Good Earth Plant Company’s Jim Mumford featured on panel discussion planting seeds about the benefits of incorporating nature into building projects.
Jim Mumford will participate in a panel discussion as part of the San Diego Green Building Council’s Conference & Expo Oct. 18. Info and registration: http://www.sd-gbc.org
SAN DIEGO, Calif. (October 10, 2019) – Dozens of studies demonstrate the benefits of incorporating nature into building design to human health and wellness, but doing so is still often seen as a luxury. Jim Mumford has spent more than 40 years working to change this perception.
As part of the San Diego Green Building Council’s (SDGBC) 2019 Conference & Expo on Friday, Oct. 18, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Good Earth Plant Company owner and founder Jim Mumford, CLP, GRP, will join Calina Ferraro, PE, CPD, LEED AP, WELL Accredited Professional, Principal, Integral Group Design Studio; and Jennifer Montgomery, PLA, SITES AP, LEED AP, Asociate, Schmidt Design Group for “Not Your Garden Variety Design: Optimizing Building Integrated Vegetation.”
Practical tips for implementing biophilic design elements
Drawing on the expertise of engineering, landscape architecture and horticulture, the presenters want to inspire new ways of considering plants within our built environment while providing a practical approach for their implementation.
“Building integrated vegetation offers so many benefits – both to occupants and the environment – that we want to empower the design community to make these systems a standard element in their design tool belt,” said Ferraro. “We hope to do this in two ways. First, demonstrate the functionality and benefits so that vegetation is seen as an integral element not just a luxury add-on. Second, share practical knowledge to enable designers to incorporate vegetated systems successfully.”
Mumford’s company constructs living walls, moss walls, green roofs, and other vegetated structures for a wide variety of projects across the United States, and is a nationally recognized leader in the horticulture industry.
“It’s vital for the design and development community to understand the potential benefits of incorporating nature into their designs,” said Mumford. “As we realize the negative impact of our increasing tendency to spent more time indoors in surroundings which actively destroy our health, this topic affects our choices in creating the places we work, live, play, and gather. Awareness is the start of change.”
Health and wellness benefits of plants gaining recognition
Adding plants to your work environment provides a multitude of health benefits and can improve your job performance, too.
Over the past decade, the health and wellness benefits of plants within our buildings have gained prominence. The benefits of biophilia and providing an indoor connection to nature are most often discussed, but there are many more potential benefits and opportunities that plants can provide.
Drawing on case studies and biophilic design concepts, the presentation offers an overview of how plants can improve air quality, reduce heating and cooling energy, improve space comfort, and provide added resiliency in building design.
Now in its seventh year, SDGBC’s Conference and Expo has become San Diego’s premier green building gathering, growing to over 250 attendees and 30 expert speakers. The full-day event will include 12 world-class educational sessions covering topics such as Net Zero (carbon, energy and water), health and wellness, and resiliency and adaptation planning. The event will also feature an Expo showcasing regional sustainability companies and SDGBC’s second annual Sustainability Awards program, recognizing exceptional leadership and sustainable projects in San Diego.
“We’re proud to expand our programming this year to showcase even more of the outstanding work being done in the sustainability community here in San Diego,” said Executive Director Josh Dean. “We will have something for everyone, whether you’re an industry insider, an academic, a home or business owner, or simply interested in the green building movement in general. We hope people will find inspiration, insights and actionable information that can help us all move forward as a region toward true sustainability.”
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The San Diego Green Building Council is a community of building industry professional and sustainability advocates with expertise in such areas as architecture, construction, design, urban planning, policy and more. The 501c3 community benefit nonprofit organization is a locally aligned community of the U.S. Green Building Council, a partner of the International Living Future Institute and host to the San Diego Living Future Collaborative. The mission of the SDGBC is to inspire, educate and collaborate within the local community to transform the built environment toward true sustainability. More information is available at www.sd-gbc.org
Good Earth Plant Company is San Diego’s largest locally owned and operated provider of interior and exterior landscape design, installations and maintenance services. We apply everything we have learned about growing plants in containers combined with a new approach to introducing plants and nature into our urban environment by making use of non-traditional gardening space: green roofs, living walls, tower gardens, and more that we have yet to discover. Good Earth Plant Company’s mix of clientele includes biotech, financial, hospitality, healthcare, retail, designers, specifiers, property management, technology, developers and homeowners.
