BAMBOO PROTECTS THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE AIR WE BREATHE:
Planting
bamboo is great for the environment.
Bamboo quickly establishes itself in areas where many other
plants and trees will not survive, while promoting 35% more oxygen
into the environment than an equivalent stand of trees.
Research has proven that bamboo will sequester up to 15 tons of carbon
dioxide from the air per hectare on an annual basis. The dense
leaf canopy of bamboo also make it a great option for lowering
light intensity and UV exposure. When planted near a home or
building it works year round to help cool in the summer and insulate
in the winter. Traditional Asian belief holds that being in a
bamboo grove restores calmness and stimulates creativity. Buddha
is said to have considered a bamboo grove as his favorite
resting place.
SUSTAINABLE & COMFORTABLE FABRIC:
Bamboo
posses a property called "Bamboo Kun" which means that it is
naturally anti-microbial. Testing has shown that even
after 50 washes, bamboo fabrics retain their anti-fungal,
anti-microbial nature. These properties make bamboo fabric a great
option for those with allergies and sensitive skin. Bamboos has
a natural wicking ability enabling it to wick moisture 3-4
times faster than cotton, while keeping odors at bay! Bamboo
does not require any pesticides to grow, whereas cotton is one
of the most intensely sprayed crops in the world. In fact a
single Cotton t-shirt can require up to 2.5lbs of pesticides to
produce. Bamboo fabric is super comfortable, wrinkle resistant
and machine washable. Although it can look and drape like silk,
it is not only more practical but also more affordable!
LANDSCAPE DESIGN ELEMENT:
Bamboo
is an exquisite
component of landscape design. For the human environment bamboo
provides shade, wind break, acoustical barriers and aesthetic
beauty. Bamboo is also evergreen and deer resistant.
The
first large scale planting of bamboo as an ornamental
plant was designed and implemented by the man often referred to
as the "father of American Landscape Architecture,"
Frederick Law Olmstead. The project was America's largest
private residence, Biltmore House, designed for George Washington
Vanderbilt.
Olmstead employed local indigenous plants as
the backbone of his pallet, but also used several species
of bamboo to enrich the natural looking scenery. Drawing from
the English Landscape style known as picturesque, he aimed
to heighten natures mysterious and bounteous aspects. Bamboos
were utilized in mass with other plantings in the understory
and foreground to suggest a feeling of "sub-tropical
luxuriance." In Olmstead's words he felt northern guests would
"feel that they are decidedly nearer the sun." (The Craft &
Art of Bamboo, Carol Strangler)
EROSION
CONTROL:
Nature's natural erosion control agent.
Running bamboo's net like root system works to stabilize eroded
river banks creating an effective mechanism for watershed
protection. This aggressive root system combined with the
dense canopy and accumulated leaf litter, enable it to greatly
reduce runoff. These factors together help to reduce massive
soil erosion while keeping up to twice as much water in the
watershed.
CARBON SEQUESTRATION:
Bamboo has
proven to reduce CO2 buildup in the
atmosphere, while releasing up to 35% more oxygen into the atmosphere
than an equivalent stand of trees. A natural bamboo forest
grows new leaves and culms every year, providing a greater annual
increase in biomass than a tree forest. In fact, a managed
bamboo forest greatly outproduces a natural one.