green gardens

this past saturday i attended the 3rd annual green gardens tour featuring sustainable gardens in santa monica. the tour benefitted the virginia avenue project, a free after-school program that uses the arts along with one-on-one mentoring to help kids discover their full potential.

the goal of the tour, themed "the value of trees" was to highlight environmentally harmonius landscaping practices, and it did a great job at that. here is an excerpt from the booklet that i received at the tour:

"in natural systems, rainfall is caught by trees or shrubs and released slowly into the ground. this natural cycle produces nutrient, fresh water and clean air. even in a semi-arid landscape like early los angeles, the eco-system was in balance, providing everything that native people, plants and animals needed for a sustainable and prosperous life.

in the los angeles of today, we have interfered with the natural cycles of energy and water with thousands of square miles of concrete, asphalt, skyscrapers and residential neighborhoods. in this system, rainfall is channeled to our roadways, where it picks up...a toxic soup of pollutants and washes into the over-taxed storm drain system and out to our beaches and bays. very little water remains to replenish the water table for later use.

two important and expensive problems result from this: we must import billions of gallons of water each year, turning other regions into deserts; and we spend half a billion dollars on massive flood control projects.

in order to turn things around, we need to begin understanding los angeles as a living ecosystemm and working with nature to rehabilitate its ability to protect and meet our needs. trees are central to this rehabilitation."

so what constitutes a "green" garden? aren't all gardens green? well, these gardens were chosen for their use of recycled materials, climate appropriate plants, urban runoff systems, organic practices, wildlife friendly-ness, edibles, water efficient irrigation, green building practices, mulch, and lawn reduction.



below are photos that i took of some of the gardens. i'll be following up with a series on green landscaping and my experiences in designing through a whole-systems approach.

growing beyond green

the american institute of architects (aia) has announced that vice president al gore will be the closing keynote speaker to their 2007 convention and design expo. the event, titled "growing beyond green," will be held in antonio, texas may 3-5, 2007. the aia is excited to have gore speak at their 150 anniversary event:

We are honored to have Vice President Gore, a champion of solutions to combat global warming, speak at our 2007 national convention. We are fortunate to have someone of Mr. Gore’s stature help shine a spotlight to an often overlooked element – the impact that buildings have on the health of the overall environment.

~ christine mcentee, aia ceo and executive vice president

the interesting line up of keynote speakers also includes raymond j cole, chrisna du plessis, william g reed, and david suzuki.

(via inhabitat)

on my bookshelf

i'm blogging from the santa monica public library today where there is free wireless, a coffee shop/cafe, and an amazing selection of resources for bibliophiles like me. the santa monica library is also acknowledged by the u.s. green building council as a silver-rated leed certified green building and hosts community workshops and lectures in sustainable living...rad. you can find out more about the library's initiative in sustainability here.

the following books are staples on my personal shelves. any of these books are worth a trip to your local library to check out and would make a great present for the environmentally inquisitive on your holiday list...be sure to support local independent bookstores when purchasing (you can find one near you through booksense) or buy used when possible.


gaviota's a village to reinvent the world, by alan weisman

weisman tells the story of how a diverse group of visionaries (engineers, biologists, botanists, agriculturists, sociologists, musicians, artists, doctors, teachers, and students) created a very real, socially viable, and self-sufficient community for the future in the los llanos region of colombia which is generally considered uninhabitable. today the people of gaviotas produce innovative technologies (solar collectors, irrigation systems, windmills, and hydroponic gardens) that use the environment without depleting or destroying it. the story he presents is a wonderful testament to human creativity, commitment, and effort toward building a socially viable and environmentally sustainable future.

cradle to cradle: remaking the way we make things, by william mcdonough & michael braungart

“the world will not evolve past its current state of crisis by using the same thinking that created the situation."

mcdonough & braungart have been my heroes ever since i saw "the next industrial revolution" which documents their cradle to cradle design projects pointing the future of design as being one of use, recycle, and used again without losing any material quality (cradle-to-cradle) rather than the all too familiar use once and then dispose (cradle-to-grave) mentality. i bought the dvd a few years back and then the book. as a 'treeless' publication printed on a synthetic plastic resin 'paper' made to be easily recycled, the book "cradle to cradle" is itself a symbol of the design philosophies inside.


natural capitalism: creating the next industrial revolution, by paul hawken, amory lovins, and l. hunter lovins

this book, written by three visionaries from the rocky mountain institute, explains how the world is on the verge of a new industrial revolution—one that promises to transform our fundamental notions about commerce and its role in shaping our future. natural capitalism describes a future in which business and environmental interests increasingly overlap, and in which businesses can better satisfy their customers' needs, increase profits, and help solve environmental problems all at the same time.

this is my all-time numero uno. you can even download the book from the natural capitalism website for free and start reading it right now!

party people!!

decompressing from decompression here on a lovely sunday afternoon. it was great seeing everyone's glowing faces yesterday and catching up on your post burn happenins. i really felt the playa magic last night while playing amongst the el lay backdrop. unfortunately, i missed the after after party as i'm still in healing mode, but i'm sure you made me proud bringing the sunrise up together.

i want to send a shout out to the decom greening group. they worked hard to offer green workshops and make sure that decom was a leave no trace event. i am proud to be a part of such a consciousness raising community. with this coming years art theme being the green man, i feel positive that we can continue to express ourselves radically, while minimizing our party footprint on the world...here's an awesome example of just that:

last night, another party kicked off in rotterdam at a new club called the critical mass. hyped as the sustainable dance club, the critical mass features organic beer on tap and fair-trade clothing on sale, but that is just the beginning. enviu, an environmental ngo for youth, is working with the architectural firm döll to create a truly sustainable nightclub featuring energy-generating dance floors (excellent way to extract kilowatts from energetic clubbers), toilets that flush with rain water, walls that change colour as a reaction to temperature changes, a rooftop garden and other elements that combine to create a sustainable clubbing environment.

enviu and döll aim to build a club that will be fun and profitable, yet will have a low impact on the environment, while raising awareness for social and environmental issues among the young and hip.

i hope that this proves wildly successful environmentally and financially...and that the concept spreads around the globe! with the way that this community parties, we could probably power most of the west coast with our dancefloors :)