Spark Internships at NJ DEP

 Check out the internship opportunities at the NJ DEP. (Scroll down to the Spark section)

Anselin talk

Luc Anselin is giving the Waldo Tobler lecture on TOBLER'S LAW AND THE CHALLENGE OF IDENTIFYING LOCAL MULTIVARIATE CLUSTERS at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Long trip, but the lecture is being streamed. Wednesday March 15 at what I think will Noon EDT. (Don't trust my daylight time trans-atlantic time zone conversion)

Crowninshield Garden getting an update

 I can't wait to visit the Nelson Byrd Woltz treatment of the Crowninshield Garden. 

Mardi Gras Pass

NASA's Earth Observatory celebrated Fat Tuesday with images of some Louisiana wetlands around Mardi Gras Pass. They detail the changing characteristics of the waterways in a meaningful way.

New Orleans Reforestation Plan

 Since New Orleans will be in the news today (Happy Mardi Gras) maybe it is a good day to share the New Orleans Reforestation Plan. The plan frames a pilot approach that includes specific plans for a few different neighborhoods. While the plan is specific to the Crescent City, some of the ideas could inform work elsewhere.

Adaptive design

The latest issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine presents an innovative marsh planting technology/design intended for the wetlands at the ancestral home of the Atakapa Ishak/Chawasha peoples.

A new beach

 not not anyone needed another reason, but, landscape architects will have a new excuse for a day at the beach when James Corner's new Ganesvoort Peninsula debuts this summer.

Sackett wetlands

Could the Supreme Court decision regarding Sackett v. EPA leave Louisiana's wetlands unprotected? NOLA.com explains their concerns.

Earthquake maps

About 12 hours ago, Turkey had a 7.5 (or 7.8?) magnitude eatherquake. The USGS already has some interactive maps of the earthquake in Turkey. This contour map of impact shows how much it shook distant areas. Zoom out to see that there are areas of Georgia and Iraq, hundreds of miles away, that felt it as a 3.5.

The USGS also has a page called, "Did You Feel It?" where people can share "Felt Reports." A little bit of citizen science.

Hot Spot Cities Project

As part of an ongoing focus on biodiversity and cities, the McHarg Institute has created an interim report on its Hot Spot Cities.

 

Floods and droughts

The Babbitt Center for Land and Water Policy has updated their online overview of the Colorado River. By itself it is a pretty amazing storymap. But the story of the Colorado River is exceptional. The watershed of the river is vast and it impacts so many critical issues. 

What can we do? The Lincoln Land Institute has a Water Smart video that gives some first ideas.

The printed map version is pretty amazing too.

 

Thoughts to remember on Groundhog Day

“Side of the eye, side of the eye.” “Don’t drive angry.”

Old data models for a new world?

WLA says that Mapping and BIM are hot trends for 2023, while Map Happenings just posted a piece declaring that geospatial data is stuck in the year 1955.

 

Trends in 2023

World Landscape Architect identified what they see as the top trends for 2023. They include a few fairly obvious trends like the changing climate and biodiversity but also mapping (mapping!) and education. I sear, I did not write this list.

Are you ready for what this year might bring?

Pyrus calleryana

Callery pears are now illegal in Ohio.

Does New Jersey need a law to control invasive species? Tom Gilbert of the NJCF says we do.

Phil Lewis

The Wikipedia entry for Phil Lewis isn't great, but has some helpful details. His 1964 resource map of Wisconsin was a remarkable step.

Ian McBlog

Looking for something new to read? The UPenn Ian McHarg Center shares ideas and news through a blog that it calls Ian McBlog. It captures current thinking from a variety of voices and may well push readers in some new directions. Take a look.

Trail job

 The NY NJ Trail Conference is now hiring for their 2023 Conservation Corps. 

California stormwater

With extensive flooding in California this winter, people are asking whether there is a way to capture some of the stormwater and use it to replenish the groundwater and reservoirs that are desperately low. While at first it sounds like an engineering problem, Politico presents it as a political or policy problem. After all, the state might have to fix the existing water infrastructure before it can add a newer water capture and movement system:

The pumps, aqueducts and reservoirs California relies on are “outdated and vulnerable to climate change” and limit the amount of water that can be stored during winter storms, acknowledged the director of the Department of Water Resources, Karla Nemeth.

 One of the local experts suggested to Politico that it was the start of a "new era" for California, by which it sounds like there is going to have to be an entirely new model for thinking about water.

10 most read Dirt posts of 2022

 ASLA's The Dirt reviewed 2022 and listed their 10 most read posts of last year. The list includes an impressive variety of landscape architecture and planning stories. Personally, I really like the look at Yosemite's influence on Olmsted. But there is something there for sports fans and a reflection on Superstorm Sandy for those of us in New Jersey and New York.