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Showing 1 - 20 of 144 items
By Jessica J. Lee. 2024
INSTANT TORONTO STAR BESTSELLERThe prize-winning and bestselling author of Two Trees Make a Forest turns to the lives of plants…
entangled in our human world to explore belonging, displacement, identity, and the truths of our shared futureA seed slips beyond a garden wall. A tree is planted on a precarious border. A shrub is stolen from its culture and its land. What happens when these plants leave their original homes and put down roots elsewhere?The themes in these fourteen essays become invigorating and intimate in Lee’s hands, centering on the lives of plants like seaweed, tangelos, and soy, and their entanglement with our human worlds. Lee explores the rich backstory of cherry trees in Berlin; a tea plant that grows in the Himalayan foothills just southwest of China; the world of algae and wakame, and the journeys they’ve made to reach us.Each of the plants considered in this collection are somehow perceived as being "out of place"—weeds, samples collected through imperial science, crops introduced and transformed by our hand. Lee looks at these plant species in their own context, even when we find them outside of it.Dispersals draws a gorgeous, sprawling map of the diaspora of flora. Combining memoir, history, and scientific research in poetic prose, Jessica J. Lee meditates on the question of how both plants and people come to belong, why both cross borders, and how our futures are more entwined than we might imagine.By Estelle Levetin, Karen McMahon. 2020
This introductory, one quarter/one-semester text takes a multidisciplinary approach to studying the relationship between plants and people. The authors strive…
to stimulate interest in plant science and encourage students to further their studies in botany. Also, by exposing students to society's historical connection to plants, Levetin and McMahon hope to instill a greater appreciation for the botanical world. Plants and Society covers basic principles of botany with strong emphasis on the economic aspects and social implications of plants and fungi.The most comprehensive field guide available to the Pacific Northwest--a portable, essential companion for visitors and residents alike--from the go-to…
reference source for over 18 million nature lovers. This compact volume contains: An easy-to-use field guide for identifying 1,000 of the region's wildflowers, trees, mushrooms, mosses, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, butterflies, mammals, and much more; A complete overview of the Pacific Northwest's natural history, covering geology, wildlife habitats, ecology, fossils, rocks and minerals, clouds and weather patterns and night sky; An extensive sampling of the area's best parks, preserves, beaches, forests, islands, and wildlife sanctuaries, with detailed descriptions and visitor information for 50 sites and notes on dozens of others. The guide is packed with visual information -- the 1,500 full-color images include more than 1,300 photographs, 14 maps, and 16 night-sky charts, as well as 150 drawings explaining everything from geological processes to the basic features of different plants and animals. For everyone who lives or spends time in Washington or Oregon, there can be no finer guide to the area's natural surroundings than the National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Pacific Northwest.By U.S. Department of the Army. 2024
Now outdoorsman and survivalists can own this comprehensive and handy guide to edible plants authored by the US Army. Whether…
you are a stranded soldier, a wilderness hiker, or you just want to know which plants growing in your backyard are edible, this is an invaluable resource. Nothing is more important for the outdoorsman than being prepared to survive in the wild, and the ability to recognize edible plants is an indispensable way to do so. When survival is the chief objective, often plants are one&’s best (and only) source of nutrition and medicine. The key is being familiar with their botanical structure, where to find them, and which will provide the most sustenance. Equally as important is knowing which are potentially poisonous or fatal if consumed. This is a full-color reference to plants both common and rare, from purslane to the prickly pear. Inside are details on how to locate, identify, and prepare edible wild plants, as well as information on their specific nutritional benefits and other handy uses. This guide also includes a section on which plants to avoid and how to test for edibility. A no-nonsense survival aid, this book is an essential guide for serious adventurers and the armchair botanist alike. Anyone who has spent serious time outdoors knows that in survival situations, wild plants are often the only sustenance available. The proper identification of these plants can mean the difference between survival and death.By Christopher Cokinos. 1985
An immersive exploration of the nightly presence that has captured our imagination for the entirety of human history."When the Moon…
rises between buildings or over trees, it&’s not just a beautiful light: It&’s an archive of human longing, fear and adventure. The Moon is more than a rock. It&’s a story.&” In the luminously told Still s Bright, the story of the Moon traverses time and space, rendering a range of human experiences—from the beliefs of ancient cultures to the science of Galileo&’s telescopic discoveries, from the obsessions of colorful 19th century &“selenographers&” to the astronauts of Apollo and, now, Artemis. Still As Bright also traces Cokinos's own lunar pilgrimage. With his backyard telescope, he explores the surface of the Moon, while rooted in places both domestic and wild, and this award-winning poet and writer rediscovers feelings of solace, love and wonder in the midst of loss and change.Simultaneously steeped in rigorous cultural and scientific history, as well as memoir, Still As Bright is a thoughtful, deeply moving, evergreen natural history. It takes readers on a lyrical journey that spans the human understanding of our closest celestial neighbor, whose multi-faceted appeal has worked on witches, scientists, poets, engineers and even billionaires.Still As Bright is a must-read for anyone who has ever looked up into the night sky in awe and wonder. Readers will never look at the Moon the same way again.By Françoise Weeks. 2024
Bring home the charm of the wild woods with creative botanical arrangements that are so much more than just bouquets…
of flowers.Containers lined with bark to replace ordinary glass vases. A bed of moss to cushion a vibrant spring arrangement. Ever-changing wreaths to showcase acorns, branches, lichen, twining vines, and delicate ferns throughout the year. A cloche holding an arrangement of dried mushrooms that might have come out of a fairytale. In this gorgeous celebration of the woodlands, renowned floral designer Françoise Weeks offers all the ways, from simple to complex, that you can bring the wildness and wonder of the forest to your indoor arrangements. Each chapter of Wonder of the Woodlands features the materials Françoise uses most—barks and logs; acorns and seeds; ferns, branches, moss, and lichen—and showcases how she builds her unique, beautiful arrangements, which last far longer than a vase of cut flowers. Inside are also Françoise&’s insights on seeking out the most unique natural materials for arrangements, and how to responsibly forage or source them in a shop. And you&’ll find her tips on how to reuse materials so you can enjoy lots of different arrangements without increasing your environmental impact. Bursting with images of nature and suggestions for weaving that magic into your interiors, Wonder of the Woodlands is a celebration of arrangements that are inspired by a walk through the trees. With stunning photography of wild and wonderful wreaths, table arrangements, wall decor, and more, you can re-create the peaceful majesty of spending time in the forest in your own home.By Stefanos Geroulanos. 2024
“[A]n incisive and captivating reassessment of prehistory . . . In lucid prose, Geroulanos unspools an enthralling and detailed history…
of the development of modern natural science. It’s a must-read.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “An astute, powerfully rendered history of humanity.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review An eminent historian tells the story of how we came to obsess over the origins of humanity—and how, for three centuries, ideas of prehistory have been used to justify devastating violence against others. Books about the origins of humanity dominate bestseller lists, while national newspapers present breathless accounts of new archaeological findings and speculate about what those findings tell us about our earliest ancestors. We are obsessed with prehistory—and, in this respect, our current era is no different from any other in the last three hundred years. In this coruscating work, acclaimed historian Stefanos Geroulanos demonstrates how claims about the earliest humans not only shaped Western intellectual culture, but gave rise to our modern world. The very idea that there was a human past before recorded history only emerged with the Enlightenment, when European thinkers began to reject faith-based notions of humanity and history in favor of supposedly more empirical ideas about the world. From the “state of nature” and Romantic notions of virtuous German barbarians to theories about Neanderthals, killer apes, and a matriarchal paradise where women ruled, Geroulanos captures the sheer variety and strangeness of the ideas that animated many of the major thinkers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Charles Darwin, and Karl Marx. Yet as Geroulanos shows, such ideas became, for the most part, the ideological foundations of repressive regimes and globe-spanning empires. Deeming other peoples “savages” allowed for guilt-free violence against them; notions of “killer apes” who were our evolutionary predecessors made war seem natural. The emergence of modern science only accelerated the West’s imperialism. The Nazi obsession with race was rooted in archaeological claims about prehistoric IndoGermans; the idea that colonialized peoples could be “bombed back to the Stone Age” was made possible by the technology of flight and the anthropological idea that civilization advanced in stages. As Geroulanos argues, accounts of prehistory tell us more about the moment when they are proposed than about the deep past—and if we hope to start improving our future, we would be better off setting aside the search for how it all started. A necessary, timely, indelible account of how the quest for understanding the origins of humanity became the handmaiden of war and empire, The Invention of Prehistory will forever change how we think about the deep past.Anyone, anywhere can grow fresh, healthy produce, foster biodiversity, and reconnect with nature by using the permaculture approach—no matter your…
space or experience. Permaculture—rooted in centuries-old techniques for growing food with care for the Earth—is the key to producing a bigger harvest than you ever thought possible on your balcony, patio, driveway, deck, and anywhere in between! With sustainability as her guiding principle, Valéry Tsimba enthusiastically instructs home gardeners of all skill levels and backgrounds in her proven container gardening methods, from start to finish. Use the principles of permaculture to increase your garden’s productivity, biodiversity, and beauty by starting small and going slow. Get set up: Pick the best planters and tools for your space and learn how to adapt to natural conditions like wind and sun exposure. Increase your harvest naturally with companion planting, small-space composting, chemical-free fertilizers, and staggered harvests. Learn which plants are best suited to container gardens, from leafy greens and pollinator-friendly flowers to strawberries and even melons! Containers make gardening more accessible for everyone. Whether you live in an apartment, have a disability or chronic illness, have never gardened before, or are an experienced gardener new to permaculture, Container Gardening—The Permaculture Way brings sustainable gardening within reach.By Lydia Millet. 2024
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2024 by the Washington Post, Oprah Daily, and Literary Hub This lucent anti-memoir from…
celebrated novelist Lydia Millet explores the pain and joy of being a parent, child, and human at a moment when the richness of the planet’s life is deeply threatened. Across more than a dozen acclaimed works of fiction, readers have become intimate with Lydia Millet’s distinctive voice and sly wit. We Loved It All, her first nonfiction book, combines the precision of fact with the power of narrative to evoke our enmeshment with the more-than-human world. Emerging from Millet’s quarter century of wildlife and climate advocacy, We Loved it All marries scenes from her life with moments of nearness to “the others”— the animals and plants with whom we share the earth. Accounts of fears and failures, jobs and friendships, childhood and motherhood are interspersed with exquisite accounts of nonhumans and arresting meditations on the power of story to shape the future. Seeking to understand why we immerse ourselves in the domestic and immediate, turning away from more sweeping views, she examines how grand cultural myths can deny our longing for the company of nature and deprive us of its charisma and inspiration. In a thrilling distillation of experience and emotion, she evinces the familiar sense of feeling both well-meaning and powerless—a creature subject to forces that are baffling in their immensity. The fear and grief of extinction and climate change, Millet suggests, are forms of love that might be turned to resistance. We Loved It All shimmers with curiosity and laconic humor yet addresses with reverence the most urgent crises of our day. An incantatory, bewitching devotional to the vast and precious bestiary of the earth, it asks that we extend to other living beings the protection they deserve—the simple grace of continued existence.By Arthur V. Evans. 2024
A charming, richly illustrated, pocket-size exploration of the world&’s beetlesPacked with surprising facts, this delightful and gorgeously designed book will…
beguile any nature lover. Expertly written and beautifully illustrated throughout with color photographs and original color artwork, The Little Book of Beetles is an accessible and enjoyable mini reference about the world&’s beetles, with examples drawn from across the globe. It fits an astonishing amount of information in a small package, covering a wide range of topics—from anatomy, diversity, and reproduction to habitat and conservation. It also includes curious facts and a section on beetles in myths, folklore, and modern culture from around the world. The result is an irresistible guide to the amazing lives of beetles.A beautifully designed pocket-size book with a foil-stamped cloth coverFeatures some 140 color illustrations and photosMakes a perfect giftBy Herman Shugart, Peter White. 2024
A charming, richly illustrated, pocket-size exploration of the world&’s treesPacked with surprising facts, this delightful and gorgeously designed book will…
beguile any nature lover. Expertly written and beautifully illustrated throughout with color photographs and original color artwork, The Little Book of Trees is an accessible and enjoyable mini reference about the world&’s trees, with examples drawn from across the globe. It fits an astonishing amount of information in a small package, covering a wide range of topics—from tree anatomy, diversity, and architecture to habitat and conservation. It also includes curious facts and a section on trees in myths, folklore, and modern culture from around the world. The result is an irresistible guide to the amazing lives of trees.A beautifully designed pocket-size book with a foil-stamped cloth coverFeatures some 140 color illustrations and photosMakes a perfect giftBy Simon Pollard. 2024
A charming, richly illustrated, pocket-size exploration of the world&’s spidersPacked with surprising facts, this delightful and gorgeously designed book will…
beguile any nature lover. Expertly written and beautifully illustrated throughout with color photographs and original color artwork, The Little Book of Spiders is an accessible and enjoyable mini reference about the world&’s spiders, with examples drawn from across the globe. It fits an astonishing amount of information in a small package, covering a wide range of topics—from anatomy, diversity, and reproduction to habitat and conservation. It also includes curious facts and a section on spiders in myths, folklore, and modern culture from around the world. The result is an irresistible guide to the amazing lives of spiders.A beautifully designed pocket-size book with a foil-stamped cloth coverFeatures some 140 color illustrations and photosMakes a perfect giftBy Andrei Sourakov, Alexandra A. Sourakov. 2024
A charming, richly illustrated, pocket-size exploration of the world&’s butterfliesPacked with surprising facts, this delightful and gorgeously designed book will…
beguile any nature lover. Expertly written and beautifully illustrated throughout with color photographs and original color artwork, The Little Book of Butterflies is an accessible and enjoyable mini reference about the world&’s butterflies, with examples drawn from across the globe. It fits an astonishing amount of information in a small package, covering a wide range of topics—from anatomy, diversity, and reproduction to habitat and conservation. It also includes curious facts and a section on butterflies in myths, folklore, and modern culture from around the world. The result is an irresistible guide to the amazing lives of butterflies.A beautifully designed pocket-size book with a foil-stamped cloth coverFeatures some 140 color illustrations and photosMakes a perfect giftBy Anca Ioviță. 2019
Veroudering is een puzzel die opgelost kan worden. Het proces van veroudering wordt van oudsher bestudeerd in enkele biologische modelorganismen…
zoals fruitvliegjes, wormen en muizen. Wat al deze soorten gemeen hebben is hun korte levensduur. Voor een laboratoriumstudie op een budget is dit ideaal. Het is een goede strategie voor de korte termijn. Wie heeft er nou tijd om soorten te bestuderen die decennia leven? Maar verschillen in levensduur tussen soorten zijn vele malen groter dan de variatie in levensduur die in het lab kan worden aangetoond. Daarom heb ik talloze informatiebronnen bestudeerd in een poging veel uiterst specialistisch onderzoek samen te brengen in één goed leesbaar boek. Ik wilde door de bomen het bos weer kunnen zien. Ik wilde in enkele duidelijke en logische stappen openbaren hoe soorten anders oud worden. Dit boek is mijn poging om dat te doen. Welke mechanismen staan aan de basis van deze ongelijkheid in veroudering tussen soorten? Hoe worden soorten anders oud? Ik heb er opzettelijk voor gekozen het antwoord op deze vraag in eenvoudige taal te formuleren. Onderzoek naar veroudering is te belangrijk om te verhullen met formeel wetenschappelijk jargon. Dit boek zou niet hebben bestaan zonder de uitvinding van groene thee, bibliotheken en het internet. De hoeveelheid data die ik heb doorgespit om de essentiële patronen te achterhalen is immens. Toch is dit boek niet uitputtend. Het is geen droog academisch handboek. Ik heb geprobeerd een onderwerp levendig te maken dat ontzettend belangrijk is voor het verlengen van het menselijke leven. Jij alleen kunt bepalen of ik hierin geslaagd ben. ********** Inhoudsopgave ********** Door de bomen het bos terugvinden Betrouwbaar is goed De wiskunde van de veroudering De snelheid van senescentie Case: veroudering bij vissen Hoe schat je chronologische leeftijd Rustig aan TemBy Christopher Rodgers, Rachel Hammersley, Alessandro Zambelli, Emma Cheatle, John Wedgwood Clarke, Sarah Collins, Olivia Dee, Siobhan O’Neill. 2024
This book presents a novel examination of urban commons which provides a robust base for education initiatives and future public…
policy guidance on the protection and use of urban commons as invaluable urban green spaces that offer a diverse cultural and ecological resource for future communities.This book's central argument is that only through a deep understanding of the past and a rigorous engagement with present users can we devise new futures or imaginaries of culture, well-being and diversity for the urban commons. It argues that understanding the genesis of, and interactions between, the different pressures on urban green space has important policy implications for the delivery of nature conservation, recreational access and other land use priorities. The stakeholders in today’s urban commons, whether land users, policy makers or the public, are the inheritors of a complex cultural legacy and must negotiate diverse and sometimes conflicting objectives in their pursuit of a potentially unifying goal: a secure future for our urban commons. This book offers a unique and strongly interdisciplinary study of urban commons, one that brings together original historical investigation, contemporary legal scholarship, extensive oral history research with user groups and research examining the imagined futures for the urban common in modern society. It explores the complex social and political history of the urban common, as well as its legal and cultural status today, using four diverse case studies from within England as exemplars of the distinctively urban common. These are Town Moor in Newcastle, Mousehold Heath in Norwich, Clifton and Durdham Downs in Bristol and Valley Gardens in Brighton. This book concludes by looking forward and considering new tools and methods of negotiation, inclusivity and creativity to inform the future of these case studies, and of urban commons more widely.This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of the commons, green spaces, urban planning, environmental and urban geography, environmental studies and natural resource management.The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.By Environmental History. 2024
This is volume 29 issue 2 of Environmental History. Environmental History (EH) is the world’s leading scholarly journal in environmental…
history and the journal of record in the field. Scholarship published in EH explores the changing relationships between humans and the environment over time. This interdisciplinary journal brings together insights from geography, anthropology, the natural sciences, and many other disciplines to inform historical scholarship.By Elizabeth Kolbert. 2024
Climate change resists narrative – and yet we must see clearly what&’s happening in our world. Millions of lives are…
at stake, and upwards of a million species. We must act. 'To be a well-informed citizen of Planet Earth, you need to read Elizabeth Kolbert.' ROLLING STONE In H is for Hope, Elizabeth Kolbert investigates the history, and future, of climate change – from A, for Svante Arrhenius, who created the world&’s first climate model in 1894, to Z, for Net Zero. Along the way she looks at Greta Thunberg&’s &‘blah blah blah&’ speech, flies an all-electric plane, experiments with the effects of extreme temperatures on the human body, and struggles with the deep uncertainty of the future. Complemented by Wesley Allsbrook&’s gorgeous, colour illustrations, H Is for Hope offers an inspiring, worrying and, above all, hopeful vision for how we can still save our planet.By Richard Headstrom. 2024
Includes over 200 illustrations by the author.Here are fifty adventures that any of us could have. The only equipment needed…
is a hand lens and an inquiring mind. At home, in the woods, fields, ponds and along the roadside are familiar things that under the glass show us exciting and sometimes beautiful details that we could not see without this help.Have you ever looked at the antennae of an ant under a lens, or seen the bristles on an earthworm? Did you know that a certain moss has a capsule that looks like a pepper box? A piece of granite seen through a glass shows us that it is made up of various crystals. These are the kinds of things that an adventurer with a hand lens can discover. Not only has the author described these experiments in lively and clear text but he has illustrated them with over two hundred line drawings.By David Coggins. 2024
The author of the instant fishing classic The Optimist wades into deeper waters and shares new wisdom, humor, and experience…
in seven extraordinary fly-fishing expeditions that mark one year in his journey through the middle part of life when worldly demands increase even as fishing continues to beckon—and must be pursued.In David Coggins&’s previous book, The Optimist, he tackles the techniques of fly fishing and meditates on its virtues, recounting his triumphs and frustrations. Now, in The Believer, he deftly mixes travel, local cultures, further fishing challenges (some knee-buckling in their disappointment), and details his own experience as life and love crowd his time to fish. Self-consciously—and self-deprecatingly—Coggins embarks on seven far-flung fishing voyages, away from screens and social media, not answering his phone, reveling in humanity&’s undying yearning for a quest, for the rituals and rites of passage that mark transition. For David, these journeys not only showcase his skill as an angler—including to Norway, Scotland, Spain, Cuba, and Argentina, as well as road trips to Wyoming, Tennessee, and the Catskills—they also signal the end of his fly-fishing youth. But that doesn&’t mean that David will sell all his rods and hang up his hat; rather, that his relationship with his fly-fishing obsession will evolve. And he&’s okay with that—mostly, especially if he can catch an elusive salmon or a ferociously strong tarpon or the mysterious and almost invisible bonefish. The Believer is a humble, humorous call for the journey that is part of the destination, where the search for greater self-awareness leads to patience, observation, and endurance. And, since this is fly fishing, after all—there&’s always the possibility of abject failure and leaping, glorious reward. Wry, entertaining, thoughtful, and relatable, The Believer will hook both anglers and non-anglers alike.By Gracielinda Poulson. 2024
An inspiration of roses A one-of-a-kind guide to growing, cutting, and arranging the most beautiful roses in the world, Garden…
Roses belongs in the hands of every flower lover. Created by Gracielinda Poulson, the preeminent rose grower in the country and proprietor of Grace Rose Farm, each page of this glorious book steeps the reader in the iconic mystique of the rose: Its breathtaking beauty, in hundreds of photographs. Its secrets, in the incredible breadth of information on the varieties best suited for cutting and how to raise them to thrive in the garden or a container, in almost any climate zone. And its unique presence in our lives, in all the ways to style and display roses, from a simple vaseful to more elaborate tablescapes and floral arches, truly elevating the flower that more than any other has captured our imaginations and delighted our eyes.