HOW THE TREES TALK TO EACH OTHER BY SUZANNE SIMARD

Hello All,

please have a look at the following speech by Suzanne Simard. She is a Canadian researcher who discovered that trees talk to each other through underground webs.

I found it fascinating and super interesting!
It will change the way you look at trees!!

Here the link: http://www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_simard_how_trees_talk_to_each_other

Let me know your thoughts!!

GARDENS OF THE BAY & VERTICAL FORESTS

Gardens of the bay & vertical forests are two amazing projects that aim to recreate green spaces in urban areas. The first opera is created in Singapore, Asia and the second one in Italy, more precisely in Milan.

SINGAPORE: GARDENS OF BAY

What characterizes Singapore the most is its hot and humid climate. In fact, it is located close of the equator and its climate is tropical/equatorial.This is the reason why the weather is warm and humid all year round and rainfalls occur everyday. The idea behind this plan was to give the opportunity to the citizen to enjoy the outdoor activities a little bit more.

The opera, created by the architect Gustafson Porter, is considered the largest green urban sanctuary. Gardens of the Bay includes an area of 101 hectares situate in the Marina One area. In here, several towers surround the area and visitors can walk through them using Super Groves bridges. In each floor of these towers it is possible to find a variety of waterfalls, pools, ponds, bushes, trees and flowers. Moreover, guests have access to the business area which includes restaurants, cafes, gyms and shops. Among the attractions of the bay there are the flower dome and the cloud forest conservatory.

This project is defined environmentally friendly because it utilizes solar power, sun shading and energy-efficiency ventilation and, most important of all, the rainwater is used for irrigation.

Gardens of the Bay project started in 2012 and it should be completed by late 2016/early 2017.

MILAN: VERTICAL FOREST

Vertical Forest is an idea created by the architect Stefano Boeri intended to change old residential towers of Milan into green towers.

Likewise Gardens of Bay, the Vertical Forest model aims to reforest the urban area of the city ehnancing the quality of life of the citizens. In fact, it is assumed that this green area is able to recreate a micro-climate in which humidity is produced, CO2 absorbed and oxygen produced.

This project transformed two residential towers into forests. In fact in the twin buildings there are planted 900 different trees and over 2000 different plants, it is calculated that it corresponds to 7000 square meters of forest in which birds and insects can find their habitat.

I believe these two projects are fantastic and I hope each city of the world will be inspired and improve its urban landscapes with something similar to this.
At the same time I look forward to visit personally Singapore and Milan to admire this creation first hand.

Anyone going on holiday in one of those destinations, please send me some pictures.

FINAL TIP

LONDON: SKY GARDENS

If you have a chance to pass by London, go and visit the Sky Gardens. This indoor recreation of gardens and rain forest sits right in the heart of the city and it is very exciting.

Please visit the below websites for further and detailed information:

https://www.guidemesingapore.com/relocation/introduction/climate-in-singapore

http://uk.businessinsider.com/singapores-cloud-forest-revolutionizes-green-spaces-2015-11?r=US&IR=T

http://www.leisuremanagement.co.uk/detail.cfm?pagetype=detail&subject=news&codeID=325384

http://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net/en/portfolios/bosco-verticale/

https://skygarden.london/

EDEN REFORESTATION PROJECTS

Somewhere in the world, precisely in Nepal, Madagascar, Haiti and Ethiopia someone is trying to reduce extreme poverty and restore healthy forests by employing local villagers to plant millions of trees, this is called  "The Eden Projects. Plant Trees. Save lives.".

The mission of this nonprofit organisation is strictly linked with the opportunity of planting trees and at the same time creating jobs in the local economies on the behalf of donors, businesses, and foundations. The main objective is to recreate healthy forest systems that enable the local economics sustains themselves.
Their goal by 2020 is to plant 100 million trees each year and employ thousands of people in countries where poverty is severe. 

Here below a short summary of the different projects:

NEPAL: This country is extremely poor and the population depends from the natural environment for the supply of food, shelter and incomes. Therefore, it is essential to educate the local population about the protection of the environment in order to maintain the lands and life conditions.

MADAGASCAR: This island has over 200,000 different species of plants and animals that do not exist anywhere else in the world. Recently, over 90% of Madagascar’s original forests have been destroyed putting at risk the flora and fauna.

Eden Projects launched "The Mangrove project" which is replenishing about 1.4 Million trees per month. The Mangrove tree grows in saline coastal habitats in tropics and subtropics areas, they have huge root systems that enable them not only to withstand the changing of the tides, but also to hold the ground from washing away with the changing of floods.

HAITI: Haiti is one of the most environmentally degraded countries on earth, mainly because the majority of the population uses charcoal as their primary cooking fuel and the charcoal production determinate the constant deforestation of the island. Furthermore, in the last decades hurricanes and earthquakes contributed to the soil degradation and as consequence 98% of Haiti’s forests have already disappeared.
In the recent years, in order to improve the situation of this country, local schools have been involved and students are now taught how to growing seedlings of their own. 

ETHIOPIA: The Ethiopian project is on hold for lack of funds. There is the need for a partner groups in Ethiopia willing to support the needy and the environment.

These all are great projects and anyone who is interested in being involved more can visit the website below for further information:

http://www.edenprojects.org/

TREES IN THE DESERT

Recently I have been on holiday in the United Arab Emirates and I was surprised to see how much they are into trees.

I was having a coffee in one of the Starbucks in Adu Dhabi and my attention was caught by this poster on the Starbucks's wall.

This chain is sponsorizing several projects in order to contrast the global warming.










One of them is called "Plant a Tree" and its aim to plant over 2,000 trees (at least half of them should be Ghaf trees: the national tree of UAE) in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain by the end of 2016.

I particularly liked the fact that the UAE are mainly a desert area but they are trying to generate green areas out of the sands in order to contrast drought and improve the life style of their communities.


It is also important to mention Goumbook which operates in Dubai.
Not only this organization is involved in the trees' planting of the region but they also promote an economy which protect the environment and they encourage the reduction of the use of plastics.


Here the links that I visited:

http://community.mena.starbucks.com/
http://goumbook.com/about-us/what-is-goumbook.html
http://sustainablemena.com/

NATIONAL TREE WEEK 2016

26th November - 4th December 2016

On November 26th it will start next NATIONAL TREE WEEK and various councils, community and schools will be involved in tree planting. 
This event commenced in 1975 and it is becoming more and more popular, please find the event closed to your area in the link below:

http://www.treecouncil.org.uk/Take-Part/Near-You




Also, this is the link to the official website where you can find further information about this event:

https://treecharter.uk/?event=national-tree-week-2016

BREATH YOUR TREES

Every day more and more people talk about the benefits of the trees on the air we breath and...

...actually IT IS TRUE!!

It is enough to browse online of a short period of time to find so many researches, studies, journals, bulletins and statistics written in every corner of the globe that support this theory.

For instance, a research conducted in 2014 in Canada by the University of Chicago and the University of Toronto sustains that trees in urban areas can decreases cardio-metabolic conditions in ill persons.

They demonstrated that trees can improve the air quality and they seem to help reducing blood pressure; also it is proved that physical activity in the open spaces are beneficial for the human being and people who live surrounded by trees perceive to be part of an healthier environment.

Another research conducted by forester Dave Nowak in 2010 discusses the fact that trees prevent acute respiratory symptoms. It is shown that nitrogen dioxide (N02) is linked to respiratory diseases such as emphysema and bronchitis as well as cancer and heart disease and it even contribute to premature deaths.

Trees and forests can remove tonnes of air pollution, intercept particulates and absorb gasses through their leaves.

In London for example, there is a borough which is badly suffering from the air pollution, it is Putney in which the conditions of the air are worst than New York or Shanghai. In Putney at the beginning of the 2016 the annual diesel pollution limits in the high street have been breach several times.

To quickly improve this critical situation, the Wandsworth council decided to plant some trees in the Putney High street as part of a wider project which incorporates a plan for new zero emission taxis and the world’s first Ultra Low Emission Zone from 2020 and road circulation improvement.

Already in 2011, the Mayor Boris Johnson claimed to increase the green area of the capital of 5% by 2025, hopefully this will help to improve the situation in the Capital and in its suburban areas.

TIP

I have found out also this interesting tip: eating Broccoli is good for the body (it is considered a form of chemoprevention) as they help to excrete benzene through the urine.

References:

The Health Benefits of Trees: <http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/07/trees-good/375129/> 2016

Study Finds Large Health Benefits To Living Near Trees: <http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/there-are-health-benefits-living-near-trees-study-suggests/> 2014

Putney High Street breaches annual diesel pollution limit eight days in to 2016: <http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/putney-high-street-breaches-annual-diesel-pollution-limit-eight-days-in-to-2016-a3151546.html>

New trees for Putney High treet: <http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/news/article/11601/new_trees_for_putney_high_street>

London’s Urban Forest: A Guide for Designers, Planners and Developers: The Canopy:

<https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/tdag_canopyweb.pdf> 2011

Broccoli loves us: <http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/06/the-only-reason-anyone-would-eat-broccol-i/372899/> 2016

ECOSIA

Do you know ECOSIA?                           

THIS IS A FANTASTIC INITIATIVE !!


This search engine helps the environment just surfing in the web!!

Ecosia donates up to 80% of their profit to trees planting programs in different area of the planet. At the moment they operate in Peru, Madagascar and Burkina Faso where the local communities are involved in trees planting and as consequence this stimulates jobs growth. 

On a monthly base, Ecosia issues a report of all the trees planted so everyone can see the improvements they are doing.

Therefore... switch to ECOSIA !!

Please find further information on the link below:

https://info.ecosia.org/project

Talk soon

Jenny