SITES

Callirhoe involucrata, known commonly as Wine Cups, is an excellent and very durable ground cover.

Nature’s Sanctuary

By i.am.georgia.harris on February 15, 2021 in Designing Ecological Landscapes, Landscape Challenges, Native Plants, Pest Management, Pest Management, Public Gardens and Parks, SITES

By Gregg Tepper

West Laurel Hill Cemetery, a level-II accredited arboretum located in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, features a unique space called “Nature’s Sanctuary.” This one-acre space, which previously served as the cemetery’s dumpsite, now uses a managed successional plan that will gradually transition from a sunny meadow to a meadow/woodland combination and, finally, a mature forest. This article focuses on the range of native plant species grown in this one-acre space and doing so with deer pressure.

The Case for Sustainable Landscape Materials – An Interview with Meg Calkins

By Maureen Sundberg on March 16, 2020 in Designing Ecological Landscapes, Developing Healthy Landscapes, SITES, Sustainability

by Jared Green

Meg Calkins, professor of landscape architecture at North Carolina State University and founding member of the Sustainable SITES Initiative®, reports on the progress of SITES, including areas such as materials reuse in which progress still needs to be made.

Maintenance Post SITES™ – Certification Journey at Dancing Tree, Part 2

By Maureen Sundberg on April 15, 2019 in Landscape Maintenance, SITES

by Margot Taylor

SITES certified six years ago, Dancing Tree is a model of a sustainable landscape, and the only residence with three-star certification. Now that the site is well established, the focus is on maintenance and resource management. This is the second part of an article about Dancing Tree; read Part 1 at Certification Journey at Dancing Tree.

Join Margot for an Eco-tour of Dancing Tree: Artfully Designed Pollinator Oasis on May 9, 4:30pm.

Certification Journey at Dancing Tree

By Maureen Sundberg on December 16, 2018 in SITES, Sustainability

by Margot Taylor Sustainability implies that the two-acre subdivision with the charming home and expansive lawn is a paradigm that must change. The whole American landscape ideology needs to change. What does this change look like? What is a sustainable landscape? To answer these questions and for other reasons, I chose to enter my property…

7 Reasons You Should Be Using SITES v2

By Maureen Sundberg on October 16, 2014 in Restoration, SITES

Lisa Cowan, PLA, ASLA Although the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITESTM) Rating System may first appear to be just another green rating system, ELA members should know that SITES can be a valuable resource for ecological site restoration projects (even if you are not going for certification). For those who have not familiarized themselves with SITES…

Sustainable SITES Releases v2 Standards

By Tobias Wolf on July 23, 2014 in SITES

by Toby Wolf and Nyssa Gyorgy The systems that promote and support ecological landscape practices have just taken another stride forward. The Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) has released the SITES v2 Rating System, which is the most comprehensive rating system for developing sustainable landscapes. As the LEED program does for buildings, SITES provides guidelines and…

SITES Update: Progress on the Sustainable Sites Initiative

By Penny Lewis on February 17, 2014 in SITES

by Tobias Wolf The Sustainable Sites Initiative, known as SITES™, has made important strides in the last year. SITES promotes sustainable practices for the design and management of landscapes. Complementing the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (USGBC LEED®) program, which focuses on buildings, SITES takes sustainability outdoors. As the nation’s most comprehensive…

ELA Joins Sustainable Sites Initiative

By ecopro on December 14, 2012 in SITES

by Tobias Wolf, ASLA The ELA Board is excited to announce that the organization recently joined the Sustainable Sites Initiative as a Participating Organization. The Sustainable Sites Initiative, also known as SITES, promotes sustainable landscapes through voluntary national guidelines and performance benchmarks for design, construction, and maintenance.

Piloting the Sustainable Sites Initiative™

By ecopro on March 15, 2012 in SITES, Sustainability

by CeCe Haydock The Sustainable Sites Initiative™, or SITES™ for short, was born from a need for a nationwide, voluntary rating system for landscape construction. The collaborative effort involved forty groups, with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center, the American Society of Landscape Architects, and the U.S. Botanic Garden as lead partners, and the rating…

Chestnut Creek Restoration Project

By ecopro on September 14, 2010 in Restoration, SITES

The Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES™) The Chestnut Creek Restoration project is a small stream-side renovation project that sits behind the central parking area of the Town Hall in Neversink, New York. Project Overview Chestnut Creek is an environmentally sensitive stream corridor whose waters flow directly into the New York City reservoir system. The project objectives…

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