Sponsor Spotlight: Bay-Friendly Landscaping
Dedicated to environmental improvement in the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay-Friendly Landscaping offers comprehensive, practical guidelines to reducing county waste that enhances the landscaping industry. Bay-Friendly Landscaping is also a generous sponsor of the 2007 ASLA Annual Meeting & EXPO.

StopWaste.org is a public agency that serves Alameda County, east of San Francisco. It serves 14 cities, the county and two sanitation districts— and formally known as the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and the Alameda County Source Reduction and Recycling Board As one of StopWaste.org’s key programs, Bay-Friendly Landscaping is actively working to reduce the area’s waste stream by 75 percent.

According to current statistics, approximately 7 percent of the waste stream that reaches landfill is plant debris, much of that getting to the landfill as a result of professional landscaping activities. The Bay-Friendly Landscaping program is an integrated approach designed for the landscaping industry to reduce the waste output through practical, yet innovative, methods. These methods can be implemented in the design, construction, and maintenance phases of many landscape projects. For example, the program identifies ways to keep plant debris onsite, through grass cycling or mulching, rather than disposing it in the traditional way that causes the debris to enter the waste stream, while depleting soil of valuable organic matter.

Bay-Friendly Landscaping goes a step further, however, and integrates reducing waste with recycling materials; conserving water and reducing stormwater runoff; minimizing chemical and fertilizer use; and landscaping in harmony with the natural conditions of the community into its menu of best practices.  This integrated approach provides landscape architecture professionals with opportunities to not only decrease how much waste a landscape produces, but practical tactics for bringing a sustainable approach to their designs. The tactics also help professionals maintain a competitive edge—by reducing a client’s water costs and landfill fees while increasing the health and lifespan of the landscape project.

The Bay-Friendly Landscaping program and was created in a spirit of collaboration with seven principal agencies and non-profits in Bay Area and the input of local professionals such as architects, landscape designers, and landscape maintenance personnel. The dynamic, professional shared insights helped create a program that is community-focused with techniques that have been tested in the field. 

The tangible result of that collaborative effort is a series of guidelines based on seven environmental principles. These guidelines were developed for three distinct audiences: the professional landscape community, member agencies, and homeowners and home gardeners and can be downloaded free from StopWaste.org. The guidelines include an integrated, holistic approach that addresses plant selection, watering, fertilizer, and other techniques to achieve a reduction in the waste stream

In addition to the program itself, Bay-Friendly Landscaping offers many support initiatives to the community. These initiatives include  written training materials, training workshops, tours, maintenance specifications, and free technical assistance and grant program for Alameda County public projects. It has also partnered with local nurseries to provide training to new gardeners so that they can make sustainable choices when planning their gardens. Most recently, Bay-Friendly Landscaping developed a qualification program for landscape maintenance professionals, which graduated 55 individuals during its inaugural offering.

One of the greatest achievements of the program is that its model is adaptable for other locations; for example, the river-friendly city of Sacramento. This is especially important given the growing interest in the program from neighboring counties. Bay-Friendly Landscaping is currently only available in Alameda County, but will soon be expanded to the entire San Francisco area and potentially other regions.

Bay-Friendly Landscaping supports the local community and improves the sustainability of the Bay area by working toward a reduction of 75 percent or more of waste stream in the area through its integrated approach. The program is possible because of the strong community support and collaboration garnered from its inception, and the success of the program has been widespread. By its very nature, landscape architecture is a key industry that can make a substantial, positive impact on the environment. Bay-Friendly Landscaping can assist landscape architecture professionals with solutions to help reduce the waste stream and create more sustainable projects.

For more information about Bay-Friendly Landscaping, visit the website and stop by booth 1160 at the 2007 ASLA Annual Meeting & EXPO. Also, make plans to attend the Client Roundtable: Mayors on Saturday, October 6, beginning at 3:15 PM.