Let it flood?

Walter Hood's proposal to let the monuments around the Tidal Basin slowly get inundated is remarkable: 

"Let the waters be free," writes Walter Hood in his proposal. "It could start with living in a wetland rather than draining it." Hood, whose Hood Design Studio is based in Oakland, Calif., also calls for "a prophetic aesthetic ... that is really telling the truth about a place."

And the image from Field Operations, in NPR's Landscape Architects Unveil Plans To Save The National Mall's Tidal Basin, is downright haunting.

Tomorrow: Understanding and Managing the Risk of COVID-19

SEBS Virtual Science Cafe: Don Schaffner presents “Understanding and Managing the Risk of COVID-19” 

Dr. Schaffner, distinguished professor and extension specialist in food science, will present his experiences working with the general public and the news media during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on helping people to understand the risks posed by SARS-CoV-2 and how to minimize them.

The conversation is on Tuesday, October 13, 2020 at 11:30am, but advance registration is required.

 

 

CIP Codes

 In case it comes up, here are the CIP Codes for a few of our programs:

B.S. Landscape Architecture 040601
B.S. Environmental Planning and Design 040401
M.L.A. Landscape Architecture 040601

Exploring the National Parks

As part of the National Park Service guide to its parks, it has curated topic guides to the websites. For a topic, like Civil Rights, they provide a brief overview of the topic and then give the visitor link to a variety of parks where they could learn more about the topic.

 

Sample Topics

Civil Rights

Industry

Literature and poetry 

Presidential sites

Explorers and Exploration

Sample Features

Homes

Grasslands and Prairies

Waterfalls and Gorges 

Monuments, Memorials and Statues

 

Of course, some topics are too general to have a list associated with them. For instance, there is a fabulous guide to Cultural Landscapes without a list. And the guide to Natural Sounds is unexpected and remarkable.

 

One of the NPS' most popular events

 This week is a popular time for the National Park Service; it is Fat Bear Week. There will be lots of news coverage (CBS, WaPo, Smithsonian), plenty of voting, and a spike in searches on Katmai and Fat Bear. This is really a science awareness program to show people how Katmai National Park's amazing bears fatten up before the onset of the harsh Alaskan winter. So, watch some videos and vote for the fat ones.