McKinney Green Gardens at Gabe Nesbitt Park - McKinney, TX

The last stop for our summer session in sustainability was the McKinney Green Gardens at Gabe Nesbitt Park in McKinney, Texas

The City of McKinney and the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Urban Solutions Center have designed and planted the McKinney Green Gardens, a landscape water conservation demonstration at Gabe Nesbitt Park. The McKinney Green Gardens will help educate children, homeowners, developers and landscapers about water conservation practices by illustrating how a water conservation landscape can be beautiful and water-saving at the same time.

The one-acre McKinney Green Gardens will illustrate the practices of planning and design, proper plant selection, irrigation efficiency, new technologies and landscape best management practices.

With this installation, the City of McKinney shows a dedication to conserving our natural resources, to educating the public on conservation practices, and to creating beautiful outdoor spaces for all to enjoy. McKinney Green Gardens is a one-of-a-kind demonstration. This garden leads by example, using resource efficient plants, highly efficient irrigation systems and best garden practices for Texas, while showcasing a garden aesthetic that uses ecologically sensitive green design.

Six landscape areas represent the following landscape concepts: cottage, butterfly, wildlife, rock, serenity moon and native plants. Nine different turfgrasses will separate each landscaped area. These will include: Crowne, Palisades, Cavalier and Zorro Zoysiagrasses, Buffalograss, Premier Bermudagrass, St. Augustinegrass, Tall Fescue and Tifton 10. Each landscaped area is connected by meandering paths, all leading to a central gathering place.(1)

Check out the link to their website at the bottom of this page.  It has an interactive GoogleMaps type map with tags identifying plants, grasses and other features of the garden.  The website also includes listings of plants, grasses and irrigation systems used in its construction and support.

Native plants are identified with labels.

Even with the extreme summer temperatures many of the native plants were flowering and attracting butterflies.

We also saw a small cottontail rabbit running and hiding from us and the hot Texas summer sun.

For more information about the McKinney Green Garden check out their website here: http://mckinneygreengardens.tamu.edu/

(1) all of the preceding is an excerpt taken from mckinneygreengardens.tamu.edu/ website and is wholly attributed to that site.

McKinney Green Building - McKinney, TX

 The McKinney Green Building in McKinney, TX is a  USGBC LEED - Platinum building.  We took a quick look around the outside of the building to observe some of the energy saving features.

The parking lot is paved entirely with permeable hardsuface brick pavers.  They conceal a large underground stormwater storage cistern which helps mitigate stormwater run-off into surrounding tributaries during heavy rains

The southern elevation features deep sunshades that also act as natural light reflectors allowing indirect natural light into the building while still shading interior spaces from direct sunlight.  This saves energy through reducing the need for electric light and cooling during the hot times of the year.

The western elevation features a different type of sunshade and natural light reflector.  Upper story windows are shaded by a trellis.  In the far right side of this photo you see part of one of the giant cisterns that is part of the rainwater harvesting system for this building.

The building has lots of bike racks for those who chose to use bicycles as an alternative form of transportation.  It is also a way to score an extra point toward LEED certification.

For more information this building check out the following links:
http://www.igreenbuild.com/cd_2876.aspx
http://www.hdrinc.com/portfolio/mckinney-green-building
http://www.andresconstruction.com/features/commercial/leed.swf

Pat Lobb Toyota of McKinney - McKinney, TX - LEED CERTIFIED

 Pat Lobb Toyota of McKinney is the first "green" auto dealership in the U.S. and a model for other dealerships.  They earned USGBC's LEED - Silver in 2007.  Their motivation was two-fold: save money and it was the right thing to do.  The project architect was Gensler and the general contractor was Turner Construction.

The building at first glance looks like any other dealership but look around and you'll notice some not-so-subtle differences.  One of the main ones is the water cistern on the south side of the building.  It captures rainwater from the roof as well as the condesation from all of the buildings air conditioning units.  The water is used to irrigate the native Texas and drought resistant landscaping. 

Once inside the dealership you may notice several display boards (left and below) that help educate customers to some of the energy saving features incorporated into the building around them.  Some of these features include, Low-E glass fascade, starch-based carpeting, waterless urinals, low-VOC paints, recycled glass wall tiles and many more.

The roof is a reflective "sandwich" type insulated roof which helps to reduce the heat island effect caused by dark roofs.  This helps maintain a more comfortable temperature inside the building without using addional energy.  The concrete paving around the build has fly-ash, a waste by-product from coal buring, as an additive that increases the reflectivity of the concrete also reducing the heat island effect.  (left) the north and west walls are planted with a creeping green ivy which helps to keep those walls cooler during hot Texas days.

(right) In winter some of the waste oil that is recovered during oil changes on vehichles is used to heat the maintenance bays at the dealership.

The dealership has two areas used to wash customer's cars.  The floor drains in these areas capture the wash water and cycle it through a ionizing filtering system which cleans the water and allows it to be re-used to wash other cars.  The water is so clean that it runs off faster and requires less water to do the same amount of cleaning and also requires less hand drying after the wash.

To learn more about Pat Lobb Toyota of McKinney and their efforts to go green click the following:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMwZDs6YQ5I&feature=player_detailpage
http://green.autoblog.com/2008/05/16/toyota-pushing-dealerships-to-go-green-with-leed-certification/
http://patlobbtoyota.com/Eco-Friendly-Dealer/
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=sb_success.sb_successstories_mckinney07

BC Workshop - Brent Brown and Benji Feehan - UCD-Dallas, TX

Brent Brown and Benji Feehan of BC Workshop presented to us on July 2, 2011.

Building Community Workshop is a 501c3 non-profit established in 2005 in Dallas, TX.  They currently have about 18 people on staff, 6 employees and 10-12 volunteers.  They have a direct design side like a conventional architecture studio except they typically work only for non-profit organizations.  They also self-generate projects (initiatives)

They have a bent toward social responsibility.

They create what may be considered: Unity Design, Do-gooder Design or Public Interest Design.  They refer to it as SEED, Social Equinomic Environmental Design.

They feel the basis of sustainability is ethics.

BC Workshop is about people.  We took ourselves our of nature and we now live in spaces that don't have to have sunlight or wind.

BC Workshop strives to help stakeholders have a voice in the built environment.
They see a fundamental flaw with the system and strive for Design Justice.  They have recognized that doing LEED buildings does not change our behavior.

Brent and Benji provided a presentation on their Congo Street Project.  Congo St. was a part of S. Carrol Dr. in Dallas that was renamed when the World's Fair came to Dallas to warn visitors to stay away from that part of Dallas.  The street had been virtuall forgotten.  It was a 19' wide street with homes that averaged ab out 650 s.f. each.  The streets at both ends of Congo Street had been repaved and Congo had been ignored.  They redesigned the neighborhood and recreated the existing homes into LEED rated homes for the families still living on the street.  The areas along the street have been landscaped with native plants that require less frequent water and attention.

BC Workshop offers lunch and learn events every other Friday in their facility at 2814 Main St. in Deep Elum.

"Design justice through community engagement"

For more information on Building Community Workshop visit:  www.bcworkshop.org

River Legacy Living Science Center - Arlington, TX

RIVER LEGACY PARK & LIVING SCIENCE CENTER

River Legacy Living Science Center - Main Gallery

Sustainable Design

The following information is taken from River Legacy's website:

"A simple fortress of fallen leaves and broken tree limbs, crafted by the creative hands of children, served as the inspiration for the Living Science Center.

We developed the 12,000-square-foot center with the specific objective of minimizing the impact on the environment. To that end, the Center itself is a fascinating study of architecture, conservation and sustainable design.

• Three enormous red oak trees provide structural support for the roof of the building. The trees were salvaged from a city of Arlington street-widening project.
• The entrance drive was carefully routed to avoid trees and to minimize paving and vegetative disturbance.
• The parking lot is constructed of porous pavers that allow air and water to recharge the soil.
• Walkways are made of decomposed granite with an organic resin that makes them firm yet pervious to air and water.
• Restroom walls consist of tiles made from recycled crushed windshields.
• The building’s carpet is woven of fibers that may be continually recycled.
• The Center uses a gray-water system of plumbing. The underground system captures the runoff from drinking fountains and sink materials; then stores, treats and recycles it for use in the landscaped areas complementing the structure.
• Agrosoke, a naturally occurring moisture retention gel, acts as a water reservoir when added to bed and lawn soils."

Anne Alderfer - Naturalist

Our tour began with an introduction to the Living Science Center by our guide and Naturalist, Anne Alderfer.  The center has displays that discuss the vision of the architect who designed the building (Edward M. Jones) as well as samples of the materials and methods incorporated into it's construction.

(left) Anne provided us information about the local native plants along the path.  We stopped here to look at an American Elm tree that was riddled with holes created by Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers.  A native bird that pecks holes in the bark of the trees to cause sap to flow.  The bird returns later to consume the sap along with any unsuspecting insects that might have been trapped by the sticky substance.  The large number of holes indicated that the tree, however large, was under stress or diseased.

We learned about how non-indigenous plants like the Chinese Privet (right) are invading natural areas and pushing out native plant species like Virginia Wild Rice and Inland Sea Oats.  Notice how droopy plant's leaves are.  We saw a lot of this due to the extended drought conditions and high heat in this area.  Many plants in the park are being streessed by the lack of water.

 (left) A Cooper's Hawk's nest sits empty.  The pair of hawks that migrate here annually have raised their chicks and have headed to other hunting grounds  This nest is a short walk from the Living Science Center and a great place to bird watch when the hawks are here.  River Legacy Parks are home to more than 225 bird species.

(right) Anne points out a spot on the base of a large oak tree that has started to decay.  This scar was caused by heavy equipment striking the tree during the creation of the park.  It takes years for damage like this to become apparent.  This majestic tree will not last many more years before it falls and it added to the decomposing matter on the forest floor.  It will become food for future generations of plants and animals.

For more information about River Legacy Parks or the Living Science Center click here:
http://www.riverlegacy.org/

Urban Reserve - 1 Vanguard Way

urban reserve

Entry sign to the urban reserve development

Today we met with Diane Cheatham the developer of Urban Reserve. We were also able to tour her home and part of the Urban Reserve neighborhood.

 The Urban Reserve website describes the development as, "the first community of its kind:
a neighborhood of modern, single-family homes, designed by a select group of regionally and nationally recognized architects. Our goal is to create a unique lifestyle founded on a synthesis of modern design, ready access to nature, a respect for the environment, and the good fortune of a rare and beautiful location just minutes from downtown Dallas."
The houses in the reserve sit upon infill from the White Rock Lake channel construction.  The site originally had a lot of concrete fill as well.  Rather than paying to have the waste concrete hauled to another site to become someone elses problem the developer used it in creating sculpture features and also as neighborhood steps and retaining walls.  Their goal was to use the sites "as is" rather than disrupt the nature that had developed there.

Repurposed concrete slabs act as retaining walls and steps

Several of the neighborhood features were different from standard city codes and required working with the City of Dallas to maintain the vision of the development.  One variance was the roadways into the neighborhood.  They wanted a narrower 22' wide road which required roll-down curbs on one side of the street with the sidewalks constructed to roadway specifications to allow access by fire department vehicles if needed.

#1 Vanguard Way overlooking the duck pond

The neighborhood has two ponds which collect stormwater which is then used to water common areas and front yards.  The Home Owners' Association (HOA) maintains the ponds.  The uphill side of the street "wet side" also features rain gardens planted with horsetail reeds as well as pond and bald cypress trees.  This acts as an area to capture and slow run-off and provides a bio-filter for rain water.





The neighborhood is four miles north of White Rock Lake and connects to the White Rock Creek Trail, a hike and bike trails that eventually will connect to over 35 miles of North Texas  trails including the Trinity River trail system.  It is also close to a DART light rail station.  It is a very walkable neighborhood with engagin landscaping.

We toured #1 Vanguard Way, the first house you come to as you enter the reserve.  The design of the house incorporates such resource conserving features as, proper orientation to the sun, on-demand water heaters, foam insulation, energy efficient windows, geothermal, high SEER 2-speed A/C system and an 18,000 gallon rainwater cistern.  The Cheatham's keep chickens and maintain an indoor worm composting bin as well as outdoor composting as environmentally conscious ways to deal with food waster rather than sending it to the landfill.

#1 Vanguard Way side driveway with "roll-down" curb

Living Room

2nd floor outdoor swimming pool

2nd floor outdoor kitchen and dining area

Chicken coop

Drought tolerant landscaping with Desert Willow

The downhill or "dry side" of the road landcaping is designed to be drought tolerant using plants such as Desert Willow.

For more information about Urban Reserve:  http://www.urbanreserve.net/index.php

Universtiy of Dallas - Student Services Building

UTD's Student Sevices Buiding achieves LEED Platinum

This is the first LEED Platinum building for the UT system and the first LEED building on the UT Dallas campus.  It was built by Hill & Wilkinson General Contractors.  It has over 75,000 s.f. of area on four floors.  It is essentially a square glass box but incorporates several sophisticated technical features that help it save energy. 

Sun shade and louvered light screen on east elevation

Some of the features include double-wall insulated glass, horizontal sun shades and a lattice with terra cotta louvers to help block direct sunlight but allow reflected daylight into the building.  Daylighting is provided in 76% of the interior space and 93% of occupied spaces have a views to the outside.

The SSB energy efficiencies save approximately $60,000 in electrical costs annually compared to standard construction.  They have achieved an 86% reduction in water usage through the use of automatic sinks, dual flush toilets, and low flow urinals as well as other water conservation measures.

Water feature on south elevation

Irrigation water for landscaping is provided by a 20,000 gallon cistern fed by a rain water harvesting system.  No domestic water is used to irrigate the drought resistant plants used in the landscaping.

Environment Education Center - Plano, TX

We recently visited the Environmental Education Center on Plano Pkwy in Plano, Texas.
The building is a modern style architectural building situated on the site with a prominent southern exposure to take advantage of the warm winter sun.  Roof overhangs help shade south facing windows from the hot summer sun.  The building is located near a bus stop and includes a bike rack as another one of its sustainable amenities.  The windows are glazed with double pane insulated glass for better energy efficiency.

The building, surrounding site and structures include a large number of natural resource conserving features.  Unfortunately the Center itself was closed so we were not able to tour the interior space.

Southern elevation with wind turbine upper left

The driving surfaces and walkways are constructed with permeable surface to help eliminate storm water run-offf.  The driveway was topped with decomposed granit while walking paths were paved with brick pavers.

Landscaping is done with drought resistant native plants and trees.  Landscaping that requires watering is achieved with drip irrigation.  Slow release tree irrigation bags are used around the bases of newly planted trees to help them survive the brutal Texas summer until they become better established.

High efficiency HVAC Condensing Unit - rain barrel is to the left

The center uses high-efficiency  air conditioning units to cool the builing and also has a solar water heater to provide hot water.

Permeable brick paver walkway to the bus stop

The bus stop roof is constructed from recycled street signs.

Photo Voltaic Array on the Parking Cover Structure

The roof of the parking cover has a large photo voltaic array to provide electricty.

The building also has a small area of green roof which was unaccessible during our visit.

Unforetunately the building does have a large unprotected area of glass on the east elevation that allows too much direct light to into the building and to the thermal load of the interior.  A skylite cut into one of the southern overhangs may also allow warm season sun to shine in through the windows on that side.

Connemara Meadow

My grandmother use to say that even chickens have enough sense not to stand in the July sun...or something like that. Luckily we started our tour of the Gardens of Connemara before it actually reached 100 degrees.

                                              

Sign pointing to Connemara Meadow

Our tour was guided by Conservationist, Rich Jaynes who volunteers at the garden and explained the history of Connemara. Following is an excerpt from the Connemara Conservancy's webiste:

The Gardens of Connemara represents more than 140 acres of meadows, wildlife habitat, ecosystems, woodland gardens, tree farms and agricultural land protected by a conservation easement that guarantees the land will be preserved forever in its natural state. The Gardens are an important part of Montgomery Farm, a 500-acre conservation development whose residents live, work and play in a place of unspoiled beauty. For over six decades, Montgomery Farm was a beloved retreat for the Williams family that served as a family farm and place to be one with nature. Now, as a legal agreement between the land owners and the Connemara Conservancy, The Gardens of Connemara conservation easement ensures the property will be protected and managed according to the landowner's wishes while preserving the family's agricultural heritage and conservation values.

http://www.connemaraconservancy.org/main/_index.php

Connemara Conservancy was founded in 1981 with an initial gift of 72 acres by Frances (Montgomery) Williams on the border of Allen and Plano called the Connemara Meadow Preserve, or simply, The Meadow.

Ahead of her time for the area, Frances became concerned that her family's land was in jeopardy of succumbing to the almost unstoppable "urban sprawl". By protecting the Meadow forever, Frances gave us the gift and opportunity to experience and understand Texas as it was, as it would be without us, and as we'd all want it to be. The Meadow will forever remain in its natural state as an open window to the environment where we live.

Connemara soon realized the need for large-scale conservation throughout the North Texas area. As a result, it became one of Texas' first land trusts, a qualified organization to hold conservation easements on private land in partnership with willing landowners. Connemara is now one of over 40 land trusts working to preserve natural lands throughout Texas. It is also the only regional land trust focusing solely on North Texas preservation.

Before we started we signed in a gave our feet and legs a quick application of sulfur powder to repel chiggers and ticks which are a part of nature but a nuisance to humans.

Gathering at the trail head to get ready for our nature walk.

Lions and tigers and tall Canadians oh my!

Mr. Jaynes explained how non-native species of trees such as China Berry and Chinese Privet can invade and overcome native trees. He pointed out the enormous native Burr Oaks on the property that tower over all the other trees. He also explained some of the properties of Bois D'Arc trees and how they historically have been used for archery bows and foundation piers for Texas houses. Mr. Jaynes also explained that the dead Bois D'Arc trees that we were seeing had naturally reached the end of their lives and were now going back to provide nutrients for the soil and cover for native animals.

Here's a dead tree trunk that a bird has turned into a home.

Rowlett Creek

Rowlett creek runs through the midst of the property providing an environment for aquatic life such as fish, turtles and frogs. About 40 acres of the property in within the 100 year floodplain.  When flood waters overrun the creek banks water bourn nutrients important to plant growth are deposited.

Black Walnut on the bank of Rowlett Creek

Conservationist Rich Jaynes points out a raptor nest beside the meadow.

A sample of native grass that has been reintroduced to Connemara Meadow

The “meadow” was thought to have been cleared originally for cotton farming and once the nutrients had been depleted to the point where the soil would no longer support cotton growth that it was probably converted into grazing land for cattle.  It’s mind boggling to consider how difficult it must have been for settlers to clear all the trees and underbrush that would have originally covered what is now the meadow with hand tools and animals of burden like horses, mules or oxen.  We were told that the only natural way that meadow land is cleared of trees is by fire due to lightning strikes.  The landowners planted Johnson Grass and Tall Fescue for cattle grazing which are non-native grasses, are very invasive, and have pushed out the native prairie grasses such as Big Blue Stem and Yellow Indian Grass.  Conservationist volunteers have started native grass plants from seeds and transplanted them at certain areas in the meadow.  Mr. Jaynes spoke frequently about how difficult it was to remove the Johnson Grass and reintroduce native grasses to the meadow.  In one area in the center of the meadow native grasses are quite prominent and it is believed that the grass may have survived under the drip line of a pecan tree because the soil under crop trees was left undisturbed when planting other crops nearby.  Any evidence of the tree was long gone except for the native grass.  As time moves forward the trees slowly encroach on the meadow.  Another native grass that grows in the shade of the trees along the bank of Rowlett Creek is Virginia Wild Rice.

A Red Tail hawk cries as we pass its roost in the top of a willow tree in the Connemara Meadow