Don’t Believe the Lies About Climate Change
Lies - you ask? What lies? That Climate Change exists? No...that is not a lie, it most certainly does exist, and the science is as clear as it was for the need for a vaccine for the pandemic. There is no doubt it is happening and faster than we are…
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Get Wild about Play Design
Natural Play & Wild Play - play area schemes not only look better, enhance play value & inspire imagination, but they cost £30K less to build than traditional "Local Equipped Areas of Play." If, that is, they're designed to accord with Play England’s/ Scotland's national guidance “Design for Play” (2008),…
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Value Innovation
'Value Innovation' means better, faster & lower cost designs: Is your consultant value innovating? I believed I was a commercially aware Landscape Architect; after 30 years working for top house builders, but ‘you don’t know what you don’t know!’ Establishing OASIS Ltd - a Landscape Management co. (2010) means, I…
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April Chill Greta’s Bain
Is the April Chill Greta's Bain? It would be easy to think the contrast of this year's Pacific Oceanic La Nina induced April Chill would be a sign that global warming wasn't such a threat as Greta is making us believe, but you'd be wrong: very wrong, though the late…
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Beware the Equinox Siberian Tiger
Beware the equinox Siberian Tiger - it bites! I've kept a little quiet on the weather - it's been too benign. However, signs are gathering & near enough in range to share a wary warning with you. After a brief cold snap on Tuesday next week, it warms up, spring…
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Lock-Down Routines & Rituals: Desk to 45 Challenge:
With studies showing that inactivity is the new "smoking" when it comes to health & well-being, getting stuck under your desk has become a big issue & loss of fitness a real-life risk. You are undoubtedly 35% more efficient than last year for not doing all that crazy-horses driving about…
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Biodiversity net gains
One really important difference that James Blake Associates has as a team, in the eyes of our clients, is our multi-disciplinary services (Arb, Eco, Landscape and legacy), but it’s not just the multi-disc that’s the key point of difference – (several other firms have that too) but the spirit in…
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Wet back gardens
1. Causation Diagnosis: there are several causes: and often the worst cases are a product of several of these causes coinciding. These are (inter alia) a) former road ways insufficiently broken out (common with old mental hospital or MOD sites); b) old haul roads; c) old materials/ build access routes…
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Big Savings From Natural Landscapes
I’ve heard many clients say – I hate wildflower - it doesn’t work and looks a mess: That’s “poppy-cock” to coin the pun. Getting great, biodiverse wildflower areas (poppy fields) that look really colourful and full of lovely wildflower, and no weeds or mess, is easy, simple and cheap: You…
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