Merry Christmas

And a Happy New Year.

I LIKE A WOOD - for Save Grenoside Woods campaign

I’ve got to confess I like a glade;
A tent made of leaves, a tree-shelter,
Somewhere to sit in the afternoon shade
And say, quietly
 I do like a glade.
 
I’ve got to confess I like a copse;
A branch of a twig office, a root-shed
Somewhere to sit where time just stops
And say, slowly,
  I do like a copse.

I’ve got to confess I like a wood;
A trunk-palace, a bird-street
Somewhere to sit that’s fulfilling, complete,
And say, happily,  
I do like a wood.

 
© Ian McMillan, 17.10.11 

Neighborland

The spelling of it gives it away, that it's based in America, but every country should have a Neighborland website.

"Neighborland is a new way to make your city a better place.
We are providing residents, neighborhood organizations, economic development groups, and municipalities with a powerfully simple platform to connect and make good things happen. A healthy neighborhood is a connected neighborhood. No idea is too big or too small to share on Neighborland. If it matters to you, then it matters."

I love one of the posts that says they want more urban trees in Kansas City. The peasants are revolting and it's truly inspiring.....

Life box

What a sweet idea, the cardboard box goes full circle.... from tree to box back to tree again courtesy of the people at Lifebox.

George Monbiot: The Unsung World

"Accept the principle of biodiversity offsetting and you accept the idea that place means nothing. That nowhere is to be valued in its own right any more, that everything is exchangeable for everything else, and nothing can be allowed to stand in the way of the graders and degraders. That is not an idea I find easy to swallow."

Article here.

Richard Louv

I read Richard Louv's column regularly and while it always contains some gem or quote worth mentioning, I don't post it every time, as it feels a little redundant. Mainly because I'm sure there are many more people reading it anyway than checking out my blog. 

However, every now and then it doesn't hurt to pass on some of his wisdom.......

So, from his column called A new generation of environmentalists: Fighting golbal warming by reconnecting people to nature I quote:

"An inability to recognize the natural world around us is just one reason why our major environmental challenges and our daily experiences in nature are inalterably related, and why an increasing number of scientists and organizations are taking action. As of 2008, more people in the world live in cities than in the countryside — inviting either more human alienation from nature, or an opportunity to create new kinds of nature-rich cities, ones that become incubators of biodiversity and human health. That’s a huge, hopeful challenge for future urban planners, architects and policy makers — and other careers, for which we do not yet have names, that connect people to the natural world."

He also mentions this article in his post, by George Monbiot over at The Guardian. Definitely worth reading.

Chopstick

How fab is this? Chopstick by Visiondivision has its home at 100 acres Park in Indiana.

"The design is based on the universal notion that you need to sacrifice something in order to make something new. Every product is a compound of different pieces of nature, whether it is a cell phone, a car, a stone floor or a wood board; they have all been harvested in one way or another. Our project is about trying to harvest something as gently as possible so that the source of what we harvest is displayed in a pure, pedagogic and respectful way—respectful to both the source itself and to everyone visiting the building."

I love the thoughtful process of the designers. Check out their website to read more.

Open education

"On a personal level I also found out that this stuff has applications in other areas too - education being a case in point, where I realised the real thing of value was not the knowledge but the learning experience." 

Jonathon Worth, a photographer who runs an open education photography course at Coventry University. Read the article at the BBC.

Learn for Life

Christmas is looming......

Forget buying all those other presents for friends and family, treat yourself to this book.

It looks wonderful and seems to be full to brimming of creative projects, such as this fantastic space under a freeway interchange....

Learning for Life. On my wishlist...

Fast Track

Who wouldn't want a 51 m long trampoline running through the local forest. Imagine how many kids could fit on this installation....

By Salto Architects for a festival in Nikola-Lenivets, Russia.

Fab.

Playmaker

This is wonderful, a school with learning based on play, making, discovery and an interest-driven curriculum, in Santa Monica, California.

For one who wholeheartedly believes children learn better when actively engaged in play, this would be my ideal school, none of that parrot fashion learning here......

Playmaker only opened its doors in September, accepting 36 sixth graders, so I wait to see how it all works out, although I have very high hopes for it.

Fall in Central Park

I love time lapse photography, but usually it's to see something grow. Here we have autumn in Central Park, everything changing before our very eyes, thanks to Jamie Scott. Lovely.