A pending "New Urbanism" housing development in northwest Omaha will be built with birds given specific consideration in the planning process.
"Although Leytham was not originally designed with birds in mind, the design and architectural principles by which new traditional neighborhoods are designed, generally create wonderful habitat for birds," said Herb Freeman, owner of the property and developer of the new community.
Diagram of green space planned for Leytham. Courtesy of Herb Freeman. |
"Leytham, I believe, will be a much more friendly environment than the former soybean field on which it will be created because there will be a wide variety of bird friendly natural habitats and the design principles for the built environment are also bird friendly," Freeman said.
Birds are an important part of any community, including Leytham, for several reasons, Freeman said: 1) their variety of species and (in some cases) the musicality of their songs are enjoyable; 2) the colors of the various species and their look are also enjoyable; 3) they eat a lot of insects; and 4) are simply "plain fun" to watch.
Natural habitat present at Leytham includes an unnamed intermittent creek, which stretches a half mile long on the west side of the 160 acre parcel, a drainage with trees on the northeast section, and about 3.5 acres of wetlands which are located in the northeast part of the neighborhood.
“The wet lands will provide an environment for a wide variety of species of plants, animals of all sorts and of course that includes bird species that favor the wetlands for their habitat,” Freeman explained. “In addition to the benefits for plants and animals, the wetlands will become both a community amenity and a learning center for us humans.”
A wide variety of green spaces will be planted with a wide variety of bushes, flowers and shrubs of all sorts, Freeman said. There will be nearly 30 acres of green-space, nature habitat. A Diversity of street trees in a variety climate and area appropriate species will be planted along the thoroughfares and trails.
Freeman expects that landscaping and plant experts will advise native, tolerant, hearty species for these areas, as new urban design emphasizes eco-friendly, low impact landscaping and planting, he said.
"During project construction, the trees worthy of preservation in both the creek and wetlands will be preserved," Freeman said. "Additionally, many, many trees will be planted, and there will be a wide variety of species. Natural 'bushy, unkempt places' will exist along the creek and in the wet lands as well. Additionally, meadow and wild flower areas are planned for some of the green spaces."
Ponds and side pools are planned along the unnamed creek, subject to approval by the Corps of Engineers. These pools or ponds will also create another form of bird friendly habitat.
Sketch for expected community development at Leytham. Image courtesy of Herb Freeman. |
Other bird-friendly habitats will include the built environment.
"Chimneys, minimized light pollution, and windows with many panes are part of the Leytham design to help attract and protect birdlife," Freeman said.
Guidelines for bird friendly building considerations were reviewed as part of construction planning for the community. Buildings will have a Colonial style of architecture.
"The architectural vision for Leytham will favor windows such as double hung windows that have small panes," Freeman said. "This seems to provide the 'visual markers' to help prevent birds from crashing into the windows. Additionally, Leytham will permit awnings, galleries and arcades that will overhang and shade windows, thus muting reflections" that can result in deadly window strikes.
The colonial architecture of Leytham greatly favors chimneys, that can be readily used as habitat for breeding Chimney Swifts. The main building in the community commons, which currently serves as the Freeman residence, has a few chimneys, the largest 18"x18" with smaller ones about 12"x18". Nearby in the commons, a planned fire tower will include four large fire places, each with a large chimney of a size expected to be of a sufficient size for use by the swifts. These may be useful as seasonal swift roosts.
The site plan calls for about 454 residential lots plus multifamily and "flex building" lots, according to Freeman. Accessory dwelling units over garages and the apartment flats over retail spaces and in "apartment mansions" could bring total dwelling units to well over 800, so a large number of fresh, new brick chimneys should be available as new habitat for swifts. "Apartment mansions" are buildings that look like large single family houses, but which actually contain four or more apartment units.
"The built improvements of Leytham, which will include a number of bird houses in various "architectural styles," will certainly be much more attractive and hospitable than the current monoculture of a soybean crop field," Freeman said.
People will be encouraged to know their birdian neighbors.
"There will be quite a few benches in the green spaces and civic places of Leytham," Freeman said. "I have even thought about some two person swings in the greenways where people could just swing and relax, and of course, watch the birds if that is their fancy."
Freeman has already been watching the local bird species, and keeps several bird books and binoculars close by to help with identification.
Just last weekend a “very, VERY large red tail hawk perched on the peak of the pediment of the building that will become the heart of the Commons. The raptor was estimated to be at least 16 inches tall. It seemed quite fearless perched about four stories above the ground and remained on its lofty peak for many minutes while Freeman studied it. Then it glided off to the north northwest, probably to hunt in the creek.
Leytham, located at the northeast corner of 168th and State streets, is named for Richard Leytham, who settled the land and started his farm. Construction is expected to start in late 2008.
2 comments:
We can talk about the natural environment is contrasted with the built environment, which comprises the areas and components that are strongly influenced by humans. A geographical area is regarded as a natural environment and we should bring more specifications about this diagrams. j2j3
yeah i hope this plan will have some future because i know that birds are annoying but we can't just kill them and that's it is important to make an spot for them in this way i guess that they will not disturb anyone.
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