Friday, January 31, 2014

Green Belt of the Cities

By Liliana Usvat


A green belt or greenbelt is a policy and land use designation used in land use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas.

Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges which have a linear character and may run through an urban area instead of around it. In essence, a green belt is an invisible line designating a border around a certain area, preventing development of the area and allowing wildlife to return and be established.

Greenbelt and Permaculture
Edible Landscapes ~ Forests and Watersheds

The increase of urban tree canopy in Greenbelt West (USA) will help to reduce stormwater runoff into Indian Creek near Springhill Lake Recreation Center and mitigate the urban heat island effect. The GFF will also provide nutrients for humans and wildlife, and become self-fertilizing and extend the landscape into more trees and shrubs.



The City of Greenbelt (University of Maryland USA), was founded on the concepts of community design and “green” planning, in which every acre is put to its best and most sustainable use. Permaculture and other best land management practices are now being formally established throughout the city, and Forest Gardening is a major focus.


The Greenbelt Food Forest (GFF) brings together Greenbelt neighbors, community organizations, and public agencies to benefit our area. The focus is on working together to improve water quality in our local watershed and throughout the Chesapeake Bay region.

Detroit USA



Detroit was once one of the wealthiest and most famous cities in the world.  The city has fallen on hard times in recent years, but–thanks to the new urban gardening movement that’s sprouting up in the city–people’s eyes are once again turning towards the Motor City.

The population of Detroit has dropped from a high point of 1.9 million 60 years ago to just over 700,000. With so much land left vacant as result, the city has been given an opportunity reinvent itself. “We estimate that there are between 1500 and 2000 gardens in the city of Detroit,”

Urban farms reduce carbon emissions by cutting down on the number of miles food must travel to make it to a grocery store and, therefore, reducing fuel consumption in the shipping process. Many of the farms in Detroit use organic practices or incorporate the principles of permaculture, a type of sustainable design that is based on mimicking natural processes.

Songdo, South Korea Aims to be World’s Greenest City


Five years ago, Songdo was just an area of undeveloped mudflats. Now, it is a pioneer in the development of “smart cities.” “We envision Songdo to grow into a global Asian city like Hong Kong or Singapore,” said a representative of the Incheon Free Economic Zone, where Songdo is located.

The buildings are planned around a 100-acre central park, and green space accounts for over 40% of the area of the city. The city is so walkable, that cars are entirely unnecessary. Most commutes simply involve walking across the park from an apartment building to a nearby office space.
Of the many futuristic elements of Songdo,the city has a pneumatic trash shoot that funnels garbage to a central waste processing center.

Once there, food waste is put to use for agricultural purposes while much of the rest of the trash is recycled. Water is also cleverly managed by a central utility that recycles 40% of the wastewater.

History

The Old Testament outlines a proposal for a green belt around the Levite towns in the Land of Israel Moses Maimonides expounded that the greenbelt plan from the Old Testament referred to all towns in ancient Israel.

In the 7th century, Muhammad established a green belt around Medina. He did this by prohibiting any further removal of trees in a 12-mile long strip around the city.

In 1580 Elizabeth I of England banned new building in a 3-mile wide belt around the City of London in an attempt to stop the spread of plague. However, it was possible to buy dispensations which reduced the effectiveness of the proclamation.

In modern times, green belt policy was pioneered in the United Kingdom in the 1930s after pressure from the CPRE and various other organizations.

There are fourteen green belt areas, in the UK covering 16,716 km², or 13% of England, and 164 km² of Scotland; for a detailed discussion of these, see Green belt (UK). Other notable examples are the Ottawa Greenbelt and Golden Horseshoe Greenbeltin Ontario, Canada. Ottawa's 20,350 hectare greenbelt is managed by the National Capital Commission (NCC).

The more general term in the U.S. is green space or greenspace, which may be a very small area such as a park.

The concept of "green belt" has evolved in recent years to encompass not only "Greenspace" but also "Greenstructure", taking into account all urban greenspaces, an important aspect of sustainable development in the 21st century. The European Commission's COST Action C11 (COST - European Cooperation in Science and Technology) is undertaking "Case studies in Greenstructure Planning" involving 15 European countries.

An act of the Swedish parliament from 1994 has declared a series of parks in Stockholm and the adjacent municipality of Solna to its north a "national city park" called Ekoparken (the "Eco park"; it stretches from the parks surrounding the royal palaces of Ulriksdal and Haga in Solna, through the Brunnsviken area, down to the former royal hunting grounds of North and South Djurgården).

Blog 131-365

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Tree that Grow on Rocks and Tourism at Monserat Monastery

By Liliana Usvat

Questions: it is possible to repopulate mountains that have lost the soil that sustain plants life trees as result of massive forest destruction?


Trees on the Rocks

  • Almost everywhere in the world there is ground water.
  • Between the cracks there’s always higher humidity; so even if it is only a little, the roots do find some water.
  • Consequently, the root system develops a symbiosis with fungi (mycorrhiza) and bacteria.  This symbiosis results in a humus system that is able to stay humid.

  • Plants are also able, together with the humidity, bacteria and fungi, to extract the required minerals (nutrient fertilizer) from rocks in the root zone.
  • The whole of roots, bacteria, fungi, humus and humidity, create a system in which the tree starts growing.  In subsequent years, these trees will form and maintain their own optimal environment.
Planting on Rocks 

  • Take a tree as small as possible (little evaporation).
  • First let the roots develop.
  • Do not disturb the capillary soil structure (and water).  Capillary action is the ability of soil and rocks to transport water from the top to the groundwater below when it rains, and from the groundwater up to the top when there is a dry period.
  • When we want to plant on rocks, we look for cracks.
Water Rocks and Trees 

  • If you drill a well in rocks, you will find ground water - many times only 5 to 10 meters below the surface.
  • This ground water goes up, via the cracks, due to the capillary principles of nature.
  • This is why many mountains ( the Rocky Mountains, the Alps) are covered with trees. There’s already enough water. 

  • Let’s look at how it works in moderate climates: the top of the crack is dry, but in these climates, trees produce their seeds in autumn, exactly when rain starts.
  • These seeds fall on the rocks which get humid (rain and/or snow) from October to March.
  • The seeds above a crack push their first small root – the radicle - inside the crack and quickly search for water.  Within 1 day, one can already see new roots.

  • The radicle is capable of developing a pressure of over 50 bar (725 psi).
  • The roots develop in winter, and the leaves don’t; the plant is absorbing water to build up strength in the seed, for the leaf to develop in April when it gets warmer.
  • In April, the temperature rises and the seeds germinate.
  • Because the roots are already at the capillary water, the leaf develops; and once it gets dry in summer, the plant has water to evaporate and keep itself cool.
Mountains Forests Tourism and Religion

 
 Let's take for example Monserat Mountain approximately 50 km to the north-west of Barcelona, Spain. 


Montserrat is a mountain that astonishes you the moment you see it, for it is so different from all others. Seen from the distance, looming up alone out of the landscape, it is bound to attract your attention. Depending on where you see it from, its silhouette is reminiscent of the toothed blade of a saw. And here you have the clue to its name, for the Catalan word Montserrat means "sawn mountain".


The Montserrat mountain is sedimentary, and its rocks are made up of a conglomeration of pebbles held in limestone.

Montserrat abounds with the vegetation that is typical of the Mediterranean woods. Evergreen oak much of the mountain, along with dense undergrowth and up to 1.250 varieties of plants. Nevertheless, there are many other types of trees which make splashes of colour all over the mountain: the white pine, the maple, the lime, the hazelnut tree, the holly, the box, the oak and the yew.

Monserrat Monastery


The monastery is 48 kilometres (30 mi) west of Barcelona, and can be reached by road, train or cable car. The abbey's train station, operated by FGC, is the terminus of a rack railway connecting with Monistrol, and two funicular railways, one connecting with Santa Cova (a shrine and chapel lower down the mountain) and the other connecting with the upper slopes of the mountain. At 1,236 metres (4,055 ft) above the valley floor, Montserrat is the highest point of the Catalan lowlands, and stands central to the most populated part of Catalonia.



The sanctuary of the Virgin Mary of Montserrat, has its historical origins in the hermitage of Santa Maria, which Count Guifré el Pelós gave to the Monastery of Ripoll in the year 888.


In 1025, Oliba, Abbot of Ripoll and Bishop of Vic, founded a new monastery at the hermitage of Santa Maria de Montserrat. The little monastery soon began to receive pilgrims and visitors who contributed to the spread of stories of miracles and wonders performed by the Virgin.


In 1409 the monastery of Montserrat became an independent abbey. From 1493 to 1835, a period in which the monastery underwent great reforms, growing and increasing in splendour, Montserrat was part of the Valladolid Congregation.


During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Monastery of Montserrat became a cultural centre of the first order. The Montserrat Music School produced important composers.



The French War (1808-1811) and disentailment in 1835 brought destruction and abandonment, but in 1844 began the restoration of monastic life and in 1881 there were the Festivities for the Coronation of the Image of Our Lady, at which She was proclaimed Patron Saint of Catalonia by Pope Leo XIII. The Spanish Civil War (1936 - 1939) led once again to the abandonment of the monastery. However, the Government of Catalonia managed to save Montserrat from being sacked and destroyed.


Today, Montserrat has been modernised to continue attending to the needs to pilgrims one thousand years after it was originally founded.



The Basilica houses a museum with works of art by many prominent painters and sculptors including works by El Greco, Dalí, Picasso and more. The Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat, a publishing house, one of the oldest presses in the world still running, with its first book published in 1499.


One of the men who accompanied Columbus in the New World was a former monk from Montserrat and he started her veneration in the Americas. 

Paranormal


The monastery started as the Hermitage of Santa Maria, the Mother of Christ, in 1025.  Very soon there were stories of miracles worked by St. Mary the Virgin of Montserrat, and pilgrimages started to the site.

For people of other religions, it is said that the mountain is a source of great energy, one of the best in Europe, and people flock to it for the experience. 

Barcelona is the Creative Component of the Planetary Heart Chakra. Montserrat's  creative heart force consists of two parts - the mountain and the monastery. It is part of a triangular configuration:


When one goes to the basilica, one sees a beautifully designed atrium floor, which was designed by Father Benet Martinez. There is a medallion in the center and there is an inscription around it with a message that only those baptized and born in the water like fish can understand the meaning of the fish of the Eucharist. People of many faiths and children like to balance themselves on one foot on this atrium floor, as it is a custom from way back.


Legend of the image of the Virgin of Montserrat.


 The term “Black Madonna” refers to the Catholic tradition of venerating non-white images of the mother of Christ, Mary. Unlike many old statues which are black because of the kind of wood or the effects of the original paint, the dark color of Our Lady of Montserrat is attributed to the innumerable candles and lamps used while praying to her.



The Virgin is called “La Moreneta” or “the little dark one.” She is supposed to be a worker of miracles. Today, people pay tribute to her, touch her crystal sphere, and make a wish. 



Legend has it that Saint Peter hid an image of the Virgin carved by Saint Luke in one of Montserrat’s caves. In another cave, Parsifal found the Holy Grail.


This legend is documented in a text from 1239.


Legend has it that in 880, a Saturday evening in Montserrat Mountain, some shepherds saw a bright light coming down from heaven and it illuminated an area of the mountain. At the same time they could hear a sweet melody. The following Saturday, the children returned with their parents. And the vision was repeated. The next four Saturdays, the Olesa priest accompanied them and they could see how the phenomenon was repeated again.

In that time, the Bishop of Vic was visiting Manresa and he was alerted about it. So, he wanted to see the place where the phenomenon occurred. There was a cave, where they found the image of Saint Mary. The Bishop suggested moving it to Manresa, but right out of the cave, the image became so heavy that it could not be moved. Bishop interpreted this as that the will of the Virgin was to stay in that place and he ordered to build a chapel under the invocation of St. Mary.

Another legend says that St. Luke sculpted the image of the Virgin of Montserrat with instruments of St. Joseph workshop and as a model used the Virgin Mary. Later, St. Peter moved the image to Barcelona where it was worshipped until 717, when the Muslims conquered the city.


So, Christians hid it in a cave of the Montserrat Mountain. Once reconquered these territories, it was miraculously found.

Legend about the origin of the Montserrat Mountain.


Legend has it that in a faraway time, the mountain, as it can be seen now, was not on the surface but beneath it. Those were the foundations of a mountain on which a city had been built, as large and rich as sinful.

God wanted to punish the city for its sins and he made swung the mountain on itself, leaving the city forever buried and to the air the huge “roots” that they anchored the mountain in the depths of the earth. Then the angels were carving these “roots” to give the current look, hence its name: Mont-serrat / Mountain-serrated.










 The Holy Grail 

The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring into literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers. Conspiracy theories abound on the nature of the grail and the final location. This list looks at ten of the possible resting places of this mysterious object. One of them is  Santa Maria de Montserrat
Catalonia, Spain.

This legend ties in with the German Grail legend of Munsalvaesche, which is another name for Corbenic, the castle where the Fisher King lived, and where Sir Galahad was born.
“Munsalvaesche” is German for the Latin phrase “mons salvationis,” “the mount of salvation.” “Montserrat,” however, is Catalan for “jagged mountain.”

The monastery and abbey are nestled in the mountain, and the Grail is said to be hidden somewhere under the church grounds, or elsewhere on the mountain. If so, it may well never be found, as the terrain is extraordinarily rugged and the mountain is gigantic. The peak, at 4,055 feet, is called  Sant Jeroni, “Saint Jerome,” who features prominently in several Grail legends. He may have traveled to the area in the late 300s AD and hidden the Grail there.

Blog 130-365

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Pine Tree Medicinal Plant

By Liliana Usvat

 

Pines are evergreen, coniferous resinous trees (or rarely shrubs) growing 3–80 m tall, with the majority of species reaching 15–45 m tall. The smallest are Siberian dwarf pine and Potosi pinyon, and the tallest is a 268.35-foot (81.79-meter) tall ponderosa pine located in southern Oregon's Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.



How Old?

The bristlecone pines are the oldest single living organisms known (though some plants form clonal colonies which may be many times older). The oldest bristlecone pines are single plants that have been alive for a little more than 5,000 years. These very old trees are of great importance in dendrochronology or tree-ring dating.

A specimen of Pinus longaeva located in the White Mountains of California was measured by Tom Harlan to be 5,062 years old in 2012.

Soil

Pines grow well in acid soils, some also on calcareous soils; most require good soil drainage, preferring sandy soils, but a few (e.g. Lodgepole pine) will tolerate poorly drained wet soils. A few are able to sprout after forest fires (e.g. Canary Island pine).


Food

Edible seeds of the Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis)
Some species have large seeds, called pine nuts, that are harvested and sold for cooking and baking. They are an important ingredient of Pesto alla genovese.

Natural Medicine


A tea made by steeping young, green pine needles in boiling water (known as "tallstrunt" in Sweden) is high in vitamins A and C.


If cough , you can try the infusion of pine nuts because it protects your airways acting as a conditioner and helps you to relax after exercise . Pine tree and you are helpful when problems arise in the lungs , whether we are talking about colds rebel or about pneumonia .  


In cold weather, when rheumatism begins to stiffen joints, helps baths decoction of tree branches or buds essential oil .  

Therapeutic purposes , from fir and pine are used buds , bark , resin , and fir needles. 


 Homemade remedies buds If times irritating dry cough , syrup helps pine or fir .
Cook a pound of pine nuts or pine and 2 liters of water. Stir and allow to boil for a quarter of an hour . When cool , add 2 pounds of sugar and cook until boils .  Store the content and  in airtight bottles .  


Syrup and bathrooms with fir -all frequent colds and bronchitis in children occur because of a weakened immune system . Baths are recommended daily for 2-3 weeks , with an infusion of pine nuts . In a water bath put 5 liters of infusion prepared from two hands pine nuts .  


The bathroom has a firming and toning overall immune system. For dry cough and fever, children should  take daily 8-10 teaspoons of syrup with honey tree .  

The remedy is used to combat fatigue intellectual facing more adults . Take a few teaspoons of syrup tree in the morning on an empty stomach . It helps regulate blood sugar and nerve activity .

Decoction of the tree pine branches of young fir  to 3 liters of water, relieves rheumatic pains faced especially the elderly.


 In case of sciatica, joint inflammation and joint pain and muscle use pine tree decoction baths for 15-20 minutes at least 3 times a week.


Pine  Curative factor: buds
 
Diseases for which recommended:  


  • in the treatment of the larynx
  • trachea and bronchi, 
  •  the treatment pleuritelor and  
  • pneumonia, diseases of the larynx and trachea;  
  • cataracts cystitis
  • urethritis,  
  • pyelitis,  
  • chronic rheumatism, 
  • arthritis generalized spondylosis,
  •  osteoporosis,  
  • senile
  • delayed consolidation broken bones.
Preparation  Tincture

 
Over 20 gr of fresh pine needles, chopped, put 200 ml white spirit 70 degrees and let soak for 2 weeks. Strain the steeping pressing vegetable matter, filter it and pour it in dark bottles.
infusion
All the buds can be prepared a soothing infusion in case of bronchitis and urinary stones. 

Pour 250 ml of boiling water over one teaspoon of buds crumble well. Allow to infuse for 15 minutes and strain.

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