Tuesday Tour

This morning, Professor Stuth, Valerie Friedmann, and myself were joined by a group of representatives from the Tennessee Yards and Neighborhoods program. TYN is a task force, operating through the University of Tennessee Extension Service, whose mission is to "to help communities across the state meet their landscaping needs while also helping to conserve and protect our state's water resources." Their interest in the NNH project came as a result of Valerie's inquiries about rainwater and grey water processing to the Biosystems Engineering department. Dr. Andrea Ludwig, an Ecological Engineer and recent addition to the University staff, not only led us in the right direction with designing our rainwater and grey water beds, but also wanted to take an active role in promoting our project as a prime example of how the TYN program's mission could be utilized in a residential landscape. It is true to say that we love all of the interest and expertise we can get!

Our enthusiastic and knowledgeable guests included Dr. Ludwig, Beth Babbit (state coordinator for the Tennessee Master Gardener's Program/urban horticulture specialist/old friend of mine), David Vandergriff (Knox County Extension Agent for Horticulture and Urban Forestry), and Ruth Ann Hanahan (Senior Research Associate for the Water Resources Center). All four visitors were pleased with our work, our methodologies, and our ecologically-sensitive approach, and thankfully, all four had a whole lot of insight and information to share. Tricia gave an exceptional introduction to the history of the Norris community, the events that led to the creation of the New Norris House, and the design features of the home itself. Valerie then discussed the layout of the landscape, covering in detail the design philosophy, usage of water on site, and the construction methodology. I gave an overview of the planting strategies for the infiltration beds, woodland edge, and lawn areas. We definitely received four thumbs up for our hard work to date, and laid the foundation for a working relationship of project promotion and information exchange!

The Tennessee Yards and Neighborhoods website:

http://tnyardsandneighborhoods.tennessee.edu/Pages/default.aspx

Dr. Andrea Ludwig and Valerie Friedmann review the landscape

construction drawings as I gaze into the distance and contemplate

my love of Little Bluestem, bacon, and intelligent women.