This week in the world of nature and gardening, take a peek at next year's Chelsea Flower Show, New York newspaper boxes have become collection points for compostable materials, and a new study suggests early humans domesticated pumpkins.
Budweiser and the Nature Conservancy Work Against Wildfire
Above: The Poudre River in Fort Collins, Colorado. Photo via Bellisimo.
Anheuser-Busch and the Nature Conservancy are partnering to cut down trees in a Colorado watershed in an attempt to minimize risk of uncontrolled wildfires. Fires have devastated the region in recent years, washing ash into the nearby Poudre River and contaminating drinking water. The Nature Conservancy has developed a prescription for proactively cutting down trees and using controlled burns to thin the forest, making it less dense and therefore less likely to succumb to uncontrolled fires. Read it at Mother Nature News.
Teaching Gardens Benefit Kids Whose Schools Can Afford Them
Above: Photo via Vermont Community Garden Network.
The Atlantic explores the benefits of school gardens and outdoor learning programs for kids, which teachers say help improve learning, attitudes about school, and social skills. However, funding differentials between wealthy and poorer schools make for very different outdoor learning experiences. Read it at the Atlantic.
Early Humans Caused, then Saved Pumpkins from Extinction
Above: Photo by Marie Viljoen for Gardenista in Garden-to-Table: Spiced Squash for Two.
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that humans nearly caused total extinction of pumpkins and squashes, but saved several varieties by domesticating the plants. The study suggests that pumpkins and squashes thrived as much as 30,000 years ago as food for giant herbivore mammals. When humans arrived around 14,000 years ago, they caused a mass extinction of the animals, and most pumpkins and squashes went extinct. But the new human inhabitants domesticated several varieties, likely to use as tools and containers. Read it at Popular Science.
Peek Inside 2016 Chelsea Flower Show
Above: Photo via Royal Horticultural Society.
The Royal Horticultural Society has released a preview of programming for the 2016 Chelsea Flower Show, which will include a garden by Irish designer Diarmuid Gavin to be “inspired by British eccentricity,” an acoustic garden by Peter Eustance that will have a musical pulse, and a garden by Juliet Sargent meant to raise awareness of human slavery and trafficking. Read it at the Express.
New York Compost Box Project
Above: A retired New York Post newspaper box re-branded as a "New York Compost" box. Photo via 6sqft.
New York City graphic designer and certified master composter Debbie Ullman has launched the New York Compost Box Project, which turns decommissioned newspaper vending boxes into collection bins for compostable materials. "My goal is to make people more aware of the value and ease of composting, while at the same time making use of these boxes we all know are yesterday’s news," she said. Read it at the Huffington Post.
More from this week:
- Gardenista Obsessions: Winter Whimsy
- Remodelista Obsessions: Wintry Whites
- Trending on Gardenista: Homegrown Holidays
- Trending on Remodelista: Homemade Holiday
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