The Ancient Yew Forest of Kingley Vale

The Ancient Yew Forest of Kingley Vale  is tucked between Stoke Down and Bow Hill, adjacent the village of West Stoke just 3 miles north west of Chichester, in West Sussex in southern England, is Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve. It was established in 1952, and it was one of the first National Nature Reserves to be opened in Britain. The nature reserve occupied an area of 160 hectares, including one of the finest yew forests in Western Europe. Even though, few trees are as much as 1,000 years old, their trunks contorted by age and countless storms into unbelievably strange shapes. Hence, huge side branches swirl into the soil like snakes, where they made secondary roots. Therefore, the young trees have arisen and the ground under these trees is so dense that no vegetation of any kind, not even grass, grows.  Therefore it is hard to say how old the yews are at Kingley Vale and is one of the few major groves of yews remaining today. Moreover, according to local folks the yews at Kingley Vale were planted as a memorial for a battle fought between the Vikings and the Anglo Saxons in the year 859, but some sources claim the trees are two thousand years old.

Yews naturally have lifespans between 500 to 600 years, but some specimens can live longer. The yew age is extremely difficult to determine because as the trees grows, their trunks becomes hollow which makes ring counting and carbon dating difficult as there is hardly any old wood left. Furthermore, yews have this rare aptitude to arrest their growth for centuries on end if conditions are harsh, until the environment becomes favorable again which revives the tree, and it starts growing again. Nevertheless, during these years, the tree ends adding tree rings and girth to its trunk. So, defining the age of yews is, henceforth, mostly guesswork. Also, there’re claims as high as 5,000 to 9,500 years, but these values are unrealistic. However, the existence of the Kingley Vale yews is extraordinary because most ancient yew trees across Europe were felled after the 14th century when English bowmen started preferring staves to be made from straight-grained yew wood, which is reputedly the solidest coniferous timber in the world. Thus, this wood was imported by royal decree with barrels of wine from Portugal and Spain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Incredible Pictures of Glowing Flowers

Southern California based 28 years old Photographed “Craig Burrows” photographs plants and flowers using a type a photography called UVIVF or with ultraviolet-Induced visible fluorescence. If you haven’t heard of it, that’s not a wonder, as it is a fairly unidentified process which brings out the glowing fluoresce in plant matter through the use of high-intensity UV lights.

Usually UV is removed through a camera’s lens, though Craig Burrows snaps with a 365nm LED light which is passed through a filter to transmit UV and infrared light. Hence, the amazing plant life absorbs this UV light and releases visible light at different wavelengths, which lets him to capture colors far more bright than those seen in a typical viewing condition.

Though Burrows has limited his photography to singular flowers and small arrangements, his next step is aimed at illuminating whole scenes, like gardens, glades, and greenhouses, with 100-watt floodlights. You can see more of the glowing plant portraits on his Flickr and portfolio site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old Cement Factory Turn Into Breathtaking Home

In 1973 Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill stumbled upon a cement factory in Catalonia, Spain, and a huge compound of silos and buildings that was well covered approximately two and a half miles of underground tunnels. He stumbled upon a dilapidated cement factory, but instantly saw a world of possibilities. Then he decided to turns old cement factory into his home and the interior will take your breath away. La fábrica was born, and almost 45 years later, the factory structure has been totally transformed into a remarkable and exclusive home. The cement factory is located just outside of Barcelona, once a WWI-era pollution machine that had closed down, and came with numerous repairs to be done when Ricardo Bofill and his team purchased it. Original construction to transform the sprawling series of buildings took a little over a year and a half. Once the dust cleared from the jack hammers and dynamite, Catalan craftsmen worked to add gardens and add in, model workshop, archive rooms, residence, and studio, a workspace for Bofill’s firm spread over four floors in the factory’s silos and connected by a spiral staircase.

Therefore, after years of limited deconstruction, the strong-minded architect proceeded to lace the exterior of the property with flora, and furnish the interior as a modern living and work space. Moreover, La fábrica is work in progress continuously, to which Bofill likens his own life, as his visions for the forthcoming continue to change shape. The factory chimneys that once used for to fill the air with smoke now overflow with lush greenery. This is a true example of the lovely transformations that result from imaginative thinking. Bofill has created a perfectly programmed existence, a ritualized lifestyle that goes against his previously nomadic early life.

The Animals Bridges Across The World

The animal bridges, across the world is incredible purpose-built crossings that help animals bypass roads safely, as crossing roads safely isn't a skill many animals possess. Fortunately, support is at hand in the form of innovative wildlife crossings, situated at numerous spots across the world and in all shapes and sizes. Therefore, in Canada's Banff National Park in Alberta, 24 green overpasses have been built above busy highways to support animals including moose, bears and wolves cross safely.

Moreover in New Zealand, an underground passage in Oamaru exists particularly for penguins to get from the local harbour to their nests without come across the traffic above. And in Australia Christmas Island, bridges exist to benefit millions of crabs make it to their laying grounds every year without being flattened by cars along the way. However, some of the world's most inventive wildlife crossings, which support creatures as small as doormice to beasts as large as elephants. These wildlife crossings, from tunnels to rope ladders, aim to decrease the number of animals hit by vehicles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ikea's Flat-Pack GARDEN for Townies

The Scandinavian design company “Ikea” is taking indoor gardening up a new level, The “Growroom” is made of plywood, DIY spherical garden which is designed for city living where space is limited. The “Growroom” is a 9ft high piece of living furniture for growing plants, vegetables, Bonsai and herbs; it is made of just 17 sheets of plywood. The “Growroom” was formed by Space10 a “future living lab” supported by Ikea. The first “Growroom” was built in 2016, and exhibited at the Chart Art Fair in Copenhagen.

It has been designed to be within your means to build and can be assembled in your comfort zone of your own home. It is thought, that this is the future vision where healthy food is grown more locally. The major challenge is that traditional farming takes up a huge space and in the modern era, and space is a limited resource in our urban environments. Therefore, the “Growroom” has a minor spatial footprint as it grows vertically. Unluckily you can't buy pre-cut plywood, but it is an open source design and the dimensions are available to download from Ikea website. Hence, you have to cut the plywood with a CNC machine, a laser cutter or a table saw and put it together using a screwdriver and hammer. The overlapping slices mean that plants can get light on each level and making it an impression shape for growing greens.  At 2.8 x 2.5 metres, it is sufficient for folks to sit inside and pause for a moment of reflection.

Furthermore, you can say either it as “part of the floating cityscape”. The shelves are 7cm deep which lets space for the soil and the designers suggested treating the plywood beforehand to protect it. It is designed to support our everyday sense of well-being in the cities by generating a small oasis or pause architecture in our high paced societal scenery, and allows folks to connect with nature as we smell and taste the abundance of herbs and plants. Moreover, local food represents a thoughtful alternative to the global food model. Hence, it diminishes food miles, as huge pressure on the environment, and educates our children of where food actually comes from. The “Growroom” is an open source design, which helps people to copy the design without asking and architects have to motivated people to build their own locally.  In this way, you could produce food of the highest quality that tastes better, is much more nutritional, fresh, organic and healthy, and that local food production represents a serious alternative to the global food model.