Discussion: Gardenator 3: The Rise of Engineered Soils - Friday, October 30th
Does it take hundreds and thousands of years for soils to develop?
Back to the future: Are engineered soils (re)building soils?
What’s in your garden?
This session will explore the creation, usage and philosophy behind engineered soils.
Speakers:
Dr. Maha Deeb-Collet, Faculty at Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris (iEES Paris—Sorbonne Université), Maha aims her work towards improving the quality of urban soils and their ecosystem services in order to improve quality of life for urban residents. She has a particular strength and specialization in soil structure. She is constantly discovering and unearthing new avenues of research in the urban soils frontier. Maha has a special gift for probing and developing research, identifying the story, combining the parts, and nurturing collaborations. Her character naturally fosters interdisciplinary approaches to her work and she easily identifies the synergy and potential in others and their work.
Topic: Soil Basics & Technosols
Time: 2:10 - 2:25 pm EST (New York City)
Dr. Viacheslav Vasenev, Dr. Vasenev is Associate Professor in the Department of Landscape Design and Sustainable Ecosystems at RUDN Unviersity (Russia). He is a soil scientist and environmental scientist and the co-founder and coordinator of the international summer school 3MUGIS and a double-diploma Master’s program “Management and Design of Urban Green Infrastructure.”
His primary research interests and scientific expertise relate to urban soils and their functions and services, including soil organic carbon stocks, microbiological activity and green house gases emissions.
Most of the research projects leaded by Dr. Vasenev link urban soils to sustainable development of urban green infrastructure. Viacheslav is an Associate Professor at the Department of Landscape design and sustainable ecosystems in RUDN University.
Topic: TBA
Time: 2:27 - 2:37 pm EST (New York City)
Moreen Willaredt & Thomas Nels
Moreen Willaredt, PhD Fellow - Berlin International Graduate School in Model and Simulation based Research (BIMoS)Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
Thomas Nehls, PhD, is a lecturer and scientist at the chair for Ecohydrology and he coordinates the Center for Innovation and Science on Building Greening (CIBG) at the Technische Universitaet Berlin, Germany. Thomas' PhD thesis was on water and solute fluxes in paved urban soils in Berlin. Before, he completed a Diploma in Soil Science and Hydrology (Geoecology) at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. For his diploma he studied the effects of charcoal on the fertility of Ferralsols in the Amazon region. Thomas teaches urban ecology and urban soils.
Topic: Designing Soil for Greening Sealed Soil
Time: 2:40 - 2:50 pm EST (New York City)
Ms. Raqueeb Bey, is an urban agriculturist, community activist and mother of six phenomenal children. She is the Garden Resource Coordinator for Grow Pittsburgh Garden Resource Center, a tool lending library in Pittsburgh's East End. In 2011, Raqueeb founded Mama Africa's Green Scouts, a youth program that teaches community gardening, green sustainability, African-centered culture and community leadership skills. She also founded the Black Urban Gardeners and Farmers of Pittsburgh Co-Op (BUGS FPC) in June of 2015, where she is the Executive Director.
Raqueeb also volunteers for Landslide Community Farms. She is a steering committee member for the Pittsburgh Food Policy Council, A steering committee member for PaWagn and a steering committee member for the Homewood Collaborative and chairs the Homewood Sustainability Action Team.Raqueeb is on the subcommittee for the eco innovation district and The Real Estate Task Force Committee for the Uptown Partners. Raqueeb attended Alleghany County Community College for Business Management and enjoys working with diverse organizations and people to create sustainable food sovereignty solutions for our communities.
Topic: TBA
Time: 2:52 - 3:02 pm EST (New York City)
Steve Mentz, teaches English literature and the environmental humanities at St John's University in Queens. His writings explore cultural and physical connections between humans and nonhuman environments. His recent books include Ocean (2020), Break Up the Anthropocene (2019), Shipwreck Modernity (2015), and Oceanic New York (2015). He is an open-water ocean swimmer, enthusiastic poet, marginal cook, and indifferent gardener who lives on the Connecticut shoreline of Long Island Sound.
Topic: Soiling the Earth: The Poetics of Compost from Ovid to the Anthropocene
Time: 3:05 - 3:15 pm EST (New York City)
Kate Douglas, writer, director and performer currently based in upstate NY. Her work has been performed at The Met Cloisters, Ars Nova, Joe’s Pub and The McKittrick Hotel and developed at venues such as SPACE on Ryder Farm, The Orchard Project, New Victory Theater and The Civilians R&D Group. She is a Dramatists Guild Fellow and a current member of The Orchard Project Greenhouse. As a complement to her artistic practice, she is a Master Naturalist, student herbalist and Citizen Tree Pruner in Training. She is currently working towards her Horticulture Certificate Sustainable Garden Design with the New York Botanical Garden. www.kate-douglas.com
This piece is a beginning of a larger exploration on rot as a site of transformation (because I don't know about you .... but I could really use some transformation right now).
The experience should take 5+ minutes. Please download the mp3 provided to your device. Put
in some headphones and find somewhere you feel safe and settled. Bring a journal, a writing implement and some paper. Open more deeply and widely to your breath. Close your eyes if that feels good for you. Feel your feet on the ground and the ground on your feet, maybe both at the same time. When you're ready, press play. Feel free to journal before, during or after the audio.
If you feel moved to share your experience, please do. I'd love to hear about the places you visit.
Topic: Meditation on Rot - Maybe Dead is Just a Word People Say When They’re Scared
Time: 3:40 - 3:45 pm EST (New York City) - Performance during Coffee Break
Heather McMordie, is an artist and printmaker currently making prints, puzzles and paper installations informed by soil science. Her work finds balance between artistic and scientific exploration, and seeks to visualize the complex patterns and processes of soil systems. Heather received her MFA in Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and her BFA from the University of Pennsylvania. Recent projects have been developed through field explorations and collaborations in Rhode Island, USA and Surama Village, Guyana. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums nationally including recent inclusion in exhibits at the RISD Museum, the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education.
In Marsh Senses, depictions of geological textures, coastal blue carbon storage capacity, Salt Marsh Sparrow and mussel populations, root density and native grasses are parsed out into unique textile designs. When quilted together, these textiles become abstract visual representations of a healthy salt marsh soil system. In an effort to further engage viewers in a more active understanding of human impact on these systems, viewers are invited to walk through, reposition, and sit on the cushions. The cushions—stuffed with recycled memory foam and paper—crunch and softly depress underfoot, and slowly become covered with the footprints and bolidly impressions of the viewer.
Topic: Marsh Senses
Time: 4:10 - 4:20 pm EST (New York City)
Wendy Andringa, Registered Landscape Architect and Senior Associate at SCAPE Landscape Architecture. She has been working in the greater New York City area since 2005, where she has designed and managed the creation of green infrastructure parks, public plazas, innovative playgrounds, higher education facilities, and multi-scalar residential green spaces and amenities. Along with her years of experience in design and construction, she is a researcher of ecological sustainability in materials and methods of landscape construction. Wendy has taught urban design at Columbia University and landscape architecture at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. She is currently a member of the ASLA NY Chapter Board, and in the past has served as Board Member and Design-Build Fellow of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, where she continues to engage in hands-on community stewardship in Brooklyn.
Topic: Re-Zoning: A New Urban Skin
Time: 4:23 - 4:33 pm EST (New York City)
Paige Whitehead, Founder Nyoka Design Lab, Microbiology, Environmental Studies, and Permaculture Design, data nut!
Because everyone reading this is a soil aficionado, I will let you in on my devious plan! My muse, the angler fish, has inspired me to use bioluminescence to lure people in, then SNAP I start talking about the importance of the soil microbiome and ecosystem resilience. By that time they are so dazed they can't help but absorb the knowledge, and leave empowered!
I do this with my biotech company, Nyoka Design Labs, where we have developed an earth-friendly non-toxic glow stick powered with bioluminescence enzymes, then when it biodegrades is beneficial for the soil!
My background is in Microbiology, Environmental Studies, and Permaculture Design, and I am an active member of the MIT Media Lab's Community Biotechnology Initiative. I'm a data nut and enjoy working in research related to tech development, systems theory, myco and microremediation, and ecosystem resilience,
I am interested in connecting with professionals who are passionate about biotech development, microbiology, environmentally-conscious design, sustainability, and grassroots activism.
Topic: Adaptive Ecosystems: Ripping out Roads and Learning from the Soil Building Practices and Perspectives of Indigenous Cultures worldwide
Time: 4:35 - 4:45 pm EST (New York City)
Steve Godeke, Through his consulting, writing and teaching, Steven has worked at the intersection of investment and mission since 2001. His practice helps families and foundations create impact investing strategies and connects them with the right partners and resources.
Steven is currently adjunct professor of finance at New York University’s Stern School of Business where he created and now teaches Investing for Environmental and Social Impact and Impact Investing in Family Offices. He has served on the board of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, a private family foundation that focuses on social justice and has a long history of aligning its investment and mission goals. He has also just completed a new Impact Investing Handbook with Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors for mission-aligned asset owners.
Prior to establishing his own firm, Steven worked in corporate and project finance at Deutsche Bank. Steven grew up on a family farm in Southern Indiana and attended Purdue University where he received a B.S. in Management and a B.A. in German. He studied as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Cologne and earned an M.P.A. from Harvard University.
Topic: TBA
Time: 4:47 - 4:57 pm EST (New York City)
Alex & Olmstead, Puppet Theatre. Alex and Olmsted is an internationally acclaimed puppet theater company based in Takoma Park, Maryland. They have received two Jim Henson Foundation Grants and were recently awarded the 2020 State Independent Artist Award for Performing Arts from the Maryland State Arts Council.
"Earth, Worm" explores the finer details of soil's role in the world and the unique relationship it has with one of its most important inhabitants.Alex and Olmsted is an internationally acclaimed puppet theater company based in Takoma Park, Maryland. They have received two Jim Henson Foundation Grants and were recently awarded the 2020
State Independent Artist Award for Performing Arts from the Maryland State Arts Council.
Alex and Olmsted website: www.alexandolmsted.com
Alex and Olmsted Patreon: www.patreon.com/alexandolmsted
Alex and Olmsted YouTube: www.youtube.com/alexandolmsted
Topic: Earth, Worm
Time: 5:00 - 5:10 pm EST (New York City)
Moderators:
Ryan J. Cerrato, Vice President, Product Marketing, WeCare Denali, WeCare Compost, Mulch, & Soil
Edward Landa, PhD | Extended Team Partner & Art Extension Service Co-Director, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Technology at the University of Maryland
Format
2 - 3:15 pm: Introduction & Presentations 1
3:15 - 3:40 pm: Discussion Session 1
3:40-3:45 pm: Meditation on Rot, by Kate Douglas
3:50 - 4:05 pm: Break, with Meet the Ground, by Susan Main and MJ Neuberger
4:10 - 5:00 pm: Presentations 2
5:00 - 5:10 pm: Earth, Worm - Puppet Theatre by Alex and Olmsted
5:10 - 6 pm: Discussion Session
All Times Eastern Standard Time (New York City)