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#1 | ||||
A Bee's Best Friend
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Chicago Illinois USA
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An interesting series of articles on biodiversity and landscape architecture. I like seeing this discussed and this blog is a good source for reference materials. Books and names of people in the forefront of industry making waves about the environment and ecology.
Designing for the Full Range of Biodiversity The Dirt Quote:
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Recreating Wildlife Habitat in Cities The Dirt Shahid Naeem author of... Biodiversity, Ecosystem Functioning, and Human Wellbeing: An Ecological and Economic Perspective http://www.amazon.com/Biodiversity-E...0&sr=1-3-fkmr1 Quote:
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#2 | |
Fox
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Chesterfield, Virginia
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Lots of reading matter in there. This caught my eye:
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#3 |
WG Fundraising Coordinator
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Kentucky
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Here's my favorite quote from the first article in The Dirt:
Naeem asked: “What if fungi could send us a bill? What if microbes could unionize? They are working all the time.” Landscape Architects have been wrestling with these concepts for a long time. Witness Ian McHarg's "Design With Nature" written in 1969, the concept of ecology in landscape design really took hold after that seminal work. There are many philosophical ideas out there concerning the relationships between culture and nature, they could fill volumes. The complexity of the issues is monumental, I'm glad to see it's being addressed, especially on the practical level. |
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#4 | ||
Fox
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Wisconsin
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Here's another WG thread that addresses this issue: To truly appreciate the beauty of a natural landscape, look through nature's eyes To truly appreciate the beauty of a natural landscape, look through nature's eyes. .
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. Age is a biological fact. Old is a state of mind. I will age, but I refuse to get old. |
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#5 |
WG Fundraising Coordinator
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Kentucky
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Right now, Felson argued, “LEED has no design aesthetic.” Sustainability has not settled on a design aesthetic yet. “The messy, complex landscape” Yu Kongjian discussed may provide a model. But this model then needs to be turned into a design template that can be plugged in. “We need working design practices, scales of application, and ecological planning.” Furthermore, there’s a real challenge in conveying these ideas to the broader public: “biodiversity is still not widely understood, or even as understood as ecosystem services.” To combat a public lack of understanding, we need “narratives, stories we can tell.”
Felson pointed out the Sustainable Sites Initiative, but argued there are no credits for wildlife biodiversity in the new sustainable landscapes rating system. While SITES is not designed to be a wildlife biodiversity rating system, it still presents a real model for designing sustainable habitats, with restored soils, water systems, and native plants, which can then draw diverse species. -excerpt from Recreating Wildlife Habitat in Cities The Dirt Landscape Architecture as a profession is striving to come up with a design model for sustainable site design and wildlife ecology, a sort of "plug and play" if you will. Given the complexity of the task it's a huge undertaking. These speakers deal mostly with large scale or regional projects but there are some LAs who are addressing the smaller scale residential level perceptions of culture/nature. Joan Nassauer at the University of Minnesota is one of those researchers that studies perceptions of what is considered correct by using "cues to care", I think we've discussed those issue here in just considering mow paths around native plantings, etc. This is an interesting paper she published in Landscape Journal entitled "Messy Ecosystems, Orderly Frames." http://www.ncrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/jrnl/1995/nc_1995_nassauer_001.pdf I wish the photos were clearer and not scanned so you could compare them yourself. Wild Ones picked up on her research and wrote an article for their last newletter issue. They are huge advocates for people trying to "beat City Hall" when it comes to landscaping ordinances. http://www.for-wild.org/download/cuestocare.pdf |
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#6 | ||
A Bee's Best Friend
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Chicago Illinois USA
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What an excellent read on human perceptions of care and attractiveness you have linked to above.
I had not read that pdf file. thank you for bringing it to attention. So much information. Again, http://www.ncrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/jrnl/1995/nc_1995_nassauer_001.pdf Read this if you have not, it is very good. The charts on what is described as attractive or unattractive within the achievment of particular goals is very helpful in understanding how cultural lenses cloud our seeing the landscapes around us. Being able to use these cues without compromising ecological function, but instead allowing people to see human intent in a different setting is something I can understand. I think we all agree with the idea that many do not want this messy look because they think others will not like it and change their opinions about the character of the offending neighbor. Could getting to know our neighbors better, joining into the active community so that we are recognized as citizens with good intentions rather than just as individuals out to thwart convention also help in this changing of the recognition of the cues to a cared for environment? What do you think might help? Quote:
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architecture, biodiversity, landscape |
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