Clouds over Nantes

I Arrived in Nantes late on a Tuesday evening, and not much of the “landscape” could be seen.  A thin cloud cover blocked the moon from lighting up the sleeping city.

Although the city seemed asleep, when the front door of my host family’s house opened, a rush of joyous energy came bursting out. My host mother warmly welcomed me, and I instantaneously knew I had fallen into a vibrant and “open” family.  The slight nervousness I had been feeling in the pit of my stomach disappeared and a sense of excitement replaced it.

What would I discover within the next few days? What hidden mysteries do France and the city of Nantes hold for me? What places in Nantes would I come to deeply appreciate for one reason or another?

This last question was answered the next morning as I slipped on my Mizuno Tennis shoes for an explorative run! Little did I know, my house is located less than 5 minutes, from one of the most well known parks in Nantes. Le Grand-Blottereau, was built between 1742 and 1747 by a ship owner named Thomas Dobree. Upon his death Dobree left the Grand Blottereau Park to the city.

After the appeal of Grand Blottereau’s convenient location, I fell in love with many other aspects of this beautiful park. I recognized the uniqueness of the exotic and tropical tree species such as eucalyptus, pomegranate, olive trees and mimosas. The park actually represents 5 different cultural and environmental regions of the world: a banana forest, a Korean garden, an American Bayou, a Mediterranean Rock Garden, and a French Garden. The French Garden, mindful of architectural propriety, is located directly in front of the chateau.

Two Tropical Greenhouses also sit in front of the chateau. They house France’s only collection of commercially grown exotic plants such as: cotton, rice, cocoa, coffee and mahogany. Thanks to SEVE, Nante’s Parks & Gardens and Environmental Department and their large nursery located within the “Grand Blottereau” grounds, one can also find areas, throughout the park, devoted to lemon, tangerine and grapefruit trees- as well as hot peppers, asparagus, peas and peanut plants.

Since the middle of September I’ve visited the park almost daily. Each time I discover another hidden gem. Whether it is coming across two children playing hide and seek within the miniature tropical jungles or finding a veiled bench next to the American Bayou where I can enjoy a freshly baked almond croissant on an early Sunday morning, I continue to find this park unforgettable.  I find tropical plants I’ve never seen before and  discover clandestine paths through seemingly little trod paths.  I am in awe of this park and the significant work that is put into its upkeep.

There is much history to this park since its gifting to the city by Mr. Dobree. After[K1] World War II it was used to host those who had lost their homes during the war. In 1905 “Le Grand-Blottereau” was adopted by SEVE, who focuses on studying, conceptualizing, realizing and discussing the collections of all municipal green spaces in Nantes.  The Grand Blottereau also a houses several small educational facilities: “The Great Blottereau” horticultural High School, the Jules Rieffel High School and CFA’s “green education center of the city of Nantes[K2] .”

Cultural, Educational, Green, Peaceful… : A space far away from the neighboring world of civilization’s emerging and transformation machinations.  A blessing, once again, full of trees.

Thousands of Cicadas Climbing a Tree

Watching Planet Earth sparked an interest in an unusual insect called a Cicada. The Cicadas, of the super family Cicadoidea, live in temperate to tropical climates and are completely benign to humans. They are often one of the most recognized of all insects, mainly due to their large size and extraordinary acoustic talents. Most cicadas go through a life cycle that lasts somewhere between two to four years. Yet on the other hand, there are several species have much longer life cycles: such as the North American genus, Magicicada, which has a number of distinct “broods” that go through either 17-year or 13-year cycles.

While flies and mosquitoes live for just a few weeks, cicadas, depending on species, spend either 13 or 17 years below ground in the nymph stage, feeding on plant roots. During the few weeks the Cicadas are above ground, there is an extremely loud and frantic effort for the insects to mate; and more importantly, for the females to deposit their eggs in trees. It is these Magicicadas that have begun to catch the attention of many scientists who are curious as to what the benefits of their existence are.

While they are above ground, these insects become an incredibly abundant food source for birds, lizards, snakes and fish. Because there are billions of cicadas that hatch all at once, predators can only eat about 15 percent of them, leaving the rest as fertilizer for the surrounding plants. “Even as dead bugs they are still influencing these forest ecosystems,” said Louie Yang, whose research was published in the journal “Science” and in an article on CNN.

For several years after a cicada emergence, the benefits often include faster growing trees and bigger seeds in some flowers. Many scientists call this sudden burst of new resources from the decomposing cicadas a “resource pulse.” Intriguing enough, because scientists have the ability to predict the cicadas’ appearance, practically to the day, it makes studying this phenomenon much simpler.

Yang specifically focused his research on the nitrogen levels in plants after a Cicada emergence.  ”What we found was that these plants are actually taking up nitrogen that comes from cicadas. The seeds of the insect-fertilized plants were also 9 percent bigger than those in a control group,” said Yang. With this significant addition of nitrogen and other nutrients, the entire forest seems to have several years of significant growth.

So what’s the significance to us? Well, first off we should appreciate the abundance of bugs not only in our back yard but all around this world. Without them, our ecosystems would not be able to sustain themselves, nor would they ever have these valuable “resource pulses.”

Written and compiled by: Adrienne Carlson

Check out this video:

Return of the 17 Year Cicadas

Articles referenced and used:

http://bit.ly/czszzj

http://bit.ly/cvW6B3

http://bit.ly/9yJqzR

Despite being the centerpiece of celebrations all over the world, firework displays unfortunately release lots of toxic chemicals into the environment, from heavy metals to perchlorate. The American Pyrotechnics Association estimates that typically there are around 18,000 fireworks shows occurring across the U.S. on the Fourth of July. Surprisingly, this does not include backyard fireworks, which have grown quite rapidly throughout the past 10 years or so.

Since 2000, sales have practically doubled for backyard fireworks, meaning that over 238 million pounds of fireworks are fired off every year. An article written by Brian Severin, states: “Fireworks are propelled by black powder, also known as gunpowder. This substance consists of an oxidizer (potassium nitrate), a fuel (carbon), and an accelerant (sulfur). For every 270 grams of black powder used, 132 grams of carbon dioxide are created, the rest of it turning into potassium sulfide and nitrogen. It is estimated that the annual U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from fireworks is 60,340 tons or the same emissions from 12,000 cars on the road for a year.”

Furthermore, an article published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology in 2009 found that, following a fireworks display, the amount of perchlorate in bodies of water within close proximity, often increased anywhere from 24 to 1,068 times the amount present before the fireworks. It is estimated that it takes between 20 to 80 days before the chemical levels subside.

Considering all this, what would it take to offset this significant amount of carbon emission that our patriotic celebrations cause each year? Well, one simple answer is to plant more trees. Calculating it out, it would take the entire lifetime of 5,000 trees to offset the 60,000 tons of carbon emissions produced in this one day. Some environmentalists are suggesting different types of fireworks that are more environmentally friendly. Although these “green” fireworks are known to be nitrogen-rich, allowing for less smoke and a cleaner burn; the down side is the higher cost of “green” fireworks still remains a obstruction for wider acceptance.
Read more: http://bit.ly/cMefxO or  http://bit.ly/9YmBTf

Photograph by: Evrim Icoz

Written by: Adrienne Carlson

Green Tower

This “Bau-Botanical” Tower was built by a team at the Institute of Theory of Modern Architecture in Stuttgart Germany. It is a living-plant-construction that when completely grown (8 to 10 years) will support three floors made of zinc coated steel.

Shown above surrounded by supporting scaffolding, the trees at the base level are rooted in the ground while the several hundred trees above (White Willow, Salix alba) are potted, but the pots will be removed over time and the roots will be woven into the trees below with a type of grafting process that will create a single living structure.  Lateral limbs will support the floors and the walls will be living breathing structure that will provide an oxygen rich environment.

I am attempting to determine if this qualifies as a use of bio-mimicry, an interest I will be examining in depth through this blog. I am also researching current status of this project as the above phot is about 1 year old.  See more at http://bit.ly/bxnr10

A tree is an amazing “factory”  of graceful elements that work together.

We all know that trees breathe in Carbon Dioxide and breathe out Oxygen.  How about the idea that trees bring water from the ground all the way up to the branches and leaves without a pump? That their roots search out water in the ground in a systematic and scientific manner. That they naturally strengthen themselves at their stress points in reaction to wind, gravity, and even animal life. Leaves are not only flexible and water resistant, but also water absorbing and water channeling, contributing to some of the above processes and assisting nature in others. Some seed coats keep seeds viable for hundreds of years and across multitudes of environments.

Bio-mimicry seeks to consult living organisms and ecosystems and to apply the underlying design principles to innovations in the way we live. (see www.asknature.org for a great site on this subject)

If we could learn from trees how to pump water up a building in a means similar to the way xylem (the vertical tubes in trees’ inner wood) transports water from the soil to its leaves through the force generated when water evaporates from leaves and creates a negative sucking pressure, it would be a no or low energy based means of servicing kitchens and toilets in a high rise building.

I will explore many areas of tree bio-mimicry in more depth within this blog as we build it.  Thanks for paying attention.  The world will indeed be a better place when we have learned from nature how they build and create and live without plundering the earth while they do it.

Written by: Kristine Akins