Greenroofs.com Project of the Week: 7/4/11
Universal Studios Singapore
Singapore
376,737 sf. Greenroof

Year: 2010
Owner: Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd
Location: Singapore
Building Type: Commercial
Type: Extensive
System: Single Source Provider
Size: 376,737 sq.ft. 
Slope: 1%
Access: Inaccessible, Private

Project Description & Details

Universal Studios Singapore, an integral part of Resorts World Sentosa, is a casino-resort off the south coast of Singapore occupying almost 124 acres.  Amid the make-believe world of movies, roller-coaster rides, theme dining and shopping, down-to-earth issues in the Park were not ignored.  Sustainable “green” features including solar panels and nearly 35,000 M2 of green roofs were extensively integrated into the theme park’s concept and design, showing its firm commitment to energy conservation and responsible environmental stewardship.  Resorts World Sentosa received the Singapore Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark District GoldPlus Award.

Elmich Green Roof was used as the wide structural spans of the immense roofs and fast track construction of the Park demanded that the system selected must be light and easy to install.  Elmich Green Roof comprises a VersiDrain® 25P water retention and drainage layer, a geotextile filter layer and EnviroMix® GR, a primarily inorganic soil-less lightweight planting media and drought-tolerant plant species that require little maintenance. For the metal roofs, VersiCell® structural drainage/insulation cells were used to fill the space between the metal ridges to create a level flat surface first, on which a separation sheet was installed. For the concrete roofs, waterproofing is provided by a fully adhered layer of root-resistant Evalon PVC/EVA terpolymer membrane. An irrigation system is incorporated for use during the initial plant establishment and to provide regular irrigation and fertilization on the roofs, especially essential in prolonged periods of drought.

Designers/Manufacturers of Record

Developer: Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd
Architect: DP Architects Pte Ltd
Landscape Consultant: ICN Design International Pte Ltd
Landscape Contract Owner: Nature Landscapes Pte Ltd
Green Roof Specialist: Elmich Pte Ltd
Designer & Manufacturer of VersiCell®, sub-soil drainage modules: Elmich Pte Ltd
Supplier of VersiDrain® 25P, water retention & drainage trays: Elmich Pte Ltd
Supplier of EnviroMix® GR, soil-less lightweight planting media: Elmich Pte Ltd

Additional Info

The reported $4.32 billion Resorts World Sentosa offers something for everyone, from business travelers to families in search of the ultimate holiday, and certainly to sustainable design fans looking for a greener vacation!

This unique travel destination is home to six hotels, spa villas, the world’s largest oceanarium – Marine Life Park – Asia’s largest column-free ballroom (which seats 7,300 guests), and the first and only Southeast Asian Universal Studios theme park with its multiple lush yet equatorial hardy greenroofs.

In early 2010 Resorts World Sentosa had a soft-opening, with four hotels and the Universal Studios Singapore, among other features.

The region’s only world-class movie theme park just celebrated its official grand opening on May 28, 2011, and its red carpet event was attended by famous Hollywood and Asian celebrities including Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Vicki Zhao and Paula Abdul.

Unseen by the celebrities and most visitors to the park, except for roller-coaster riders, a real green carpet is rolled out everyday on the rooftops of the park.   Amid the glitz and glamour, approximately 377,000 sf of lush vegetated roofs provide beyond just a touch of green to the resort – they offer a cooler environment both inside and outside the buildings.

“The resort integrates three key elements – water, greenery and built form with careful detailing in the articulation of the facades, the use of a palette of natural materials and colours, extensive planting and the consistent treatment of sun shading devices such as overhanging pitched roofs, covered walkways, awnings, trellises and latticework to fuse the resort with the tropical climate context. ” ~ Roof & Façade Asia

The Elmich Green Roof system provides a barrier against tropical temperatures.  The top photo below shows the installation of the VersiCell® structural drainage/insulation cells which will fill the spaces between the roof’s metal ridges to create the flat planting level, and the bottom shows theVersiDrain® 25P water retention and drainage layer:

Aside from eco-friendly design, other corporate sustainability efforts have included participating in Earth Hour 2011 – according to the Resorts World Sentosa blog, at the stroke of 8.30 pm on March 26, “the resort dipped into limited electricity mode – with landscape, canopy and non-essential lightings as well as water fountains in areas all across the resort turned off.”

Just a couple of other sustainable initiatives include:

* Lowering energy consumption from air-conditioning across the resort through the use of extensive canopies to reduce ambient temperature and energy-friendly eco-coolers:
* Trees that were preserved during construction of the resort (122 of them!) have either been replanted or recycled into benches at the Festive Walk.

Find out more on Resorts World’s corporate social responsibility efforts here.  I wish we could have seen some of these spectacular Universal Studios Singapore greenroofs when we visited the lovely island nation of Singapore last November!  Singapore has some incredible greenroofs, for sure, and it’s hard to beat the sheer quantity found here within the Universal Studios Singapore:

And finally, for the kid in all of us, watch this spectacular action packed video on YouTube introducing Resorts World Sentosa by clicking below:

Did we miss something?  We’d love to hear from you!  Click here to see more information about this project in The International Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database.  See how you can submit yours here.

Love the Earth, Plant a Roof!

~ Linda V.

Our daughter, Anjuli, has been writing, filming and editing our “This Week in Review” video since August, 2010 and each week you can expect to learn What’s New here on Greenroofs.com.  Here’s the transcript for March 25, 2011 - click on the photo below to see the video, or here.  Enjoy!

-  Hello, I’m Anjuli Velazquez and welcome to This Week in Review for March 25th, 2011 on GreenroofsTV.

- Project of the Week

-  Our project of the week is the Chicago Botanic Garden, Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center built in 2010 2009 in Chicago, Illinois.  When the Botanic Garden opened its new Center, its goal was to “Save the Plants, Save the Planet.”  This 38,000 square-foot building serves as a state-of-the-art research facility and laboratory dedicated to plant conservation and public education.  Designed by Booth Hansen Architects, it was awarded LEED Gold rating.  In addition to serving as a research area, the roof also functions as a living example of sustainable technologies.  One of the low-slung building’s main “classrooms” is its North and SouthGarden Roof, which features an overlook with interactive panels explaining the benefits of rooftop gardens and greenroofs.  The Chicago Botanic Garden placed a white, energy efficient roof system over the atrium part of the building, anda scrim-reinforced waterproofing membrane under the garden roof, both from Sika Sarnafil.  And the waterproofing system includes Electric Field Vector Mapping® from International Leak Detection, or ILD.  The roof has both built in place greenroofs as well as an area planted with the modular GreenGrid system.

-  To learn more about Chicago Botanic Garden Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center greenroof, click on our project of the week photo on our homepage.

-  “What’s New”

-  Advertiser Press Release: LiveRoof Introduces RoofStone: the Integrated Pave Solution for the LiveRoof Hybrid Green Roof.  Engineered to Integrate with the Dimensions of LiveRoof Modules, RoofStone Offers a Complementary Accessory for Rooftop Walkways and Patio.

-  Read our newest Guest Feature: “What’s Greener – White Roof or Green Roofs?  Find Out in Washington, D.C. at the Living Architecture Symposium” by Steven Peck and Jeffrey Bruce.  They will be focusing on the continuation to build the government green roof and wall market with presentations focused on bottom line benefits, new research, and a trade show featuring new products and services.  Don’t miss the Living Architecture Symposium on April 11th & 12th hosted by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and see the beautiful National Cherry Blossom Festival there in Washington, D.C., too.  Visit wdc.greenroofs.org for more information and to register today.

-  Joblinks Update:  LiveRoof is seeking an Architectural Product Rep based in Chicago and a Sales Specialist based in Indiana.  Go to greenroofs.com/joblinks.htm to apply to these jobs and check out our other Green Roof Jobs postings.

-  Check out Linda’s latest Sky Gardens Blog posts:  “Earth Hour is Upon Us!”  At 8:30 PM tomorrow, lights will switch off around the globe for Earth Hour and people will commit to actions that go beyond the hour; GPW: Chicago Botanic Garden Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center; and “Call for Papers: WGIN’s International Green Technology Symposium 2011.” Organizing Secretary Professor Suresh Billore has issued an open invitation to attend and participate in the World Green Infrastructure Network International Green Technology Symposium 2011, which will be held in Indore, India on October 31st through November 2nd later this year. If you’re interested in presenting a paper, you can submit your extended abstract by May 28th to info@greenindia2011.org.

-  And did you know that now you can read my This Week in Review transcript?  You can, on the Sky Gardens Blog every Saturday.

-  “Upcoming Events”

-  Tomorrow, March 26th: the entire world will be coming together to celebrate Earth Hour.  At 8:30 pm, local time wherever you are, Earth Hour will celebrate a worldwide commitment to ongoing change for the betterment of the one thing that unites us all – the planet.  Your journey can start here by signing up and adding your voice to the hundreds of millions across the globe who have already spoken with their actions.  Check out the inspiring Earth Hour 2011 video to see what the planet’s voice looks like.  What will you celebrate for Earth Hour 2011?

-  March 28th: is the Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology Research Seminar in Singapore.

-  March 30th – 31st: is GLOBALCON – Energy, Power & Facility Management Strategies & Technologies in Philadelphia, PA.

-  Also on March 30th – 31st: is the BuildingsNY/GreenBuildingsNY 2011 in New York, NY.

-  March 30th – April 1st: is Design-Build for Water/Wastewater Conference in Kansas City, MO.

-  And on April 1st: is the Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition: One Day Training Workshop in Grand River, ON Canada.

-  “In the News”

-  Doug Mayer & David Horn of the North Carolina News Network Blog talk about “Bill would provide incentive to install green roofs.”  A bill introduced in the House of Representatives would give a 75% tax credit for the cost of installing a green roof.  Rep. Susan Fisher said the State Capitol is already leading by example with its own green roof and also says, “We have a garden up there.  We have a system of rain collecting instruments that help us to conserve water.”

-  Jessica Cheam of the Straits Time announces “Boost to green the Singapore skyline.”  She says, “Singapore’s tall buildings are going green.”  The National Parks Board will subsidize up to half the cost of sprucing up these structures with plants for rooftop gardens or for green walls.  Ms. Grace Fu, Senior Minister of State for National Development said there was a “strong support from developers to integrate greenery with their skyrise developments.”  In 2009, the Government set a target for Singapore to have an extra 50 hectares of skyrise greenery by 2030.  It launched the Green Roof Incentive Scheme to encourage developing green roofs on existing buildings and has helped 14 organizations since.

-  Susan DeFreitas of Earth Techling, reports on “Post Katrina Lower 9th Ward Homes Go Green.”  After the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the historic Lower 9th Ward saw more than 4,000 homes destroyed.  Two years later, you’d expect re-construction in the area, but that was not the case when world famous actor andhumanitarian Brad Pitt visited the area.  Frustrated by what he saw, he met with local community groups and families to see what he could do–and shortly after, established the Make It Right Foundation, a non-profit charged with a mission to build 150 green, affordable, high-quality homes in the neighborhood closest to the levee breach: the Lower 9th Ward.  In March of 2008, Make It Right accomplished its first project and since then has completed over 70 new homes designed by 21 local, national and international architects, who donated their designs for single family homes and duplexes.  And because all of the homes built by Make It Right have been certified as LEED Platinum for their energy efficiency and sustainability, this section of New Orleans is now “the largest, greenest neighborhood of single family homes in America,” according to the U.S. Green Building Council.  Green features of Make It Right homes include solar photovoltaic systems; low-VOC paints, carpets, adhesives and finishes; and recycled materials wherever possible.  You’ll also find native plants, rain gardens and even green roofs.  Information on Make It Right’s homes-in-progress is available online, visit this article for the link.

-  To learn more about these stories and new ones posted daily, go to our In the News or newslinks section of our website.

-  Have something you think we should know about and post on our website?  You can send us your green articles, videos and images to editor@greenroofs.com.

-  Stay up-to-date with what’s going on at Greenroofs.com by subscribing to our greenroofsTV channel on YouTube, following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook and being a member of our network on LinkedIn.

-  This has been This Week in Review for March 25th, 2011 on GreenroofsTV.  I’m Anjuli Velazquez and I’ll see you next week!

*This week’s episode is sponsored by The Greenroof Directory, brought to you by Greenroofs.com.*

Did we miss something?  We’d love to hear from you!

~ Linda V.

Tomorrow at 8:30 PM, local time – anywhere and everywhere –  on Saturday, March 26th, 2011, lights will switch off around the globe for Earth Hour and people will commit to actions for our Earth that go beyond the hour…

“Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia when 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour to take a stand against climate change.  Only a year later and Earth Hour had become a global sustainability movement with more than 50 million people across 35 countries/territories participating.” ~ Earth Hour

Earth Hour is organized by the World Wildlife Federation (WWF).  With almost 5 million supporters and a global network in over 100 countries/territories, it’s one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the Earth’s natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature.

On Saturday March 27, 2010 Earth Hour had its largest support ever.  A record 128 countries and territories joined the global display of climate action, and iconic structures and landmarks from Asia to Europe and Africa to the Americas switched their lights off.   People across the world from all walks of life came together in celebration and contemplation of the one thing we all have in common – our planet.

This year, the Hungarian International Airport in Budapest will switch off an entire airstrip for Earth Hour at 8.30pm on Saturday night in a symbolic display of its commitment to go beyond the hour.  What are you doing?

For 2011 the organization is asking for us to go ”beyond the hour” and take action to make our world a better place by sharing your act with the world.  Greenroofs.com has been doing this for four years now – it’s really just a show of solidarity to reinforce our commitment to sustainability at the global level, but it surely has a deeper meaning – but do we really get it?

For me, Earth Hour is a collective beam of hope (albeit darkened!) yet akin to the unfurling leaves and buds that signify the eternal springtime of life.  It’s kind of the harbringer of Earth Month, which is April (OK, I don’t know if it’s really called Earth Month, but it should be).

Because Earth Hour is observed on a Saturday every year, it’s pretty easy to “go dark” for all of one hour – in the past, Aramis and I have entertained ourselves by leaving the house, turning off all the lights and going to see a movie – hey, they’re going to have the electricity on anyway, but we don’t have to, right?; doing various activities via candle light – grilling and sipping wine outside on the deck; playing card games; and more recently actually discussing the larger picture of the urgency to switch to sustainable means of energy for every day electricity needs and beyond (OK, with wine in hand).  And we blacken out parts of the Homepage, too.  We all know we need to take some action to curb climate change and become less dependant on Earth-depleting energy sources – this is a yearly reminder.

“Climate change is the greatest human induced crisis facing our world today.  It is totally indiscriminate of race, culture, class, nationality or religious belief.  It affects every living organism on the planet – including all of us.” ~ Archbishop Emeritus Tutu

 It’s not all doom and gloom, either - Earth Hour has also created some fun activities to raise awareness at all age levels and so the the whole family can get involved, like creating a latern for Earth Hour and a kids’ game where you turn out as many lights as possible as quickly as you can.

The point is to remember to become more aware of our actions and switch off your lights for Earth Hour!  Rally your friends and family and make it a night to remember.  Make one single action representing the start of your personal journey of commitment to a more sustainable Earth.  So how else can you support it?  Click below to find out:

Earth Hour is asking us to consider what else we can do to make a difference, after the lights go back on.  Whatever you do, this is just one thing we can do to continue the dialogue.  Learn more by watching the awesome video below:

Happy Earth Hour 2011! ~ Linda and Aramis V.

Our daughter, Anjuli Velazquez, has been writing, filming and editing our “This Week in Review” video since August, 2010 and each week you can expect to learn What’s New here on Greenroofs.com.   She’s become quite popular, and we thought it would be a great idea to start posting her transcript, too, to make things easier to research.  Click on the photo below to see the video, or here.  Enjoy!

-  Hello, I’m Anjuli Velazquez and welcome to This Week in Review for March 18th, 2011 on GreenroofsTV.

- Project of the Week

-  Our Project of the Week is The Department Store, Stephen Marr Hair Salon Greenwall built in 2009 in Takapuna, New Zealand.  In 2010 The Department Store was named top retail concept store in the world by Monocle magazine.  One of the centerpieces of the store is the lush interior greenwall on the top floor.  The double-sided greenwall, designed and installed by Natural Habitats Landscapes, is New Zealand’s first interior greenwall.  The wall is 10 meters long by 2 meters high and boasts well over 1,000 individual plants.  It divides the upper level, promoting unique spaces that can be used for presentations like fashion shows.  The building has had skylights installed to ensure the wall is given as much natural light as possible, and so the use of supplementary man-made lighting is kept at a minimum.  This greenwall is an original and breathtaking piece of artwork, but also offers some incredible environmental benefits, like: increased thermal insulation to buildings, noise dampening, and creating cleaner and better quality air, which means healthier buildings and people.  From a commercial perspective, the greenwall increases the building’s value and has also been found to raise employee productivity.

-  To learn more about The Department Store, Stephen Marr Hair Salon Greenwall, click on our project of the week photo on our homepage.

-  “What’s New”

-  Check out Linda’s latest Sky Gardens Blog posts about the New Zealand greenwall, and the “CitiesAlive 2011 Call for Paper and Poster Abstracts.”  Green Roofs for Healthy Cities is pleased to be working with the City of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society as co-hosts for CitiesAlive, the 9th Annual Green Roof & Wall Conference to be held later this year in Philadelphia from November 29th to December 3rd.  GRHC says they’re looking for papers that display novel ideas on taking a green approach to storm water management through the use of green infrastructure, indoor greening and residential green infrastructure.  All applications are due by April 15th, and for more information you can visit this blog post and/or e-mail Luna Ghose at lghose@greenroofs.org.

-  Do you think green walls can’t survive in the cold; they don’t look good in the winter, they are only viable in the south or indoors… well, think again!  Contributing Editor George Irwin writes about Winter Interest with Green Walls in his latest column and shows some pretty interesting photos of various looks.

-  Advertiser Press Release: Irrigation Water Technologies America, Inc. recently signed an exclusive agreement with Australia-based Irrigation Water Technologies to manufacture and distribute the revolutionary water conserving KISSS product in North America.

-  Green Roof Jobs:  Joy Kuebler Landscape Architect is seeking resumes for a Landscape Architect/Designer with 5-6 years experience for their busy Buffalo, NY office, so make sure to check this job and many others in JobLinks if you’re looking to work in our industry!

-  “Upcoming Events”

-  March 18th – 27th: is the WMG Water Harvesting Certification in Phoenix, Arizona.

-  March 22nd: is the 2011 Green Roof Technology Workshop in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

-  March 23rd – 27th: is the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show in San Mateo, California.

-  March 24th – 27th: is a Green Roofs for Healthy Cities – Green Roof Boot Camp in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

-  March 25th – 26th: is the GreenScaped Buildings Spring Open House in San Diego, California.

-  March 25th – 27th: is the Better Living Show – Home, Garden & Lifestyle in Portland, Oregon.

-  And don’t forget that on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at 8:30 PM (local time, wherever you are), lights will switch off around the globe for Earth Hour and people will commit to actions that go beyond the hour.  With Earth Hour almost upon us, the organization’s thoughts, as well as ours, are with the people of Japan during this incredibly challenging and sad time for their country.

-  “In the News”

-  Kathleen E. Carey of the Delaware County Daily Times reports on “Green LEEDs to platinum: SAP America earns distinction for utilizing environmental sources for newest building.”  The Newtown Square campus of SAP America Inc. in Delaware County is holding one of the highest environmentally sustainable distinctions in the world with its new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Platinum level construction.  Just some of the features that have led to its LEED Platinum certification are: its entry to the building – the passageway features a floor comprised of recycled materials, including seashells and pieces of crushed bottles and glass; glass panels surrounding the building with the goal of directing 90 percent of daylight to reach 75 percent of the employees; underneath the floors are tubes that transfer the natural temperature of the Earth which is generated from the 10 geothermal wells in the rear of the property to the inside of the building; and a rooftop garden that spans more than 1 acre which features lavender, rosemary, sedum and butterfly bushes.

-  Katie Kosier of Care2.com talks about “Removing Barriers to Green Building.”  With the help of Philadelphia based Re:Vision Architecture, Pennsylvania’s largest electric and natural gas utility company, PECO, installed a 45,000-square-foot vegetated green roof on its headquarters in central Philadelphia.  It’s the largest in urban Pennsylvania and the roof absorbs more than 1.5 million gallons of rainwater runoff annually, it reduces air temperature in the summer and  it also provides a beautiful habitat for wildlife.  Principle Scott Kelly of RVA, says “For us, it’s about removing barriers to green building.”  You can find more information about the PECO Greenroof in our International Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database by typing in Project ID number 851.

-  To learn more about these stories and new ones posted daily, go to our In the News or newslinks section of our website.

-  Have something you think we should know about and post on our website?  You can send us your green articles, videos and images to editor@greenroofs.com.

-  Stay up-to-date with what’s going on at greenroofs.com by subscribing to our greenroofsTV channel on YouTube, following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook and being a member of our network on LinkedIn.

-  By the way, did you know that now you can watch YouTube videos just like this one on DirecTV?  That’s fun!

-  Still haven’t picked up one of our 2011 Greenroofs & Walls of the World 12 Month Wall Calendar yet?  Go to greenroofs.com/calendar.htm and order some today!  Thanks to George Irwin for this great photo!

-  This has been This Week in Review for March 18th, 2011 on GreenroofsTV.  I’m Anjuli Velazquez and I’ll see you next week!

*This week’s episode is sponsored by The Greenroof Directory, brought to you by Greenroofs.com.*

Did we miss something?  We’d love to hear from you!

~ Linda V.

Where will you be at Earth Hour 2010?  When is that, you say?  Easy:  Always the last Saturday in March or this Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 8:30 p.m. local, wherever.

What is that?  Earth Hour is a movement sponsored by the international conservation organization WWF to bring attention to energy waste and global warming.  Since its inception three years ago, Earth Hour’s non-partisan approach has captured the world’s imagination and became a global phenomenon.  Nearly one billion people turned out for Earth Hour 2009 – involving 4,100 cities in 87 countries on seven continents. 

Aramis and I here at Greenroofs.com have been observing Earth Hour since 2008 when we had a lovely dinner and played cards by candlelight.  We also blacked out a portion of our Home Page to commemorate the event.  We’ve now gotten our grown kids and their friends to join in!

So why don’t you sign up, spread the word, and switch off your lights, too!  You’ll be in good company:  So far 30 U.S. States, Washington D.C. and 150 other municipalities are officially supporting Earth Hour.  In fact, 3,100 cities in 121 countries on all seven continents are confirmed to turn off their lights on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 8:30 p.m. local time.

Is Earth Hour the answer to our rampant energy consumption and dependency on oil?  No, of course not.  The website states:

“On Earth Hour hundreds of millions of people around the world will come together to call for action on climate change by doing something quite simple—turning off their lights for one hour. The movement symbolizes that by working together, each of us can make a positive impact in this fight, protecting our future and that of future generations.”

At best it serves as a call to action and commitment to cleaner air, evolving into a more enlightened society, finding alternative ways to power our planet.  At least it can serve us to becoming more aware of our actions, one hour at a time.

Happy Earth Hour 2010! ~ Linda and Aramis V.

Spring is the Birthday of the World

“‘Tis like the birthday of the world,
When earth was born in bloom;
The light is made of many dyes,
The air is all perfume:
There’s crimson buds, and white and blue,
The very rainbow showers
Have turned to blossoms where they fell,
And sown the earth with flowers.”
- Thomas Hood

Spring is way sprung and we’re in full gear, knee deep in the season of birth and renewal, of laying the foundation for the future, of nurturing and sowing our seeds within the season of perpetual hope and new beginnings! 

I guess it’s no wonder, then, that events honoring the sacred feminine – the ying opposing the yang in the universe within our spiritual and physical worlds - are observed during this time.   Holidays such as Easter and Earth Day occur during Spring in the Northern Hemisphere which runs from March into June.  According to Wikipedia, ying yang describes “seemingly disjunct or opposing forces…interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, giving rise to each other in turn.”   The decidedly earthy, motherly Yin and masculine Yang are complementary opposites within a greater whole, each dependent of each other – sounds like the basis for a really good relationship, right?

Yes, and wouldn’t you say that the greatest environmental maternal relationship of all has to be with Mother Earth?   I believe it’s no coincidence that late March was chosen to host Earth Hour, at the beginning of Spring.   Earth Hour 2008 was held internationally on March 29 from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. local time, marking the first anniversary of the event.  This year it was celebrated on March 28 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time and as a company and as a family, this was our second year participating in Earth Hour.

Although we observe Earth Day on  April 22, Earth Day was initially celebrated on March 21, 1970, the equinox day.  Earth Day, now Earth Week, marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement.   Wikipedia says, “The equinoctial Earth Day is celebrated on the March equinox (around March 20) to mark the precise moment of astronomical mid-spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and of astronomical mid-autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.”  Margaret Mead added her support for the equinox Earth Day, and in 1978 declared:

“EARTH DAY is the first holy day which transcends all national borders, yet preserves all geographical integrities, spans mountains and oceans and time belts, and yet brings people all over the world into one resonating accord, is devoted to the preservation of the harmony in nature and yet draws upon the triumphs of technology, the measurement of time, and instantaneous communication through space.

EARTH DAY draws on astronomical phenomena in a new way – which is also the most ancient way – using the vernal Equinox, the time when the Sun crosses the equator making night and day of equal length in all parts of the Earth. To this point in the annual calendar, EARTH DAY attaches no local or divisive set of symbols, no statement of the truth or superiority of one way of life over another. But the selection of the March Equinox makes planetary observance of a shared event possible, and a flag which shows the Earth as seen from space appropriate.”

Landscape Architecture Month is also set in Spring, in April.  I chose the field of landscape architecture for many reasons, but most definitely for the blending of creativity and ecology, stewardship of the land, and my simple passion for plants – I’ve always had a green thumb (my nurturing side also gave way to my three children) and love to draw.  Still dominated by men, the last 20-25 years or so has seen an incredible rise in female practitioners.  When I was at the SED at UGA from 1996-2000, enrollment was extremely male-dominated – easily 4, if not 5, to 1.

As a planet, as a culture on a mega-grand scale, we are bound together as minuscule parts of a mutual whole…One of my favorite quotes is sometimes labeled as an Ancient Indian Proverb, or attributed to Antoine de St. Exupery, Ralph Waldo Emerson, David Bower or Andre Gide, but whoever wrote it obviously felt respect for our natural environment, promoting spiritual sustainability, too:

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”

In any case, I hope you’re enjoying Spring by having celebrated Earth Hour, Earth Day and Week, Landscape Architecture Month, and especially Mother’s Day, a smaller scale but equally important celebration to honor the feminine.  

Happy Mother’s Day, from our Pahl/Velazquez family of four generations:
Top: My sister Alicia Pahl-Arritola; Bottom, left to right: my Mom Ellie Pahl; me; my daughter Anjuli and my grandson, Nicholas Joseph.

Let’s continue to honor our mothers, ourselves, and Mother Earth, every day.

~ Linda V.