Delegate questions and speaker answers
On the 1st & 2nd September, we hosted two days of lectures at the University of Essex, bringing together leading horticulturists, garden designers, conservationists, landscape architects, developers, planners, academia & local authority interdisciplinary teams, to discuss the meaning, purpose and best practice of ecological and sustainable planting for the 21st century.
To ensure as much information was shared by our speakers, we developed a full programme of lectures with a tight timeframe which left us unable to present all of the delegate questions to panels and individual speakers. We gathered these questions through our live chat and have put them to our speakers after the event. The speakers’ answers can be found below.
Asked Questions
Taking rewilding to different audiences- Panel
Question 1. The public (absent plantsman's eye and knowledge) only have their senses through which to be struck and connect with the environment. Thus, how well do we understand the sensory process of relating to the wild?
Dr Gemma Jerome - This is an interesting question and I think speaks to the evidence-based research which suggests humans are neurologically set up to respond, either consciously or unconsciously, to nature. Some of the empirical findings from research in the field of psychology shows that even when humans are shown images of nature e.g. some public buildings have used wall coverings depicting trees and woodlands, this can have a passive but positive efect on people's stress response (i.e. cortisol levels). Other resarch shows that different types of habitat do elicit different responses in people, due to cultural associations e.g. coniferous forests versus deciduous woodland, so in the terms of your question and 'relating to the wild', the garden designer/landscape professional should spend some time thinking about who they are designing for, and what type of vegetation or habitat would be a priority for one area reflecting the needs, and desired response of users/beneficiaries.
Question 2. Can you rewild a window box? Small-scale rewilding brings in urban and non-landowner audiences to ecological restoration. How do we help people rewild the only spaces they have?
Dr Gemma Jerome - I think you can. Gardening is / can be in many ways mimicking nature/natural habitats. In this way, we can think of/look to the pockets of nature that dance through our cities and towns. Wherever there is a niche (e.g. a crack in paving stones, a gap in a wall) plants will quickly move in. Small spaces can be designed to offer wildlife a home, whether it is flowering perennials for pollinators to take a nectar-rich pitstop as they move through a city (we designed window boxes at 1st/2nd floor level for Cheltenham High Street as part of their re-wilding initiative), or ferns in shady spots, or ivy to give forage in winter. As long as the conditions are considered and species are selected to be as self-sustaining as possible with regards water, light and food, it is possible to create pocket habitats in urban settings.
Question 3. How can councils better share knowledge on successful projects? So all councils have access to a Giacomo?
Dr Gemma Jerome - There are organisations which are set up to support networking between local authorities e.g. Local Government Association have a programme of learning for LPAs, and will include case studies for knowledge exchange. Similarly, the Institute of Government and Public Policy deliver events for local goverment, and public health/NHS bodies. Public Practice, set up by Pooja Agrawal, is doing excellent work in this space to support innovation in local goverment and offers a secondment scheme where professionals from private practice like Giacomo can be posted in a local government setting to supplement skills (https://www.publicpractice.org.uk/) Building with Nature also offer green infrastructure training for local authorities and this includes shairng good practice across local councils.
Question 4. There's an assumption in this conversation that gardening is good for nature and anything we do to get people gardening helps. Do you not think that sometimes gardening is full of interventions and inputs and can be done with very little understanding of our place in the natural world or real benefits for nature?
Dr Gemma Jerome - I think the first step to rewilding the mind is for people to get their hands dirty! So whilst not all gardening is automatically nature positive (see comments made at symposium about articifical/fossil fuel-based pesticides and fertilizers), I do think that as gardeners we need to make outdoor and natural spaces as accessible and welcoming to all as possible.
Question 5. How do they ensure that their projects are maintained to the high standard needed longer term in the public realm with such a huge gap in the understanding of wilder maintenance requirements and skills area?
Dr Gemma Jerome - Building with Nature Standards Framework offers guidance on 'what good looks like' in terms of longevity of positive impact for people and wildlife from gardens/green spaces, including good practice examples of mechanisms and models to support technical aspects of maintenance, governace, stewardship, and monitoring for things like biodiversity gains.
Question 6. The biggest opportunity for rewilding the UK lays in the agriculture industry. How will changes in policies allow more land to be rewilded rather than degraded by farming?
Dr Gemma Jerome - I would look to the role that ELMS could play here… also mini budget this week is worrying in that regard! eNGOs such as Wildlife Trust and RSPB play a higely important and proactive role in supproting local landowners and farmers to understand how better to manage land for wildlife (including flood resilience). Many examples across the UK of this happending for past decades.
Question 7. How would you define the difference between wild and gardened for the uninitiated?
Dr Gemma Jerome - I would day 'wild' broadly speaking refers to landscape that is not managed by humans, and gardens describe landscapes that are designed and maintained by humans, for the benefits of people and wildlife.
Question 8. Are we not actually rewilding in a post-wild world? Therefore, its not about trying to turn back the ecological clock, as it is to move it forward. How this might timely revelation influence how you successfully design wilder public landscapes?
Dr Gemma Jerome - I believe this question was answered in the symposium in a subsequent session. The optimal conditions for any landscape / garden is to recognise the need for inherent adaptability, recognising what makes a space 'wild' oftenrelates to its resilience to exist without human intervention. When designign landscape, key foundation principles of supporting soil health, water quality & quantity, and biodiversity will help any design to mimic the in-buitl resilience and adaptability of 'wild' or natural spaces.
Question 9. Should the spectrum of ecological aims that re-wilding can provide be communicated by identifying their economic value?
Dr Gemma Jerome - I would say there is already a lot of evidence available for this - see theories and reports discussing natural capital (some keystone organisations in the environment sector have already published their natural capital accounts to manage their estates more effectively). Also see evidence on ecosystem services, and valuing nature-based solutions. UK-GBC have led a lot of work in this area - worth visiting their website ukgbc.org/ukgbc-work/the-value-of-urban-nature-based-solutions.
Question 10. How do we first define the ecological aims of re-wilding so that we can communicate them effectively?
Dr Gemma Jerome - I believe, if attempting a succinct definition, rewilding is aiming to introduce resilience to natural and semi-natural landscapes to withstand the challenges of climate change and increasing uncertainty around the available economic means to manage landscape in and around towns and cities (arguably outside of the agricultural land use). The methods of effectively rewilding land at different scales and interventions was, I think, covered comprehesively in other sessions in the symposium.
Planting for wild gardening panel
Question 1. Our climate is changing and so what we call natives may not survive and we may need to look at non-natives. We are also experiencing diseases. What happens if they effect our natives and wipe them out. Do we then not need to create a balance to save our natural environments?
Richard Scott - I think it is common sense. There are of course examples of powerful weeds from introductions. There will in dynamic of ecological fitting of landscapes, and I think we can expect to see new kinds of landscapes- this dynamic is witnessed in urban areas- individuals like Oliver Gilbert who documented the idea of urban common and new kinds of distinction. We have to be aware of both climate change and the need to be adaptive, but also the adaptive nature of native plants too. But they need help. We need a new parable of the sower!
Question 2. what is the best organic fertiliser to use over large areas of soil?
Question 3. In Crete I see the Cretans foraging in the wild. They get horta and wild aspargus and many other edibles. Have we lost the art of foraging in this country?
Richard Scott - No far from it, I see it less than a quarter of a mile from where I live in Liverpool. I think it is definitely on the ascendency, and it is a rapidly growing community, many of us our not aware of. this year, I know of lots of people are making wild garlic pesto, and that’s in a city, as just an example, one on a place by Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, where we introduced wild garlic some years ago, a very shady spot, it is used by the Chinese community too, centred close by. As a result of this people discovering wilder spaces as a result. But lots of people are doing this - the fungi thing is obviously huge and people are getting worried by the pressure in places like the new forest for example . Alongside roadside planting I have seen and talked to Bangladeshi women weeding out fen hen from new annual perennial plantings, as a spinach surrogate- also a welcome weeding exercise from these community plantings. - so it’s helpful for the look of the flower displays too- So people bring these traditions from further afield too. It is just we don’t notice these activities usually. Lots happening foraging websites etc.
Question 4. To R.Scott: Why not applying a mixture, containing a smaller proportion of grass, when creating a meadow. Grass is integral part of a meadow and many invertebrates, like butterfly- and moth catarpillars feed on grasses ( i.e. Melarnagria and others)
Richard Scott - Sometimes yes, but be very careful choice of species, we are after all one of best countries in the world to now grass, and it takes centre stage quickly even from from small amounts. Introduction But many grass species are much more aggressive, than realised and are a real barrier to establishment, yellow rattle much vaunted is not always the magic bullet people claim. You can introduce grasses later in year 2 or 3, of really distinct species. A balance is more likely to be set. Grass mixtures sown of with wildflower mixtures is more likely to cultivars too. Accidental introduction of Yorkshire Fog from brush harvesting or hey strewing on wet rich soils can be a real problem very quickly for example a real problem. Grass is of course important in the equation but timing is the key.
Question 5. What precautions must we take when importing foreign species to the UK?
Richard Scott - Common sense, in terms of good protocols and public education, which are there generally. People can be greedy for getting the cheapest, which is human nature but should support local economy, in efforts being made, and be practical in terms of provenancing and the real impact of what needs to be done- the important thing is to deliver biodiversity at a scale. Work toward local distinction and pride.
Ecologically focused innovative techniques Panel
Question 1. How would they recommend to prepare a site with the least impact possible? How to store the soils without causing greater harm? What to put in the soil to help improve it whilst its being stored until its used?
John Little - Don't have experience of long term soil storage but guessing avoiding anaerobic conditions would make sense. We have also found new soils pull in the microryza from the exosting soils remarkable quickly once the new planting establishes
Question 2. What do you think the next biggest ecological innovation will be? what are the hot topics?
John Little - I'd like it to be a bigger conversation around the importance of structure and complexity of landscape including soils and topography. Getting entomologists into landscape design would really change things!
Question 3. What advice would you give a community group hoping to rescue a neglected urban park?
John Little - Big question, drop me an email grassroofcompany@gmail.com
Question 4. I am a volunteer with the Bruce Trail Conservancy - a 900 km 'ribbon of wilderness' trail on a protected escarpment in Canada. In the context of restoring farmed land along the trail, I broached the concept of an edible forest for wildlife (not humans) to the ecologists on staff for the Trail. They do not support the idea because it is not "natural" and "original state" of the land settled by European settlers. Have you run across this opposition to forest gardens/edible meadows before? How would you address it?
Question 5. How do you think climate change will impact on plant selection for green roofs?
John Little - A greenroof is already way more stressed than landscapes on the ground and obviously climate change is going to increase this level. We need to make sure new green roofs have a minimum soil depth of 150mm and we need to add structural habitat onto roofs that will function without needing water
Question 6. If glyphosate makes delivering bigger benefits on a bigger scale more affordable and achievable, can the potential negatives be outweighed by the positives? Is it really safe to assume that gardening without glyphosate is necessarily the most sustainable and most beneficial approach, considering the costs associated with the alternative methods?
John Little - Ideal world, no herbicide but to prep large areas of top soil for sowing difficult without. We work with construction waste and subsoils to nigate the use of herbicides as these materials are weed free. They can be direct sowed without any worries around weed competition
Living in Harmony with Nature: The Secret of Creating 21st Century Garden Cities by Dr. Wei Yang
Question 1. How do we improve urban greenspaces in deprived area whilst protecting the local residents from gentrification, rising house and rent prices that could push them out of the area?
I think we need to have a national strategy and a solid incentification and funding plan, so the improvement of urban (and rural) greenspaces can happen everywhere to enhance life quality.
Question 2. How do we ensure the creation of new garden cities doesn’t destroy the character and ecology of the existing rural landscape, either directly or indirectly
Good master plans should reflect local character and use creative measure to enhance ecology and biodiversity.
Question 3. Garden cities are low density. How does that work alongside the 15 minute city where all facilities are within a short travel distance
As I explained during my talk, Garden Cities are not low-density developments. They could be higher density developments. The essence of Garden Cities is its social economic model and community governance mechanism. Existing Garden Cities, like Letchworth Garden City is a perfect example of 15-minute city, which is one of the key original Garden City principles.
Question 4. How feasible are plans for sustainable smart cities such as Neom in Saudi Arabia or Telosa in the US.
I am concerned about the amount of energy used in these places.
Question 5. How do Greening & Climate Change targets at council level integrate / influence / guide town planners?
Town Planners could play a key role at council level to integrate these actions. I think if the national planning policies and government’s environmental policies can be directly aligned that would strength planners’ ability to integrate the actions.
Question 6. Is there a distinct correlation between garden cities and gentrification?
Not really. As I discussed during my talk, garden cities are not designed for rich communities. They are a set of principles to create sustainable, liveable and beautiful communities for everyone. All communities can be planned and managed with these good principles, like Howard had wished.
The opportunitites and challenges of greening the city in times of climate and environmental crisis by Ton Muller and Giacomo Guzzon
Question 1. Under planting the greenspace with those huge trees embellishes the area. But is it wise to take away the opportunity for people to experience sitting below the trees?
GG: At Elephant Park, for instance, there are many opportunities to sit underneath the trees, clearly not under each one, but there are many different sitting opportunities throughout the park.
Question 2. Ton, Giacomo, the spaces we are looking at are residential or for rest and relaxation; it would be interesting to see treatments for high streets with shops, where cars, lorries and buses are still relevant.
TM: We will try to show more of these environments in future lectures.
Question 3. Can Giacomo comment on how he has overcome some of the problems he has alluded to in practice?
GG: The challenges of people disrespecting the landscape are not fully resolvable, but I found it helpful to talk with the community and even the teenagers and explain the effects of their actions or perhaps explain the challenges of maintaining a public landscape that is beautiful for everyone in the long term. So, in summary, talking and explaining can have some effects, but there will always be a degree of disruption.
TM: It is also part of the design process to understand these issues, work with them, and make the right planting choices to avoid people abusing the landscape.
Question 4. How do you plant trees close to gas mains? Our council will not plant a tree or even a big bush within 4m of a gas main which more or less precludes any street tree planting in our high street.
GG: That's true; there are regulations that we, unfortunately, cannot overcome, but generally, in my experience, I was still able to use herbaceous planting and smaller shrubs above the gas mains.
TM: In new projects, you work with the planners to avoid these problems and create enough space for trees to grow and locate the utilities where they will not impact the soft landscaping.
Question 5. Can Tom Muller share his list of successful plants which have survived a few varied seasons?
TM: Given the variability in light and soil conditions we are encountering throughout the city, plus the unpredictable weather patterns we are experiencing more often these years, I cannot draft a list of species that have survived in Amsterdam. Some species have performed better than others in specific locations, but this is not true in other locations, so as you see, there is a large degree of variability within the same city. In general, species with a predicted drought tolerance have performed well in the last few years, such as Hemerocallis, Phlomis, Amsonia, Liriope, Carex, Nepeta, Sesleria, Salvia and Veronicastrum, to mention a few.
Question 6. Tom/Giacomo - But isn't using 'large and robust' plants a return to non-biodiverse 'municipal' planting days? A way backwards, not forwards?
GG/TM: We intend to use robust and resilient species in a naturalistic way but always considering their environmental needs and therefore placing plants where they want to grow and grouping them like how they would more or less grow naturally; this is a significant departure from 'general municipal planting' if we can generalize this typology, from the past, where plants were used in large blocks but without considering their habitat requirements. Moreover, in terms of species, a more limited palette was used in public, often with more evergreen shrubs and less seasonality and layering. We aim to create diverse, layered and visually pleasing compositions with resilient species that can withstand the challenges of being planted in a public space with less attention and more disruption.
Question 7. A general question - am interested in how the natural environment and built environment boundary is becoming ever more blurred as we know we need to invite more nature into urban places. I work in an architecture practice and in our studio, people are specifying and designing green roofs perhaps with no input from landscape architects or horticulturalists for instance. How can the blurring of physical boundaries between our professions outputs be overcome/improved in terms of how we work together?
TM,GG: We need to collaborate and talk to each other and also acknowledge each other expertise and the fact that we need each other experience and professional knowledge to create successful projects, buildings or landscapes.
Question 8. Tom / Giacomo: do you use irrigation system in public projects? If yes, how can you train the plants to develop a deep root system, so they can eventually survive the period of droughts without being watered?
TM: We don't use irrigation in the public realm; we water the first year of establishment.
GG: In the projects I am involved at Gillespies we often have developers as a client, and we try to create landscapes that have some degree of green even during the drought of the summer. The aspiration is to create resilient and robust landscapes in cities but also to provide an uplifting and verdant atmosphere as much as possible in times of climate change.
One solution we have implemented is to install irrigation to establish plants in the first years after planting. We are trying not to overwater the flower beds and reduce the quantity and intensity of the irrigation as plants get established to push them to be more self-sufficient and less reliable on continuous irrigation.
Question 9. Re Giacomo's Elephant & Castle Project Why wouldn't the council adopt the planting?
GG: To my knowledge, the council will only adopt trees on public land but no planting because of the cost implications of maintaining extra green spaces with planting and perhaps because of the lack or shortage of council gardeners who can look after these places.
Question 10. Would it be a practical idee to focus on wetland plants for raingardens. Wetlands often fall dry in summer, so the plants can do with both extreme conditions.
TM/GG. To our knowledge, wetland plants require heavy soil that stays moist throughout the summer and will never dry out, even if the water level is low. However, the soil must be free draining in the rain gardens to facilitate vertical water percolation during rain events; therefore, the conditions are very different than in a wetland.
Question 11. Message for Ton, would it be possible to share your greening guide?
TM: The greening guide is in Dutch language and can be found on the following website: https://openresearch.amsterdam/nl/page/68110/groenbeleid - Puccini Handboek Groen - Standaard voor het Amsterdamse Straatbeeld
Question 12. How best to clear a site and prepare it without using harmful chemicals on a commercial site? What is the best practice for ecologically sustainable implementation of landscape schemes?
TM: In Amsterdam, we are not allowed to use herbicides, so the method I have seen implemented is to strip away the first layer of topsoil where most unwanted species are found.