Julie Boulton (the greening of) — Issue #13

Julie Boulton
Aug 27, 2017 · 6 min read

I went to the Green Shed Sunday morning. It is Canberra’s shop at the dump. People drive there to drop off their unwanted goods, (if they don’t leave them on the footpath that is — see my instagram account — the ironing board picture is my current favourite of things I find on the side of the road in my neighbourhood). Staff sort the stuff into categories like tyres, books, pots, bookcases etc and then the public can walk through there and “shop” cheaply, finding some super cool stuff in the process. My six year old adores it there (last week, her winning purchases were a gold lampshade and a wooden box, ($3 total spend), and spent hours decorating both of them. The purpose of my trip on Sunday was to look for a ladder, (although I did have an open mind as to any other thing that might tempt my tastebuds — after making several trips to The Green Shed recently I have realised that it is always best to enter with an open mind because you never know what might take your fancy). And I had success. I found a two step metal ladder with a fantastic rounded handle that I bought home and spent an extremely contended afternoon adorning my $2 ladder with some green plants, books and a little light. Then, with the rain beating down on our tin roof, I lay on my bed with a cup of tea, a book and enjoyed my little green oasis. Perfect. (I’m conveniently ignoring the fact that I was not alone — there were three children cavorting around me, knocking over potted plants and spilling my cup of tea and yelling so loudly that the sound of the rain could not be heard). So, as homage to my up-cycled, very green corner of the world, this edition is about the importance of greenery — to the plants and trees of the world.

Have a great, and hopefully green, week!

jb


a (fun) fact

The potential of a single tree is amazing! It can:

  • absorb 3,400 litres of stormwater;
  • filter over 20 kilograms of atmospheric pollutants; and
  • provide the same cooling effect as running 10 air conditioners continuously and simultaneously for one whole year.

a (not so fun) fact

Up to a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation and forest degradation. Poor trees. We need to love trees more. As they are. In the ground.

handy resource(s)

There are some amazing things being down about keeping our trees where they are or adding more, (well done India on your world record tree planting day), and adding more in ingenious ways — like on the sides of buildings which is what Italian architect, Stefano Boeri, who really, really loves trees, (and so we should really, really love him) is doing. His work is coming to Brisbane. Seoul has a new green bridge. Sydney already has some amazing green buildings in place — check out Surrey Hills library. And please buy recycled, forest friendly paper — an easy thing to do to save the trees (and you can even get it delivered to your front door and help build toilets in the process — Who Gives A Crap).

‘Forest cities’: the radical plan to save China from air pollution | Cities | The Guardian

www.theguardian.com
Stefano Boeri, the architect famous for his plant-covered skyscrapers, has designs to create entire new green settlements in a nation plagued by dirty air

19948517 709036629284103 7208581725587243008 n
19948517 709036629284103 7208581725587243008 n

The Guardian — China appears to be turning over a new leaf…www.facebook.com
China appears to be turning over a new leaf by introducing greener policies at home and embracing renewable energies, to alleviate its dependence on…

Screen 20shot 202017 02 07 20at 2010.12.22 20pm
Screen 20shot 202017 02 07 20at 2010.12.22 20pm

The world’s five coolest vertical forestswww.domain.com.au
The benefits of vertical forests in residential buildings are more than just aesthetic — the trees absorb the sun’s energy which can lower the building’s temperature.

Logo sba 2017 v1
Logo sba 2017 v1

Stefano Boeri Architetti | Vertical ForestINGwww.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net
Vertical ForestING — is a worldwide trend, generated by the first Vertical Forest built by Boeri Studio in Milan, in 2014. When Stefano Boeri came up with the idea of giving back to nature the space we are taking from it with continuous urban sprawl, he conceived Bosco Verticale as a prototype of th

Portada 05  %28c%29 paolo rosselli dsc 8101
Portada 05  %28c%29 paolo rosselli dsc 8101

Bosco Verticale / Boeri Studio | ArchDailywww.archdaily.com
Completed in 2014 in Milan, Italy. Images by Laura Cionci, Stefano Boeri Architetti. The first example of a ‘Vertical Forest’ (il Bosco Verticale) was inaugurated in October 2014 in Milan in the Porta Nuova Isola area, as part of a…

8678526 1x1 700x700
8678526 1x1 700x700

India plants 66 million trees in 12 hours in record-breaking bid to meet Paris Agreement promise — ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)www.abc.net.au
More than 1.5 million people were involved in the mission to break last year’s record and honour a pledge made at the Paris Climate Change Conference.

A garden bridge that works: how Seoul succeeded where London failed | Cities | The Guardian

www.theguardian.com
Seoul’s ambitious Skygarden — which revives a disused elevated 1970s highway with 24,000 plants — is opening

Prince alfred park green roof
Prince alfred park green roof

Green roofs and walls — City of Sydneywww.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
The City of Sydney supports green walls and roofs in the local area.

i’m reading/watching

I love all episodes of Australian Story but I particularly loved this one — about a dude who is trying to restore his piece of land back to ist former glory. Well worth watching and then jumping onto their website for more information. And famous children’s book below too: a tree loved a boy.

R1695342 26305097
R1695342 26305097

Australian Story :: Splendour in the Grasswww.abc.net.au
This week Australian Story returns to one of our most popular rural programs – the story of a young pastoralist whose dream is to restore his beloved land back to nature after a century of over-stocking for the wool market.

M photos 160 300x200
M photos 160 300x200

Return To Wooleen — Australian Story — Wooleen Stationwooleen.com.au
A lot has happened since Australian Story delivered an epic tale of a young couple whose drastic measures to save Wooleen Station in the Murchison ranges of West Australia captivated our audience on March 5. David Pollock was controversially chosen, ahead of his older brother, when their father was deciding who should take over the family’s pastoral lease. The younger Pollock removed all stock as part of a radical plan to restore a beloved landscape.

370493. uy630 sr1200 630
370493. uy630 sr1200 630

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists www.goodreads.com

“Once there was a tree…and she loved a little boy.”

on the blog

Two stories — one about how amazing bamboo is and another about community and life in the Solomon Islands — which also has an amazing jungle, (and an unsustainable rate of deforestation).

Bamboo
Bamboo

do you bamboo? — Julie Boultonwww.julieboulton75.com
I am a little confused right now about just how proudly I should be about wearing my bamboo clothes

1*y88zo47qzclwijrjwvwt g
1*y88zo47qzclwijrjwvwt g

craving community — Julie Boulton — Mediummedium.com
“Intercommunal tensions”, as The Commonwealth describes it, started in the Solomon Islands in 1998. It was a fight between Guadacanal militants, the Guadancanal Revolutionary Army (Isatabu Freedom…

snap, snap

)
Julie Boulton

Written by

writer of random thoughts on life | weekly environmental newsletter, Julie Boulton (the greening of) | obsessed by roadside goods | julieboulton75.com

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade