Howard Wood, Director of Landscape & Sustainable Services Ltd, after graduating in Environmental Sciences in 1979, has been leading initiatives in Sustainable Landscape Management in Europe and the UK for over 35 years. In 2002 the Lyon City Parks Department commissioned Howard to deliver a sustainable practice training programme for their 300 gardeners and technicians. This resulted in environmentally friendly solutions being applied to existing maintenance operations and a significant reduction on the park’s operational budget. Howard has featured in television documentaries in France speaking about ecological dynamics and Green Infrastructure and speaks at conferences throughout Europe. Howard has been working on projects in Tunisia, Morocco and the Ivory Coast and presented a Sustainable Landscape Management Strategy to the City of Lisbon. In 2010 Howard carried out a first ever carbon audit for a City Park in the UK which not only looked at its carbon footprint but compared it with carbon sequestration in trees, shrubs, grasses and topsoil. BAM Nuttall requested Howard to carry out field experiments on urban flower mixes for the London 2012 Olympic Park. Current themes of work include Urban Meadow flower displays in the UK and research on Carbon Sequestration in grass varieties with DLF France.

1. SUSTAINABILITY & BUDGET CUTS IN GREEN SPACE MANAGEMENT
Which way
forward ?
Howard Wood B.Sc.(Hons)

2. Following last year’s theme:
“Sustainable Landscape Management.
A case study of Lyon Parks Department”
Reminder
WHAT ARE SUSTAINABLE LANDSCAPES ?
Sustainable landscapes are where natural cycles perpetuate without man’s
influence…
There are no inputs of fertiliser and pesticides.
There is no need to cut grass, to prune, weed or take away unwanted biomass ….
Everything is recycled naturally… usually where it falls
For environmental and financial reasons interest is now being shown in adapting
sustainability principles to urban landscapes.

3. Twelve years ago Lyon Parks Department put into place its own
Sustainable Landscape programme.
The decision was motivated by :
1.An ever increasing budget
expenditure,
2.Local politicians demanding more
environmental awareness,
A programme with three distinct themes was put into place :
1.Environment - Each measure should have a favourable environmental
effect.
2.Training - The workforce needed to adopt new procedures and
techniques.
3.Financial - Costs were monitored

4. It was necessary to find practical solutions to problems, for example :
• Reduce the green waste budget (250 000 € for 3000 tons / yr.)
• Reduce the time spent grass cutting,
• Find less labour intensive floral displays,
• Achieve the political aim of 0% pesticide use.

5. Lyon’s parks and open spaces in a few figures :
395 ha of Parks & open spaces, (= 9m² per inhabitant)
55 000 trees in parks, 23 000 along roadsides,
75 fountains,
135 monuments and statues
175 play areas, (> 675 features)
800 000 bedding plants (3 flowers - national
classification)
A 19ha nursery
An 8ha botanical garden with 6 500m² of greenhouses
and a collection of 15000 species and varieties of
which 1400 are in danger of extinction.
An 8 ha zoo with 800 animals
> 300 gardeners

6. A year of trial projects on different sites was undertaken, before being
adopted across Lyon :
•Green waste was processed through co-composting, earthworm culture and
mulching, on small local sites around the city,
Saving : Green waste
management 133 800 €

7. Three thermal weed killing techniques were tried and compared
Herbicides were reduced by 70% in 2 years and by > 90% in 5 years
Aquacide system –
uses hot water
Waipuna – Hot water
and natural additives
Butane
Flame
A loss of
32 000 €
compared to
chemicals

8. Grass cutting areas, height and frequency were reviewed and modified.
Saving
45 700€

9. New low maintenance planting schemes

10. urban meadows replaced > 70% of traditional bedding
Saving : 48 500€

11. Needy and underprivileged members of
the community were offered training and
employment. - 10% of contract values.

12. THE RESULTS WERE POSITIVE :
•Increased local community employment,
•Increased environmental benefits,
▪ minus 20,000km of HGV transport
across the city,
▪ locally recycled green waste,
▪ 90% reduction in herbicide use.
•13.85% reduction of the parks department
budget.
The programme could have gone further
achieving 20% -25% budget cuts had it
been required.

13. In order to measure the economic benefits of changing maintenance
practices we need to :
1. Classify Green Infrastructure,
2. Establish a baseline, by quantifying what we do - have access to accurate
land use plans (lineage of hedges, hectares of grass, areas of flower beds..)
3. Time & motion studies – to know how long it takes to do the tasks.
The city of Rennes in France, classified it’s green infrastructure in the 1980’s :
Each class will have its own specification document, summarised below.
Class Type Simple Definition Example
1 Horticultural
excellence
Very neat and tidy, frequently weeded,
fertiliser and chemical applications
Bedding schemes, proximity to important
buildings. Bowling Green
2 High horticultural
vocation
High maintenance, clipped shrubs and
hedges, flower beds
Well maintained parks, areas of high
population frequency
3 Low horticultural
vocation
Regularly maintained, fewer flowers, no
or very low chemical applications.
Less human frequency,
Suburban areas, main roads into town.
4 Traditional Infrequent maintenance Secondary roads
5 Semi natural Minimum maintenance Rural environments, Safety interventions
6 Natural &
Hardscape
No maintenance other than for
exceptional reasons
River side vegetation, natural woodland,
Mineral surfaces

14. Costs can be calculated
on a m² basis.
Site : Chambovet 59,850m²
Activities Time Surface Area Total Cost €/m²
Grass cutting, edging, blower m² 94h 50.900m² 2,180.00 € 0.04 €
Long grass mowing m²
Strimmer on slopes m²
Shrub pruning m² 54h 1,100m² 1,258.00 € 1,13 €
Hedge cutting ml 45h 1,100m² 1,044.00 € 0,95 €
Collect & disposal of leaves m² 108h 59,850m² 2,505.00 € 0,05 €
Manual watering U 50h 1,100m² 1,160.00 € 1,05 €
Irrigation maintenance U
Hardscape maintenance m² 38h 850m² 8,584.00 € 1,14 €
Paper picking, cleaning m² 437h 59,850m² 10,138.00 € 0,19 €
Total cost 825h 59,850m² 19,140.00 € 0,36 €
Cost without cleaning operations 388h 9,001.00 € 0,17 €
Labour cost / h 23,20 €

15. Differentiated Management is appealing for its simplicity.
Each class will have its own specification document defining quality and
operational frequency.
Intensive Maintenance Extensive Maintenance
Class
1
Class
2
Class
3
Class
4
Class
5
Class
6
Lawns 2000m² 4000m² 8000m²
Woodland 9500m²
Footpaths 1200m²
Hard surfaces 800m²
Flower beds 400m²
Hedges 400ml 600m²
Shrub beds 650m²
Stream & Pond 1650m²

16. By combining ;
1.A classification of Park’s
maintenance’,
2.Known surface areas,
3.Costs,
It is easy to visualise, justify and
modify park maintenance
operations to required budget
changes.
Class 5 woodland
Class 1 lawns
Class 2 lawns
Class 3 lawns
Class 4 Meadow
Class 1 Flower beds
Class 6 Mineral
Class 2 Flower beds
25,200m2
17,320m2
28,150m2
27,640m2
22,520m2
28,800m2
45,670m2
22,340m2

17. Parks – Influences, Choices & Decisions
Political, Planning
& Legislative,
Utility &
Design
Community
interest groups
Scientific &
Technical
Ecology &
Environment
Financial &
Managerial
Sefton Park, Liverpool
Do all the participants communicate ?

18. Is everyone on
Your sustainable board ?
maintenance
programme
How and when will
you communicate
with the public ?
Is the internal
process clear ?
Are the objectives
clearly defined ?
Have investment
costs been taken
into account ?
Internally run or
external help ?

19. Number of public parks and recreational public space in the
UK 27,000
Known surface area of 12,000 of those parks. 66,000 Ha.
Estimated surface area of 27,000 parks and recreational
public space > 143,000 Ha.
Number of local authorities who do not know the number of
parks they manage 1 in 6
Number of local authorities who do not know the surface
area they manage 35.6%
Source - The State of UK Public Parks 2014 – funded by the lottery fund
Estimating the surface area of UK Green Infrastructure is a difficult task, depending upon what is
included. Private parkland and gardens would increase the total surface area many times over.
The uncertainty of surface areas is perhaps testament to the low value that has
been attached to green infrastructure. When monitory value is attached
accountants will surely know the surface areas with precision. !!

20. We have briefly looked at some maintenance practices and what can be achieved.
What does the future hold ?
1. Landscape planning & design,
a. How are parks managed today ?
b. What do we really know ?
c. Which way forward ?
2. Carbon auditing,
a. Do parks and green spaces absorb more carbon than the emissions made to
maintain them ?
b. New research on grasses.

21. HOW MUCH TECHNICAL & SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION CAN
PLANNERS & LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS ACCESS
?
IS LONG TERM MAINTENANCE EVER THOUGHT ABOUT
AT THE DESIGN STAGE.

22. Landscape planning & design
Parks and green spaces in a town or city generally reflect their socio-economic
evolution, they are rarely planned as a whole.
The management of these areas very often follows ad hoc the fragmentation
that exists. We need to adopt a harmonious and holistic view of a city’s
functioning.

23. Trees
Meadows,
Sports fields,
Water features,
Lawns,
Flower beds,
Woodland,
Hedges,
Seating,
Games areas,
Chemicals,
Water run off,
Irrigation,
Biomass
transfers,
Soils,
Hardscape
permeability,
What can be recycled locally and in what quantity ?
Surface areas may need to be modified if we want an ecological equilibrium.

24. For example, look at just one street tree ?
Roots How far do they extend, ? Will this
impact on buildings uplift pavements
1 semi - mature street tree
eg Platanus x acerifolia
10 m x 30 cm dbh
Water How much
water does it need ?
where does the water
come from ? Can
rainfall runoff be
better used ?
Tree pits What is
the soil quality like ?
What is the available
soil volume ?
Is the hardscape
covering the root
system permeable or
impermeable ?
Leaf fall. What
weight of leaves fall
each year ? What
weight will fall in 10,
20, 50 yrs time ?
Clients & Costs.
How does this impact
on a management
plan in 10, 20, 50 yrs
time ?
Tree surgery,
summer
pruning,storm
damage, vandalism
Can the Biomass be
recycled at the foot of
the tree, if not where ?
nearby ?
Carbon emissions & Carbon sequestration ?
We transfer from one area to another thousands of tons of hedge cuttings, grass clippings, leaves, branches and
felled tree trunks which contribute to high maintenance costs.
"To successfully design with sustainability in mind we need a lot more technical and scientific facts to work from.
"
QUANTITIES & LONG TERM COSTS NEED TO BE KNOWN.
Biodiversity
Species richness;
Tree fauna, soil
fauna & flora.
Environment Noise filtering,
city cooling effects, dust
filtering, Oxygen liberation.
Blocked light.
Aesthetic value to
residents; Quality of
life.

25. New landscape projects and existing green infrastructure needs to balance
ecological coherence with amenity use :
•Re-create living soils to reduce our dependence on chemicals,
•Above ground biomass should ideally be produced in quantities that can be
recycled “very” locally by the natural decomposers in the soil,
•Amenity grasslands can help flood management
•Avoid plants with “toxic” foliage (Laurel and conifer hedges..),
•Avoid species whose leaves are difficult to compost,
•Use the competitive capacity of the plants we want, to outcompete the plants we
don’t want,
•Mulching benefits …
•Choose low maintenance grass varieties,
•Use nitrogen fixing legumes to reduce fertiliser requirements,
•Increase the permeability of hardscape surfaces,
•Take into account the longevity of landscape materials and their potential for
recycling,
•Increase biodiversity,
•Coordination with other professional sectors needs to be improved.
“The design process of a landscape project and its long term maintenance
should become a unified intellectual process.”

26. CARBON AUDITS - Is your green infrastructure
Carbon negative ?
CO2
Or carbon positive ?
CO2
A Carbon Audit of Romsey War Memorial Park, Hampshire in 2010 was
researched to test this hypothesis.

27. A typical British park …
Surface areas m²
Flower beds 152
Shrub beds 469
Hard surfaces 2016
Play area 658
Bowling Green 1500
Tennis courts 1000
Bowling Club 5795
Grass area 14153
Total 19948
Number of trees 69

28. Increasing kg. CO2 / yr. in Fagus sylvatica over 105 years, averaged over 5 yr. intervals.

29. SUMMARY OF CARBON SEQUESTRATION
m²
CO2 content
kg
annual sequestration
CO2 kg / yr
Shrub beds 469 m² 3 735 negligible (pruning)
Soil (shrub beds) 469 m² 11 010 -
Lawns 14 153 m² 20 135 -
Soil (lawns) 14 153 m² 241 530 5 690
Soil (stocked CO2eq) 14 622 m² 402 471
Trees 69 95 401 2 593
Hedges 295 m 4 486 negligible (pruning)
Total 778 768 8 283
ROMSEY PARK CO2 MAINTENANCE EMISSIONS
Park machinery kg. CO2. yr % of total
Mower 575.25 37.8%
Strimmer 28.24 1.9%
Hedge Cutter 22.60 1.5%
Leaf Blower 65.90 4.3%
Chain Saw 7.53 0.5%
Rotovator 15.34 1.0%
Oil changes 59.00 3.9%
Total 773.86 50.9%
Transport
Pick-up Supervisor 82.41 5.4%
Van & Trailor Grass cutting 98.79 6.5%
General gardening 145.28 9.5%
Mulch imports 3.29 0.2%
Leaf sweeping 6.59 0.4%
Snow clearing 3.29 0.2%
Tree surgery 38.74 2.5%
General Pruning 13.17 0.9%
Hedge cutting 6.59 0.4%
Road sweeping 39.52 2.6%
Waste removal 309.94 20.4%
Total 747.62 49.1%
TOTAL 1521.48
RESULTS
Carbon stocks
778 t. CO2 eq
Annual sequestration
8.3 t. CO2 eq yr.
Carbon emissions
1.5 t.CO2 eq / yr.
Net annual increase
6.8 t.CO2 eq / yr.

30. As part of an environmental research programme, near
Angers, root growth and carbon sequestration in grass species
and varieties were compared.
By courtesy of Top Green, ZA Les Pains 49320 Les Alleuds, France.

31. CO2 SUMMARY OF TURF GRASSES
Varieties of
Min. - Max. annual
sequestration
t.CO2 eq / yr.
Average annual
sequestration t.CO2 eq /
yr.
Lolium perenne 3.89 - 18.00 11.65
Festuca rubra rubra 4.94 - 20.81 11.78
Festuca arundinacea 9.26 - 17.32 13.67
Festuca rubra litoralis 4.47 - 9.28 6.66
Festuca rubra commutata 5.89 - 9.28 7.78
Festuca trachyphylla 7.11 7.11
Agrostis tenuis 9.99 9.99
Agrostis stolonifera 18.25 18.25
Poa pratensis 3.51 - 10.96 7.23
Eco-trifolium mix 11.73 11.73
Micro Luzerne mix 18.95 18.95
Conclusion
•By selecting the better performing varieties in a typical amenity grass
mix carbon sequestration may be doubled or tripled.
By courtesy of Top Green, ZA Les Pains 49320 Les Alleuds, France.

32. If we project the 2ha. Romsey War Memorial park to 150 000 ha of
U.K. parks in the same proportions on trees, shrubs and grasses we
would find:
5.2M trees Carbon stored 7.2M t.CO2 eq
Carbon sequestered per year 177,000 t.CO2 eq /yr.
35.6M shrubs Carbon stored 281,000. t.CO2 eq
Negligible sequestration with
annual pruning
-
106,000ha. lawns Carbon stored 1.5M t.CO2 eq
Carbon sequestered per year 606,000 t.CO2 eq /yr.
Enhanced park
management
Carbon sequestered per year 1M - 1.5M.t.CO2 eq /yr.
At a soil density of 1.55, a 1% increase in organic matter could add
50t.CO2/ha. in the soil.
For 150 000ha of UK parks that’s 7.5M t.CO2

33. As part of a research programme to develop low maintenance grass mixes,
grass species were compared in clipping trials between 2002 - 2011, measuring
the height and weight of arisings of different grass varieties.
By courtesy of Top Green, ZA Les Pains 49320 Les Alleuds, France.

34. Varieties of Min. - Max. weight of
clippings t.ha/yr.
Lolium perenne 3.04 - 7.39
Festuca rubra rubra 4.79 - 12.65
Festuca arundinacea 7.24 - 21.28
Festuca rubra litoralis 4.53 - 5.96
Festuca rubra commutata 5.13
Festuca trachyphylla 4.86 - 6.27
Agrostis tenuis 8.32
Agrostis stolonifera 8.02
Poa pratensis 3.30
Eco-trifolium mix 4.05
Conclusion
•Within the commonly used varieties in grass mix formulations there
is a twofold to threefold difference in growth rates as measured by
removed clipping weights.
By courtesy of Top Green, ZA Les Pains 49320 Les Alleuds, France.

35. Conclusions
1.Various sustainable landscape maintenance programmes have been
successfully put into place in European cities.
2.Management needs to classify and quantify its Green Infrastructure; to
establish a baseline, from which costs can be monitored, and future
improvements measured.
3.Our scientific and technical information base is poor, planners and
landscape designers need to access data that relates to the managerial
decisions of the future.
4.Green infrastructure is a carbon sink even when the carbon footprint of
maintenance is taken into account.
5.The carbon sink potential for Green Infrastructure can be increased.
6.Improving the environmental quality of our parks and open spaces is not a
technical problem but a human one; but it will require a significant shakeup in
the way people and organisations function.

36. “Sustainable Landscape Management does not mean abandoning
maintenance. Rather it remains a challenge to achieve horticultural
excellence and impact by using less intensive maintenance methods,
integrating modern research, involving local communities, and using
renewable local natural resources whenever possible.”
ARE YOU READY ?

37. THANK YOU
Howard Wood
hwood@landscape-environment.com