A ECO -JOURNAL OF OBTAINABLE & SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS curated by THE ECOLOGY CENTER
Evolve
ISSUE 09 / SPRING 2014
HEALTHIER SHELTER
FEATURES
Buckminster Fuller Continues to Inspire. P.03 Dispersal: Photography by Anna Laurent. P.08
PROFILES
Eco-prodigy Erin Schrode Interviews Architecture For Humanity’s Cameron Sinclair
ON THE TABLE
Build Your Own Place for Picnics P.13
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Photo: Scott Sporleder 2013
In this Issue
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ISSUE #9 / SPRING 2014
Masthead
Spring 2014 Issue #9
03 DIRECTOR’S NOTES 04 FEATURE: HELLO BUCKY! VISION FOR SUSTAINABLE SHELTER SYSTEMS Rachel Yu 06 DUGOUT: JUNGLE BLIND Andrew Sieger 07 PROFILE: AFH’S FOUNDER CAMERON SINCLAIR Erin Schrode
EVOLVE STAFF
Evan Marks CURATOR
Founder & Executive Director of The Ecology Center. With his background in permaculture and agroecology, and, having worked extensively in California and Hawaii and internationally in Costa Rica, Peru, Mexico, Ghana and Nigeria, Evan knows that people have the ability to directly impact the environment through individual change.
David Rager
ART DIRECTOR
photographs. When stateside, Scott re- Andrew Sieger sides in Laguna Beach, where you can find ARCHITECT/DESIGNER him pursuing photography and whenever Andrew is a designer at Montalba Architects in Santa Monica, Calipossible spending time in the ocean. fornia. A native of San Clem ente, his early life exploring its GUEST CONTRIBUTORS hills and beaches informs his passion for working on the border of the Fritz Haeg built and natural environment. INTERNATIONALLY-ACCLAIMED ARTIST A featured speaker at The Ecology Center’s 2013 Basic Rachel Yu Needs Summer Series, Fritz’s WRITER/ARCHITECT work has included edible gar- Rachael is a founding member of Myriad Harbor, a San Frandens, public dances, educational envicisco-based architectural ronments, animal architecture, domestic design firm. She is interestgatherings, urban parades, temporary ened in the communication campments, documentary videos, publiof content and practices this across cations, exhibitions, websites, and occaarchitecture, graphics, the art of the sionally buildings for people.
David has been lending his art 08 FEATURE: DISPERSAL: direction and graphic designs SEEDPODS PHOTOGRAPHIC talent to The Ecology Center ESSAY since the day one. When he’s Anna Laurent Anna Laurent not designing, he can be found living and WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHER riding his bike in Paris, France. A flora-focused writer, 10 BACKYARD HABITAT & THE producer, and photographer WORK OF FRITZ HAEG based in Los Angeles, Anna’s Renee Granillo Jeff Davis ART/DESIGN work follows her fascination A recent graduate from Lagu- with seed as subject. Her work has taken 12 BACKYARD SKILLS PRIMERS na College of Art and Design portrait, video, and essay form, most who splits her time between recently on exhibit at Harvard Univer12 ROOT CELLAR 101 designing and illustrating. sity’s Arnold Arboretum. She visited 13 BACKYARD SKILLS: The Ecology Center as a seed specimen PICNIC TABLE collecting site in 2013. Jessica Watkins Elliot Marks WRITER/EDITOR A Los Angeles native and Elliott Marks 14 THE FOOD SHED Harvard graduate, Jessica di- DESIGNER/FURNITURE MAKER Jessica Watkins rects communications and With a degree in industrial development at The Ecology design from The Academy of Center. When she's not there, Art University in San Francisyou'll find her at home in San Clemente co, Elliott entered the world making artistic things, eating beautiful of furniture design by immersing himself food, and doing her part to improve our in the fundamentals of furniture conecosystems. struction. Based in Los Angeles, Elliott currently designs and builds furniture for varied clients (including his biggest fans Jeff Davis at The Ecology Center). WRITER Jeff is a native of San Juan Capistrano, California. With Erin Shrode a BA in cultural anthropology ECO-RENAISSANCE WOMAN As the “face of the new green from UC Santa Barbara, he regeneration,” the co-founder turned to Orange County after teaching of Teens Turning Green proabroad to further explore the relationship motes global sustainability, between humans and their environment and how to keep it healthy. He manages youth leadership, environmental educapublic programs at The Ecology Center. tion, and conscious lifestyle choices. An award-winning ecopreneur, international orator, and media personality, Erin reScott Sporleder cently graduated from New York UniverPHOTOGRAPHER An artist with an award- sity. winning eye, Scott travels the world capturing unique cultural and natural moments in
email and the like. She has first-hand experience in the act of creating from the mouse to the hammer. ABOUT THE ECOLOGY CENTER
The Ecology Center seeks to bring individuals, households, and communities together in a solutions-based educational setting to inspire and create a healthy and abundant future for all. The Center highlights empowering and cutting-edge environmental perspectives that can be applied to the way we live our lives, making it possible for us to coexist with a thriving environment. ABOUT EVOLVE
An eco-journal produced by The Ecology Center, Evolve explores both local and global perspectives on contemporary ecological issues. Written and supported by a wide network of activists and ecological professionals, the content herein is unlike anything else being produced in Southern California. For comments, feedback, and letters to the staff, email info@theecologycenter.org This issue of Evolve is dedicated to the infinite wisdom of Sylvia Marks. As a founding member, and Evan’s Bubba (Grandmother), she inspired all of us to be generous and loving at all times. May she rest in peace. (Oct. 6, 1916 - Feb. 20, 2014) As the Earth cycles, we also welcome the birth of Anouk Messerli and are excited to help her find her healthy home on this beautiful Planet Earth.
LET TER FROM THE DIRECTOR
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Shelter: Through the Eyes of a Farmer Shelter defines our personalities and our relationship to the environment around us. But it hasn’t always been that way. Traditionally, our structures were built based on functionality and local materials. Just a couple of generations ago, all of our building materials were born from the exact site of our proposed dwelling. In San Juan Capistrano, it was adobe; in Northern California, it was trees. In other communities, it was stone, etc. By the turn of the 19th Century, local economies were turning global, and we began importing our building materials from distant locations rather than extracting them locally. The Ecology Center’s home, the Joel Congdon house, is a product of this transition. Our headquarters sits in the oldest wooden house in San Juan Capistrano, the first of these non-native Southern California dwellings. Build in 1878, this historic home utilized imported old-growth redwood and iron-forged nails. The foundation stones were salvaged from the rubble of the earthquake-ravaged Mission San Juan Capistrano. While the Joel Congdon House and many early architectural treasures were build with foreign materials, they were designed with local awareness. What connects indigenous vernacular dwellings and these early remnants of “foreign” architecture is that they were all build with natural rhythms in mind. These dwellings were designed to harvest the sun in the cool winter months, while providing maximum shade and passive cooling in the hot summer months. These dwellings were built on common sense.
Like everything, architecture drastically changed post WWII. Our dwellings began to rely more on fossil fuels which allowed cheap construction climate control (aka lots of A/C). Since then, our relationship between our dwellings and the surrounding environment has been lost.
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” -Buckminster Fuller By and large, architects and developers alike have lost a connection to simple connections such as seasonal cycles and the path of the sun–both keys to developing a sustainable dwelling. Much of our culture has been lost due to our abandonment of nature. As this issue of Evolve explores sustainable shelter, we also take a look back to the past for inspiration and strategies to create a healthy future. Buckminster Fuller said, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” This is our proposition, to re-envision and re-design our relationship to our homes. What if we create our homes to be beacons for health, designed in collaboration with nature, built to last?
Evan Marks, Executive Director
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FEATURE
Hello Bucky!
Author: Rachel Yu
A Vision for Sustainable Shelter Systems How a dome, a house, a car and a map encapsulate one man’s thesis for living on Spaceship Earth. Let’s explore the design artifacts of an iconoclast’s philosophical perspective on life. Who is Bucky? R. Buckminster Fuller was an American design visionary, active in the early-mid 20th century. A rare designer/inventor/engineer he worked not to solve individual problems but instead thinking holistically about the global effect and future of humanity on what he called “Spaceship Earth”. ‘Bucky’ was a BIG thinker searching for solutions to the practical problems of shelter and transportation. His work reflects the ethos of his time; an embrace of factory production, the use of industrial materials and a populist approach to technology available for all. Yet his ideology of material efficiency and sustainable strategies is ultimately as relevant today as when it was conceived. Most well known of Fuller’s inventions is the geodesign dome - as seen in such wide ranging applications as the back-to-the-land movement, the US Army and Disneyland’s Epcot center. The geodesic dome is a spherical shell composed of either triangular, pentagonal or hexagonal modules. These shapes are connected along the points to create a large enclosed space without intermediate structure. The domes can be assembled out of many lightweight parts in a relatively easy and fast manner.
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At The Ecology Center a geodesic dome was one of the first structures erected in the learning garden. This was no coincidence says Evan Marks, founder of The Ecology Center, “With Bucky as the great grandfather of Ecological Design, it was only appropriate that we build a structure that paid homage to the movement which he created. In the 1930’s Bucky set off on an experimentation to explore what one person, unfunded by corporations or governments, could do to the benefit of humanity. Founded in 2008, The Ecology Center continues on with this same mission and goal;
a healthy spaceship Earth.” The dome is located in the Food Lab and functions as a greenhouse for seedlings. A translucent membrane is stretched across the geodesic frame, enclosing the space while allowing sunlight to penetrate and kept the dome warm and moist, even creating a comfortable home for a banana plant! Dymaxion to the Max Fuller also designed a series of highly functional products which he called the Dymaxion. ———————— DYnamic MAXiumum TensION - “rational action in a rational world demands the most efficient overall performance per unit of input...Dymaxion structures, then are those that yield the greatest possible efficiency in terms of available technology.” B. Fuller
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The Dymaxion series designed by Fuller includes a house, car, bathroom and map. Each of these four projects are machines for living, and while they range in scale, they are connected by Fuller’s underlying philosophy to “do less with more.” His design process began with this as the benchmark and grew from there, often leading Fuller to intriguing new forms which may at first seem visually peculiar but which can be traced back through a rational thought process. 02
HELLO BUCKY
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Take the Dymaxion bathroom unit, designed in 1936 it was conceived as an ultra-tech, self contained unit which could be carried into a house in four pieces and assembled quickly on-site. Once inside all of the pipes and wiring could be ‘plugged-in’ to the existing water and power supply. The bathroom fixtures included some pretty niffty futuristic features (still waiting!) like a ‘Fog Gun’ vapor shower which used just 8oz of water per/wash and a waterless ‘packaging toilet’ which shrink-wrapped waste to be picked up curbside. Scaling up his ideas, the Dymaxion house was Fuller’s exercise in creating a mass-produced, affordable and environmentally sensitive ‘dwelling machine’ to serve the needs of the booming housing market after WWII. The Dymaxion house is a well rounded design (no pun intended!) that delivers maximum efficiency and function at every stage of the home’s life. Fuller took into account details such as how the building would be delivered onsite (in streamlined packages), how much it would weight (3000 lbs. versus 150 tons for a conventional home), to the construction methods (pre-fabricated modules assembled on-site) and even special consideration for making everyday household chores easier (rotating closets, waist height tub to wash children without kneeling, etc). The interconnected rationale behind the design and form of the Dymaxion house weaves a compelling story behind the flying-saucer like appearance. The house is an aluminum clad cylinder hung from a central mast which acts as both the structural core and provides natural heating and cooling by means of a rotating ventilation system. The rounded form is aerodynamic, reducing heating and cooling losses, as well as protecting it from tornadoes. The aluminum cladding took advantage of the factory capacity which had been expanded to build airplanes for the war but now had excess capacity. In addition the aluminum reduced normal maintenance as it would not need to be periodically re-painted or re-roofed.
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Inside, the Dymaxion house introduced new ideas for domestic life. For instance the walls which divided the space between the bedrooms and living room could be moved to create a larger social space for parties or gatherings. Taking to the streets, the Dymaxion car was an ultimate transportation machine. The car was an aerodynamic, pill-like form with it’s nose angled slightly towards the sky. It traveled on three wheels; two in the front creating the drive and one in the back to provide steering. The car was about as long as a contemporary pick-up truck but could seat up to 11 people. Strikingly the Dymaxion car had quite high fuel efficiency at 30mpg in 1930! And last but not least the map. Followers of The Ecology Center may be familiar with the Dymaxion map - a triangulated map of the globe - since it serves as The Ecology Center’s Earth Day symbol. The map is notable because it creates a flat projection of the world by projecting the globe onto an icosahedron (20 sided polyhedron AKA a Dungons and Dragon dice). This method of projection significantly reduces the distortion of the relative size and shape of the continents as compared with other map projections. In addition, because of the triangulated form the segments can be endlessly reconfigured to present any one segment as the central piece - creating a non-hierarchical system for looking at the entire globe. The most common configuration shows how the Earth’s landmasses are closely linked to create “one island.” Fuller was very much aware of these two advantages and said the map, “was intended to help humanity better address the world’s problems by prompting people to think comprehensively about the planet.” The Dymaxion map embodies the essence of Fuller’s philosophy of design, “doing more with less.” With an object as commonplace as a map, Fuller hoped to inspire people to consider large issues such as the interconnectedness of our planetary systems both social and material. His work shows us that design intentions can run deep, and at their very best can be an artifact expressing our ideals for life on Spaceship Earth.
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01. A n example of a Dymaxion House–the beginnings of the pre-fab movement. 01. A dymaxion map of “Spaceship Earth” showing the relative sizes of continents with much less distortion, illustrating our global relationships with each other and aspiration for peace. 03. B uckminster Fuller in his iconic spectacles. 04. The Ecology Center pays tribute to Bucky through our geodesic dome greenhouse, supported by Sambazon.
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SHELTER
Dugout: Jungle Blind
Author: Andrew Sieger
Creating Habitat in Costa Rican Rainforest In southwest Costa Rica, an ecologist’s cabin takes form as a space to reflect on, and live in harmony with, the farm and jungle around it.
Inspired by the simple abodes of early Americans, the “Dugout”, as it’s called, was conceived as a low-fi home away from home for Evan Marks. Situated in the lowlands of the Fuente Verde Community, a cooperative organic farm in southwestern Costa Rica co-founded by Marks, the Dugout represents a small scale realization of the ecological principles he lives by.
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Simple in form, the Dugout’s design is shaped by its tropical locale and the beauty of its jungle farm surroundings. At nine degrees latitude, the foremost objective is shelter from the sun and frequent rain; wide overhangs and a southern orientation provide year-round daytime shade, while full height shutters open the cabin to views of a six-hundred foot palisade at the farm’s edge. ———————— AT 288 SQUARE FEET, THE DUGOUT PACKS A LOT OF FUNCTION IN A SMALL SPACE. IT’S BEEN KNOWN TO ACCOMMODATE UP TO FOUR PEOPLE... “COMFORTABLY”. ————————
Built nearly entirely of wood to keep thermal mass at a minimum and allow for common construction techniques, the choice of locally forested and milled Cypress was key in ensuring limited impact on primary forest hardwoods and minimal use of industrial products. Eight posts lift the wooden structure above a verdant, gently declined slope, working with the slatted walls to al-
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low for constant airflow and separation from the dampness, and creatures, of the ground.
sleeping, living, and eating zones while providing a functional buffer, and vantage point, to contemplate the farm.
Initially imagined as little more than a sleeping platform, the Dugout’s logic is to maximize the utility of all of its aspects: the roof directs rainwater to bio-swales feeding the farm; the raised sleeping area conceals secure (surfboard) storage below, allowing for built in seating at the step up; the kitchen and storage closet provide privacy from approaching visitors; and a full length bench unifies the
Though the 12‘x24’ structure is small, the six large shutters allow for a wide variety of experience, from fully open to fully sheltered. Sheathed in slats, nestled in greenery, the Dugout resembles the “blinds” of bird watchers, in this case a “Jungle Blind”, allowing for an up-close view of farm life in the tropics.
Evan Marks speaks about the site of Dugout Blind, Fuente Verde: We initially walked the farm as an excuse to get closer to the vertical escarpment (rainforest), nothing like I’d ever seen before. And as we walked the undulating pastures, divided by forested rivers and springs, we immediately gained a connection to the dream of cre-
ating a regenerative design community; a community where the essence of tropical nature and an ecological agriculture intertwine to create habitat, recreation, beauty and productivity, all with a sense of home. Located on South Pacific-side of Costa Rica, Fuente Verde was designed to integrate and support both community and sustainable agriculture. As an EcoVillage community, Fuente Verde seeks to create a
01. Full-height shutters open to direct attention to views of the farm and jungle beyond. 02. Multifunctional spaces, and built-in features like the bench and steps, let the small space live large. 03. Banana leaves provide an edible foreground, and background, for the ecoretreat. 04. The Dugout glows by candlelight against a starry sky.
model environment, through regenerative design processes, where we live in greater harmony with one another and the landscape around us. Currently, 10 families steward the farm - some parttime like myself, others full-time. As a growing community, Fuente Verde is actively seeking additional families to join in our vision of tropical life, ecological agriculture and community life.
SHELTER
Rabble Rousing Optimists
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Author: Erin Shrode
Inspiring Us All to “Design Like We Give a Damn” What happens when a classically trained British architect develops an interest in social, cultural, and humanitarian design? Architecture for Humanity (architectureforhumanity.org) is born, a world-changing organization improving the lives of millions through innovative, collaborative sustainability solutions in the built and natural environment. Cameron Sinclair is the founding force and former CEO of AfH – and has just become the Executive Director of a soon-to-beannounced foundation focusing on human rights, health, and conservation worldwide. Designer, builder, writer, lecturer, TED Prize winner, and internationallylauded expert on aid, social justice, and design, there are few things this visionary global thinker cannot or will not undertake.
Erin: Who are you? Cameron: I’m a designer, rabble-rouser and eternal optimist. I believe we all have the power to make a positive impact on the planet and collectively we can work together to protect and conserve while adapting in a more complex world. What makes Cameron tick? Tell me about Architecture for Humanity. A passion to improve the lives of others through the AfH brings together architects, designers, planners and built environment. I am fueled by the creativity of oth- building professionals respond to humanitarian crises ers, in particular when I get to collaborate with them around the world. In the last 15 years we’ve provided on something positive. I also have an unwavering ad- structures for more than 2 million people in 47 coundiction to curiosity, especially when it comes to try- tries. Currently we are responding to rebuilding efforts ing to understand other cultures and communities. As in Haiti, Japan and the United States as well as buildmuch as I love developing projects and programs, I feel ing youth sports facilities and schools across Africa and more at home when I can spend time in the field get- South America. On a local level we have over 50 cityting to work firsthand with our clients. based chapters focused on local needs ranging from food deserts to better shelter for the homeless. Describe to me one moment that changed your path. In South London I used to live in a fairly rough neigh- How does ecological sustainability play into your borhood. Concrete tower blocks surrounded by tarmac projects? parking lots and a boarded up blighted main street cov- The environment plays an incredibly important role in ered in graffiti. I saw how harsh and negative people our work. Excluding the United States, almost every treated each other. After a while it became clear that a structure we’ve built has integrated some form of repoorly built environment takes a toll on residents, who newable energy system or built entirely off grid. Our in turn acted out their frustration and anger on others. work should never be against nature, but built in harRather than join a culture of violence, I became fasci- mony with it. nated in how to change it through the only way I knew, design. From that moment on, I knew I was going to What makes a structure good? Sustainable? be an architect of change. Useful? Beneficial? Lots of people talk about humanity, but why architecture? Architecture represents the places we live, learn, work and play. Through building, our species is the one that has shaped the world more than any before it. Therefore we have an overwhelming responsibility to be custodians of the world we have created and beyond conserving this planet, we need to create environments that compliment or support it.
A building is only sustainable when it is loved. It doesn’t matter how green or energy efficient it is, unless the client truly loves the building they won’t maintain it What projects are you most proud of? Why? What is the impact on your clients? On you? 1. Football for Hope Centre in Kigali, Rwanda This center brings together Huti and Tutsi children by using sports as a mechanism to teach post-genocide
PHOTO: Site visit to the Rockaways after Hurricane Sandy. Cameron and Erin meet with first responders in Nov. 2012. Courtesy of Jennifer W. Lopez
peace and reconciliation as well as gender equity. 2. “We Are One” Market in Kitakami, Japan This market was one of the first structures built posttsunami. It integrates childcare, a meeting space, a community classroom and marketplace. 3. Vila Rosa Community Project and Basketball Courts in Port au Prince, Haiti An incredible community reconstruction program to create urban acupuncture projects to galvanize a once devastated community. Innovations included solar-lit pocket parks to stop gender violence and basketball courts that double as storm water runoff to prevent cholera. Yodakandiya Community Complex in Yodakandiya in Sri Lanka was the first project where I got to see a community transformed by the community design process. Eight years later this complex stands tall bringing education, health and government services to the entire community. The Center for “Women Who Weave Like Spiders” in Ralco, Chile is an amazingly beau-
tiful women’s cooperative in the mountains. The weavers came up with an off-grid building design that blew away our design team.
Let’s talk collaboration and community. Without collaboration on a community level, you are designing for FOR not WITH. It is vital to work with your clients as equal members of the Continued on Page 15
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SHELTER
Dispersal
Author/Photographer: Anna Laurent
Photographic Portraits of Pods as Shelter for Seeds Anna Laurent is a flora-focused writer, producer, and photographer. After studying biological anthropology and literature at Harvard University, she worked in documentary films before moving to Los Angeles, where she became dedicated to exploring the botanic diversity of Southern California. She collects and photographs seed pods around the United States and abroad, partnering with botanic gardens and arboreta to expand the project. A solo show of her work, titled Disperal, debuted at Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum in Fall/Winter 2013-2014. She was a contributing editor at Garden Design magazine, and she is currently researching a book about educational botanic wall charts. www.annalaurent.com
We often recognize a flowering plant by its blossom, not by the fertilized ovary that swells into a vessel and replaces the flower. These are the seed pods (or fruits), fantastic little shelters tasked with protecting a plant’s seeds as they mature, and assisting with their dispersal. A genetic script for the future of the species, the seeds and pods are the record of a history of interactions and adaptations that have preceded the individual. Seed pods have evolved a staggering diversity of forms to fulfill these two functions, and a closer inspection can reveal a dialogue between the the species and its environment. Some species cast a wide seed shadow, dispersing their seeds far away from the parent plant, thus minimizing competition of the individual, and limiting risk should a localized disaster eliminate those germinating nearby. If the species has evolved in a harsh environment, however, it might keep the next generation close to home. An edible seed pod shelter will appeal to a foraging animal for seed dispersal, while a poisonous vessel will instead rely on wind or water to ferry away the seeds. Due to its unique ecologies and a history of introduced species, the botanic diversity in Southern California is unlike anywhere else in the United States, and much of this appears in the seed pods that blow through our sidewalks and canyons alike. Every plant has a story—proximately, how the seed of the individual found itself in that spot, and ultimately, how the plant evolved into a species. The layers of meaning are myriad—biological, evolutionary, cultural, and ethnobotanical—all of which are enclosed in these seed pod shelters. 01. Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) Sturdy, beautiful, and full of uses, it’s no wonder the hollyhock (Alcea rosea) has enjoyed notoriety across geographies and epochs. Pliny lauded the species’ beauty—roses on stalks, robust and romantic, while Linneaus named it Althea, from the Greek for “to cure”. One of the oldest cultivated angiosperms, It’s long been a trusted source for medicinal tinctures and compresses. When new colors and larger blossoms were introduced to Victorian Europe, A. rosea became a colorful
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mainstay in cottage gardens and estates. The long history can be explained by its many economic uses and its hearty beauty—both of which are assisted by the species’s famously prolific seeding. In the language of flowers, the hollyhock often represents fertility. A peek at a seed pod shelters and its viable seeds, overflowing like a well-stuffed purse, and it’s little wonder why. A. rosea produces seeds that germinate easily after maturing in their safe shelters. After the blossom is pollinated, the ovary swells into a flattened ring, enclosed by pale green calyx leaves. As the seeds inside ripen, the calyx dehisces into a golden brown papery capsule—a tiny parcel that clings to the stalk. A protective covering of rigid bristly hairs discourages seed predation, and a tidy twisted enclosure keeps the seeds tightly nestled. When the seeds are mature, the calyx begins to unwrap, peeling away from the center like a burlap sack that has fallen open. The fruit is a good example of a schizocarp: an aggregate fruit that splits into many one-seeded units (mericarps) for prolific dispersal. With no other preferred seed dispersal agent such as animal or wind, the seeds—30 or so to a pod—have evolved to lodge themselves in nearby soil. Thin discs with a small notch and tiny hairs, the seeds break apart and tumble from the capsule to germinate the next generation of the species. Those high on the stalk may end up some distance
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SHELTER away, while those towards the base will fall close to the parent plant. Most wind up settling close to the erstwhile—now emptying—shelter, as time dismantles its paper walls. 02. Mexican Bird of Paradise (Caesalpinia mexicana) It’s often said that plants lack one element of the sensory experience—a vibrant, aromatic, velvety pansy blossom will stimulate the eyes, fingers, tongue, and nose, but what of the ears? Find a species that disperses its seeds through ballistic propulsion, and you’ll experience a percussive performance. Rather than rely on external mechanisms for dispersal, these plants cast away their seeds with a snap, boom, or crack. Many are in the Fabaceae (legume) family, named for their common fruit: a single-chambered capsule enclosing two rows of seeds that alternate on opposite sides of the pod. Otherwise known as beans, they dominate the world of capsule fruits—there are about 18,000 species in the family. Most commonly found in arid tropics and desert regions, they are drought tolerant. Some are edible, beckoning an animal to consume and disperse the seeds. Others, such as the Mexican Bird of Paradise (Caesalpinia mexicana), are poisonous, and have thus evolved an alternate mechanism for dispersal: selfpropulsion. In early summer, the plant’s pollinated lemon-yellow flowers drop to reveal terminal clusters of young green pods. The beans grow to 3-4 inches, finishing with a flat finish and a tan hue. The dispersal is all in the physics: as the fruit matures and dries, a force builds within the pod. And just as the seeds are ready to depart their shelter, this pressure has swelled to strain the pod’s lateral seams. A denouement arrives as a forceful torsion that launches the seeds from the parent plant, usually about several meters away. The pod’s transformation— from protective shelter to urgent expeller—is swift. Af-
terwards, the curled husks settle below like thin cigars. 03. Purple sage (Salvia leucophylla) Purple sage (Salvia leucophylla) is a very good Golden-State-native, with adaptations to prove it. Having evolved in California’s arid, fire-prone ecosystems, the species has developed seed dispersal and survival strategies that allow it to thrive in the southern coastal mountain range. Probably in part because it has evolved in a dry climate, S. leucophylla does not disperse its seeds very far—when an individual has found a spot to thrive, it’s perhaps best to keep the young close. Seeds are produced in sets of four, developing at the base of the calyx (where the blossom was previously held). The bell-shaped shelters protect seeds as they develop and edge towards the opening. When mature, a seed will drop at the whim of a wind or passerby. All it requires is assistance to dislodge, at which point gravity is sufficient. Consequently, few seeds will travel far. This is significant for two reasons: first, young seedlings will germinate nearby and fortify the colony of S. leucophylla, the boundaries of which are generally exclusive and protective. How so? Consider the aromas emanating from the light grey leaves—camphor and cineole— pungent oils for which the species is recognized and collected. Unbeknownst to your nose, however, is their affect on plants growing nearby the sage. Camphor and cineole are volatiles that inhibit growth of most plants beyond the species. This is why swathes of S. leucophylla are often surrounded by a ring of empty soil—not all plants can withstand the chemicals. Thus it’s a good space for a young sage to grow. What about competition, you say? This brings us to the second advantage of a shelter that keeps the seeds close: not all seeds will grow at once. S. leucophylla seeds gather in a polymorphic seed bank, in which some are dormant fire-followers—they require fire to germinate. So as a wildfire ravages the current generation, a reservoir of viable seeds will just be awakening.
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04. Garlic chives (Alium tuberosum) Seeds develop threeto-a-golden-pod, and easily disperse when their tall stems sway.
07. Basil (Ocimum basilicum) Seeds drop from downward facing capsules, and are protected with a gelatinous coating that helps retain moisture.
05. Yerba Mansa (Anemopsis californica) A rocket-shaped pod can either launch and tumble along with the seeds, or shake them out like a pepper pot.
08. Black scabiosa (Scabiosa atropurpurea) Each of the flower’s many epicalyxes provide shelter, then para- chutelike dispersal, for the seeds.
06. Long-flower catclaw (Acacia greggii) Sheltered in hard legumes, seeds are primarily dispersed by foraging animals and require scarification (abrasion, often by flash flood) to germinate.
09. Love-in-the-Mist (Nigella damascena) When jostled by wind or passerby, a balloon shelter disperses tiny seeds through five apertures.
10 SHELTER
Backyard Habitat
Author: Jeff Davis
Creating Shelter That Benefits Our Nature Neighbors Imagine your yard as a blank canvas upon which to paint anything you choose. What would you paint: a grass lawn with neatly manicured flowers, or, a vibrant habitat with grasses, shrubs, fruiting trees and edible plants? If you chose the latter, you might be interested to learn more about why to build backyard habitat, who’s leading the way in animal homes, and how you can get involved today.
Building backyard habitat is about designing and planting spaces that provide a home for local wildlife and beneficial pollinators. Why does this matter? We directly and indirectly harm our environment in myriad ways everyday. Open spaces are cleared to build roads and homes, which destroys precious habitat and displaces the animals living there. Lawns grow on our front yards and city parks which require a lot of water (the average residential lawn drinks over 750 gallon/week). Plus, the chemicals and fertilizers used to keep it green wash away and pollute our ocean. We can combat these negative pressures and support our environment and it’s species by designing our landscapes the way nature intended them to be: wild and free! As an award-winning architect and designer, Fritz Haeg knows about being wild and free, and about building backyard habitat. In 2008, he created Animal Estates, a housing initiative for na-
tive wildlife in cities around the world. Through events and exhibitions all over the world, Animal Estates considers the animals we share our cities with, and creates inspiring dwellings for them. One of these cities Fritz has impacted is San Francisco, (http://www.fritzhaeg. com/garden/initiatives/animalestates/ prototypes/sanfrancisco.html) with the focus on providing resources for how to support native “animal clients.” In San Francisco, these “clients” range from the Perigrine falcon (Falco Peregrinus), California Quail (Callipepla californica), California Sea-Lion ( Zalophus californianus) and the California Slender Salamanders (Batrachoseps attenuatus). To support these species, Haeg offers tips and resources like how to build a nesting box, plant Lupine, leave floating docks open, and build a salamander board, respectively. As habitats dwindle daily, Animal Estates proposes the reintroduction of animals back into our cities, strip malls, garages, office parks, freeways, front yards, parking lots, skyscrapers, and neighborhoods. You can grab more information and inspiration from the website at AnimalEstates.org. If you’re ready to begin building backyard habitat today, awesome! All you need is food, water, and shelter. But first, eliminate all chemicals from your garden (if you haven’t already). Next, apply these tips and watch the wildlife appear! 01
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SHELTER 11 01. Build a better snag*! A challenge to build your own Portland Animal Estate, a multiple unit vertical dwelling tower for native species. This prototype was on view from August 26 - October 5, 2008 at The Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery, Reed College, Portland, Oregon. * A snag is a dead tree! 02. California sea lions are very social and form groups of several hundred when they are onshore. On land it must be on a shoreline where it is rocky. The California sea lion generally live along coastlines but have been found in rivers along the northern Pacific coast. 03. The green frog is known to exist in much of Europe, in French cuisine, and can be found as far east as Estonia, Belarus, Slovakia and Russia, and as far north as Sweden.
These habitats include overgrown ponds, channels and ditches, and still river pools. 04. Multiple gourd home for Purple Martins outside the Whitney in NYC. The Purple Martin only nests in cavities, often in abandoned woodpecker holes, but today most of the birds use man-made nest boxes. Martins are now entirely dependent on human supplied housing east of the Rockies. 05. American Kestral Falcon nesting box outside the Stata Center at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Kestrals require open ground for hunting and are most often found in habitats such as mountain meadows, marshlands, grasslands, deserts, open pine forests, and any kind of mixed woods or grasslands, agricultural land, vacant sites, airfields, along the edge of highways, etc.
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FOOD
WATER
Offer plenty of nourishment
Include a water feature
Provide a cozy home
Incorporate a diversity of plant species that produce buds, fruits, and seeds at different times of year for year-round nourishment. A berry bush will provide food for you and animals like birds, raccoons, chipmunks, and even snakes and turtles.
Place bird feeders, birdbaths, and shallow ponds to attract birds, turtles, frogs and more. Make sure they are placed in front of a window for your viewing pleasure. Butterflies need only a shallow puddle or muddy spot for drinking, while hummingbirds use trickling water in fountains.
Plant evergreen shrubs and trees. These will provide shelter for animals year-round. Add logs, brush piles, and rock piles to provide places for smaller creatures to hide and raise their young. Incorporate nesting or roosting boxes for birds and bats.
Flowers and meadow grasses bring nectar-seeking insects and insect eating birds. In fall, seed-eating birds scour the flower heads, while mice and chipmunks scavenge the ground below.
Plant canopy trees and tall shrubs with under layers of lower shrubs, vines, and perennials. This provides cover for security and nesting places. Leave open space for courtship displays.
For these tips and more, visit TheEcologyCenter.org/Resources, or, pick up “Rodale’s All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening” and other useful books from our Tools for Change, General Store. You can find more about Fritz Haeg through his book “Edible Estates” (on sale in Tools For Change) and through his current exhibit in Los Angeles County, “Wildflowering L.A.”
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Backyard Skills Primers
Manuals for Building Your Healthy Home In collaboration with Root Simple (www.rootsimple.com) and thanks to grant funding from SAPPI Fine Papers “Ideas That Matter”, The Ecology Center is pleased to be releasing the first five volumes of our Backyard Skills Primers.
Following the success and model of 2010’s publication Backyard Skills: A D.I.Y. Handbook, we have sought out the urban homestead expertise of Erik Knutzen and Kelly Coyne of Root Simple to develop robust-yet-simple topical guides to some of our favorite ecological techniques.
Our first five Primers cover one topic per core category of Food, Water, Waste, Energy, and Shelter: Container Gardening Basics Rainwater Harvesting Basics Backyard Chickens Basics Bicycle Care Basics Food Preservation & Pickling Basics Individually priced at $7, or $25 for the full set of 5, they’ll make a great addition to any eco-minded home. The Primers are available in our general store, Tools For Change, and online at theecologycenter.org/store.
Shelter For Your Homestead Harvest As we experiment with cultivating a greater agrarian connection, it’s time for us to revisit the age-old wisdom of the root cellar. Traditionally, root cellars were underground structures used to store vegetables, fruits, and other foods. Because the earth’s mean temperature hovers around 60 degrees, a root cellar serves as the perfect natural refrigerator. The design of this 21st Century root cellar, by Elliott Marks, was inspired by an exhibition by Jihyun Ryou, called “Save Food from the Refrigerator”. The idea is simple: to preserve and respect the garden harvest by integrating lost knowledge about food. This is how it works: Root vegetables such as carrots last longer when buried upright in slightly damp sand, mimicking their growing conditions. Meanwhile, fruit vegetables such as peppers and squash benefit from moist storage (evaporated water from the bucket), rather than the cold and dry environment in the fridge. Fresh eggs last three weeks out of the refrigerator, eliminating the absorption of odor from leftovers.
Besides the energy savings opportunity of the root cellar, an added bonus is the visibility of fresh produce– fresh food is beautiful and we know what needs to be eaten by keeping an eye on it. By bringing the harvest inside, our hope is that we eat more fresh food, eliminate forgotten food spoilage and get in rhythm with our natural garden cycles.
Dowels create nooks for eggs
Evaporating water for moist storage on level above
Moist sand for root vegetables
SHELTER 13
Backyard Skills
Build Your Own Picnic Table Good things usually start with a good meal and a group of friends. To inspire more of this in our community, we asked our resident furniture designer, Elliott Marks, to design a simple table with plans that anyone can build. His result is shown here–a table that can accommodate a good group of friends and family, with ample room for up to 8. With some simple tools and a few hours, you could build this simple–yet stylish–table for all occassions.
MATERIALS LIST
2, 8’ x 2” x 4” 11, 8’ x 1” x 6” box of 100 #8 wood screws TOOLS LIST
saw (power miter saw or hand saw with miter box) drill (cordless driver or corded drill) counter sink #8 wood drill bit CUT LIST
4 @ 30” 9 @ 85” 4 @ 38/5”
(2” x 4”) (1” x 6”) (1” x 6”) planks spaced evenly between side planks and center
Order Out of Assembly 01. Build the apron out of 2, 84” (1 x 6”) and 4, 38.5” (1x6”) 02. Screw 2 x 4” legs to apron corners upside down
center top plank attached
side top planks attached
03. Turn over apron/ leg assembly, screw side top planks to apron and apron cross members 04. Screw center top plank to apron, in spaces remaining evenly space the rest of the top planks and screw to 05. Apron and apron cross members 06. Invite your friends over for a potluck!
Tips Pre drill all holes for screws Cut both ends of 8’ boards to achieve 84” Evenly space all screws Screw legs to apron with at least 4 screws For outdoor use, we recommend redwood or painted pine.
apron cross member assembly with legs
apron cross member assembly
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The Food Shed
Author: Jessica Watkins
Creating a Home for Local Food
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The Ecology Center, in partnership with the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, has launched its newest interactive exhibition, “The Food Shed,” based on the Chipotle supply chain. In the exhibit, we explore where our food comes from, how it gets to us, and everyday choices to make our food ecosystems healthy and abundant.
run and find taco token ingredients that are in season and local. They learn that local food is often fresher and riper and good for building local community. Grow Your Own encourages participants to bring local to their own backyard by growing their own. This ensures understanding and appreciation for the origin of fresh food and control to avoid the synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that are often used in conventional, non-organic farming methods.
What is a Food Shed? A food shed is a geographic area that grows and supplies a city or town with food. Food’s journey from farm to fork may start as far away as Chile or China–or as close as your own backyard. The size and health of your food shed depends on what you choose to eat, when, and where it grows. These We invite you to get to know your own food shed and come explore ours in concepts are explored in the exhibit topics Eat Fresh, Buy Local, and Grow a guided tour or field trip! Your Own. Eat Fresh focuses on how much energy goes into the foods we eat everyday. Through a crank system, visitors put energy into the exhibit and watch the progression from fresh food to processed and packaged food (i.e. baked potato vs. Pringles). They leave with kinetic understanding that it takes a lot more energy and resources to create processed food vs. eating fresh. Buy Local covers the concepts of food miles, locality and seasonality via the Chipotle Taco Hunt. Using the supply chain data for a Chipotle Taco, guests are broken into teams, assigned a season and mile radius, and a time limit to
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SHELTER 15
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01. The Food Shed is nestled in The Ecology Center’s Food Eco-Lab, adjacent to South Coast Farms organic furrows.
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02. T he exhibit explores industrial vs. sustainable food systems and what it takes to get your food from farm to plate. 03. The Taco Hunt teaches visitors of all ages about food miles and energy of their favorite taco ingredients. 04. Groups are challenged to scavenge The Ecology Center’s grounds based on seasons, ingredients, and distance. 05. If an ingredient is on their list, tokens are collected from near and far. 06. The Food Shed looks over the last certified organic family farm operation in Orange County.
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07. At the end of the hunt, kids and adults review how far they had to travel and what it means to choose to eat in season.
Cameron Sinclair Interview Continued from Page 7
———————— A BUILDING IS ONLY SUSTAINABLE WHEN IT IS LOVED. IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW GREEN OR ENERGY EFFICIENT IT IS, UNLESS THE CLIENT TRULY LOVES THE BUILDING THEYWON’T MAINTAIN IT ————————
design process and, if possible, during the build- Give me a quote that inspires. ing phase. Not only does this ensure community “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then buy-in, but true ownership over any intervention they fight you, then you win.” - Gandhi or structure built. Why “design like you give a damn” (the title of What is the power of passionate designers and I am a “rabble rousing optimist,” as per my @ your two books)? erinschrode twitter bio. You are Chief Eternal What if we decided to live a life of mediocrity and architects in tackling global challenges and Optimist (CEO) of Architecture for Humanity, shaped our world to reflect that? A sterile space building a socially and environmentally just, as per your @casinclair digital identity and for- devoid of the things that make life worth living responsible and sustainable world? mal title. Why does this virtue stand out? happens when a designer doesn’t care. Not caring It is not just the power of designers to pace a difIf you believe in improving life, then you can only makes you negligent in the social breakdown and ference, it is the only way forward if we truly care be an optimist. We have created a world filled disconnect. The act of being a designer gives us a about a just, responsibly and sustainable world. with doubt and controlled by cynics. This attitude huge responsibility and we have to give a damn We all need to become developers of our future about those we serve and the communities we and not rely on others to dictate to us the world in stagnates growth and evolution. which we will live. build in. 07
JOIN US AND PLEDGE TO MAKE EVERY DAY EARTH DAY.
EARTH DAY FESTIVAL. APRIL 5, 10AM-4PM LOCAL FOOD. HOMEGROWN MUSIC. HEIRLOOM VEGGIE SEEDLINGS.
ECO-LAB EXPLORATION. SCAVENGER HUNT. FREE FAMILY FUN! THE ECOLOGY CENTER / 32701 ALIPAZ ST / SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO