each other

Source: Communicating at Work: Principles and Practices for Business and the Professions, Fifth Edition, by Ronald B. Adler and Jeanne Marquardt Elmhorst, 1996.

RELATIONAL MESSAGES

• Affinity – how much you like the other person in general

• Control – how much influence each person has in the situation

• Respect – how much you admire the other person’s abilities or achievements

Don’t expect the other person to try to understand your perspective if you aren’t willing to try to understand his or hers

WHY WOULD DIFFERENT PROFESSIONS NEED TO COMMUNICATE?• Laws

• Clean Water Act, NPDES• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

• Programs• LEED

• Cultural• Environmental movement• Sustainability

WHAT OTHER DISCIPLINES WOULD ARBORISTS COMMUNICATE WITH?

• Engineers - civil, electrical, geotechnical (soils) etc.

• Architects – including landscape architects• Contractors/construction workers (general,

landscaping, civil, electrical, etc.)• Planners

ENGINEERS ARE SIMILAR AROUND THE WORLDI have worked with engineers and/or architects fromAustralia PhilippinesEgypt ScotlandEngland South AfricaIreland United StatesJapan WalesKenyaMalaysia

OBSTACLES TO COMMUNICATION

• Terminology• Methodology – plans

“A picture is worth a thousand words”

TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY, ARBORISTS NEED TO LEARN THEIR LANGUAGE – AND TRANSLATE OUR TERMINOLOGY SO THAT OTHER PROFESSIONS CAN UNDERSTAND

TOOLS OF ENGINEERING COMMUNICATION

Construction drawings (AutoCAD)Specifications/Scope of WorkContractsProfessional ReportsBudgetsSchedules (Gantt Charts)

ENGINEERING PSYCHOLOGY

Bridge = beautyLinear thinkersCompulsive problem solversDetail orientedMath Biology

ENGINEERING PRIORITIES• Budget• Schedule

ENGINEERING VIEWPOINT

Compaction is goodOrganics are badDifferential settlementStructural failure

ENGINEERING VIEWPOINT CONT.

Trees are demolishers of engineers’ hard workRoot damageTree failure impacting manmade target

Trees are necessary evil where mandated by government, client, or activist groups

SELLING TREE BENEFITS TO ENGINEERSAvoid discussing aestheticsTreesare self-optimizing structuresGrow additional wood at stress points

are net oxygen producersremove pollutants from air (Clean Air Act)reduce water/pollutant runoff (Clean Water Act)filter water

SELLING TREE BENEFITS TO ENGINEERS CONTINUED

Treesprovide CO2 sequestering (Climate Change)decrease energy consumption by shading buildingsgenerally increase property values

EXPLAINING TREES TO ENGINEERS

KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)Limit discussion to “Need to know” unless they show interest and ask questions

Cutting buttress/structural roots near the trunk is like removing the footing from a building and expecting it to not fall down Major transportation system of a tree is just under the barkTrees don’t heal – they don’t grow cells in the same locationGirdling a tree = death

EXPLAINING TREES TO ENGINEERS CONT.

Roots need oxygen so compaction is bad for treesRoot damage to infrastructure is more likely in compacted soils because roots will grow to the surface to get to oxygen

Trees need optimal moistureNot too wet, not too dry

EXPLAINING TREES TO ENGINEERSCONT.

Use numbers95% of roots are in the top 6”-12” of soilRoots extend 2-3 times the diameter of the crownOn average, trees can tolerate 40% root loss on one side of a treeCutting one major root near the trunk can remove 25% of the root zone

TERMINOLOGY ENGINEERS & ARBORISTS HAVE IN COMMON• Buttress• Sail area• Soil compaction• Soil profile

TERMINOLOGY ENGINEERS & ARBORISTS HAVE IN COMMON CONT.

• Forced• Stress• Strain• Shear plane• Safety factor

• Biomechanical terms• Tension• Compression• Lever arm• Bending moment• Failure

TERMINOLOGY ENGINEERS & ARBORISTS HAVE IN COMMON CONT.

Human health terms• “Clogged arteries”

TREE PROTECTION

• Problem to be solved together as a team• Protect trees• Least impact to budget and scheduleChallenges – erosion control and liability exposure

ARBORISTS CAN LEARN FROM ENGINEERSPipes standing vertically buckle just like hollow trees Soil reportsSoil textureSoil pH

ARBORISTS CAN LEARN FROM ENGINEERS

• “The wetter the soil, the more the compaction” is incorrect. Saying this makes engineers think arborists are ignorant.

• Optimal moisture provides maximum soil compaction

Diagram courtesy Virginia DOT

ARBORISTS CAN LEARN FROM ENGINEERS

• Too wet makes soil “pump”, not compact

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

Terminology can mean different things to different disciplines:

“Right tree, right place”

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS

• LA viewpoint: how can trees be used as a design element to improve humans’ environment (aesthetics, shade, screening, etc.)

• Arborist’s viewpoint:• What do the trees need to live long, healthy lives

without being a safety concern to humans?• “I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees.” __ Dr. Seuss

RAIN GARDENS, BIORENTION BASINS, ETC –OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES

“A bioretention area or rain garden is a shallow planted depression designed to retain or detain stormwaterbefore it is infiltrated or discharged downstream.”

Source: http://buildgreen.ufl.edu/Fact_sheet_Bioretention_Basins_Rain_Gardens.pdf

Source: http://www.esc.rutgers.edu/rlp/images/bioretention%20swale%20section.jpgRutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Source: http://vwrrc.vt.edu/swc/NonPBMPSpecsMarch11/VASWMBMPSpec9BIORETENTION_clip_image014.gifVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

RAIN GARDENS IN ARIZONA

• Most if not all municipalities in Arizona require rainwater retention for non-residential landscapes (projects that require government approval) – per Dr. Chris Martin, ASU Polytechnic.

• Generally designed by landscape architects and engineers, with no arborist involvement.

RAIN GARDENS IN ARIZONA

• Natural growing habitat (generally along streams or rivers) for cottonwood not considered. No supplemental irrigation.

ASU Polytechnic

RAIN GARDENS IN ARIZONA

This area was graded to create a rainwater retention basin. In the process, a mature Eucalyptus was killed. Approximately 50% of its root zone was removed.

ASU Polytechnic

RAIN GARDENS IN ARIZONASome landscapes are designed to appear to be rain gardens or desert washes, but they aren’t. No rainwater is channeled to them. They are not irrigated with harvested rainwater.

ASU Polytechnic

RAIN GARDENS IN ARIZONASome rain gardens receive awards:Green Infrastructure Designs Win U.S. EPA RainWorksChallenge http://news.wef.org/green-infrastructure-designs-win-u-s-epa-rainworks-challenge/“University of Arizona, Tucson, won second prize for a large institution for the redevelopment design of a 70,000 SF parking lot to be replaced with a campus common area featuring two rings of retention basins to infiltrate stormwaterrunoff; five underground cisterns to harvest runoff and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning condensate. Water collected … would irrigate the landscape, reducing potable-water use from 700,000 gal to 90,000 gal per year.”

RAIN GARDENS IN ARIZONABiodesign Institute at ASU by Landscape Architect Ten EyckTempe, Arizona http://www.teneyckla.com/projects/academic/biodesign-institute-at-arizona-state-university/

• Landscape architectural master planning and design to transform an existing bleak east entry to the campus

• New streetscape, entry plazas, gathering areas, shaded seating, and an outdoor amphitheater nestled in a water-harvesting garden

RAIN GARDENS IN ARIZONA

• Biodesign Institute at ASU cont• 5,000-gallon tank for rain harvesting used for irrigation• Creates a shady respite for outdoor events in an urban

context• The project received a National ASLA Honor Award,

an Arizona ASLA Honor Award, and two Valley Forward Environmental Excellence Crescordia Awards and a President’s Award. The project’s two buildings have received LEED Gold and Platinum Certification, respectively.

RAIN GARDENS

939 designer Kelly Pack photographer Garden Soft courtesy prescottwatersmart.comhttp://www.prescottwatersmart.com/GWImage.php?index=23&source=gg&page=4

RAIN HARVESTING

500 gal rain harvesting tankcourtesy prescottwatersmart.com

http://www.prescottwatersmart.com/GWImage.php?index=23&source=gg&page=4

PRESCOTT WATER SMART PROGRAMPublication Links -http://www.prescottwatersmart.com/Library/PrescottPublications.pdfWater Smart - Conservation: http://www.cityofprescott.net/services/water/conservation.phpLandscape tool:http://www.prescottwatersmart.comhttp://www.prescottwatersmart.com/GWImage.php?index=23&source=gg&page=4

QUESTIONS?