Greening up in San Antonio. (Clippings).Creative urban forest design can cool urban heat islands, restore river ecosystems, and boost human capability and comfort. In San Antonio San Antonio (săn ăntō`nēō, əntōn`), city (1990 pop. 935,933), seat of Bexar co., S central Tex., at the source of the San Antonio River; inc. 1837. in September, a civil engineer, a biology professor, a social science researcher, and a community forestry coordinator will come together to explain just how this is done. The session, Designing Green Infrastructure, is but one of more than 100 featured at AMERICAN FORESTS' 2003 National Urban Forest Conference, "Engineering Green." The conference will be held Sept. 17-20 at the Adam's Mark Adam's Mark is a chain of five upscale hotels in the United States. The chain was founded in the early 1970s by Fred Kummer and the chain is currently owned by HBE, Inc., which was also founded by Kummer. Hotel on the city's downtown River Walk. (For more on the River Walk, see "A City Guided by Its River," page 36.) In addition to sessions and guest speakers, the conference will include a number of workshops and tours. In one, tour participants will travel to the capital of Austin to visit innovative stormwater runoff detention facilities and commercial and residential developments that minimize stormwater runoff and nonpoint non·point adj. Not found or located at a single, definable point, as pollution whose source cannot be ascertained. source pollutants. They'll also visit the country's foremost center for wildflower wildflower Any flowering plant that grows without intentional human aid. Wildflowers are the source of all cultivated garden varieties of flowers. A wildflower growing where it is unwanted is considered a weed. research, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (279 acres) is a public botanical garden on La Crosse Avenue in Austin, Texas. It is devoted entirely to native plants. The center currently functions as an Organizational Research Unit of The University of Texas at Austin. . Interested in green building practices? Tour two of San Antonio's newest public facilities, the NW Vista Community College and the Northside Customer Service Center, Both were planned, designed, and built to be compatible with the surrounding environment and to protect the city's single water supply, the Edwards Aquifer The Edwards Aquifer is one of the most prolific artesian aquifers in the world. Located on the eastern edge of Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas, it discharges about 900,000 acre feet (1.1 km³) of water a year and directly serves about two million people. . In "Design and Build with Trees in Mind," you'll learn from those in the trenches and get an overview of techniques. "Handheld Technologies for Urban Forestry Urban forestry is the care and management of urban forests, i.e., tree populations in urban settings for the purpose of improving the urban environment. Urban forestry advocates the role of trees as a critical part of the urban infrastructure. ," teaches attendees how to use personal digital assistants to complete tree inventories, map GIS data in the field, and carry out tree planting and maintenance operations. A one-day hands-on computer training on AMERICAN FORESTS' GIS software, CITYgreen, will be taught by the program's developer, Ken Gorton. For program and registration details, visit www.americanforests.org. Early registration rates end July 31. |
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