Carbon Positive Landscaping

Carbon Positive Landscaping

Carbon Positive Landscaping

Carbon Positive Landscaping

By D. S. Mitchell

Past Behavior

I have been planting native species plants and using water conserving drip irrigation for at least a decade. But I want to take it to the next level. I opened the March/April 2021 issue of Sierra magazine and found an article that motivated me to get busy. To be carbon positive, just means  your landscape/plantings remove more carbon dioxide than they generate.  Planting a tree that will grow large can remove hundreds of pounds of carbon from the atmosphere over its lifetime. Conversely, adding a concrete patio can add hundreds of pounds of carbon to the atmosphere. Lydia Lee’s article offered some great suggestions on how to create a truly green landscape.

Do a Carbon Audit

There is a free carbon calculator at climatepositivedesign.com/pathfinder, just enter details about hardscaping, plants, and maintenance equipment into the free carbon calculator. For example, stone pavers score poorly because of the intense amount of energy required to cut and transport them. You can also download the Climate Positive Design Toolkit,  which lists 50 strategies for improving your landscapes footprint, such as planting bamboo.

Avoid Concrete

Concrete is essentially artificial rock. Using concrete for a walkway or a patio dramatically increases your garden’s environmental footprint. Concrete is created with cement which during manufacturing needs to be heated to 2,500 degrees F. It would be better to use decomposed granite or gravel when creating paths and patios. A new product, Trugrid (truegridpaver.com) is a permeable paving system that holds gravel in place. The product is made from post-consumer recycled plastic. It even allows rainwater to drain into the ground rather than run off.

Continue reading