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Tag: Ecology

  • No, the Seine Cleanup Wasn’t a Failure

    No, the Seine Cleanup Wasn’t a Failure

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    Despite the creation of multiple stormwater reservoirs, like the Bassin d’Austerlitz, which collect stormwater and slowly release it after the bad weather has passed, if enough rain is concentrated into a small enough time, not everything that falls from the sky can be captured. In such a situation, runoff water has to be released into the river, driving up bacterial levels.

    “[Weather] variability due to climate change is a major issue, and this will only make things more difficult,” says Dan Angelescu, CEO of water-monitoring start-up Fluidion at a July 31 press conference at the company’s office in Alfortville, just outside Paris. The company makes remote water-sampling devices that beam their readings back to a central base, and it has been working with Paris authorities since 2016 providing water analysis at the Bassin de la Villette reservoir, a separate swimming site in the north of Paris that is already open for public swimming.

    “If new projects to collect waterway runoff are not carried out in the coming years, it is highly likely that the swimmability of the Seine and the opening of recreational and sports areas will depend on weather events, with swimming bans following rainy days,” says Loïs Mougin, a doctoral researcher in exercise and environmental physiology at the School of Sport, Exercise, and Health Science at Loughborough University.

    Even without a rise in extreme weather, keeping the Seine clean enough to swim in in the face of normal weather events—such as regular summer rain—is a big challenge, says Jean-Marie Mouchel, professor of hydrology at the Sorbonne University. “There are also plenty of non-exceptional weather events that have an impact on the water quality. We need to make the system more efficient at improving water quality in the face of these.” Water-quality data from last summer backs up this point. The Seine was unswimmable roughly 30 percent of the time—but Paris wasn’t enduring extreme rainfall a third of the time.

    Experts argue that how water-monitoring is done, and what information is shared with the public and when, also has to improve. “It is crucial that bacteriological data be published daily, along with information on the associated risks,” Mougin says. These include the potential for gastrointestinal issues and eye and skin infections.

    “Monitoring is going to become critical,” Angelescu says. “Having technology that’s able to monitor the right risk, measure the actual risk coming from all the bacteria, and provide results fast is going to be extremely important.” Conventional monitoring methods, which were used to make decisions for the triathlon (and didn’t involve Fluidon), involve taking samples from the river and sending them to a lab—a process that is far slower than the real-time monitoring.

    So separately, Fluidon has been trialing its technology at the triathlon site near the Alexandre III bridge throughout the Games, focusing on levels of the E. coli bacteria, to show how a quicker system that involves on-site processing might perform in the river. It has been publishing its results in near real time on an open data site, and says its technology provides a more accurate and up-to-date picture of water conditions.

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    Helen Massy-Beresford

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  • Maranatha Farm in Somsert Hills, NJ: Michele Logan’s Permaculture-Based Farm

    Maranatha Farm in Somsert Hills, NJ: Michele Logan’s Permaculture-Based Farm

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    This is part of a series with Perfect Earth Project, a nonprofit dedicated to toxic-free, nature-based gardening, on how you can be more sustainable in your landscapes at home.

    “It really felt like the land called us here,” says Michele Logan of Maranatha, her 73-acre farm in the Somerset Hills of New Jersey that practices and models conservation and stewardship, permaculture, regenerative agroforestry, and water management. From an early age, Logan had a passion for food and nature. “I still remember my grandmother, who had a hobby farm and was an amazing cook, giving me a goose’s egg when I was 10 years old,” she says. “She inspired my love for food and growing food.” The business executive acquired the property in 2015, during a time of personal struggle. She had developed an autoimmune issue, exacerbated by certain foods. Her mother and sister were ill. Healing was needed all around her, and the land seemed to hold a key to that process.

    Conventionally farmed for decades, the property was blanketed with invasive species, both accidental and deliberate, such as the Norway maple trees and privet that had been planted as part of the landscaping years back. The farm, situated on a ridge above the north branch of the Raritan River, also suffered from extensive water and soil erosion, and  it had been treated with chemicals. “Conventional practices turn soil into dirt,” says Christina Chrobokowa, the ecological landscape designer and founder of 360 Earthworks, who Logan hired to help restore the land. The two of them brought in Johann Rinkens, a farmer and ecological designer, of Fields without Fences, who began applying permaculture ethics and principles to the restoration project (“care for the planet, care for people, redistribution of surplus or fair share,” are Rinkens’s basic tenets). “It’s a journey,” says Chrobokowa. “You need to read the land, follow the subtle cues, and take a long view.”

    Photography courtesy of Maranatha Farm, unless otherwise noted.

    Above: “I love multi-purpose,” says Logan. “I’m always asking, how do we grow plants that look beautiful and are also edible or serve a purpose like holding the earth and slowing down water.” This overhead view of Maranatha Farm shows the utility barn and Giving Garden North, as well as permaculture terraces and orchard. Photograph by North Jersey Drone Shots.

     “We let the land lead the design of the farm,” says Logan. To reduce erosion, the team terraced the property, creating an access road to “mitigate and manage the run-off that’s coming down the slope and actually keep it higher in the landscape,” says Rinkens. They also constructed brush dams in gullies and built swales and berms to direct and slow the water. One of the principles of permaculture is to catch and store energy. In addition to solar panels, the team is catching and storing water by “slowing it down, spreading it out through the landscape, and letting it sink in,” says Rinkens. They moved stones from a fallen wall in a fallow pasture to design dry creek beds to channel the water that’s coming from the ridge above the farm into a spillway that’s designed for what Logan calls the “100-year storm.”

    “Water management and the topography led our farm design. Our farm access terrace was engineered with a 10 percent pitch towards a channel along the length of the road leading to the spillway that has a French mattress to allow stormwater to perk back into the Earth. A detention basin below the spillway further slows water as it heads downslope,” says Logan.
    Above: “Water management and the topography led our farm design. Our farm access terrace was engineered with a 10 percent pitch towards a channel along the length of the road leading to the spillway that has a French mattress [a structure built under the road that lets water pass freely through] to allow stormwater to perk back into the Earth. A detention basin below the spillway further slows water as it heads downslope,” says Logan.

    To promote ecological diversity (another permaculture principle: integrate rather than segregate), they created silvopastures—managed woodlands integrated with trees and herbaceous plants for animals (in this case sheep and chickens) to graze and forage. The trees also offer shade for the animals, which is especially important as the days get hotter. “Providing relief from heat lowers stress levels [in livestock] and makes them more productive,” says Rinkens. In addition, the team worked on a custom seed blend that included native grasses and wildflowers, with attention to varieties palatable to sheep. Voracious eaters, the sheep help control the spread of invasives around the property, while their manure fertilizes the fields.

    “One of our newly converted silvopastures shows how we created berms from debris,” explains Logan. “The berms will help slow stormwater as the silvopasture gets established with more native savannah and pasture grasses, as well as the native seed bank that was suppressed by invasive plant species.”
    Above: “One of our newly converted silvopastures shows how we created berms from debris,” explains Logan. “The berms will help slow stormwater as the silvopasture gets established with more native savannah and pasture grasses, as well as the native seed bank that was suppressed by invasive plant species.”

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  • Polluted Lakes Are Being Cleansed Using Floating Wetlands Made of Trash

    Polluted Lakes Are Being Cleansed Using Floating Wetlands Made of Trash

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    When Pradhanang found a trash mix that could be fashioned into a platform and resist breaking down with age, she began talking to her colleagues in Nepal. By 2021, they had secured $78,000 in funding from the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research, a research and policy funder, to operate a study across Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.

    While Nagdaha and the Indian and Bangladeshi sites do not provide residents with drinking water, they do have cultural and religious significance. On her many visits to Nepal, Pradhanang has seen children swimming in Nagdaha’s murky water, dogs lapping at the shore, and women sitting on the banks to wash dishes and clothing. Pradhanang and The Small Earth Nepal wanted to beautify the lake as they cleaned it. They chose flowering plants that served both purposes: Indian shot (Canna indica) and scarlet sage (Salvia splendens), whose bright red flowers stand out against the gray water.

    After installing the floating platforms in the fall of 2022, the researchers tested the water monthly and found results consistent with their lab trials, which showed a 99 percent reduction in nitrate levels, 80 percent reduction in phosphates, 56 percent reduction in iron, and 55 percent reduction in ammonia. Dissolved oxygen concentrations increased by half. Their results have been submitted to the Journal of Civil Engineering for review.

    Growing flowering plants can add aesthetic value to a body of water, but the collaboration is staying away from growing food on the platforms, since the plants build up such high concentrations of pollutants. But people aren’t the only ones intrigued by the floating wetlands; geese and ducks flock to the mats, sitting on the platforms and pooping phosphorus-rich excrement into the water.

    Pradhanang came up with a clever solution for the mischievous mallards: She tied silver ribbons around the stems of the plants, whose sharp glare drove away the birds. Though the scientists don’t want geese on the FTWS, pollinators like bees and small birds are more than welcome—as are the diverse microbial life-forms that exist on the plant roots and digest pollutants in the water for energy.

    “There’s a real kind of, ‘If you build it, they will come’ phenomenon that’s associated with the floating wetlands,” says Max Rome, who did his PhD on FTWS in Boston’s Charles River and now works at the Charles River Watershed Association. “These systems are really effective for creating wetland biodiversity in a place where there’s just not room for wetlands.”

    Though the trash-based systems solve some water-pollution problems, they leave others—namely, microplastics. Incorporating local trash into the mats shouldn’t make things worse overall—much of the trash is gathered from the water in the first place—but high plastic content in the water means that it can remain a risk to locals’ health, even after cleansing.

    While Pradhanang and outside researchers have flagged concerns about incorporating styrofoam and other plastics into the trash-based FTWS, they say that the benefits of the mats generally outweigh the costs. “If you can use a waste product that would then just be normally in the water,” says White, “and you can use it to make a product that is actually helping to clean the water, it’s amazing.”

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    Hannah Richter

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  • Wild Yard Project: David Newsom’s Mission to Re-Wild Landscapes

    Wild Yard Project: David Newsom’s Mission to Re-Wild Landscapes

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    The name The Wild Yards Project tells you a little about its founder David Newsom’s journey over the last seven years: It started out as a project. A Los Angeles-based film professional and photographer, Newsom had recently become a parent when he discovered gardening. “I immediately began to worry about my kids’ baseline interaction with the wild world,” he says. “I had no background in botany. I wasn’t into horticulture. I just knew that I found solace in being around plants and animals, and I wanted to give my kids that.” Newsom decided to rewild his backyard, so his kids could have nature right outside their door.

    Photography by David Newsom.

    Above: Newsom’s own yard reveals how land can come back to life. “Before I began this work, the state of our home’s dead, baked lot [at left] was overwhelming and depressing,” he says.

    As Newsom transformed his yard, he documented his work. “I made so many mistakes, but I wrote about it,” he remembers. “And because I had worked in documentary television, if I saw someone who had written an article or someone who was doing really great work, I would just call them.” As Newsom learned more and shared his journey on social media, he says, “I quickly realized that a lot of people were hungry for the idea.” In 2018, he decided to make his project official, naming it The Wild Yards Project—note that it was yards plural–not just his own.

    Above: Newsom’s own wild yard looking particularly lush after California’s atmospheric rivers this past spring.
    Above: Newsom’s own wild yard looking particularly lush after California’s atmospheric rivers this past spring.

    “At first, I thought I would just go around and film and share stories about what people did,” says Newsom. “But I pretty quickly felt compelled to get my own hands dirty and to build these gardens.” Soon Newsom was consulting with other homeowners who wanted to rewild their yards. “I would go over to their house and help them spin a story about what their land could be—that’s how it started.” His work led to deep research into hyperlocal plants in his Mediterranean chaparral biome and ecological gardening practices. “There’s a series of benefits, so many stacked functions to these gardens beyond amplifying biodiversity,” he says. “We’re amplifying physical and mental health, water infiltration, and carbon sequestration.” 

    Above: This hillside garden is an example of a full design and install project that Newsom executed for a client. 
    Above: This hillside garden is an example of a full design and install project that Newsom executed for a client. 

    Casual advice gradually morphed into more formal garden coaching and eventually design and installation services. However, Newsom’s landscape work is different from traditional garden designers. For one, he wants his clients to get their hands dirty. “I tell them: I promise you’ll know more about your land in a year than I do,” he says. “When people move away from traditional gardens, they become authors in the natural and cultural history of their land—and that land is its own educator.” For any project, Newsom visits the property, tests the soil, and explores nearby nature with a similar disposition. Then he creates a plant list and offers a design plan whose execution can range from homeowner DIY to full design and install. Gardeners who want to do it themselves can book Newsom hourly for future coaching. “You don’t need to spend $50,000 to $150,000 on high-priced landscapers,” he says.

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  • Artist Jenny Kendler On Ecology, Oysters and Mounting a Show on Governors Island

    Artist Jenny Kendler On Ecology, Oysters and Mounting a Show on Governors Island

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    Artist Jenny Kendler with Whale Bells. Julienne Schaer

    A couple of weeks ago artist Jenny Kendler opened “Other of Pearl,” a site-specific public art exhibition at Fort Jay on New York’s Governors Island. The show, which is presented by Governors Island Arts and the Natural Resources Defense Council, uses a variety of creative media to explore our planet’s changing climate. It’s the perfect exhibition to visit with the kids during the next heatwave, and Observer recently caught up with Kendler to hear about this ambitious presentation.

    How did this show come about? What made you start thinking about oysters?

    I was invited by the Governors Island curatorial team to begin contemplating what a commission on the island would look like back in early 2021, so the exhibition has been in development for quite some time.

    Regarding oysters, beach combing, shell collecting and appreciating the diverse forms of marine shellfish in general has been a lifelong passion. The central project of “Other of Pearl,” which takes the form of Greco-Roman sculptures grown inside of oysters, is an idea that probably germinated eight or nine years ago. I think it may have begun with a very rare abalone pearl which sat in a shell on a shelf in my California grandmother’s bathroom. The project sat in the back of my mind… I had no idea how to accomplish this somewhat crazy idea… but when I realized the Billion Oyster Project would be a neighbor to whatever exhibition we choose to produce, I knew that I was going to try to figure it out.

    It took two years to know it would work, and during that time I conceived of what seems to me to be the project’s logical conclusion: that these precious artworks would be auctioned after the exhibition and the funds “returned to the bay” as a gesture of both wealth redistribution and ecological restoration—creating a new oyster reef with Billion Oyster Project.

    Why are oysters so crucial to the ecology of New York?

    New York was once the center of the world’s largest oyster population, which contained upwards of one trillion individuals. These bivalves agglomerated into huge reefs and provided tremendous benefits to the ecosystem—from supporting biodiversity and clean water to feeding first the indigenous Lenape and then white settlers, rich to poor.

    The over-harvesting, chemical pollution and dredging of beds destroyed the majority of the estuary’s oyster reefs and has left the city much more vulnerable to flooding—as was seen during Hurricane Sandy. Today, efforts to restore the oysters, such as those by project contributor Billion Oyster Project, aim to re-engage these ecosystem benefits as well as to provide important climate resilience to the city.

    SEE ALSO: ‘Tulips’ Is a Celebration of Kapp Kapp Gallery’s Fifth Year in Tribeca

    What is your research process like?

    I am fortunate enough to have access to the scientific team at NRDC, where I have been artist-in-residence since 2014. The project’s scope and ambition to encompass environmental issues from the human and ecological health aspects of chemical pollution to marine mammal protection to climate change were informed by these early conversations. I also read voraciously, following an idea that interests me, rhizomatically, from source to source. And there’s no substitute for direct observation. I am a passionate naturalist, constantly in awe of the diversity and complexity I find in the natural world.

    In terms of materials, this show uses oysters, fossilized whale earbones, whale songs, human tears and whale oil. Were any of these harder to work with than others?

    They all presented their own unique challenges, to be sure! As an artist who is deeply concerned with materiality, aesthetic and historical specificity and material histories, I often work with highly unusual materials. The earbones are provided by divers I networked with via the internet, who now contact me when they have a new set of fossils. The antique whale oils took, probably, the full three years to source, through eBay and online auction houses. You can draw your own conclusions about the tears, but as we all know, this is a time of many great sadnesses on our planet. The oysters and the whale recordings were provided by our project contributors, Billion Oyster Project and David Gruber of Project CETI respectively. Rarefied “materials” in themselves, I am deeply grateful to be trusted to work with natural objects and sounds with such rich histories, sources and connotations.

    A cave-like room filled with installation art with two yellow-lit doorways in the background behind which there appears to be more artA cave-like room filled with installation art with two yellow-lit doorways in the background behind which there appears to be more art
    The exhibition as viewed from the entrance. Featured in the center is Other of Pearl, 2022-2024, with Whale Bells, 2023, visible in the room on the left and Mother, of Pearl (Nervous System), 2024, visible in the room on the right. Photo by Timothy Schenck

    Governor’s Island is a unique place to stage an art show. What are the advantages and disadvantages of working there?

    The main disadvantage is also part of what makes it such a special place to show work, which is obviously that it is an island. I hope to soon stop having stress dreams about the traffic backups and getting our van onto the ferry on time each morning. But this is also why this place can provide such a profound experience for visitors. They come to the island hoping to have an adventure, something apart from daily life in the city. We worked hard to really double down on this proposition.

    The magazine space under Fort Jay has been transformed with carefully choreographed lighting by our install team from Powerhouse Arts into a magical space for exploration. Here visitors will encounter interactive sound works where they can speak to the whales, bells rung with fossil whale ear bones that I made with my collaborator Andrew Bearnot and a series of intimate treasures to be somatically absorbed. To be able to work in a space and on this island with its palimpsestic history definitely enriched the experience of conceiving and exhibiting the work in immeasurable ways.

    Your work is political, but to me feels more obliquely so than a lot of other work that’s being shown today. What’s your attitude about the intermingling of art and politics?

    My work as an artist is very political—I’m not shy about that. For example, I am a founding member of Artists Commit, an artist-led group working to raise climate consciousness within the art world. We support the creation of Climate Impact Reports that help artists and institutions understand their impact on the planet and people—I’ll be creating one for this show—and I definitely see this work as an extension of my artistic practice. I believe artists are part of the engine that creates culture—and it is ultimately our culture, and the values we derive from it, that give rise to everything from our government to our economic structures. Art can be important because it can help us approach complex or divisive issues in new ways. I think good political art gets under one’s skin, rather than hitting one upside the head.

    What do you hope people get out of your show?

    I hope that visitors to the show will have an embodied and emotional experience of the work—and the space itself, which is very mysterious. I’d like them to read the texts that give the conceptual and ecological frameworks for the seven projects and help tell the narrative of the extractive origins of the climate crisis in a new way. Ultimately, I aim to re-enchant and re-awaken people’s relationship with the natural world and with the more-than-humans with whom we share this biodiverse planet.

    A pile of oyster shells up closeA pile of oyster shells up close
    Detail, Seashell Resonance (Objects for Contemplation), 2024. Timothy Schenck

    Artist Jenny Kendler On Ecology, Oysters and Mounting a Show on Governors Island

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    Dan Duray

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  • Ramial Mulch: Pros and Cons of Mulching with Ramial Wood Chips

    Ramial Mulch: Pros and Cons of Mulching with Ramial Wood Chips

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    When mulching your garden, you have many, many choices: shredded hardwood, pine needles, straw, and seashells, to name a few. One of the most common materials used for mulching is wood chips. But not all wood chips are the same. There are bark chips made from the bark of pine trees, which are very attractive and tend to last a very long time. There are industrial wood chips that are made from pallets and waste wood, which is not recommended for use in vegetable gardens due to the possibility of leaching chemicals. And there is one type of wood chips that you probably have never heard of: ramial mulch.

    N.B.: Featured photograph above by Monica Willis for Gardenista, from My Garden Story: A Secret Rooftop Oasis on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

    What is ramial mulch?

    Branches from a lime tree, ready for the wood chipper. Photograph by Arpent Nourricier via Flickr.
    Above: Branches from a lime tree, ready for the wood chipper. Photograph by Arpent Nourricier via Flickr.

    Ramial is from the Latin word for branch. Ramial mulch is a type of wood chips made specifically from young hardwood tree branches that are up to about two and a half inches thick. (In some cases, shrubs are also included in this description.) In the late 1970s, Laval University in Quebec researched if there could be a use for this lumber byproduct and they found one. Another name for this mulch is BRF, an abbreviation for its French name, bois raméal fragmenté.

    What makes ramial mulch special?

    Because the mulch is made from the youngest of branches, it is full of nutrients and minerals, as most of the tree’s resources are directed to those fast growing branches. This makes them an  almost a perfect food for your garden. Ramial mulch is essentially a mulch that also works as a soil amendment.

    What are the benefits of using ramial mulch?

    The lime branches and leaves, post wood chipper. Ramial mulch often contains leaves as well. Photograph by Arpent Nourricier via Flickr .
    Above: The lime branches and leaves, post wood chipper. Ramial mulch often contains leaves as well. Photograph by Arpent Nourricier via Flickr .

    There are more than a few benefits! First, they are chock full of all the good stuff that goes into making plants grow. Second, they are small, and break down faster than most mulches. And third, fungi and bacteria love it and start to break it down quickly.

    What are the cons?

    As mentioned above, it’s almost a perfect food for your garden—almost because the process of breaking down the ramial chips “steals” available nitrogen from the soil. And when gardeners hear that, they tend to not like it at all. But with most things gardening, it’s not that simple. Yes, the bacteria take nitrogen from the soil, but they are really just borrowing it. Once the decay process is complete and the chips have become humus, the nitrogen is released back into the soil. Keep in mind, too, that mulch is on top of the soil. Your plants’ roots are deep below the top inch of soil where all of this is happening, meaning established plants won’t be affected.

    Where and when should you use ramial mulch in your garden?

    You can use it at any time in established beds, but don’t add it to your vegetable beds or beds with seedlings during the growing season because of the nitrogen issue. Wait until you’ve cleared them in the fall to add it. This gives it time to break down and have the nutrients available in the spring.

    How do you find ramial mulch?

    Since it is a lumber byproduct, ramial mulch can be hard to find if you aren’t anywhere near commercial logging locations or near Canada. You will need to be a bit creative. Contact your arborist. In their process of trimming trees, they could offer you the chipped trimmings. This may also include larger branches. Your local fruit orchard may also be able to provide ramial mulch. Or, you can make your own by renting a chipper and feeding it the prunings from your yard.

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  • Pee-cycling: How to Pee-Cycle at Home to Make Free, Natural Fertilizer for Your Garden

    Pee-cycling: How to Pee-Cycle at Home to Make Free, Natural Fertilizer for Your Garden

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    What if I told you that you have unlimited access to one of nature’s best fertilizers? And best of all, it’s easy to make and free? Read on to learn all about pee-cycling.

    What is ‘pee-cycling’?

    Above: A composting toilet in a stylish outhouse by Commune Design. These days, one can buy composting toilets that divert urine for use as a fertilizer. Urine diverting attachments are also available. Photograph by Stephen Kent Johnson, courtesy of Commune Design, from A Hollywood Director’s Refined Off-the-Grid Cabin by Commune Design.

    Pee-cycling is essentially upcycling your urine into a fertilizer for your plants. Human urine, which is typically free of harmful bacteria, can be used as fertilizer because it has nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium—the “NPK” that’s on the label of your store-bought fertilizer.

    This isn’t a new idea. Urine has been used as a fertilizer for millennia. The ancient Chinese, Romans, Egyptian, and Incas, to list a few, all used liquid gold as a fertilizer. Pee-cycling is making a comeback in eco-conscious circles because of its appeal as a natural, renewable resource. The manufacturing of petroleum-based chemical fertilizers is adding to the climate crisis, not to mention runoff from synthetic fertilizers can lead to algae blooms that can kill animals and plants.

    What are the benefits of pee-cycling?

    Above: Diluted urine (1:5 ratio) is great for nitrogen-loving tomatoes. Photograph by Marie Viljoen, from A Movable Garden: Saying Goodbye to a Brooklyn Backyard.

    Pee-cycling creates a circular model of production and consumption, where waste (urine) is reused instead of discarded. It saves water, since you’re not using water to flush your urine down the toilet. It saves money since it’s a free, renewable resource you can make yourself. And replacing your reliance on store-bought chemical fertilizers with a sustainable, all-natural version means less fossil fuels pulled from the earth and less carbon released into the atmosphere.

    And plants seem to love it. In a recent study, farmers in souther Niger found that urine, either used in conjunction with animal manure or alone, increased harvest of pearl millet crop by about 30 percent.

    How do you collect your pee?

    Rich Earth Institute sells its Funnel and Dispensing Spout for $60 on Etsy. They
    Above: Rich Earth Institute sells its Funnel and Dispensing Spout for $60 on Etsy. They’re compatible with Zoro’s 5-gallon and 2.5 gallon containers.

    If you’ve gotten this far, and you’re intrigued and want to learn how to do it yourself, here are your next steps. Humans produce one to two liters of urine a day, and collecting is the hardest part of pee-cycling. Those who are committed to pee-cycling may want to purchase a urine-diverting toilet, like the Eco-Flush, which separates solid waste from liquid. Those who are curious but not ready to commit may want to purchase a funnel and container (to create what is essentially a portable potty) from Rich Earth Institute, a Vermont-based nonprofit that advocates for the use of human waste as a resource. The group recommends adding one to two cups of white vinegar or one tablespoon of citric acid per five gallons of urine.

    And even more low-commitment option: DIY a collection container by simply reusing an empty, washed milk jug, laundry detergent container, or bucket.

    What about bacteria and viruses? Human pee can be pasteurized. Don’t have a pasteurizer handy? Well-aged pee is the answer. Store urine for six months in a cool dark space to kill anything living in the pee, according to the World Health Organization.

    How do you use urine in the garden?

    If you have a dog, you know that pee can burn grass. The same thing can happen to your garden with human pee. Most plants can use a 1:10 dilution, one part pee to 10 parts water; however heavier feeders, like tomatoes, prefer a 1:5 ratio. Water the diluted mixture at the base of the plants and not the leaves. For more details, check out Rich Earth Institute’s guide on how to use urine fertilizer in the home garden.

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  • Tom Massey’s Water Aid Garden at the 2024 Chelsea Flower Show

    Tom Massey’s Water Aid Garden at the 2024 Chelsea Flower Show

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    One way to get people thinking, when it comes to the environment, is to offer beauty, and this is what Tom Massey and the architect Je Ahn have done on the Water Aid garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. Instead of a 3-dimensional check list reminding you how to be a good citizen, they have made a magical space that also happens to be fully functional on an environmental level. This is the best kind of garden design; it is subtle and inviting.

    Rainwater is the theme, and it’s a good one, with many of us experiencing too much, too little or, increasingly, both in any given year. Let’s look at some of the garden’s ideas on rainwater as a resource, rather than just a by-product of weather:

    Photography by Jim Powell for Gardenista, unless otherwise noted.

    1. Your roof can be a sponge.

    Above: Rusted spiral cladding mimics water going down a drain, on a somehow lightweight structure by Je Ahn of Studio Weave. Like plant containers with drainage, the haze around the top is flowers.

    The Water Aid garden commands the biggest plot on the show ground, but it also grew considerably when Je Ahn’s water harvesting structure went up, creating an extra planting plane for Tom Massey’s rooftop garden. The structure is huge but graceful, irrigating the plants, filtering rainwater and using gravity to pull it down for storage underground. It also provides permanent shade.

    2. Mimic the wider landscape.

    Above: Iris sibirica ‘Perry’s Blue’ and Trollius ‘Cheddar’, plants that would naturally live in meadows that have permanent moisture and are occasionally flooded.

    Respecting the lay of the land, and exaggerating natural dips and contours by shaping them into swales, gives rainwater somewhere to go. A flattened garden, especially one that is bone dry, is just another hard plane that adds water run-off to all the rest. Run-off leads to overflowing sewage plants, and washes nutrients (and chemicals) off land, polluting rivers. On the other hand, variations in topography bring a variety of moisture levels, and a greater choice of plants.

    3. Make a flyover.

    Above: A modular boardwalk is made with panels of slatted wood and rusted metal grills that connect with the floating garden plane above. Planting at ground level is mainly green and rust, with clear blue irises ringing out.

    Building ponds and improving streams is another way of embracing the fact of rainwater, rather than fretting about fluctuating swamp conditions. Elevate this, and yourself, with a simple means of getting across; via a boardwalk or bridge. Straight lines and right angles flatter wilder planting that loves the conditions.

    4. Keep it soggy.

    Above: Wet meadow plants Rodgersia pinnata ‘Superba’, Iris sibirica ‘Tropic Night’ and foxglove Digitalis purpurea.

    Make sure your storage capacity isn’t full when rain is predicted; use overflow pipes and backup storage, or “leaky” water butts that slowly release water into the ground, since terrain that is not rock hard has better absorbing qualities.

    5. Choose trees.

    Above: Pollution-tolerant and soil-cleaning alder (this one is Alnus glutinosa ‘Laciniata’) at left, with another British native, field maple (Acer campestre) at right. Pinus mugo, center, has an evergreen presence.

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  • She’s (hump)back

    She’s (hump)back

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    SWAMPSCOTT — The same dead whale that washed ashore in Marblehead nearly three weeks ago is back — this time in Swampscott.

    Swampscott Animal Control Officer Scott Considine said Tuesday that the whale washed ashore on Phillips Beach, about 200-300 yards from where it had landed on Preston Beach in Marblehead on April 25.

    “I don’t think anybody expected this,” Considine said.

    The whale, a female young adult humpback weighing about 65,000 pounds, had been towed off Preston Beach and attached to a mooring on April 27. On May 2, the whale was towed to an area about 15 miles east of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, according to Andrea Gomez, a spokesperson for NOAA Fisheries. Stellwagen Sanctuary is a federally protected marine sanctuary at the mouth of Massachusetts Bay between Cape Ann and Cape Cod.

    Gomez said in an email that the release location was chosen to minimize the possibility of the carcass coming back to shore, and that NOAA created a “set and drift plan” to make sure that it didn’t.

    “The whale did not decompose as quickly as expected, however,” Gomez said.

    Gomez said the whale, which had been equipped with a satellite tag, was observed off Marblehead before landing in Swampscott.

    Gomez said Swampscott town officials, the Massachusetts Environmental Police, NOAA and the Environmental Protection Agency are working to develop another disposal plan for the whale.

    Considine, who was attaching a new tracking device to the whale on Tuesday morning, said the whale had “a couple of good-sized bites, and if we could flip her over I’m sure there’s tons of bites under there.”

    Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.

    Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.

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    By Paul Leighton | Staff Writer

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  • Terremoto’s David Godshall, Dawn Wang, and Diego Lopez Answer Our Burning Questions

    Terremoto’s David Godshall, Dawn Wang, and Diego Lopez Answer Our Burning Questions

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    David: Filter or weed fabric is an entire industry that, if I could, I would delete with the push of a button. Weeds go through it, it’s plastic, you always see it (and it’s ugly), and it impairs the ability of insects or worms to move through soil horizons, and that seems incredibly unkind.

    Dawn: Impervious surfaces in general! We should really stop pouring concrete.

    Old wives’ tale gardening trick that actually works:

    Dawn: I talk and sing to my plants at home, and they’re happy.

    Diego: Love your plants!

    Favorite gardening hack:

    Dawn: Sticking my finger in the soil seems to answer a lot of my client’s questions.

    David: I love that answer, Dawn! I have a bathtub in my garden and I use it to water my Sycamore Trees (which like a bit of water). Feels like a solid hack to me.

    Diego: Hire Carmen Orozco of Barranca Landscape. Everything comes out beautifully.

    Every garden needs a…

    Diego: A low-tech water fountain for birds and insects.

    Dawn: A birdbath!

    David: Well, I don’t want to ruin this, so I will also say birdbath, but it’s true—inviting wildlife into your garden is the ultimate baller move.

    Favorite hardscaping material:

    Dawn: Reclaimed brick! The classics never go out of style.

    Diego: Urbanite (broken concrete). We’re increasingly trying to use recycled materials in our projects and urbanite transcends aesthetic worlds in a really cool way. We’re trying to learn how to build mostly native, spiritually Japanese gardens out of trash—that’s one of the present goals of the office.

    Go-to gardening outfit:

    Above: Terremoto’s Flap Hat is $43 at Plant Material.

    Dawn: My old Terremoto shirt.

    David: I have a flap hat that protects my red neck from getting even redder, and when I put it on and put glasses on, I go into GARDEN BEAST MODE.

    On your wishlist:

    Dawn: Owning a fucking house someday hopefully.

    David: A small cabin in the woods next to a creek. Ideally with no cell reception.

    Favorite nursery, plant shop, or seed company:

    Plant Material is the retail arm of Terremoto. Photograph by Caitlin Atkinson, courtesy of Terremoto.
    Above: Plant Material is the retail arm of Terremoto. Photograph by Caitlin Atkinson, courtesy of Terremoto.

    David: Absolutely shameless plug alert, but Plant Material! It’s our Los Angeles nursery with three shops and an ecological point of view. And, of course, shout out to Theodore Payne and Artemisia Nursery. It’s a big city and we’re trying to push it in an environmentally positive direction together, which is lovely.

    Dawn: N-K Bonsai Tree Nursery.

    Diego: Plant Material!

    David: Hey, Diego, you’re getting a raise—awesome answer!

    Not-to-be-missed public garden/park/botanical garden:

    Diego: Casa Azul, Frida Kahlo’s house in Mexico City.

    David: California Scenario shreds. The Test Plots in Elysian Park (and everywhere) are a constant source of joy for me.

    The REAL reason you garden:

    Dawn: Mental health!

    David: Yeah, kinda also mental health and well-being.

    Diego: Community and bonding, with co-workers and soil.

    Thank you, David, Dawn, and Diego! If you want to see what the team is up to, follow them @terremoto_landscape.

    See also:

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  • State grant money to pay for green projects

    State grant money to pay for green projects

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    BOSTON — Nearly 100 cities and towns are sharing more than $11.8 million in state funding aimed at helping them reduce their energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to climate change.

    The state Department of Energy Resources is distributing the money to local governments through its Green Communities program, which provides funds for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects aimed at helping the state meet its ambitious goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

    Several communities north of Boston will be getting a piece of the latest round of grant funding disbursements, according to a new report to the Legislature.

    Gloucester is getting $144,311 in grant money; Ipswich is getting $167,500; and Wenham is slated to receive $50,000, according to the state agency.

    The grants will pay for myriad projects, including the acquisitions of hybrid police cruisers, battery-electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging stations.

    Other projects include ventilation system upgrades, weatherization, and de-carbonization of schools, municipal buildings and facilities.

    Combined, the projects are estimated to produce energy savings of more than 31,000 MMBTUs, or roughly the same amount of energy consumed by more than 240 households, according to the state agency.

    When completed, the projects are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1,897 metric tons every year — equivalent to taking 383 cars off the road.

    The Merrimack Valley Planning Commission is getting a nearly $64,000 grant for work on reducing energy consumption and costs, pollution and the development of renewable energy and alternative energy.

    Meanwhile, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Ipswich, Andover, Haverhill and Methuen will each be getting $15,000 Municipal Energy Technical Assistance grants from the state to cover the cost of green projects ranging from decarbonization of buildings to energy storage.

    About 290 cities and towns, accounting for about 89% of the state’s population, have been awarded a “green community” designation by the state agency.

    Since 2010, the state agency has awarded more than $177 million in Green Communities grants, according to the Baker administration.

    To qualify for funding, cities and towns must commit to reducing their energy consumption by 86,875 MM BTUs over the next five years.

    That’s equivalent to the energy use of 673 homes, or taking 1,222 gas-powered cars off the road, according to the agency.

    Massachusetts is required under a state law to meet ambitious benchmarks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to “net zero” over 1990s levels by 2050.

    A climate change bill signed by then-Gov. Charlie Baker in 2022 requires the state to meet incremental goals every five years to reach a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030 before meeting the 2050 goal.

    The plan calls for expanding the use of wind power, solar and hydropower, as well as continuing to reduce overall energy usage and reliance on fossil fuel sources to keep the lights turned on and heat and cool the state’s homes and buildings.

    The state is also working to improve energy efficiency through the Mass Save program, which is funded by a surcharge tacked onto energy bills and proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade system aimed at reducing emissions from power plants.

    The fees drum up about $2 billion a year, which helps pay for home efficiency audits and other programs to reduce energy consumption.

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • State grant money to fund green projects

    State grant money to fund green projects

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    BOSTON — Nearly 100 cities and towns are sharing more than $11.8 million in state funding aimed at helping them reduce their energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to climate change.

    The state Department of Energy Resources is distributing the money to local governments through its Green Communities program, which provides funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects aimed at helping the state meet its ambitious goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

    Several communities north of Boston will be getting a piece of the latest round of grant funding disbursements, according to a new report to the Legislature.

    Gloucester is receiving $144,311 in grant money; Ipswich is getting $167,500; and Wenham is slated to receive $50,000, according to the state agency.

    The grants will pay for myriad projects, including the acquisitions of hybrid police cruisers, battery-electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging stations.

    Other projects include ventilation system upgrades, weatherization, and decarbonization of schools, municipal buildings and facilities.

    Combined, the projects are estimated to produce energy savings of more than 31,000 MMBTUs, or roughly the same amount of energy consumed by more than 240 households, according to the state agency.

    When completed, the projects are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1,897 metric tons every year – equivalent to taking 383 cars off the road.

    The Merrimack Valley Planning Commission is receiving a nearly $64,000 grant to reduce energy consumption and costs, pollution and the development of renewable energy and alternative energy.

    Meanwhile, Andover, Haverhill, Methuen, Manchester-by-the-Sea and Ipswich will each get $15,000 Municipal Energy Technical Assistance grants from the state to cover the cost of green projects ranging from decarbonization of buildings to energy storage.

    About 290 communities, accounting for about 89% of the state’s population, have been awarded a “green community” designation by the state agency.

    Since 2010, the state agency has awarded more than $177 million in Green Communities grants, according to the Baker administration.

    To qualify for funding, communities must commit to reducing their energy consumption by 86,875 MM BTUs over the next five years. That’s equivalent to the energy use of 673 homes, or taking 1,222 gas-powered cars off the road, according to the agency.

    Massachusetts is required under a state law to meet ambitious benchmarks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to “net zero” over 1990s levels by 2050.

    A climate change bill signed by then-Gov. Charlie Baker in 2022 requires the state to meet incremental goals every five years to reach a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030 before meeting the 2050 goal.

    The plan calls for expanding the use of wind power, solar and hydropower, as well as continuing to reduce overall energy usage and reliance on fossil fuel sources to keep the lights turned on and heat and cool the state’s homes and buildings.

    The state is also working to improve energy efficiency through the Mass Save program, which is funded by a surcharge tacked onto energy bills and proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade system aimed at reducing emissions from power plants.

    The fees drum up about $2 billion a year, which helps pay for home efficiency audits and other programs to reduce energy consumption.

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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  • Snags in the Garden: A Garden Trend that Lets Dead Trees Stand

    Snags in the Garden: A Garden Trend that Lets Dead Trees Stand

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    I remember the first time I heard the word “snag” in reference to a standing dead tree. While touring Edwina von Gal’s property as part of a Garden Conservancy Open Day, von Gal pointed out a decaying tree with pride, telling the visitors about the snag’s many wildlife benefits: It would provide a home for insects, which would attract woodpeckers, who would make holes that would become home to dozens of species of cavity-nesting birds—and when it eventually fully decomposed, it would nourish the soil.

    After that, I noticed snags, also known as “wildlife trees,” everywhere I went: On walks through the woods and even on New York City streets. However, one place I didn’t see snags was in people’s yards. As much as they benefit our ecosystems, gardeners don’t seem to love their somewhat rugged appearance.

    Above: A black locust snag sat at the center of Norris’  ‘A Beautiful Disturbance’ garden at the Philadelphia Flower Show. Photograph by Jaime Alvarez.

    Seeing a dead tree left standing in a garden is unusual, but seeing one in the center of a show garden at the Philadelphia Garden Show was even more so. But that’s exactly what visitors encountered in Kelly D. Norris’s ‘A Beautiful Disturbance’ garden. Norris describes the design as a recreation of “an abandoned lot, an artifact of the human-urban century, that finds new life as a novel ecosystem.” It was also a celebration of how nature quickly fills the void. Norris chose to put a dead tree trunk in the center as a symbol of the imagined garden’s past. 

    Norris has left a few small dead trees on a slope of his own yard. They have become an informal trellis for trumpet vine and Virginia creeper. “It adds both to the layers of the hedgerow,” says Norris. Then, this past winter, a large hackberry that Norris fondly calls “the Queen” split; Norris says he hopes to “negotiate a truce” with his neighbor to leave part of the tree and let it slowly decline. “It’s a beautiful tree and it’s heartbreaking to deal with the idea that it’s not going to be there anymore,” he says. “I’m asking myself, ‘How could we just honor its life and just give it more life?’ ”

    A red-bellied woodpecker on a snag. Photograph by Emily Mills via Flickr.
    Above: A red-bellied woodpecker on a snag. Photograph by Emily Mills via Flickr.

    It’s a sentiment Tama Matsuoka Wong, the author of Into The Weeds, shares. When an ash tree near Wong’s house succumbed to emerald ash borer, she asked the arborist to remove the hazardous upper limbs only. “As a standing trunk it is fine,” says Wong. “You don’t need to chip it all the way to the ground or take out the roots: A standing dead tree can provide rich organic nutrients and shelter for a host of animals, birds, insects, and seedlings, as well as fungi.” Now Wong is treated to frequent visits from pileated woodpeckers.

    Ecologically-minded garden designers like Norris, von Gal, and Wong are increasingly encouraging their communities to consider trimming hazardous branches and leaving the dead trunks standing. Safety is, of course, the first concern, and in some areas dead trees may also pose a wildfire hazard, so always consult with a seasoned arborist if you have a dead tree you’d like to keep. 

    Caption: A sculptural snag at the Mount Cuba Center. Photograph by Heather Evans.
    Caption: A sculptural snag at the Mount Cuba Center. Photograph by Heather Evans.

    If you do determine you can save part of a tree, Norris says the trick to snag success is to convey intention. “When people see snags and decay, they tend to associate those cues with a lack of care,” Norris says. “If somebody in a small yard wants to leave a stump or a snag, it needs to be the most well-loved snag in the neighborhood.” When Heather Evans, the founder of Dear Avant Gardener, had a tree on her property die, she asked her arborist to strategically cut it into a safe and sculptural shape like she’s seen done at the Mount Cuba Center. However, the tree man was perplexed, so Evans took a photo of the tree, printed it out and showed him what she imagined.

    Wong’s snag is decorated with tassels and the markings of woodpeckers. Photograph by Ngoc Minh Ngo.
    Above: Wong’s snag is decorated with tassels and the markings of woodpeckers. Photograph by Ngoc Minh Ngo.

    Wong suggests going one step further. “You can mark these trees in the Japanese Shinto tradition of respect by wrapping them with rope or hanging cord with raffia tassels or white paper streamers from them,” says Wong. After removing the upper canopy of her ash, Wong celebrated her snag with decorations. 

    An artful snag at the Gothenburg Botanical Garden. Photographs by Carrie Preston/Studio Toop.
    Above: An artful snag at the Gothenburg Botanical Garden. Photographs by Carrie Preston/Studio Toop.

    Public gardens like the Mount Cuba Center that incorporate snags may be key to persuading homeowners to embrace the wildlife tree. Another example is Sweden’s Gothenburg Botanical Garden, where a large snag was left standing. “Rather than take down an existing tree that has died, it has been allowed to stay and become art,” says Carrie Preston, the landscape designer behind Studio Toop and an admirer of the snag. The old tree has hundreds of holes drilled into it. “The holes not only become a graphic pattern, but create habitat,” says Preston.

    Another tactic to help the neighbors understand your choice? Evans suggests “a combination of artful landscaping and proactive communication.” She suggests getting your yard certified as a wildlife habitat, noting that there are several local and national programs, including the National Wildlife Federation’s program. “Announcing it with a sign will also suggest that your snag and other ecological features are intentional, not neglect,” she says.

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  • Beyond the Meadows: An Inspiring New Book by the Homesteaders Behind Krautkopf

    Beyond the Meadows: An Inspiring New Book by the Homesteaders Behind Krautkopf

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    When my friend and colleague Margot Guralnick and I set out to write The Low-Impact Home, we had many discussions with Remodelista founder Julie Carlson about whether our project would be a beautiful coffee table book or a nuts-and-bolts manual for eco-minded homeowners. What we realized was, we needn’t sacrifice one for the other. Our book would be equal parts inspiration and information.

    When I opened up Beyond the Meadows: Portrait of a Natural and Biodiverse Garden by Krautkopf, in bookstores now, I immediately recognized in it the same desire to both inspire and edify. That the book is brimming with gorgeous images isn’t all that surprising given its authors, German homesteaders Susann Probst and Yannic Schon, are professional photographers. What is unexpected, and delightful, is how much they’ve chosen to share about their experience as new homesteaders. The two really get into the weeds, if you will, of how they designed their landscape, cared for their plants, welcomed biodiversity, naturally enriched the soil, and, ultimately, became self-sufficient. Diagrams, before and after shots, and plant lists help tell their gardening journey. And they’re blessedly not shy about revealing their mistakes, either.

    Beyond the Meadows, by Susann Probst and Yannic Schon
    Beyond the Meadows, by Susann Probst and Yannic Schon
    Above: Susann and Yannic’s homesteading journey started in 2018, when they moved from Berlin to a small cottage with lots of land in a village in northeastern Germany. It was built as a “settler’s house,” one of many that cropped up post-WWII to encourage people to become more self-sufficient. Their new book, now available in English, documents their experience working the land as new gardeners.

    “To be honest, we held back from writing a gardening book for a long time,” Susann tells us. “We felt we were only at the very beginning of the learning process and therefore didn’t feel ready. However, at one point we realized that this gardening journey would never end and that we would constantly be learning new things that would be worth writing about. So there would never be the ‘right’ time to start.” The results are less guidebook and more garden memoir. “We wanted a book full of beauty and inspiration, which would nevertheless contain our knowledge and experiences from the past five years,” she says.

    Susann and Yannic’s garden appeared in The Low-Impact Home—Margot and I were enchanted by their property and their commitment to ecology-based gardening—so I read their book with great interest. But even if you don’t know a thing about them and don’t harbor any fantasies about growing your own food, Beyond the Meadows is a must-read. It’s for anyone curious about how to be a better gardener or adopt more planet-friendly approaches—and also for those who simply yearn to slow down and smell the earth.

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  • Rashid Poulson of Brooklyn Bridge Park on Spring Gardening Chores

    Rashid Poulson of Brooklyn Bridge Park on Spring Gardening Chores

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    This is part of a series with Perfect Earth Project, a nonprofit dedicated to toxic-free, nature-based gardening, on how you can be more sustainable in your landscapes at home. 

    Rashid Poulson probably wouldn’t be where he is today if he hadn’t gotten bored at work. The horticultural director of the Brooklyn Bridge Park (BBP), one of the city’s most exciting new parks and our newest Pathways to PRFCT Partner, had zero interest in gardening when he was studying engineering in college. But when the hours dragged during his job as a cashier at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s former gift shop, he found himself reaching for the gardening books to pass the time, and “caught the bug.” His mother, a BBG gardener, suggested he apply to New York City’s Million Trees horticultural training program. A few weeks later, while working near the West Side Highway tackling invasive porcelain berry vines and trying to avoid poison ivy, he had an epiphany. “I remember how refreshing the air was, the exposure to the sun, and the interesting cast of intercity youths who were brought together to tackle these daunting plants draped over canopies of oaks and many other mature trees,” he recalls. “In that moment, everything I was doing felt right and purposeful. I was contributing to the world I live in.” He had found his calling.

    Above: Poulson is the director of horticulture at Brooklyn Bridge Park. “With changing hardiness zones, it’s a challenge to navigate the layers of new information, and then turn that information into appropriate action. For example, do you water a struggling tree during drought? Or do you accept it as the larger reality of climate change in that say 30 years from now, this tree might not be able to survive in this particular range or microclimate of New York City?” Photograph by Alexa Hoyer.

    After completing the program, Poulson became an intern at the High Line for a summer before joining the team at BBP in 2012. He’s been there ever since, rising through the ranks—from seasonal gardener to director of horticulture in 2022. Designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, BBP encompasses 85 acres on the Brooklyn waterfront and features freshwater wetlands, flower meadows, woodlands, and salt marshes—all maintained organically and sustainably. Poulson shares how the gardeners tackle weeds, the native plants that make his heart sing, and more.

    Photography by Rashid Poulson, unless noted.

    What’s the horticulture team at Brooklyn Bridge Park up to right now?

    Poulson at work.
    Above: Poulson at work.

    We just kicked off irrigation in the park, which is big for us because after nearly a decade, managing turf is back under the horticulture department. We will be experimenting with incorporating clovers into a few of our small lawns to see where we can reduce our inputs into over 11 acres of turf areas throughout the park. We aim to expand on this as much as possible with larger lawns. 

    We are eager to dive into the spring planting season. There are some new Carex plantings (Carex radiata and Carex greyi) adjacent to lawns that I am certain will be successful. These plantings grow under trees like Metasequoias (dawn redwoods) and Taxodiums (bald cypresses) that provide ample shade along lawns, where full sun turf grasses are unable to establish. This will likely serve as a model for us to add a variety of native plants that could straddle the lawns in areas that are typically mulched pits and will function with lower maintenance inputs and will have fewer resources applied. And of course, they will heighten the aesthetics of the area. 

    What are some of the tasks/practices that you are doing now in the garden? 

    The name of the game this time of the year is staying on top of the weeds ahead of summer. We’re trying a new method this year: a radial approach [to weeding]. Imagine a 10-foot x 10-foot area, where you’ll find things like Gallium, nettle, and then a bunch of mugwort forming in the middle. The instinct might be to run straight for the mugwort and pull it, especially considering how aggressive it is. But you really want to start at the perimeter, the furthermost perimeter of your weed populations and subtly work your way in. This way we can boost our thoroughness and effectiveness, as well as have as delicate a footprint as possible. When you are utilizing those radial approaches, you allow the eye to prioritize a little bit better. Once you’re done, you’ve also essentially closed off that situation and prevented the spread of these hot pockets of weeds that we have throughout the park.

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  • Ask the Experts: Where Do the Pros Go to Source Native Plants? – Gardenista

    Ask the Experts: Where Do the Pros Go to Source Native Plants? – Gardenista

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    • Were these plants grown with any types of pesticides? This is crucially important, as no one wants to unwittingly poison the very insects you are looking to attract. 
    • Can you tell me a bit more about what wildlife interacts with this plant? Just because you saw a bee on it does not necessarily mean it’s good for all pollinators. About a quarter of our native bees in the Northeast are specialists, meaning they require the nectar and pollen of specific plants in order to survive. Wouldn’t you want to know what those plants are? The ability for native plants to support insect life is tremendous, orders of magnitude more than nonnative plants. Who eats all those insects? Hungry baby songbirds do, one of the best reasons to use native plants. 
    • Where was the plant sourced? Locally sourced plants are better adapted to the timing and emergence of flowers and insects. This exquisite choreography between plant and insect has evolved over countless generations and is tightly synced. Using locally sourced plants helps keep both sides in step together.

    Should you buy seeds, plugs, or pots?

    Seeds are the least expensive option, followed by plugs, and then larger pots. If you have the time and interest, go with seeds. “Seeding is best for those who are patient and enjoy getting into the ‘weeds’ of plant biology and the growing process. Preparation is key, growing is slow, and weeding is ongoing—especially in the first couple of years,” says Abby Lawless, principle of Farm Landscape Design. “Each species of plant has specific germination requirements. For example, some may require periods of cold, moisture, exposure to light, oscillating temperatures, and so on.” (Read: The Garden Decoder: What Is ‘Cold Stratification?’)

    Her recommendation? “Work with native plugs, which are small, young plants that can range from 2- to 2.5-inch-wide and 2- to 5-inch-deep. Growing plugs requires far fewer resources than larger potted plants, and because they are being planted at such a young age, they adapt quickly to environmental conditions and grow to be strong, vigorous plants.”

    What are some trusted nurseries for native plants? 

    Above: Producing yellow flowers in early spring, golden ragwort attracts small native bees. Jacob’s ladder is a pale blue bloomer that reaches a foot in height, is deer resistant, and is loved by native bumble bees. Both are sold at Prairie Moon. Photographs courtesy of Prairie Moon.

    Jeff Lorenz, founder of Refugia Design: “For retail, I look for the American Beauties line, which is available at many retail nurseries. For mail order, there’s also Ernst Seed, Roundstone Native Seed Company, Pinelands Nursery & Supply, Prairie Moon Nursery, and the Wild Seed Project.” (Read: Refugia’s Quiet Revolution in Philadelphia’s Suburbs.)

    Jeff Lynch, director of horticulture at Wethersfield Estate & Garden: “A very good and mail order retail plant nursery is Wood Thrush Native Plant Nursery. Based in Virginia, they grow rare and unusual varieties. My best wholesale sources for native plants are Kind Earth Growers, New Moon Nursery, and North Creek Nurseries. Even though most homeowners can’t buy from them, they’re great resources with an incredible wealth of information on native plants.”

    Toshi Yano, director of Perfect Earth Project: “For gardeners around the Hudson Valley, these nurseries are worth the trip: Earth Tones Native Plant Nursery, Tiny Meadow Farm, and Barkaboom Native Plants.

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  • Leaf Mulch: Why You Should Leave the Leaves in Spring, Too

    Leaf Mulch: Why You Should Leave the Leaves in Spring, Too

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    Spring is in the air, and for many gardeners, that means it’s time to start cleaning up the yard. But what if I told you that your garden beds will be better off with a little mess?

    Leaving the leaves is not just for fall. Here are seven critical reasons to keep them on your garden beds as winter turns into spring, and spring into summer.

    1. Protects good bugs.

    Above: Leaf litter provides shelter and nutrients to beneficial insects like centipedes and millipedes. Photograph by Jim Powell for Gardenista, from 10 Essential Insects You Need in the Garden.

    Leaves provide a vital habitat for pollinators like butterflies, moths, and native bees as well as other beneficial insects. All of them need a place to overwinter. They all come out of diapause (bug hibernation) at different times between March and May. Removing the leaves too early means you’re throwing out Luna moths, red-banded hairstreak butterflies, and leaf cutter, miner, and mason bees.

    2. Provides free mulch.

    No need to buy mulch. Leaves keep moisture in and weeds out just as well as wood mulch.

    3. Builds healthy soil.

    Mulched leaves in a vegetable garden. Photograph by Sheila Brown via Flickr.
    Above: Mulched leaves in a vegetable garden. Photograph by Sheila Brown via Flickr.

    Leaves decompose over the course of the year and by doing so, they provide the trees exactly what they need in the way of nutrients…since they came from the tree. And when leaves break down in garden beds, they add to the soil structure that keeps your soil, and by extension, your plants happy.

    4. Reduces pest issues.

    No pesticides necessary when you leave the leaves, thus providing a home for beneficial insects that eat mosquitoes and other garden pests, such as dragonflies and crane flies. Native insects also attract birds and bats that eat mosquitoes. And leaf litter is a draw as well for opossums that love to eat ticks.

    5. Decreases your carbon footprint:

    Fallen leaves gathered from the yard and placed in a garden bed. Photograph by jacki-dee via Flickr.
    Above: Fallen leaves gathered from the yard and placed in a garden bed. Photograph by jacki-dee via Flickr.

    The methods by which many homeowners remove leaves from their property are often not very eco-friendly: Using a leaf blower contributes to greenhouse gases and noise pollution, and harms the topsoil as well. And if the leaves are placed in garbage bag and sent to the landfill, the leaves decompose without oxygen, producing methane gas. When you rake the leaves into your garden beds, the only energy you’re using is your own.

    6. Contributes to a balanced ecosystem:

    Above: Snowdrops love damp-ish conditions, and fallen leaves are great at locking in moisture. Photograph by Britt Willoughby Dyer, from Gardening 101: Snowdrops.

    Leaves are not trash. They are an integral part of your ecosystem. They provide food, shelter, and nutrients. Your garden is not just a bunch of plants but an interconnected system in which all parts are equally important for its health. For instance, caterpillars are the only thing most baby songbirds eat. Keeping the leaves helps caterpillars thrive, which in turn helps birds in the spring.

    6. Saves time.

    Leaving the leaves gives you back time to do other more enjoyable gardening tasks! Like planting more plants! (For time savers, see Landscaping: 10 Clever Gardening Tips to Save Time.)

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  • City councilor calls library cost estimate ‘almost dishonest’

    City councilor calls library cost estimate ‘almost dishonest’

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    BEVERLY — A city councilor accused Mayor Mike Cahill’s administration of being “almost dishonest” about the cost of a proposed library project that has ballooned to $18 million.

    In a public hearing at City Hall on Monday night, Ward 1 Councilor Todd Rotondo criticized city officials for telling city councilors two years ago that the project would cost $3.75 million. Cahill is now asking the council to approve the project at a cost of $18 million.

    “It wasn’t with malicious intent but it really was almost dishonest,” Rotondo said of the original $3.75 million estimate. “We weren’t presented a whole picture of the project originally.”

    The comment prompted a heated exchange with Mike Collins, the city’s director of public services and engineering.

    “I’m curious, were you insinuating that we were lying to you?” Collins asked Rotondo. “That’s the way I heard it.”

    “I don’t think I said that,” Rotondo responded. “What I said was, well, OK yes, I would say that then.”

    Rotondo said everyone he’s spoken with about the project assumed that the $3.75 million was a high price, but was the full scope of the project.

    “So it almost is a little distrustful, yes,” he said to Collins. “So I’m sorry if that’s the way you feel, but yes it’s not a full truth.”

    “It’s not how I feel, it’s how you feel, so I just wanted to clarify that,” Collins said.

    The City Council did not take a vote on the project Monday night, instead continuing the public hearing until its next meeting on March 18.

    The project calls for installing a new geothermal heating and cooling system at the Beverly Public Library on Essex Street as well as other improvements to the building. City officials say the HVAC system is failing and the building lacks humidity control, an important feature in the storage of historic records.

    The City Council approved an initial $2 million for the project in June 2022 based on an estimated cost of $3.75 million. But when the project came back before the council in January, councilors were told the cost was now $18 million.

    Rotondo asked Collins why the original estimate did not include such costs as accessibility upgrades and other “soft costs.” Collins said that estimate was “just a relative cost comparison of different options” and “wasn’t a fully developed project.”

    “What we were asking for was money to pursue developing the selected option out to its fullest extent so that we could then come back to the council with a fully developed project and request funding,” Collins said.

    Members of the project team hired by the city spent nearly two hours presenting details of the project. Bryant Ayles, the city’s finance director, said the city can afford to borrow money for the library as well as for two other upcoming renovation projects, to City Hall and the McPherson Youth Center.

    The library project is in line to receive about $7.8 million in grants, incentives and credits under various energy programs, significantly reducing the cost for the city, officials said. They said the proposed geothermal system, which involves installing a “geothermal well field” under the library parking lot, will reduce the city’s greenhouse gas footprint.

    “It will give us the best overall project and the lowest total operating costs and the lowest cost of ownership over the life of the project,” Collins said. “I still stand by that.”

    If the City Council approves the project, construction would start in August and the library would be closed for six to eight months during construction, according to the project team’s presentation.

    Beatrice Heinze, a Conant Street resident who spoke as part of the public hearing, said she thinks geothermal systems are “wonderful.” But she questioned the cost of the project, noting that as a taxpayer she is also paying for the credits and incentives that the city would receive.

    “I take $18 million out of this pocket to Beverly. Then I take $8 million out of this pocket to the feds to give back to Beverly. Then I pay a big added-on to my National Grid bill to give a carbon credit back to Beverly,” Heinze said.

    Ward 5 Councilor Kathleen Feldman said she believes the geothermal system “still makes the most sense long-term for our city.” “But the sticker shock was a lot for all of us to handle,” she said.

    Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.

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    By Paul Leighton | Staff Writer

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  • Lawmakers seek to lift fishing gear removal ban

    Lawmakers seek to lift fishing gear removal ban

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    BOSTON — A new bipartisan proposal calls for lifting a statewide ban on removing abandoned fishing lines to help protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.

    The legislation, filed by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, would authorize the state Division of Marine Fisheries – with the approval of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission and the Department of Fish and Game – to set regulations allowing for the removal of fishing gear from state waters.

    Under current law, commercial fishing gear is considered private property and cannot be removed when it becomes dislodged and sinks to the ocean floor or washes up on shore. Backers of the plan say abandoned fishing gear poses a threat to the marine environment and ecosystems.

    “It ‘ghost fishes,’ increasing mortality without any harvest benefit, it presents a major risk for entanglement for right whales and other species, it clutters and pollutes the ocean floor, and it presents ongoing problems for coastal communities that have to deal with this form of pollution when it washes ashore and must be collected and disposed of before it does further damage,” Tarr said in a statement.

    The rare bipartisan measure is co-sponsored by more than a dozen lawmakers spanning the North Shore, South Shore, Cape Cod and the islands, including state Sen. Joan Lovely, D-Salem, and Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester, and House Minority Leader Brad Jones, R-North Reading.

    It’s also backed by the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, which lauded the fact that the bill would allow abandoned gear to be collected during community beach cleanups.

    “The commercial lobster industry also helps with many of these cleanup efforts to maintain clean beaches for everyone to enjoy,” said Beth Casoni, the association’s executive director. “We look forward to seeing this bill through to the end.”

    The bill also includes protections for fishermen, including a provision that clarifies it is unlawful to “take, use, destroy, injure or molest” traps, lines and other gear “without the consent of the owner.”

    Lawmakers say the proposal seeks to strike a balance between the protection of right whales while recognizing the impact of government-ordered fishing ground closures and other restrictions on the state’s commercial lobster fishery.

    Driven to the brink of extinction in the 20th century by whalers, North Atlantic right whales are more recently at risk from ship collisions and entanglement in fishing gear.

    Scientists say the population of North Atlantic right whales has dwindled to about 360. The species has also been hindered by poor reproduction and several years of high mortality, research has shown.

    Environmental activists want to ban commercial fishing nets and gear in state waters to prevent entanglements of whales and turtles. They’ve also called for federal regulators to expand no-fishing zones and mandate the use of so-called “ropeless” fishing gear to reduce the risk of entanglements.

    Federal regulators are considering new regulations requiring modifications in fishing gear to help reduce whale fatalities, but those rules have been put on hold for two years following recent court challenges.

    Massachusetts lobstermen argue that they’re doing more than enough to protect the whales by following conservation measures, including a months-long fishing closure during the winter and early spring and the use of new technology.

    They also argue that line entanglements are rare and say additional regulations would mean more financial pressures for an industry that is already struggling amid stringent regulations and closures of fishing areas.

    Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the death of a right whale off Martha’s Vineyard from a fishing line entanglement.

    The federal agency said the fishing gear, which had become deeply embedded in the whale’s tail, was traced back to Maine’s commercial lobster industry.

    Meanwhile, authorities discovered another dead right whale carcass floating off the coast of Georgia this week.

    The deaths have rekindled demands from environmental groups to impose new restrictions on fishing gear and commercial vessels to protect the critically endangered species.

    “The death of two juvenile North Atlantic whales within three weeks of each other is heartbreaking and preventable,” Kathleen Collins, senior marine campaign manager for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said in a statement Thursday. “The right whale graveyard off our eastern seaboard continues to grow and inaction from the administration is digging the graves.”

    Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.

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    By Christian M. Wade | Statehouse Reporter

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