Rachel gave webinar on calculating the carbon footprint of our gardens and designs for the Society of Garden Designers - 25 Nov 2022
Online talk on PathFinder - The Carbon Calculator for the Landscape Industry for the Society of Garden Designers
In the first of the Society of Garden Designer’s (SGD) continuing professional development series on sustainability, Rachel was invited to give an overview on why we need to calculate the embodied carbon of the projects we design and demonstrated how to use The Carbon Calculator, Pathfinder (ref.1; the brainchild of Pamela Conrad, CMG) to fellow designers.
As the lead for sustainability for the SGD, she pointed out that “a well- designed garden can have a positive effect on the environment and as designers we are in a unique position to do something good”.
She summarised that it is important:
To minimise the embodied carbon of the materials that go into a garden or landscape to slow the rate of accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere before the level reaches a tipping point of no return for global warming.
To maximise the trees and other planting and that the aftercare is considered integral to not only the survival but the thriving of the landscape for the long term and for the maximum sequestration of carbon.
To consider the ongoing aftercare and development of the planting in particular to ensure that they not only survive, but thrives to reach its full potential in carbon sequestration. Of course maximising the vegetation of a site has myriad benefits from wildlife habitats to lush green spaces for better mental health and well-being. A win-win!
Ref. 1: https://climatepositivedesign.com