2013 International Fascination of Plants Day

Last year I was actively involved in the first International Fascination of Plants Day on May 18th. I've written extensively at this blog about the events and also at the website page where I outlined the month-long residency I undertook which culminated in the Celebration Day at the Institute of Molecular Bioscience.

Images from the Institute for Molecular Bioscience residency

It was an incredible experience working at UQ's IMB under the tutelage of Dr Joshua Mylne and staff. Joshua Mylne has since relocated to UWA in Perth where he is Associate Professor
Plant Energy Biology, ARC Centre of Excellence . Read more at his personal website here.
This year all plans I had entertained for further such collaborations are on hold due to pragmatic concerns primarily around selling our home and relocating within Brisbane... with a new studio to launch by August. Read studio blog on that story.

The 18th of May celebration this year falls on Saturday and as I wont be involved this year I will post this story in tribute.

Its an introduction to a national venture the Australian  Seedbank Partnership which brings together 14 organisations in all and is well worth investigating to learn more about what they do.

Below I have quoted text straight from the website Home and About pages.

The Australian Seed Bank Partnership’s mission is to safeguard Australia’s plant populations and communities by developing a national network of conservation seed banks.

Collecting and storing seed in seed banks is one of the most powerful ways to combat the global decline of plant biodiversity. It offers an insurance policy against the further extinction of plant species.

Our initiatives focus on collecting and storing seed to conserve biodiversity and building and sharing knowledge to support restoration and conservation activities across Australia.

The Partnership unites the expertise of fourteen institutions, including universities, herbaria, botanic gardens, non-government organisations and state environmental agencies.

Revealing the secrets of seeds

Science can unlock the mysteries of seeds, helping us to restore our landscapes and conserve our rich flora.

Images reproduced with permission from Australian Seeds: A Guide to their Collection, identification and Biology (Editors: Luke Sweedman and David Merritt). Copyright © 2006 Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority of Western Australia. Published by CSIRO PUBLISHING, Collingwood, Victoria Australia - http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/5281.htm

ABOUT:

The whole world relies on biological diversity for fresh air and water, food security, shelter, medicines and a clean and healthy environment capable of adapting to climate change and other serious threats.

However, in Australia more than 1,700 species and ecological communities are known to be threatened and at risk of extinction.

The Australian Seed Bank Partnership, governed by The Council of Heads of Australian Botanic Gardens Inc., is a strategic response to a host of threats to our biodiversity.

We are an alliance of 14 organisations, bringing together expertise from Australia’s leading botanic gardens, state environment agencies, academic institutions and non-government organisations. 

We have created, for the first time, a formal network of nine seed banks and five other flora-focused organisations bridging the gap between policy makers, researchers, seed collectors and on-ground conservation and restoration activities.

Our vision is for a future where Australia’s native plant diversity is valued, understood and conserved for the benefit of all.

Our mission is a national effort to conserve Australia’s native plant diversity through collaborative and sustainable seed collecting, banking, research and knowledge sharing.

Our work focuses on:

• securing Australian flora in ex situ seed collections;
• enhancing our understanding of seed biology through research
• sharing our knowledge to improve conservation and restoration outcomes; and
• training and building capacity in Australia for seed science and banking.

Building ex situ seed collections provides a resource for future use and an insurance policy for Australia’s native plants and forests against threats such as myrtle rust and cinnamon fungus.

Our members have already secured a third of Australia’s flora in conservation seed banks, including 25% of our threatened plants.

Read more direct from this book at this page and buy on Ebooks.

2 pages from the book are featured here:

I spent a lot of time in 2010 pouring over this book and getting inspiration for various art works from the brilliant introduction and images of seed collections photographed for the book. I noticed it is now available as an E-book as well as hardcopy title.

I hope to be getting back to routine sometime in later July or August when the new studio is set up and running. 

Wishing all well,
Sophie

under the microscope....

view Sarah P... on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/people/rightleftdesign/

NB: Wonderful images to be found at Sarah's flickr site! 

At my previous post I introduced my Tumblr site Seed Capsules - scroll down to following post... (or click on older post).
What this Tumblr site does so well is archive things I wish to save to view or read later... and although it may appear as an extremely eclectic hotch potch .... this content may often relate to what I may be thinking about in relation to this blog. Many artists are drawn to science at this time...  pursuing art/science research across the expanding disciplines of science.
It is curious that one may not even realise how something being worked on could have any relation to science... but given the spectacular profundity of the macro and micro worlds... its hard not to be  subliminally influenced ... if not directly.

All images here can be found via my tumblr - the text will click through to the source in most cases. All comments here are from the sites where they were first posted!

ohscience:  bacteria colony

amy-119: It’s slightly disturbing how much I like microbiology. 

I mean, look at all the petri dishes! So cool! /nerdery

This is the first sketch of the DNA double helix, drawn by Francis Crick. Read the article http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4263611.stm

ohscience: Fern sorus at 400x. Dark field microscopy, taken by me last spring. (submitted by burbles)

ohscience: vagina cells

http://ohscience.tumblr.com/post/3746213301/elusive-biology-by-osarah-po

http://scipsy.tumblr.com/post/3466060950/xylem-via-beyond-the-human-eye

ohscience: grape

I found these images worth musing on... as both scientific subjects and visual possibilities... the wood cells of holly reminded me of knitting ... no wonder those pursuing Biomimicry are fascinated with nature...  really how can one not be! 

Our view of reality has shifted profoundly with each passing year... and yet how curious  it resembles at times the knowledge systems of the indigenous peoples of this earth. Knowledge is endless... all we can really do with anysurefootedness is stay open and be curious!

I'll leave you with this  brilliant ( I think) quote from Ronnie at Art & Life blog.

“In Egypt, libraries were called the soul’s remedy treasure because, in there, it was possible to cure the ignorance, the most dangerous of all diseases and the source of all others.”

J. B. Bossuet

(via bookron)

On Biomimicry - from Wiki:

Biomimicry or biomimetics is the examination of nature, its models, systems, processes, and elements to emulate or take inspiration from in order to solve human problems. The term biomimicry and biomimetics come from the Greek words bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate. Other terms often used are bionics, bio-inspiration, and biognosis.

History

Humans have always looked to nature for inspiration to solve problems. One of the early examples of biomimicry was the study of birds to enable human flight. Although never successful in creating a "flying machine", Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) was a keen observer of the anatomy and flight of birds, and made numerous notes and sketches on his observations as well as sketches of various "flying machines".^[1] The Wright Brothers, who finally did succeed in creating and flying the first airplane in 1903, also derived inspiration for their airplane from observations of pigeons in flight.^{[2] To read more...click on title above.}

If you're in Brisbane over the next few days... or the 9th of October....

This weekend.......

Read here to see the program of events and writers speaking....some free ...some ticketed!

......then in October at the same venue!

Unlimited AP: Free Public Talk: Smart Cities and Eco Warriors

Saturday, October 09, 2010 from 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM (GMT+1000)

Brisbane, Queensland

Click here to book!

Join our panel of urban food revolutionaries, led by international architect and author CJ Lim, for their glimpse at a future where cities refocus as productive agricultural places.

Humans have desired fresh healthy food since time immemorial. Yet modern systems have made distance an irrelevance. Processing, packaging, transportation and storage account for 80% of the energy used to place food on the plate. Produce travels an average of 2000 to 3000km from farmer to consumer.

As we experience a global food crisis resulting from climate change, increasing populations, low productivity, and food crops being converted to biofuels, the world is heading for a drop in agricultural production of 20 to 40 percent.

Can this challenge be surmounted through new systems of urban agriculture?

Picture cities that produce food rather than simply consuming it, diverse natural places where planning, building, and transportation make way for the most crucial of human necessities – food.

Can a new urban economy blossom, where individuals communities and businesses will restructure their relationship to the urban habitat – creating a new era of urbanism where past and future converge?

Speakers include: CJ Lim (Studio 8 Architects UK, Author Smart Cities and Eco Warriors), Richard Weller (University of Western Australia, Author Boomtown 2050),

Its a free event ... so book now!!! Check the website for other events on as part of this special Asia Pacific Week.

Venue: The State Library of Qld.

interior of State Library

This image was found at CITY OF SOUND blog ...be sure to see the other images at this blog if you like libraries or architecture...its a fabulous building!

recent finds....

After a very busy weekend I have photos to download and a really wonderful event to write up  - Tea and Seed Stories - held in the Japanese Tea House for World Environment Day Celebrations at the Botanic Gardens, Mt Coot-tha this weekend past. Stay tuned for that soon. In the meantime have a look at these recent finds;




This radish image is from a late 1800s Rice Seeds trading card found at the excellent site presented below - as is the artist-designed heirloom seed packaging (look at the seed catalogue on the site).




Ken Greene is a seed grower, co-founder of the Hudson Valley Seed Library, teaches hands-on seed saving workshops, and gives talks on the history, politics, and future of seeds. For more information and to browse the catalog, visit www.seedlibrary.org. Ken can be found on Twitter as SeedLibrary. A visit to the seed library is highly recommended for its excellent link and articles. Also visit Seedy friends.

Here's an article Ken Greene wrote: Practicing Seedy Politics that was posted on CIVIL EATS.


A brief excerpt from that article follows:

"Saving seeds sustains us. It is a cultural activity, one that connects us to 12,000 years of the most essential human tradition. Saving seeds also connects us to our familiar food plants in new ways, teaching us to appreciate each plant’s full life cycle from seed to seed. Now, more than ever, saving seeds is also a political act—a good garden practice that doubles as agricultural activism."

About Civil Eats:

Civil Eats promotes critical thought about sustainable agriculture and food systems as part of building economically and socially just communities. In our efforts, we support the development of a dialog among local and national leaders about the American food system, and its effects abroad. Civil Eats can be humorous, serious, academic, philosophical, conversational – its style of conversation is as diverse as its 40+ contributors – but it is always thought provoking, innovative, and focused on food politics.

Featured below is an interview by Paula Crossfield from Civil Eats.

The Delicious Way to Take on Climate Change: Anna Lappé Talks

 Diet for a Hot Planet.

For an excellent interview between the author of this book Anna Lappe and Paula Crossfield (CIVIL EATS) at Huffington Post click HERE.

House of Origin looks to the past to step into the future

This is a story of what happens when two design graduates from the Eindhoven Design Academy in the Netherlands join forces to start the food-design studio HOUSE OF ORIGIN in Eindhoven. Marriet Willens teamed with Simone Kroon to produce work for some memorable events in the past couple of years that begs the question  "where can we find real food?"

If you thought designers were all about flash chairs and uber-fashionable lamps think again. Popping up around the globe are bright minds focusing on some of the toughest questions and doing their very best in encouraging numbers to think smart and create smart... and to influence the rest of us to take stock if not buy in to their provocation ... to move forward by taking a leap in imagination if nothing else.

Consider this image here -  

                     formally dressed people at the dinner table 

Aha! but what is it they will be eating?

Go to kleurendiner : a special dinner created by Willens and Kroon. It seems that these designers became vitally concerned at the loss of old varieties of vegetables and food sources and the plethora of industrialised, low grade food options in their place. The more questions they asked the more concerned they became to expose people  to real food sources - so a series of fascinating food events were designed to do this very thing... using art and design elements to get people sitting up and taking notice. You can lecture people all day long about what's good for them and for the environment - but here there is a strong likelihood people will not be leaving these tables in a hurry... even if its mere curiosity that keeps them there.

These painterly items above look more like a ceramic instillation than colour cakes on first glance - see more here at their website.

  

This Food instillation below was shown at the Salone de Mobili in Milan this year and aims to get people to think about what food makes them feel and how it works on them - the instillation is called... Brainfood

Simone Kroon created 'Raapsteeltje', a food bible (above) from local Dutch produce. It is part cookbook/part directory for some of the forgotten ingredients in the Netherlands. Read more from an excellent review at Design NL 

By Jeanne Tan /asdf 16-10-2008

How do you tell the difference between a carrot and a parsnip?

Food isn't thought of so often as something that can become extinct. Animals, plants and ecosystems sadly can go down this path but surely not food which we all need to feed our bodies each day. However in this day and age with the scale of industrial agriculture, big supermarkets and globalisation, our eating habits have somewhat gone astray, our palettes are a probably a shadow of what they once used to be and everyday food has become sterile. Regional delicacies and traditional produce are disappearing gradually, where nowadays most people don't know a parsnip from a carrot and are likely to eat more food grown on the other side of the world than in their own backyard.

While studying at the Design Academy Eindhoven, Dutch designer Simone Kroon became fascinated with the origin of food, and with pure and honest ingredients. She poses the question: Where can we find real food? In her quest, she discovered many different kinds of food on her own doorstep many of which which she had never heard of and which she could not believe could become extinct. 'That's when I decided to tell this story in the form of a book. I wanted everybody to find their own local food again', Kroon says.

The result is the part Dutch cookbook, part culinary directory/guide entitled 'Raapsteeltje' (turnip leaves) which is Kroon's graduation project from the Design Academy Eindhoven, written in collaboration with Sandor Schiferli, a culinary journalist and Slow Food follower. The book takes the foodie on an 'adventure through true Dutch taste' via different types of local ingredients and the region which they originate from in The Netherlands. Background information and explanations are provided about each ingredient and there are two recipes for each, one traditional and one contemporary. Some of the ingredients include Groninger mustard, cockles, spelt bread, Texelse sheep cheese, ham from Valkenburg, Stellendamse prawns and 'forgotten' Dutch vegetables. At the back of the book, a list of the farms and producers is provided as well as open farms and farmers' markets to buy produce throughout the Netherlands. And if you can't physically make it to the farms to buy the produce, a handy list of culinary websites can help point you in the right direction to explore more local Dutch produce online. Hopefully with the renewed interest in local culinary delicacies and traditional food production methods, the gastronomic heritage of The Netherlands will be in safer hands.

below: from magazine LEAD

NB: click on text and images to enlarge for reading

Perhaps you feel skeptical about the designer's work in the sense you feel that minds will not be moved to consider the deeper agendas at the heart of the work. 

The reason I was so keen to post this story is because I think it does take people who think outside the box to nudge us along that bit more. 

We learn well when having fun, are amused or enthralled or fully engaged. We've had organics for decades now and talked of biodiversity loss for longer. Vegetarianism, alternative food supplies and ethnically diverse cuisines  are hardly new - but still most of us presently choose convenience from a couple of huge companies in Australia to get our food supplies... irrespective of costs.  We hand our hard-earned food money to people who cut the growers out at every turn, who want 'roll-backs' in place of quality and sustainability.

My own off preparation practices are more imaginative and nourishing when Im inspired to think and act more creatively and productively - I cut corners these days I never once would have! In our busy-ness and our society of 'too-muchness' (for those of us fortunate to be in that place) we glaze over and make the convenient choice for all kinds of reasons.

We are struggling with the idea of alternatives to industrialised food processes being necessary at an organisational level - Government and non-govt alike. The issue of Food security is now increasingly 

on the political agenda at many tiers of national organisation. School programs are making up for the 

lost years ... slowly, slowly. Home economics classes where instructions to buy packaged brands became  automatic and implied lessons in 'how to shop at the supermarket' became the norm are being slowly questioned by programs around kirtchen gardens - with lessons in the garden, students hands on, discovering the soil, worms, digging, seed saving and what it takes to produce food let alone make something nourishing and delicious - with serious permaculture  and life-cycle instruction.

Bring on the serious and thoughtful designers I say to help us reimagine the possible! If we are just a little more curious as a result and keen to forage harder for nourishing supplies, and with deeper understanding of why it is worth it to bother - then it can only be positive to have their inspiration!

Your thoughts are welcomed on this broad discussion... what do you imagine as you view that dinner table above?
What role can creativity play in all this?

*With thanks to the wonderful Irene at Bloesem blog for this inspired link!

What species is that? Archidendron lucyi

This wonderful species Archidendron lucyi is found in the tropical rainforests of North Queensland as well as Melasia and the Solomon Islands. Also known commonly as scarlet bean it has the most fascinating structure - is about 70 to 120 mm long and 15 to 25 mm wide although the way it curls around disguises its length somewhat. On the following page of this excellent book below by Wendy and William Cooper is a very similar bean called the Salmon bean or Archidendron vaillantii. This is where the advice of staff at the gardens is critical due to the similarity between species - to an untrained eye its difficult to distinguish what is what. I like to double check wherever possible... as Jason Halford from the Seed lab (see post from april 19)  has stated at times plant identification can require quite a bit of cross-referencing for him to be sure. I expect I may have to edit posts over the year due to the limits to my knowledge. Already this has been the case after guided tours where so much is being taken in and notes and memory fail one. It's therefore reassuring to hear from experienced staff that they also can ocassionally make false readings first up.

You can appreciate the challenge in drawing some these forms. The colour is amazing and watching them opening truly spectacular. The seeds are a blue black and in a particular light can look satin-like which adds to the intrigue of this exotic fruit from the Nth Qld rainforest.

This single pod is typical of the way they curl around - taking up the space of the palm of one's hand.

This post was in response to the gardener/photographer Em from the wonderful weblog Garden Fool based in the state of New York. Thanks for your query Em which I will take up further this week at the Gardens with staff there.

When researching on this species I came across a remarkable website that contains a huge archive of images taken under the microscope of inside the wood of a diverse range of trees from around the globe. I have yet to read about this site in detail from North Carolina State University. Here is the image for the wood from this rainforest species above.

Click on this below to enlarge for reading:

This particular emtry comes from the Insidewood Images collection of North Carolina State University. The site was found through google but I am finding the links dont work to this when I try and enter them. You might find a way into  NCSU and then all collections  at:

 http://images.lib.ncsu.edu:8180/luna/servlet/allCollections?pgs=50&res=1

Aristolochia griffithii

As you can see the images from the inside wood collection are stunning and remind me of abstract 
forms not unlike ones I have been drawn to paint from time to time.





Thottea siliquosa




Daphnandra repandula



Gaura sinuata

enduring seeds - more from Gary Nabhan

On the previous post I introduced books that I had found on the shelves of a local Brisbane library. The one that really stole my attention for the fact of it being so scholarly, beautifully written and of critical relevance was Gary Nabhan's  'Where our food comes from'.

Since looking at his website I've found various other publications including the one above and a 5 minute audio "sowing seeds that will take the heat" dealing with an alternative idea to freezing seeds for seed banking by planting seeds in a desert farm in Arizona to develop seeds that will 'take the heat"!

To read Nabhan's website visit here and visit his blog click here.

some publications shown on the website.