Pollinator Food Sources
We hear a lot about supporting pollinators in mainstream publications, but it is often difficult to find information that provides thorough lists of plants (not just the top 5 flowers), include both larval food and nectar plants, include bats and beetles rather than just bees and butterflies, or are specific to the regions in which we work. The Pollinator Partnership at Pollinator.org is a professional resource for this very thing. It includes the information you might expect from such an organization: beekeeping tips, challenges to plant gardens, information on the connection between...
Read MoreUrban Tree Growth Parameters – Two Studies
“Apparent Available Soil” A Good Predictor of Tree Size Which Planting Solution is Best for Trees? Bartlett Lab Field Trials ...
Read MoreConnecting the Drops with Rainwater Harvesting
From the “Focus on Sustainability” webinar series by the Ecological Landscape Alliance:
Read MoreCaterpillar Identification
Spring has sprung for some of you in the more southerly climates, so I thought it would be fun to include this moth and butterfly caterpillar identification guide. I had the opportunity to watch a cecropia moth hatch last year – it was a very cool experience and I was amazed by how active the moth could be while still in its cocoon and trying to get out. Here are a few other sites that offer detailed information on the life cycles and habitats of the east and west U.S.: Lepidoptera of the Pacific Northwest Caterpillars of the Eastern Forests ...
Read MoreThe Nature of Cities
I think it’s helpful to know what people are reading and what they are finding useful in pursuing their goals for professional growth. I like to keep topics diverse, academic, and peer-reviewed. I like to know that the articles are not only well thought-out, but that the information has been corroborated with real-life experience or the research is consistent, repeatable, and useful. For instance, there are many common landscape practices that are repeated and instructed throughout written, printed, and oral material, that when held up to actual research, are wrong. Yet information to...
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