When we look back at these times of uncertainty, there will be some contributing factor’s apart from “Social Distancing” that have in fact bought us closer together. The underlying health and wellbeing for all, the appreciation of qualified professionals and “key” skilled workers not only those that are helping to save lives but for those that are enabling us to survive by enabling us to best continue life as “normal.”
Certainly, many now crucially value outdoor space, areas on our doorsteps have been taken for granted that we simply used at any given time for relaxation and recreation.
Above all else and the crucial factor that I hope this pandemic has taught us is to care and communicate – we have been drawn together by what has seen as an unbelievable Community Spirit. Reading stories of extraordinary kindness has been humbling, proving that we can all pull together, we can #bekind #adapttochange and we can most certainly collaborate to make things happen.
GreenBlue have always been proud to innovate, communicate and collaborate on many levels and for those that know us would agree, being keen educators we have had to adapt, thankfully the digital age is a wonderous thing and we have grown alongside it too albeit there are still improvements to be made – a new Website and Ecommerce, ERP are all imminent enhancements.
Prior to recent events this blog was scheduled to focus on Industry Collaboration, and it is still albeit with some added alliance with others because like all we are pulling together with other suppliers, associations, operating business as best we can whilst continuing to promote a positive brand.
Understanding the Benefits of Trees in the Urban Landscape
Proud of the continued support offered from initial design to installation with several Tools and Resources to support along the way.
First and foremost, all of our CPD offerings remain as planned and have currently switched to using Microsoft Teams – so far these have been incredibly successful and we foresee these continuing in the future, as we say education is key and now is the perfect time to learn, so why not earn a certificate with categories including Best Practice Tree Planting, Trees and SuDS, Return on Investment and Below Ground – The Facts – contact us today.
Specifying ArborSystem®
The foundation of any successful urban landscape project comes down to an understanding of the benefits that urban trees offer and the importance of having mature trees in our cities. This is why GreenBlue Urban are passionate about Quality not Quantity as Howard frequently mentions in his CPDs – “Right Tree, Right Place”
Our technical experts are of course on hand to answer Species or Scenario question to enable correct soil volumes however our Online ArborSystem Configurator – allows you to design a tree pit with given species and all elements required to reach maturity, standard online CAD drawings are just a click away as is our Soil volume Calculator Tool.
Communication was instant, to a professional level of detail and imparted with clarity. The information and guidance imparted was key in solving design solutions.
Reviewing Master Plan & Providing Budgetary Costing
The uniqueness of each project and the variation in every tree pit creates a differentiation in site characteristics that makes standard costing guidelines difficult to estimate. The ArborSystem package consists of soil cells, root management, irrigation/aeration, and root ball guying.
The most common question is cost, and we can justify this with our publication The Cost Benefits of Trees as collaboratively written with Kenton Rogers from Treeconomics which looks at the annual benefits – comparing standard street planting to those in soil cell systems over a 50 year period.
We are often asked if there are cheaper alternative planting methods and yes there are as per last weeks blog – Tree Planting Mediums, however as stated value engineering or using cheaper alternatives will only be a short term solution. Which is why:
It is so important to collaborate from the start, from the Developer, Specifier to Contractor – we want to work with you all at each stage of the buying journey to ensure you will have an award winning project that you and future generations will be proud of.
Site Inspection & Contractor Accreditation
Correct installation directly impacts the long term success your project.
GreenBlue supports ArborSystem project with onsite consultation to ensure that our systems are being installed according to best practice. This provides you with the confidence that your design layouts are being executed as planned.
Trying to convince Contractors and Engineers to move away from conventional wisdom and adopt better solutions! Love your products, systems and solutions.
Industry Collaboration
As work continues we continue to support our customers by going the extra mile- either hand delivering products, going to site if still needed (at a distance) as well as supporting other suppliers and associations in these trying times.
This week we were proud to see the launch of the Landscape Institute’s online education platform “Campus” as a continued supporter of the LI we have joined forces with Hardscape, Vestre and Vectorworks to enable a go to tool for all to enjoy.
Hosting the first online “Zoom” CEO & Presidents update with Adam White, Daniel Cook and Jane Findlay detailed the industry-leading digital resource, with over 3 years’ of catch-up content from LI events, conferences and CPD days.
The LI’s mission is to equip members with the skills needed for a changing world. LI Campus is the first platform of its kind for the landscape profession’ Adam White FLI, President
Working collaboratively moving forward with fellow sponsors will enable LI members to work with experts across the specification market to produce great projects for all to be proud of.
‘Vestre is delighted to support the LI’s new Campus learning resource. Entirely aligned with one of the UN SDGs that we have embedded into our business plan (#4 Quality Education), Campus will provide inclusive, equitable and lifelong learning for landscape professionals.’
“Having collaborated with Landscape Institute members for over 25 years, Hardscape’s support of the Campus platform was a very natural evolution. By enabling the capture and dissemination of insights and learnings, Campus is a valuable resource for our industry — and something we very much welcome. It provides a rich repository of information that encourages collaboration and promotes best practice principles.”
“Vectorworks hopes that this new initiative will help advance awareness of landscape design, including sustainable site design and collaboration to help drive better landscape performance and also increase perception of landscape within the wider design and construction industry.”
Our commitment is to working with you to enable Green Infrastructure for the health and wellbeing for all not just now but for future generations to come!
