Reduce damage to plants by limiting construction-vehicle access
During construction, vehicular traffic compacts soil and can injure or kill nearby trees.
Compacted soil is bad for plants: Roots don’t get as much oxygen and the soil doesn’t absorb as much water, starving roots and aiding erosion.
On your job sites, try to limit vehicles to permanent roads, designated parking or areas where other buildings will be constructed. Fence off no-vehicle zones. And, consider asking workers to park away from the building site—even off-site—and walk in.
To ensure protection, fenced areas for trees should extend well beyond the dripline, the farthest reach of the branches.
Protecting trees and ensuring healthy soil provides important wildlife habitats. Shade trees reduce cooling loads and mature trees can increase property value.
GREEN POINTS
LEED for HomesLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED for Homes is the residential green building program from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). While this program is primarily designed for and applicable to new home projects, major gut rehabs can qualify. Anything you do outdoors will generally give you greater bang for "green buck" than anything you do in the structure. This is also true with LEED-H. The easiest to earn are often those related to landscape. These include SS2 (Sustainable Sites) — up to 7 points, SS3 — 1 point, SS4 — up to 7 points, and WE2 (Water Efficiency) — up to 4 points. Up to 4 Innovation points can be earned for exemplary performance with regard to these credits.
NGBSNational Green Building Standard Based on the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines and passed through ANSI. This standard can be applied to both new homes, remodeling projects, and additions. /ICC-700: Under Chapter 4 - Site Design and Development: 4 pts. for On-site supervision and coordination (404.1); 4 pts. for installing fencing to protect trees and other plants (404.2.1); 4 pts. for avoiding soil compaction, trenching, and significant grade changes near critical root zones (404.2.2); 5 pts. for staking out limits to clearing and grading areas prior to construction (404.3.1); 4 pts. for creating "no disturbance" zones with fencing or flagging to protect sensitive areas from vehicles, material storage and washout (404.3.2}; 4 pts. for reducing soil compaction from construction equipment. Placing lightweight geogrids, mulch, chipped wood, plywood, OSB (oriented strand board), metal plates, etc. in the pathway of the equipment distributes its weight over a larger area. (404.3.5)
Learn more in the Green Building Encyclopedia:
Building Lot Overview
Landscape: Native Plants and Soil
Further Resources
BuildingGreen.com
Trees and Development: A Technical Guide to Preservation of Trees During Land Development
