Greenscaping with Purpose at Thompson Landing on Royal

Green spaces offer essential ecological, environmental, and cultural benefits. They are particularly important in city areas, where studies have shown that urban landscaping improves air quality, regulates temperature, and reduces stress and anxiety while building climate resilience.

Thompson Landing on Royal (TLoR) has teamed up with long-time ARPA Investments collaborator Ground level, a Kamloops-based landscaper serving the community since 2004, to ensure residents reap all the benefits nature offers. 

Groundlevel completed the installation of all softscape landscaping, the paving stones between the Multi-Use Pathway (MUP) and the road, and all plant materials for the patio planters.

One notable aspect of TLoR's landscape design incorporates stormwater management through concrete pavers, called "Permeable Paving Stones." Installed in the boulevard area between the MUP and the road, these pavers with wider joints and small perforations allow more water to pass through the area. An underlying drainage system installed underneath allows more rainwater to be absorbed into the ground rather than flow onto the road and into the city's stormwater system. There are many benefits, including flooding prevention, improved groundwater recharge and reduced puddling and ice formation. The drainage system beneath also aids in filtering out some pollutants from the stormwater runoff, such as suspended solids and vehicle contaminants. 

This site is also distinctive because it features a central open-air courtyard that overlooks the Thompson River, situated between the two buildings. Tall planter boxes frame this shared space. Filled with upright junipers, these planters will offer effective screening, creating individual patio areas.

Shifting from the manicured feeling of the communal spaces, the landscaping behind the buildings strives for a naturalistic look, using plants native to riverbanks to achieve this effect. This biodiversity creates diverse habitats that can support a wide range of wildlife, including pollinators, birds, and beneficial insects, contributing to the ecological health of urban environments.

Plantings include the Trembling Aspen, a fast-growing, medium-sized tree characterized by its smooth, greenish-white bark that whitens with age, and its distinctive leaves that tremble or flutter in even the lightest breeze and Oregon Grape, a shrub with holly-like leaves and clusters of bright yellow, sweetly scented flowers that grows to 3-6 feet tall and 2-5 feet wide. Snowberries, which bloom into a dainty pink flower during the spring and summer seasons and are very beneficial for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife, and Dogwoods, a beautiful and versatile ornamental tree, were also planted. The area around these trees and shrubs was hydro-seeded with a natural dryland grass mix, a planting technique that retains more moisture than other methods.

At Thompson Landing on Royal, every element of the greenscaping was designed to create welcoming spaces that promote well-being and a sense of community while supporting biodiversity and the local ecosystem.