The High Line/The Garden Aerial

New York has The High Line (pictured), Rochester may soon have The Garden Aerial!
A new group, Friends of the Garden Aerial, has been formed to spearhead the transformation of Rochester's Pont de Rennes bridge over the Genesee River at High Falls into a planted environment where people can enjoy the experience of the waterfall while sitting under a shade tree or taking in a variety of flowers, grasses and shrubs. Winter will offer a different experience; in extra-snowy New York a snow sculpture contest is under way at The High Line. Stay tuned for more about The Garden Aerial....

Snow in China

Suzhou, China rarely receives much snowfall. This photo, from a friend living in Suzhou, shows how the dusting of snow is removed from walkways. What a pretty scene with the frosting on the trees and shrubs! (It would be nice to know what kind of trees these are, still with their leaves attached in January. Also, it's interesting to see that the trunks are painted white? As a prevention of winter sun scald damage perhaps?)

Green Drinks

It's fun!! Join members of the Rochester Center for Environmental Information and Upstate Green Business Network for Green Drinks - a social event for those interested in anything and everything sustainable! The January 2011, event is the 3rd Thursday (January 20th) at the Flower City Habitat for Humanity ReStore, 755 Culver Road, Rochester NY

Open to the public, ReStore offers quality new and gently-used building materials at a fraction of normal retail prices. Proceeds fund construction of decent, affordable Habitat houses in Rochester. Many affiliates across the United States and Canada operate successful ReStores, some of which raise enough funds to build an additional 10 or more houses per year!

How Will New York State Look in Five Years?

Here is a staggering fact: there are approximately 900 million ash trees in New York State. When the Emerald Ash Borer has moved through, our state forests will be filled with dead trees. Our communities will have to decide whether to remove or treat our private and street ash trees. Treatment will make sense in many cases. Let's encourage our community leaders in Henrietta, Rochester, Chili, Pittsford, etc. to save as many trees as possible!

College Campuses to deal with EAB

College campuses across the country are reacting to the Emerald Ash Borer infestation in various ways. Iowa State University has received a $30,000 grant to remove and replace ash trees. Beginning with those in the worst condition, the university will attempt to cull the existing ash trees to less than 8% of the total trees on campus and replant a tree for every ash removed. Eventually all the ash trees on campus will be replaced with a wide variety of new trees, utilizing many species to create diversity.

Why Monoculture is a bad thing

On this residential street in West Henrietta, NY, each property was planted with at least two street trees. In this case about 99% of the trees planted were ash. Every one of these trees will be devastated by the Emerald Ash Borer in the coming years and, if not treated, will need to be removed. What will this street look like without these trees?