The exceptional warmth in May has given a good kick-start for our balcony garden. Peas and chives are already well on their way to our dinner table. Unfortunately the strong early spring sunshine was too much for our balcony apple tree, but maybe we’ll plant a new one. We are yet to see how our carrots, peppers, corn, lemons, various herbs and local meadow plants will flourish but the start has been fantastic!
I just finished reading a very interesting book called What a Plant Knows by Daniel Chamovitz. The author, a genetics Ph.D. and the Dean of George S.Wise Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Tel Aviv, sheds fascinating insight into the various senses and the memory of plants. Read More!
Marshall Blecher and Magnus Maarbjerg are creating a archipelago of floating islands in Copenhagen, the Copenhagen Islands. The first one is CPH-Ø1, a wooden platform and a linden tree. Eventually the archipelago will grow to include floating swimming platforms, stages, parks and a floating garden. For winter, the islands can me moved closer together to form a larger recreational area. It will be really interesting to see how the islands evolve!
BEEcosystem is a modular observation honeybee hive you can easily install outdoors or indoors. This wonderful system lets you observe the honey bees at work, tending their babies. It would be really interesting to install one of these on our balcony and watch the buzz and bustle. It could also spice up the biosphere in your neighborhood by providing habitat for the important pollinators. Be sure to support BEEcosystem on Indiegogo!
The excellent documentary series Asfalttiviidakot (Asphalt Jungles) by the director Petteri Saario & DocArt are now available as a free stream at Yle Areena (Finnish only). Be sure to watch all episodes as they all have different perspectives to urban nature!
The DillerScofidio+Renfro design for the new Zaryadye Park in Moscow aims to bring tundra, forest, steppe and wetlands to the city. This is done by creating artificial microclimates for each landscape topology. Wind, temperature and daylight are regulated in order to create zones for these microclimates. …Read More!
This great video by SerpaDesign shows a good tutorial into building a closed terrarium. Why not create a micro-oasis for your work table?
Drop by Drop is a fascinating plant based water filtration system by Pratik Ghosh. The proof of concept can filtrate a glass of water in 12 hours. The biology and the scalability prospects of this ”mini biosphere” are very interesting. Be sure to check out the more detailed project description on the Kikando web page.
