Upcoming Spring Events

Greetings!

It seems that spring is finally here. At ENCAP, that means growing season maintenance and stewardship begins. This month we are going to cover some of the maintenance activities that are important during the early part of the growing season. Don't forget to check out the third "Navigating the Chicago Market Event" and the other upcoming events on the sidebar.

In This Issue

Navigating the Chicago Real Estate Market in 2010

Green Infrastructure Stewardship

Brushing Up - The First Maintenance Minute

Upcoming Events

Navigating the Chicago Real Estate Market

Navigate

The real estate industry has changed for all of us, and in turn, we're all changing the way we develop, build and approach real estate. We have teamed up with some top real estate professionals to bring you the most important and relevant seminar that you can attend. Hear from industry leaders and find out how all sides are approaching real estate in today's market.

When: Where:

Thursday, April 22, 2010                                                                      Grotto Oak Brook
7:30 am    11:30 am                    3011 Butterfield Rd
                                                                                                         Oak Brook, IL 60523
                                                   (630) 571-5700

Click Here for a Full Agenda!

Green Infrastructure Stewardship

Green infrastructure on a site level consists of stormwater best management practices such as bioswales, filtration strips, wetland bottom detention basins, bio-retention areas, and rain gardens. The overall focus of these practices is to promote infiltration, stormwater treatment in de-centralized areas, and overall reduction of stormwater pollutants and runoff to receiving water bodies.

The vast majority of these and other modern stormwater management systems have some component of native vegetation to help meet today's water quality standards. One of the biggest selling points of utilizing native vegetation in a stormwater detention area is that it is drought tolerant and requires less maintenance and inputs than turf products.

Over time, the concept of "low maintenance" areas tended to devolve into treating these areas with "no maintenance" activities. This attitude can lead to overproduction of noxious weeds and loss of the beneficial functions of a native landscape. Just like everything, these stormwater best management practices need maintenance and stewardship in order to function effectively. The chart below outlines a typical annual maintenance schedule for a larger naturalized basin or floodplain or any other large area of native landscaping.

Brushing Up: The First Maintenance Minute

We are often asked, "What do you do all winter? " Besides ice fishing and deer hunting, we are typically clearing invasive brush out of northeastern Illinois woodlands. Invasive shrub species such as Honeysuckle, Multiflora Rose, and Buckthorn species are overcrowding our woodlands and preventing native tree and shrub regeneration. Managing and eradicating these species are critical to protecting our woodlands from infestation and degradation.

Here is a short video to illustrate the brushing process.

The ENCAP Maintenance Minute - Brushing Up

Next month we will discuss the importance of monitoring native landscaping projects and continue to cover basic stewardship practices. Next month's "Maintenance Minute" will cover prescribed burning and should be a little more exciting than "Brushing Up". See you in April, hopefully it won't snow between now and then!

Sincerely,

Carl Peterson
ENCAP, Inc.

Upcoming Events