#urban green spaces

[surr0unds]

manhattan

[thestudentfarmer]

Woke a bit early today and heard my kitty in her window seat going squirrely, so took a lil peak out and saw this

On the left is likely a chickadee, on the right I believe is a Gila woodpecker. Usually I see them on the power lines, picking for bugs.

This visitor also drinks sugar water, which suprised me! Turns out I may need to get a few more hummingbird feeders than expected lol.

I make my sugar water 1 pt plain sugar:4 parts water (I do use filtered to keep cleaning of the waterer to a minimum of human handling) mix till clear and fill.

🧇absolutly no red dye🧇

Even though there's not really any studies done on it I'm pretty sure, just like us humans, that red dye messes with bird bodies long term. And since I try not to use them myself, I'm sure the birds don't want it either.

Info blurb,

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gila_woodpecker

https://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheets/Gila%20Woodpecker.php

That's it for now :)

[reasonsforhope]

"A recent World Meteorological Organization report called heat waves the “deadliest meteorological hazard” from 2015 to 2019, affecting people living on all continents, and setting new national heat records in many regions.

‍Canada’s top weather event in 2021 was British Columbia’s record-breaking heat, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada. The temperature in Lytton, B.C., hit 49.6 C on June 29. The following day a wildfire destroyed 90 per cent of the town, killing two people and displacing 1,200 others.

Heat waves also exacerbate existing health issues, including cardiovascular and respiratory disease. They’re associated with increased hospital admissions, psychological stress and aggressive behavior, as well as excess mortality.

During heat waves, the highest temperatures are often found in urbanized areas. Urbanization is almost always associated with an increase in paved, impervious areas, and often a decrease in greenery. Concrete and asphalt roads, and other built materials readily absorb, store and release heat, raising city temperatures, a phenomenon called the urban heat island.

Many studies have shown that urban forests can reduce the urban heat island, and many policies focus their attention on large green spaces.

Small green spaces, such as yards, rooftops and small parcels of undeveloped land, can make impressive contributions to lowering urban heat, but they are often overlooked when developing strategies for urban cooling.

The effect of small green spaces

Cities rarely have the opportunity to add large green spaces to help counter the effects of heatwaves. Smaller vegetated spaces, however, can still meaningfully decrease local land temperatures.

Small green spaces, such as yards, rooftops and small parcels of undeveloped land, can make impressive contributions to lowering urban heat, but they are often overlooked when developing strategies for urban cooling.

A recent study in Adelaide, Australia, found that tree canopy cover and, to a lesser extent, grass cover decreased local daytime surface temperatures by up to 6 C during extreme summer heat conditions. Further inland, suburban yards and gardens can decrease local surface temperatures up to 5 C.

At a quite small scale, on the order of tens of square metres, trees reduced daytime surface temperatures twice as much as grass cover. But grass and other small, low-lying plants, grow relatively quickly, compared to trees.

Cities should adopt short-term and long-term strategies to respond to extreme heat, including the replacement of paved and impervious surfaces with grasses and turf, and increasing tree plantings to boost canopy coverage.

Amplifying the cooling effect

Furthermore, when managing small green spaces, city planners and foresters can select tree species based on their ability to cool the environment. Green spaces with a high diversity of tree species have a greater cooling effect in spring, summer and fall. They also have a larger maximum drop in temperature in the summer, compared to spaces that are less diverse.

For example, tree canopies with large leaves and high transpiration rates — the evaporation of water from plants occurring at the leaves — could provide more cooling.

Planting a variety of species, of different heights, can have a larger cooling effect than tall trees alone.

The structure of green space may also influence its cooling efficiency. In summer, a plant community with multiple layers of trees, shrubs and herbs can further decrease air temperature by 1 C on a sunny day and 0.5 C on a cloudy day, compared with an area only dominated by tall trees...

But overall, trees usually have a stronger effect on cooling than grass. Planting trees in groups, not individually or in lines, is recommended for regulating the microclimate (local climate conditions near the Earth’s surface).

Small green spaces can offer a lot of summer cooling in cities. And cities can learn to manage the configuration of small green spaces better to get more cooling benefits and minimize the trade-offs."

-via GoodGoodGood, July 4, 2024

[cusaqphotos]

[rob604designs]

Vancouver BC

-Rob604

[matheusdei]

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this press release from the Morton Arboretum:

Every community and its residents benefit from a healthy tree canopy, however, research shows that underserved and disadvantaged communities tend to have fewer trees.

That will change over the next two to five years thanks to a historic $15 million grant to The Morton Arboretum from the U.S. Forest Service that will help increase equitable access to the benefits of trees and green spaces in Illinois, and bolster community resilience to climate change.

The announcement was made on September 14 as part of a $1 billion federal investment in urban forestry through the Inflation Reduction Act. The Arboretum received the largest grant award given in Illinois and the largest award to a public garden in the country. It is also the largest grant of any kind received in the history of the Arboretum. The funding will be provided to underserved communities through a sub-grant application process, with funds earmarked for areas where tree canopy is needed most and environmental justice issues exist.

With its century-long history of research and education in tree care, its expert staff, and its leadership in urban forestry, the Arboretum’s Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI) has been entrusted to administer hundreds of sub-award grants to local Illinois communities and organizations in underserved areas of the state. CRTI is a coalition of more than 200 partner organizations working together to improve Chicago’s regional forest for nearly 10 years.

This funding is a step toward improving the lives of people who have not had the same advantages as others. These grants will not have a matching funds requirement, removing a significant barrier for cash-strapped communities. Communities in urban, suburban, rural, and tribal areas are encouraged to apply when the sub-grants are posted in 2024.

[mygreenspaces-blog]

Lexington, KY Resources

Ready to see some green?

Local organizations that understand your area can often offer more comprehensive information about your potential involvement than many large NGOs. 

If you in Kentucky, especially the Lexington region, check out Bluegrass  GreenSource! They offer education, business, and community outreach programs. 

https://bggreensource.org/

http://fayettealliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Public-Greenspace.pdf

[knowurbanis]

BALLARD PUBLIC LIBRARY // SEATTLE, WASHINGTON USA

[matheusdei]

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A post shared by Johanna - Landscape Designer (@themoosegarden)

[mygreenspaces-blog]

[mygreenspaces-blog]

Staying Safe

“You can play without getting hit by cars was definitely a change in how I thought about myself … you can relax a lot more.”

These words come from Kayla: a queer woman of color from Louisville, KY. Kayla lived in the “ somewhat [im]poverished area” with “police like there almost every day.” But by the time she was in high school, she moved to Highview, a middle-class suburb.

An obstacle of green spaces – in the areas they are most needed – is the crime. “A lot of the parks we have are usually taken over with gang activity like or such,” explains Kayla. So, even though she moved from one comparatively green area to another, she was only able to enjoy it in her second home. “ You can play without getting hit by cars [in Highview] was definitely a change in how I thought about myself … you can relax a lot more.” Kayla noted how the higher-income and more white neighborhood not only had green spaces, but it had safe green spaces.

[mygreenspaces-blog]

Organisms, when housed in unfit habitats, undergo social, psychological, and physical breakdown.

E.O. Wilson, an American biologist, naturalist, theorist and author