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Showing posts from August, 2011

Among the Ancients by Joan Maloof

There are old growth forests east of the Mississippi, at least 26 of them! Plant scientist, ecologist, and professor of biology and environmental studies at Salisbury University in Maryland Dr. Joan Maloof visited one old growth forest in each of the 26 states east of the Mississippi River and writes about her journey to each forest and her observations of the forest in her second book titled Among the Ancients: Adventures in the Eastern Old-Growth Forests which was published in April 2011 by Ruka Press . Image: Among the Ancients book cover ( source ) In the preface to the book, Dr. Maloof offers the following definition of old-growth forests (she tells us someone found 98 definitions of the term): "Old-growth forest are places that have been left alone for a very long time. This usually results in large, old trees, but in some marginal environments, such as mountaintops, even the ancient trees are small."  She expands the definition of old-growth forests in th

Tree Walk: 13 Endangered Shade Trees at Washington Square Village playground

If the NYU 2031 plan is approved as is, the playground at Washington Square Village will be demolished to build a temporary gym and then a permanent academic building. The plan is available at http://www.nyu.edu/nyu2031/nyuinnyc/growth/the-plan.php. Among other losses if this construction occurs, will be the loss of 13 large-stature shade trees: two honeylocusts, five Norway maples, and 6 London planetrees. The trees provide extensive shade to an area that receives sun for most of the day. Image: Washington Square Village playground.  Note that there are London planetrees outside the playground on its western and eastern boundaries. The diameter-at-breast-height (in inches) of each tree is as follows: Honeylocust 1 (northernmost): 18.5" Honeylocust 2: 16.25 Norway maple (northernmost) 1: 16.7" Norway maple 2: 16.25 Norway maple 3: 19.25 Norway maple 4: 17.75 Norway maple 5: 15 London planetree (northernmost) 1: 19.75" London planetree 2: 19 Lon

Pop Up (New York) City

Many of our leisure trips have provided content for blog posts.  Several years ago, during a trip to Cleveland, I picked up a copy of Pop Up City, Urban Infill No. Two (2009) edited by the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative at Kent State University.  Coincidentally I read through the book again last week which was also when I saw Timeshare Backyard - a rent- and create-your-own-backyard on the vacant lot at 145 Ludlow Street - and visited the BMW Guggenheim Lab - "part urban think tank, part community center and public gathering space" on previously inaccessible park land (and a vacant building lot?) on Houston and First Avenue. Pop Up City describes the "pop up" phenomenon as follows: Temporary uses are unplanned, but they are present in every larger city.  Often, they play an important role in a city's public and cultural life as well as in its urban development, but they have thus far been almost completely ignored in official policymakin

Then & Now: Mercer Street Plaza

Fall 2010 Summer 2011 We wrote about Mercer Plaza in October 2010 and February 2011: Contested greenspace in Greenwich Village Mercer Plaza: Make way for NYU green initiatives

English Elm in the Tree Year, Part 3

The bright, green spring leaves of the English Elm ( Ulmus procera ) in the northwest corner of Washington Square Park have darkened and the canopy has thickened, too. Though he was writing about the American elm ( U. americana ), Arthur Plotnick's description of the shading characteristics of the tree is accurate of this U. procera . The tall trunk and spreading canopy of the elm made it ideal as a shade tree that cooled buildings and allowed trucks to pass beneath.  A street blessed with rows of elms was like a cathedral (The Urban Tree Book, p. 55). Interested in documenting the life of a tree this year? Learn more at The Tree Year project website. Previous English Elm in the Tree Year posts are available at English Elm in the Tree Year, Part 2 English Elm in The Tree Year, Part 1