Fabric Curtains & Blinds

These can be useful in both hot and cold climates to help regulate indoor temperatures year round! In addition to helping lower heating and cooling bills, they also help reduce the associated greenhouse emissions, while also protecting against noise and light pollution. Noise and light pollution from nearby roads or other sources can harm humans by increasing our stress levels and preventing quality sleep, but this problem can work both ways, as our indoor noises and light can harm wildlife. 

Cloth blinds or curtains provide additional protection against thermal extremes, light, and noise more so than metal, wood or plastic alternatives, especially when combined with multiple layers such as lining, blackout lining, and insulation layer (you can use one, any combination, or all!). They also tend to have a lower impact on the environment to produce, and if they are made from organic materials then they can also be composted. Old curtains can also be used to make things like bags, pillow cases, or clothing. Alternatively, curtains or blinds could be created from sustainable fabric options including rescued or sustainably produced textiles.

Fun bonus! Fabric blinds and curtains also offer indoor benefits by letting inhabitants pick colours or designs to suit their tastes and improve mood. Perhaps best of all for the sound sensitive is the acoustic softening properties of fabric - both softening indoor noises, providing increased privacy, and reducing indoor echo.

Swales & Berms

Berms and swales work together to retain and slowly move water, reducing flooding, runoff, and helping water permeate the environment. In addition to relying on simple physics and gravity, swales and berms should be planted with native plant species such as ornamental tall grasses which can help stabilize the soil, helping to capture and filter pollution. Larger plants such as shrubs provide more bioretention benefits than smaller species such as short ground cover plants.