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It is not so long ago that many companies were purely product-oriented. However, nowadays the environmental task is so integral that it is almost impossible to see this specialization of deep product knowledge and green advice separately. "This means that we have to think about placement, space and task at the front end in order to be able to score optimally on both user quality and green quality in an environment" says Marwin Dekkers, General Director From Nursery and green consultants M. van den Oever.
"Ten years ago, and before that, we were mostly concerned with creating aesthetic value: what kind of image do we want to create? That's long gone. Healthy neighborhoods, climate-adaptive neighborhoods and movement neighborhoods are the order of the day. But there is still a lot to do." As general manager of M. van den Oever, a company that has specialized in green consultancy for nearly 230 years, Dekkers strives to create healthy living environments throughout Belgium, the Netherlands and Europe.
ColourSpace™ Acer Rubrum Franksred in fall colors.
That's easier said than done as one pressing issue after another emerges. Therefore, the company has identified five green pillars or green environment issues that highlight the importance of green environments:
- Climate, because greenery makes an environment climate proof by including water collection, water infiltration and drought tolerant plants.
- Welfare, because greenery gets both elderly and young people outside, encourages exercise and social gathering, and has a positive effect on health.
- Economy, because greener environments are valued higher by users and thus property values and economic spending increase.
- Biodiversity, because greenery enhances the experience of an environment, creates food and safety for people and animals, attracts more bees, insects and birds and reduces soil desiccation.
- Future-proofing, because greenery planted now must remain for at least two to three generations to contribute optimally within the other pillars. This is also much more sustainable than circular design.
On the economy pillar, Dekkers wants to dwell: "User surveys show that at least 45 percent of the quality of an environment - with peaks as high as 75% - is determined by the greenery present, including green facades. That's huge. While when investing in a new square or park, only about one or two percent is spent on greenery - or left over, I should say. Then something is going badly wrong in our design and realization assignments!"
The 6 new GreenLife™ living environments.
These pillars have been translated by M. van den Oever into six typical customer-oriented user environments. These can be seen as guidelines for designing and furnishing an environment with a specific, concrete goal. For each environment, green solutions are defined to optimize the function of the environment. "The beauty: each use environment is often related to the others in a way. That way you can stack tasks," says Dekkers.
Also called: any opportunity under 400 m2 to green up. "Along the street or bike path, in front of doors, in neighborhoods: there are so many opportunities in places that are now paved or tiled. You should always take our three-layer approach here, for example with combinations of different types of grasses or flower mixtures, shrubs and trees, with less mowing to encourage biodiversity."
Small and large parks for recreation, meeting and events. "And we also want to strike sometime," jokes Dekkers. "Recreational green space should focus on letting children play in it and the elderly relax, for example by adding water, which also takes into account animals and ecological connections."
Greenery that invites people to spend time there, which simultaneously increases the value of surrounding features and invites recreation and spending. "So this is the opposite of a concrete shopping street or the equally 'quickly added Christmas mood lighting.' Add quality to enhance the experience. Take the Efteling or Plopsa: these parks would not have become such a huge success if the greenery had not been so well thought out together."
Learning, relaxing, healing. "All functions of green by species knowledge that stimulates, excites and relaxes. An example: the Walnut (Juglans regia) is a tree that can offer year-round functions in, for example, a care environment: it is a mega-filter for solar radiation, provides instant cooling equal to 10 air conditioners, and you can enjoy walnuts year-round, which in season also protect against mosquitoes."
Views of greenery, so that people get some much-needed rest even while they are at work and reduce absenteeism, but also greenery that increases rental and property values. "Greenery in a business park encourages employees to eat outside or take a walk around. It also provides opportunities for an exercise bench or sports equipment to encourage movement. In well-designed business parks, finding new employees is not a problem."
Green that supports our climate by, for example, capturing particulate matter and allowing water to infiltrate. "We are very happy that wealthy people in the golden age thought it up to plant trees along the canal for "cieraet ende plaisance" of the streetscape. These do a lot of good now. Armies also needed to be protected from the weather during wars, from which much of our current infra greenery is descended. We are now using it more to make the environment biodiverse and climate proof."
Dekkers will present the methodology of VerGroenen of the six living environments and concrete associated green solutions such as ClimateTrees™, PlayGreen™, EatMe™, BirdTrees™, ColourSpace™ and more during a keynote presentation at The Day of Public Space in Brussels on February 6, 2020. M. van den Oever will, of course, be present as an exhibitor himself.
You can now request this presentation and a FREE beautiful book 'Pleasant Places' on green quality and quality of use with images from all over Europe via the link www.vergroen.nu!
't North Brabant's Haaren: green nursery of Europe
Since 1791, tree nursery M. van den Oever from Haaren in Brabant has been one of the largest nurseries on an ideal loamy sandy soil with a pioneering role in sustainable cultivation and green advice in the Netherlands and abroad. It works together with about fifty green suppliers in the region selected for quality.
This approach results in healthier and stronger plants and trees for its clients as well as a total green assortment of 12,000 species, taken care of right down to the client's project.
The nursery supplies European Cities and Municipalities, landscaping companies, water boards and construction companies from Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark to Sweden, England, Austria and Switzerland. Haaren fervently fulfills the role of sustainable nursery of green Europe.
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