Technology Sessions

Week 1 26.09.24

Small woodland and tree establishment and management: 

Forestation of the UK is 13% 

• Natural woodland has at least 25% of dead matter  

• Forestry commission – definition of trees and woodland 

• No truly natural woodland in the UK 

• Dead wood varies between 25% and 40% 

• There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ woodland management 

• Rewilding – introduction and/or conversion of woodland or woodland pasture to facilitate the reintroduction of native fauna which are no longer present in our countryside 

• We only have around 35 truly native species in the UK 

• How to tree is going to survive, grow and, what the next generation is going to think 

• Rewilding - This is a term for the introduction and/or conversion of woodland or woodland pasture to largely indigenous species to facilitate the re-introduction of native fauna which for whatever reasons are no longer present in our countryside.

• 

  Twelve phases for Rewilding

  1. Don’t do anything until you have a plan

  2. Learn all you can about the site - status

  3. Seek advice – expert – local – internet

  4. Take stock of the locality – vegetation – water courses – topography – features

  5. Formulate a plan – actions – contacts – resources – ‘labour’ – timescale

  6. Be aware of the ways in which nature ‘works

  7. Apply natural methods and courses of action

  8. Careful species choice – soil – location – wildlife encouragement/compatibility

  9. Be positive and seek to turn difficulties and the unexpected to your advantage

  10. Keep good records – events – contacts – growth – successes – failures

  11. Collaboration – mutual benefit of others’ experience

  12. Communication – keep everyone informed – keep yourself informed – encourage local interest and support – if the project is large enough offer the area as a teaching resource for local schools (especially primary if reasonably close, and ecology projects for secondary) – liase with local wildlife groups

  The cost of post planting establishment maintenance can be up to three times the planting cost.

  Graded Woodland Edge Profile This can be created by new planting on open ground, or in existing woodland by clearing the zone necessary for new planting. The width will depend upon the size of the woodland - a 10-metre profile width means a ride with the profile on both sides will take one hectare every 50 metres, and every 100 metres around the woodland perimeter.

  
  

  

  
  

  Landscape architects in the field of arboriculture: 

  Balance between the assimilative function of its root mass and its growth mass 

  • TDAG.org.uk 

  • Root protection area RPA – radius of the circle is 12 times the stem diameter at 1.5 metres, shape should be altered to accommodate site features while maintaining the area 

Week 2 03.10.24

The Urban Tree: 

Roots are constricted to the first meter of soil 

• Plant stem layers – image on Moodle  

• Xylem transport up, phloem transport down 

• Xylem is the wood, heartwood, and sapwood 

• Air 25%, water 25% (void), organic matter 2-5%, minerals + and particles 45-48% (solid) 

• Soil bulk density = mass of soil (g)/soil volume 

• CBR California baring ratio – minimum 5% 

• 5% supports most paved surfaces 

• Organic matter and clay are particularly important     

• 6.5-7 pH most soil 

• Specification for topsoil – library database (BSI) 

• Vegetable contaminant - Japanese knotweed, very invasive, destructive  

  
  

  

  Looking at rock sediment

  

  
  

  

  
  

  Soil bulk density = Mass of soil (g) / Soil volume

Where made ground is known about, the following criteria may be useful:

• Extent of made or filled ground plotted on maps

• Origin of material

• Presence or large lumps of concrete/masonry/old cars/voids

• Chemical waste and other pollutants

• Organic matter and level of decomposition

• Unpleasant smell

• Striking colour tints

• Visible dates on buried paper

• Signs of heat or combustion (including steam emerging)

• Structure, variability and method or placement Where made ground is known about, the following criteria may be useful:

Week 3 10.10.24

Role of the Contaminated Land Consultant: 

• Potentially harmful substances in soil, water and ground 

• Environmental Protection act (Part 2A) - must demonstrate significant possibility of significant harm 

• National ground planning policy framework 

• Contamination impacts – on PowerPoint 

• Sustainable development goals 

• Ground contamination in England is regulated under two regimes 

• LCRM 

• Preliminary risk assessment 

• Source, pathway, receptor 

• Ground investigation 

• GQRA generic assessment criteria 

• London 2012 Olympic Games 

• Greenwich Peninsula 

The Urban Tree: Plant Production 

• Nursery production systems 

• Plant Specifications 

• Plant Quality 

• Transportation and storage 

Genus species ‘cultivar’ EXAMPLE: 

Pyrus calleryana ‘Redspire’ 

Week 4

The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces

Week 5 24.10.24

Delivering Hard Landscapes – Sustainably  

• Part 1: the ‘S word’ 

• Part 2: Failure and the Art of Pavement Construction 

• Steintec provider company  

• Not enough talking in the industry 

• Value engineering 

• Common law of business balance quote – John Ruskin 

• Historic evolution of design 

• Form MUST follow the function  

• Causes of Failure 

• Pavement Design Image - Layers   

Week 6

Material overview, usage and durability

Sustainability:

–Steel, timber and masonry can be recycled or re-used within another building and if sourced locally can assist in reducing carbon footprint from the supply chain.

–Concrete is less likely to be re-used and therefore the manufacturing process can assist in sustainability.

•Use of by products to reduce CO2 emissions – Portland Cement alternatives

•GGBS – Ground granulated blast furnace slag

•PFA – Pulverised fuel ash

•Other by products

Week 7

Focus on four key areas:

1. Adapting to climate change

2. Mitigation of greenhouse gases

3. Finance to enable actions with respect to 1 and 2

4. Technology development and transfer

1. Resistance – increase the capacity of an ecosystem, structure or function to remain relatively unchanged during a disturbance

2. Resilience – increase the capacity of an ecosystem, structure or function to return to its former state following a disturbance

3. Transformation – allowing or facilitating an ecosystem, structure or function to transition to new conditions

Two ways to tackle GHG emissions:

1. Reduce GHG emissions produced, e.g. burning less fossil fuel

2. Carbon sequestration - Carbon Capture and Storage / Biological sequestration

Week 8

Stone Federation is the trade association for the natural stone industry in the UK.

The CPD from the Stone Federation Great Britain draws on key sections from various British Standards, Codes of Practice, and other industry documents.

It outlines current best practices for landscaping with natural stone in a range of settings—including streets, squares, building entrances, parks, and gardens—and covers elements such as paving, setts, kerbs, and selected types of landscape masonry.

While particularly relevant for larger-scale projects that require consistency over extended construction periods, the guidance is equally valuable for smaller or domestic applications.

It represents a wide spectrum of the stone industry including:

• UK stone quarrying and mining companies as well as stone importers

• Stone processing and stone masonry companies

• Stone fixing companies

•Repair and restoration companies – especially in the heritage sector

• and stone consultants

The Federation co-ordinates all aspects of the industry

•Promotes natural stone

•Provides specifiers and users with first point of contact for guidance and advice

•Provides a one stop shop for product information, technical information

•Encourages and coordinates training and skills development

•Organises Industry Awards to recognise excellence

•Publishes best practice guides

Week 9

Week 10

Why has Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) being introduced?

•There has been a steady decline in biodiversity (wildlife and natural habitats) across the country since the 1970’s.

•Much of this is a consequence of the intensification of agriculture, but development often results in the direct loss of existing habitat with limited mitigation.

•Parliament passed the Environment Act in 2021 which, amongst other things, included the introduction of mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) with the intention to ensure that development will result in more or better-quality natural habitat than there was before development.

What is the purpose of BNG

•To help deter new development from damaging or degrading existing wildlife habitat. 

•To encourage biodiversity to be considered from the outset of the development process.

•To create or enhance wildlife habitats on-site or off-site to compensate for any losses and achieve an overall net gain of at least 10%.

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) – issues to be aware of

•There are ‘trading rules’ – essentially habitats created or enhanced have to be ‘like for like’ or ‘like for better’.  For example, you can’t offset the loss of trees with a biodiverse green roof , or the loss of wildflower grassland with tree-planting.

•BNG doesn’t have to be delivered on site - it’s often not possible. However, it makes sense to optimise the ecological value of the landscape that will be created on-site as this will reduce the amount of off-site habitat creation that will be required.

•Other existing legal requirements (such as safeguarding or avoiding harm to protected species) still have to be addressed.

•Installation of bird and bat boxes, bug hotels etc. don’t contribute to the BNG score.

•Other planning policy requirements – such as SuDS, provision of open space, green roofs etc. can be designed to optimise the BNG score, but there will be challenges and trade-offs to consider.

Week 11

Planting Schedule Guide

Week 12

Permeability

The degree to which water can pass through a material. 

Applies to jointing and laying course material.                                                                                                                         Manufacturers express in the form: metres per second e.g. 5x10-4 m/s 

Infiltration 

The rate at which a volume of water can pass through a given area of pavement.

Applies to the surface configuration of paving units and joints                                                                                                     

Generally expressed in the form: millimetres per hour e.g.2500mm/h

Bioengineering Solutions

Nature Based Solutions Bioengineering techniques that utilise the power of plants

Soil Erosion Control 100% fully biodegradable to permanent systems that increase vegetation performance

River Restoration WINEP and AMP frameworks providing process led design & build services Wetland Habitat Creation inland dredging, re-use of sediment, wetland plants and coir from our nursery

Natural Flood Management saltmarsh and intertidal zones, inland rivers to peatlands and uplands

Blue-Green Infrastructure Solutions asset erosion protection to integrated constructed wetlands Carbon Sequestration soils we protect, biochar we produce and wetlands we create to lock in carbon

Benefits of bioengineering

• Works with natural processes

• Increases channel roughness, decreases localised flow velocities

• Increases channel diversity for ecological improvement

• Vegetation consolidates the riverbank for sustainable erosion protection

• Bioengineering uses considerably less CO2 than hard engineering

• Environmental regulator approval

• “The world’s insects are hurtling down the path to extinction, threatening a “catastrophic collapse of nature’s ecosystems”, according to the first global scientific review