Category: Combating Climate Change
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[Featured Image from: https://www.wired.com/story/the-designer-whos-trying-to-transform-your-city-into-a-sponge/ Credited Image as: “Sanya Mangrove Park is just one of many “sponge” projects in China, a way to work with water instead of fighting it. COURTESY OF THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE FOUNDATION”] In 2015, the United Nations (UN) came together to create 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) with a goal of attaining peace and prosperity for…
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A bike library — have you heard of one? It’s just like borrowing a book from a library, but instead, you check out a bicycle. It’s a “try before you buy” step that helps people ease into biking instead of driving everywhere. Bike libraries are a smart way to get more people on bikes —…
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My mom always told me never to talk about politics or religion in mixed company. But if you want to combat climate change, you must consider politics. Government policies, programs, and departments control large movements in favor or against the environment. Last week we looked at several countries who have taken on climate change by…
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Last week, we discussed Japanese Forest Bathing, called Shinrin-yoku, described in Florence Williams’ book “The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative” (2017). Well, she goes on to talk about how South Korea is trying to achieve the same thing as Japan. They call it salim yok. Having learned from Japan’s…
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The National Horticulture Society (NHS) Chelsey Flower Show 2024 winner for Best Show Garden was the Forest Bathing garden. Forest Bathing is an ancient Japanese practice called Shinrin-yoku which basically means “bathing in the forest atmosphere and reconnecting with nature through our senses” (rhs.org.uk). The garden was designed by Ula Maria for the Muscular Dystrophy Association of the…
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Last week we talked about the impact of gardens and how the National Horticultural Society (NHS) stated that if just half the population of the UK (approx. 30 million people) planted a tree and nurtured it to full grown, it would “store the carbon equivalent to driving around the planet 11.4 million times! .” “By adding more carbon…
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Let’s talk gardens and greenery – plants on human health and well-being. During the pandemic, a lot of people realized how important the outdoors was to them. They took pleasure in an outdoor walk, they started bringing plants into their homes and once allowed, they started driving to parks and outdoor spaces to feel better.…
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Living Places is a Danish concept similar to the Living Buildings project I spoke about last week but for housing. Check out their video: https://youtu.be/QuOHasMZTvA?si=XQRWZIqbn4ZqrJ0W It’s such a wonderful concept! I would love to find a neighborhood like this in a village that is walkable and bike friendly. Denmark definitely has a beautiful climate, walkable neighborhoods, and bike…
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Climate Change and Environmental psychology: How do we get people to interact with the natural world? And how do we get people to think differently about how they interact with the world? I have been interested in these questions for a long time. Then I came across The International Living Future Institute. Perfection! This is…
kapiikai.org 