Towards a quality assurance for professional construction of ecological, climate-resilient gardens

My Garden Lab, Curious Noses in the Garden, Garden Rankers, Bird Counting Weekend, the Green Deal "Natural Gardens," etc. All are recent initiatives that respond to the importance of private gardens. Because that large area of household gardens plays a role that cannot be underestimated in making Flanders more climate- and water-robust. A lot of families are jumping on the bandwagon and going all out for a natural garden with attention to native plants, more biodiversity and water infiltration. The support of a professional offers great added value. After all, every location is different and making your garden sustainable is customized work. Green building professionals therefore want to work on a label to ensure the quality their clients demand. Moreover, with such a guideline, they help achieve the government's goals of connecting public green spaces and nature with sustainable, private gardens and, consequently, taking biodiversity in our region to a higher level.

A recent study by the Flemish government offers insights into making scattered buildings more sustainable. Family gardens in particular offer a lot of potential. It concerns 2 million gardens or together almost 10 % of the surface area in Flanders. The exploratory study "Making scattered housing more sustainable, how do you do it?" offers a series of recipes for strengthening gardens and connecting them to existing green and blue accents in the surrounding landscape. These include replacing fences with living hedges, tips for exensive management such as mowing certain areas less and adapted, native and climate-resistant vegetation, softening, local water retention, etc.

"A lot of our customers - often young families - are committed to ecological gardening and the construction of a natural climate-proof garden that fits nicely into the regionally bound landscape. Since large green works from government contracts are accompanied by clear guidelines to guarantee the quality of planting and layout, among other things, a quality guarantee from professional landscapers also seems very much needed for the construction of the vast acreage of private gardens. That is why we are currently working on the development of a label guaranteeing customers that they are supported by a professional with the necessary know-how who observes the required guidelines," says Peter Loyens, President of the association of green workers within the Confederation of Construction and CEO of Krinkels. 

For its part, the Flemish Confederation of Construction is joining the Green Deal 'Natural Gardens', which brings together initiatives by organizations and professionals to encourage more biodiversity in private gardens and harness it for climate change. For example, by coordinating gardens in terms of layout and planting.

"The Flemish government's 'Flemish Resilience' recovery plan aims not only to re-launch our economy and make our homes energy efficient, but also to prepare our gardens for climate change. Besides the importance of guaranteeing quality, it will also come down to attracting enough young people to our sector with a passion for greenery and landscaping. After all, there will be a lot of outflow in the coming years due to the increasing aging of our workforce. That is why the Flemish Construction Confederation is putting its efforts into its #WERFze campaign with ample attention to the role of the green worker in construction," said Marc Dillen, director general of VCB.

Furthermore, a lot of ink has been spilled over the past corona period about the importance of more green space in our cores and cities to provide cooling and recreational opportunities, among other things. Strengthening public spaces will be especially crucial in this regard. City governments in our neighboring countries are also strongly committed to it. For example, on a digital map you can consult all the trees planted and managed by the city of Amsterdam. There are also many plans on the table in e.g. Paris, Leiden, Rotterdam, etc. to realize nature-inclusive neighborhoods and extensive greening.

"That 'green' is a necessity of life no longer needs to be realized, it is an obvious fact. But people also just like to invest in their own green oasis. Professional landscapers and green workers are important partners and catalysts here. So we kill two birds with one stone
one blow, because with their expertise we make people happier and the climate better," concludes Yves Heirman, director of the Belgian
Federation of Landscapers.