One of my professional goals this year was to obtain LEED accreditation. I did so when I passed the test in May— scheduled to take place during our busiest quarter to date, of course.
Wait! LEED? “Is she a contractor? Why would landscapers be concerned with LEED certification?”
We’re not the average landscaper, as you may have realized. Our focus is on the BIG picture — creating, and stewarding, quality green infrastructure that improves the livelihood of our neighborhoods for people and our planet.
Today, I had the opportunity to tour the Philadelphia Navy Yard as part of Greenbuild International Conference & Expo. The project is a revolutionary initiative in sustainable development incorporating adaptive reuse of historic buildings, remediation of brown fields, evolving stormwater management systems, new construction of commercial and residential spaces and significant use of MWBE firms. The most unique aspect of this project is that these are self-imposed terms by the developer and not city mandates. The project is a shining example of a LEED Neighborhood Development project.
LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND) was engineered to inspire and help create better, more sustainable, well-connected neighborhoods. It looks beyond the scale of buildings to consider entire communities.
The team at Ensemble / Mosaic were clear about their commitments long before pursuing this certification. Sustainability was going to be the core of this project because a commitment to excellence required a foundation of integrity. In cities like Philadelphia and New York, access to green space is a quality of life issue. They understood that. The Philadelphia Navy Yard is accessible from South Philly currently (though I don’t know how easy that 1/2 mile journey is) with future plans to increase transportation options in and out of the surrounding neighborhoods. It is an absolute privilege to meet with the team of developers, architects and landscape architecture firms, who brought this to life and opened their doors to us and our questions.
All in all, the increased exposure to the behind-the-scenes of all our tangential industries only makes me more steadfast in our mission. We can’t forget the GREEN in the Green Economy. And we have to uphold the same quality and rigor present in design phases in the installation and long-term maintenance of these capital projects.