Tag Archives: Earth Day

Native Plant Acquisitions, Gowanus Canal Conservancy Plant Sale

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Today I made my way to my first Gowanus Canal Conservancy Native Plant Sale. Today is Earth Day 2018, and today’s sale was held at their nursery location, the Salt Lot where Second Avenue ends at the Gowanus Canal. They have two more sales this season. The next, on May 19th, conflicts with the NYC Wildflower Week tour of my garden.

Gowanus Canal Conservancy Salt Lot entrance, April 2018

A wide range of species are listed are available on their nursery page. Not all of them are still in stock. In compensation, they had other unlisted species available at today’s plant sale.


I used their published list of species to make a shopping list, always a good idea when heading out to plant sales. I cross-checked their list for species that 1) I didn’t already have, and 2) were native to New York City. Since they list the Greenbelt Native Plant Center as a partner, I suspected many of their species would be NYC-local ecotypes. I made a few exceptions for cases where I have the species, but not a NYC-local ecotype, e.g.: Solidago sempervirens, seaside goldenrod.

Partial Shopping list for Gowanus Canal Conservancy Native Plant Sale, April 2018

I had the chance to speak with a few of their staff and volunteers, including Diana Gruberg, their Horticultural Manager for the whole operation. I was pleased when she confirmed that some 90% of their species originated with Greenbelt. They are now successfully propagating many of these species themselves, both vegetatively and from seed.

Gowanus Canal Conservancy Native Plant Sale at the Salt Lot, April 2018

Gowanus Canal Conservancy Native Plant Sale at the Salt Lot, April 2018

Today’s acquisitions, listed alphabetically by botanical name:

  • Carex albicans, white-tinged sedge
  • Carex comosa, bristly sedge
  • Euthamia graminifolia, common flat-topped goldenrod
  • Juncus greenei, Greene’s rush
  • Monarda fistulosa, bee-balm
  • Oenothera biennis, common evening primrose
  • Quercus bicolor, swamp white oak
  • Schizachyrium littorale, dune blue-stem 
  • Solidago sempervirens, seaside goldenrod, N YC-local ecotype
  • Symphyotrichum ericoides. heath aster
  • Veronicastrum virginicum, Culver’s root

I confirmed with Diana that the seaside goldenrod was propagated from a Greenbelt collection, so it’s a local ecotype. I don’t know for sure which of the others also are. Odds are good that it’s most, if not all, of them.

Native Plant Acquisitions, Gowanus Canal Conservancy Plant Sale, April 2018

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Happy Earth Day

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Earthrise over the moon as seen by the astronauts of Apollo 8 on December 22, 1968.
Earthrise, Apollo 8

This was not the first image of the isolated Earth from space. It was the first which contrasted in the same image the wet, blue and green, atmospheric Earth with the barren, dusted, lifeless Moon.

The rising Earth is about five degrees above the lunar horizon in this telephoto view taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft near 110 degrees east longitude. The horizon, about 570 kilometers (250 statute miles) from the spacecraft, is near the eastern limb of the Moon as viewed from the Earth. On the earth, the sunset terminator crosses Africa. The south pole is in the white area near the left end of the terminator. North and South America are under the clouds. The lunar surface probably has less pronounced color than indicated by this print.

[goo.gl]

Related Content

40 Years of Earth, 2010-04-22
Apollo: a personal/biographical perspective, 2009-07-19
Happy Earth Day, 2009-04-22
Happy Earth Day!, 2008-04-21
We Are All One World, 2007-10-10

Links

Wikipedia: Earth Day
Apollo, NASA

40 Years of Earth

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Earthrise over the moon as seen by the astronauts of Apollo 8 on December 22, 1968.
Earthrise, Apollo 8

This iconic image has become my regular Earth Day illustration. It was not the first image of the isolated Earth from space. It was the first which contrasted in the same image the wet, blue and green, atmospheric Earth with the barren, dusted, lifeless Moon.

It is easy to deceive ourselves that we can exploit the Earth and dehumanize others – basically, sh*t where we eat and sleep – without consequences. It is hard to see, concretely and measurably, how interconnected and interdependent we are.

Images like those above remind us that we are alone, isolated, and fragile. We are stewards of the Earth. We are gardeners of the world. It’s our responsibility now.

The rising Earth is about five degrees above the lunar horizon in this telephoto view taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft near 110 degrees east longitude. The horizon, about 570 kilometers (250 statute miles) from the spacecraft, is near the eastern limb of the Moon as viewed from the Earth. On the earth, the sunset terminator crosses Africa. The south pole is in the white area near the left end of the terminator. North and South America are under the clouds. The lunar surface probably has less pronounced color than indicated by this print.

Despite the origin of the photo at the top of this post, I am opposed to the human “exploration” of space at this stage in the development of our species and civilization. (Reporter: “What do you think of Western civilization?” Gandhi: “I think it would be a good idea.”) We know all we need which can be learned from sending and keeping humans in space, other than hot to keep humans in space. That should not be our priority. It is far too costly, in economic, human, and environmental costs, for the benefits. We have far more pressing and urgent investments to make, in education, health, and our increasing hunger for things.

[goog.gl]

Related Content

Apollo: a personal/biographical perspective, 2009-07-19
Happy Earth Day, 2009-04-22
Happy Earth Day!, 2008-04-21
We Are All One World, 2007-10-10

Links

Wikipedia: Earth Day
Apollo, NASA

Not just for Tree-Huggers: Street Tree Tour Sunday, 5/2

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RESCHEDULED: The Tree Tour has been rescheduled for the rain date of Sunday, May 2, same times and location.

340 Argyle Road, Beverley Square West, April 2007
340 Argyle Road

Sustainable Flatbush’s 3rd Annual Spring Street Tree Walking Tour will be Sunday, May 2. I’m proud to once again be one of your guides.

Sustainable Flatbush Street Tree Walking Tour, Arbor Day 2009. That’s me in the middle, next to the tree. Photo by Keka (Flickr)

Tours start at 11am and 12noon from Sacred Vibes Apothecary, 376 Argyle Road, between Cortelyou & Dorchester Roads, and loop through the historic neighborhoods of Beverley Square West and landmarked Prospect Park South. In addition to architectural beauty, the area boasts a rich variety of street trees, as well as ornamental trees and shrubs.


View Sustainable Flatbush Spring 2010 Street Tree Walking Tour in a larger map

On the tour, you can see:

  • Acer platanoides, Norway Maple
  • Aesculus hippocastanum, Horsechestnut
  • Amelanchier, Serviceberry
  • Betula nigra, River Birch
  • Cercis canadensis, Redbud
  • Cornus florida, Flowering Dogwood
  • Cryptomeria japonica, Japanese Red Cedar
  • Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo
  • Gleditsia triacanthos, Honey Locust
  • Liquidambar styraciflua, Sweetgum
  • Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Dawn Redwood
  • Pinus strobus, White Pine
  • Platanus x acerifolia, London Plane
  • Pyrus calleryana, Flowering Pear, Callery Pear
  • Quercus palustris, Pin Oak
  • Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’, Columnar English Oak
  • Sophora japonica, Japanese Pagoda Tree, Scholar Tree
  • Tsuga canadensis, Eastern Hemlock
  • Ulmus americana, American Elm

… and many more.

The suggested donation for the tour is $5. From the Sustainable Flatbush Web site:

On Sunday, May 2, Sustainable Flatbush will host our fourth Street Tree Walking Tour! Join tour guides Chris Kreussling (better known as Flatbush Gardener) and Tracey Hohman (professional gardener) for a fun, fulfilling and enlightening tour of Brooklyn’s diverse canopy.

On the Street Tree Walking Tour, you will learn to identify a variety of trees (think of how you can impress your friends!), examine local natural tree history and tree lore (no textbooks needed!), explore the way street trees benefit urban areas (you’ll become a tree’s best friend), and find out how you can obtain and care for street trees yourself!

Become a street tree defender as you walk your way around Victorian Flatbush! The tour (recommended by Brokelyn as a great cheap date!) will take about two hours. Make sure to dress appropriately for the weather and the walk!

The Street Tree Walking Tour is about “connecting people to streetscape,” according to Chris Kreussling. Street trees remind us that we are not separate from nature, but instead dependent upon it for our survival and safety. So grab a friend — or three! – for the walk of the season, and fall more in love with the beautiful foliage of Brooklyn!

What: Street Tree Walking Tour
Where: Begins and ends at Sacred Vibes Apothecary (376 Argyle Road, btwn Cortelyou & Dorchester Roads)
When: Sunday, May 2 — two tours are scheduled: one at 11 a.m., one at noon

Suggested donation $5

Keep an eye out for Sustainable Flatbush’s Street Tree Walking Tour next fall!

Directions:

  • Take the Q train to Cortelyou Road Station and walk west after exiting the station toward Argyle Road.
  • As a reminder, check the MTA website for schedule and service advisories before you head out.
  • Buses that stop on or near Cortelyou Road include the B23, B103, B68, and BM1,2,3,4 and x29 express busess.

[goo.gl]

Related Content

Previous Tree Tour Posts:

Factoids: Street Trees and Property Values, December 2, 2007
Factoids: NYC’s Street Trees and Stormwater Reduction, November 15, 2007
Basic Research: The State of the Forest in New York City, November 12, 2007

Albemarle Road, Local Landscape

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Street Tree Walking Tour April 25th!, Sustainable Flatbush

Happy Earth Day

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Earthrise, Apollo VIII, December 22, 1968
Earthrise, Apollo 8

I remember when we first received images of the earth from space. This image, taken by Apollo VIII astronauts returning to Earth after circumnavigating the moon, was not the first. But, showing the green, wet, full-of-life, and finite Earth in stark contrast to the dry, lifeless Moon, it helped energize the environmental movement.

The rising Earth is about five degrees above the lunar horizon in this telephoto view taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft near 110 degrees east longitude. The horizon, about 570 kilometers (250 statute miles) from the spacecraft, is near the eastern limb of the Moon as viewed from the Earth. On the earth, the sunset terminator crosses Africa. The south pole is in the white area near the left end of the terminator. North and South America are under the clouds. The lunar surface probably has less pronounced color than indicated by this print.
– NASA Earth Observatory