Sustainable site development and landscaping involves preparing a physical site for construction and later planting and maintaining the site while lessening the impact on the environment. Sustainable site development strategies include selective landscape clearing, Brownfield or soil remediation and erosion control. Sustainable landscaping involves selecting plants that are native to the region and that require less inputs such as water and chemicals. These efforts are an important component of green building because they conserve natural resources, limit on-site toxins and manage erosion per the City’s requirements.

Adapted From Sustainable Landscape Construction, J. William Thompson and Kim Sorvig

• 1. Keep Healthy Sites Healthy
• 2. Heal Injured Sites
• 3. Favor Living, Flexible or Green Materials
• 4. Respect Water
• 5. Pave less
• 6. Consider Origin and Fate of Materials
• 7. Know the Cost of Energy over Time
• 8. Celebrate Light, Respect Darkness
• 9. Quietly Defend Silence
• 10. Maintain to Sustain