Watershed Stewards Academy – Conservation Landscape Design Tool

Design Tool

Purpose:

This tool provides guidance on installing conservation landscapes (sometimes called BayScapes).  Based on a few choices, the guidance is tailored to your needs.  After a short interaction with this website, you should have most or all of the information you need to begin and maintain your project.

This is intended for homeowner-scale projects; if your project exceeds the recommended sizes and general level of complexity, it is wise to consult with a landscape professional who can provide more specific guidance.

What this tool provides:

  • Tips and guidance on assessing your site or property, and sizing your project
  • Layouts for conservation landscape
  • Recommended plant lists, sources, and references for alternative plants of your choice
  • Material quantities, approximate costs, and a worksheet to automatically calculate these quantities if you use a different size or configuration
  • Installation instructions and tips
  • Maintenance instructions and schedule
  • References for additional information and help

What this tool doesn’t provide:

  • Custom guidance for sizes not represented here
    • If you use different sizes or configurations, you will have to make some assumptions and adjustments for material quantities, and installation instructions
  • Detailed costs
    • The costs represented here are common costs, but these costs will vary depending on local sources, fluctuating prices, and how much work you do yourself
  • Guarantees, of any sort, explicit or implied

Before you get started:

We recommend assessing your property or site to determine what you can, cannot, should, or should not do regarding stormwater treatment.  Click here for the Site Assessment appendix of the WSA BMP Manual, which will tell you how to determine the available size and types of practices, as well as some important consideration in selecting which practice(s) to use.  Click here for the WSA Manual Conservation Landscape chapter.  Again, if this is too complex or unclear, refer to a local landscape professional for some additional guidance.
If you're ready to start designing your conservation landscape, click NEXT below.