Before botanists had photographs, they had paintings. The delicate watercolors of leaves, seeds, flowers, and fruit were objects of beauty as well as scientific tools, and the tradition of botanical painting is alive and well today. The Shirley Sherwood Collection at Kew Gardens is one of the most significant gatherings of botanical art, and in a lush new book, The Art of Plant Evolution, Sherwood and biologist John Kress explore modern examples of the genre. Thanks to their collaboration, the book is not only a stunning tour of jewels from Sherwood’s collection, but also an atlas organized according to the latest DNA analyses of the evolutionary relationships between plants.

From SEED Magazine ( http://seedmagazine.com/slideshow/art_of_plant_evolution/)

Turning the Tide

In 1609, New York’s future waterfront was an arcadian shore of forests, wetlands, beaches, and sand bars, according to Eric Sanderson's book Mannahatta. That landscape is lost forever, but visions of a post-industrial, neo-natural waterfront are longstanding. In 1944, futurists Paul and Percival Goodman proposed that Manhattan "open out toward the water,” lining its gritty waterfront with new parks. They were prescient: today the water’s edge of Manhattan is evolving from a "no-man's-land" into a "highly desirable zone of parks," in the words of writer Phillip Lopate.

The newly designated “Manhattan Waterfront Greenway” is cobbled together from many bits and pieces like Battery Park City, Hudson River Park, Riverside Park South, restored Harlem River parks, and tiny Stuyvesant Cove Park––each with its own chronicle of past and present struggles among property owners, community groups, developers, politicians, planners, lawyers, and other stakeholders. Elsewhere in the city, Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, Governors Island, the South Bronx Greenway, Pelham Bay South Waterfront Park, the Bronx River Greenway, and Gateway National Recreation Area are among many waterfront works in progress.

The colloquium series will address selected topics and issues relating to what has been achieved and what remains to be done to continue the transformation of New York’s waterfronts.

March 17 Waterfront Parks: Old, New, Green, Blue

April 7 Seizing Opportunities: Waterfront Works in Progress

April 28 Reviving the Estuary: Science, Politics, and Education

More info at CUNY Sustainable Cities

FIGMENT Sculpture Garden Call for Entries

FIGMENT is seeking proposals for works to be installed in this sculpture garden. We are accepting proposals for new works to be created for the sculpture garden, as well as works that are already in existence that are looking for a temporary home. Sculpture projects will be selected on the basis of creativity, interactivity, structural integrity, sustainability, and budget.

More info here

Designing our future, sustainable landscapes: new site from ASLA

ASLA Launches New Sustainable Landscapes Online Showcase

01/21/2010 by asladirt

ASLA has unveiled the first iteration of “Designing Our Future: Sustainable Landscapes,” which highlights real-life examples of sustainable landscape design and its positive effects on the environment and quality of life. These spaces use natural systems to clean the air and water, restore habitats, create healthy communities, and ultimately provide significant economic, social, and environmental value.

Beginning with 10 case studies that range from multi-acre master plans and housing communities to streetscapes and backyards, the Web site illustrates just what sustainable landscapes are and how they provide important benefits on a variety of scales. In the process, the case studies, written in clear, understandable language, also introduce users to what exactly landscape architects do. Some examples include the High Line Park in New York City; the Sustainable Comprehensive Plan to rebuild Greensburg, Kansas, following a devastating tornado; and the “Crack Garden,” which shows how a little inspiration and a jackhammer can transform a residential courtyard.

With the support of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, new case studies and educational features will be added to the site throughout the year. The site will also serve as a teaching tool during National Landscape Architecture Month this April.

Take a look at www.asla.org/sustainablelandscapes and use the “comments” section to share your thoughts.

ONE PRIZE COMPETITION

More info here.

http://www.boskke.com/gallery.html

Great site ! great product cant wait to try it out

BIRD

This week most of our interactions with birds will come courtesy of Thanksgiving dinner. But we urge you to check out some other feathered creatures at the simply gorgeous Birdbook, an elegant site dedicated to Bird, Andrew Zuckerman’s recently released book of photography.

Zuckerman and a team of bird specialists enticed the inhabitants of several aviaries to swoop, soar and posture in front of a simple white sheet. The result is startlingly vivid and lifelike shots of birds outside their normal environments, which makes for a wild visual experience. With each of the 87 entries (from African Fish Eagle to, yes, Wild Turkey) comes helpful information such as genus, height and wingspan, plus most of the entries include each bird’s personalized call. The pictures even seem to capture a bit of bird personality: a Red-legged Seriema stalks through its shot; a puffed-up Great Horned Owl regally poses; a Golden Eagle glares (rather vengefully) at the camera. Game, on.

via VSL