Top Green and Euroflor UK consultant Howard Wood has returned from Portugal where
he took part in two conferences on sustainable landscapes.
More
than 150
delegates were at the two events – one in Lisbon and one in Faro.
They included landscape architects, consultants and local
authorities.
Howard,
director of Landscape and Environmental Services Ltd, was one of the
key speakers on his experiences with Euroflor urban flower meadows in
the UK, carbon sequestration and his work with Lyon in France in
reducing their landscape maintenance budgets through sustainable
landscaping.
One
of the supporters of the conference, organised by the Portuguese
Landscape Institute, was the company Atlanlusi who supply Top Green
grass seed and Euroflor urban flower meadow seed in Portugal.
Howard
says: "The Portuguese are very forward-looking and the
delegates were interested in hearing of the work we have been doing
in the UK and France to promote sustainable landscaping through the
correct use of grasses and flowers.
"Lyon,
for example, saved 366,000
Euros by putting into place a sustainable landscape programme which
included changing 70 per cent of formal bedding with Euroflor urban
flower meadows.
"Establishing
trial sites for urban meadows is the first stage, working out which
flowers do best and a management plan. Communication with the public
is the key to success."
Howard
recently led a party of British landscapers and turf growers to the
trial ground at Valence in France where Euroflor flower seed mixtures
are developed for Top Green – distributed in the UK by Rigby
Taylor. They also visited the City of Lyon to see sustainable
landscaping work.
Top
Green supported
a recent ground-breaking Sustainable Landscapes Forum at Bristol
University.
More
than 80 delegates,
including members of BALI and WRAP, discussed research into
pollinating insects, wildflower management, lower maintenance grass
development and cost-saving local authority strategies for improving
green spaces.
Stephen
Alderton, Top
Green director
of marketing and development, said
they were dedicated to researching new grass varieties that produce
lower maintenance mixtures for local authorities that reduced
clippings, frequency of mowing and better carbon sequestration.
"Taking
part in conferences such as those in Bristol and Portugal is part of
our continuing process of informing local
authorities and landscapers of more economical and sustainable ways
of looking after the environment," says Stephen.
