Shoreland Restoration & Outreach Work
Vermont Bioengineering Manual
Greenleaf Design was on the team that developed the Vermont Bioengineering Manual (2022) for the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (VT DEC). Watershed Consulting lead the team, working with the VT DEC Lake Wise Program and Nectar Landscape Design Studio. Greenleaf Design created the illustrations and helped with content development and copy editing. You can download a PDF here or order paper copies here.
View a map of Lake Wise Bioengineering Projects around the state of Vermont here. Developed in collaboration with Watershed Consulting.
Lake Wise Info Sheets
Greenleaf Design redesigned and updated the content of 24 Lake Wise Info sheets of Shoreland Best Management Practices (BMPs) for the VT DEC Lake Wise Program in collaboration with Watershed Consulting. Topics range from stormwater treatment practices for lakeshore properties, solutions for low impact access to lakes, and methods to restore living shorelines using ecological design, restoration, and bioengineering techniques. You can find them on the VT DEC Lake Wise website here.
The following videos were made in collaboration with Afterhours Creative for the VT DEC Lake Wise Program to spread awareness on the benefits of naturalized lakeshores:
Lakeshore Restoration Projects
Before & After: Lawn to lake and failing retaining wall replacement with naturalized shoreline and plantings with regrading, stone toe, erosion control materials, and mostly native plantings. This project required a Shoreland Protection Act Permit for removing the Red Maple (replaced with two Red Maples) and replacing the old deck with a patio and a Lake Encroachment Permit for removing the retaining wall and installing the rock toe and regraded shoreline. This established a minimum 15’ wide naturally vegetated buffer to soak up upland stormwater runoff, stabilize the shoreland, and provide wildlife habitat as well as create a beautiful, fragrant, and edible lakeshore oasis! Excavation by LaPete Excavating and stonework by Restless Native VT.
Photos right after planting on a Vermont spring day!
Before & After: showing the retaining wall replacement with a stone toe, regraded bank, coconut coir rolls, and spreading low-growing woody shrubs to stabilize the soil over time, including Spreading Juniper, Fragrant Sumac, Lowbush Honeysuckle, Black Chokeberry, Red Osier Dogwood, Sweetgale, and Summersweet.
Before & After: Eroding lakeshore from high floodwaters causing bank undercutting, making vegetation establishment hard. Bank was regraded, stabilized with erosion control materials, and planted with native shrubs, tree, and meadow seed mixes. Plant material will root into bank and stabilize soils for future flooding events. This restoration planting allows for wildlife corridors and habitat, framing of views, and beautiful flowering woodland all season long! Support and grant funding for this project came from Friends of Northern Lake Champlain. Excavation and stonework by Gracie Masonry. You can find out more about this project here.
Photos of the new lakeshore through the seasons. Rudbeckia, Monarda, and Bur Oak in summer. Blueberry, Black Chokeberry, Winterberry, and Aster in fall. Red Osier Dogwood and Winterberry in winter. Serviceberry, irises, and new green growth in spring!
Selected lakeshore projects using a variety of methods, including live staking with erosion control blankets and coconut coir rolls, transitional planting with wild lakeshore buffers on the lake edge and more maintained, mulched perennial gardens on the inner buffer, and an encapsulated soil lift (ESL) to stabilize an old railroad tie retaining wall and establish spreading woody shrubs and flowers.
The ‘Lakescaping’ Manual, 2015
Holly helped develop this manual with Gavin Zeitz, Dr. Stephanie Hurley, and Judy Davis for the Federation of Vermont Lakes and Ponds (FOVLAP) to help lakeshore homeowners design and plant lake-friendly shorelines. You can find the full PDF here.