Houston and Nature
I interviewed green architect Shawn McFarland about permaculture in Houston. My expectation was that we’d have a chat about gardening technique, but I was mistaken. Her take: Permaculture is so much more than gardening. Here’s a sneak peak:
In the video, I ask Shawn McFarland what permaculture is.
Here is her answer:
Do you have a small plot of earth next to your Houston home? Do you want it to attract birds? Then you’ve come to the right place. The video below – which I made for the Native Plant Society of Texas – features over 40 Houston plants for birds. These plants are native to the Houston area, and they are great for birds because they either provide great nesting or fruit or seed, or because they attract lots of insects that birds like to eat.
Watch two Houston plant experts – Mary Spolyar and Mary Ann Beauchemin – take you into Bellaire’s Russ Pitman Park. There they introduce you to flowers, grasses, shrubs, and trees that you might consider for your garden.
The last eight minutes feature an extra-special treat: A visit to the home of Betsy Black, who has designed an oasis that attracts birds and humans alike. If you like, you can watch “40 Houston Plants for Birds” on YouTube.
I interviewed Jackie Young Medcalf, who got her start as an environmental justice advocate at the San Jacinto Waste Pits, and below is a sneak peak at the conversation.
To find out how she has made it all work over the past ten years, and how she applies her experience from the Waste Pits to other toxic sites in Houston, head over to the podcast episode.
In the video, I ask Jackie Young Medcalf about her work on the cancer cluster in Houston’s Greater Fifth Ward. Since the population of the area is largely black while Young Medcalf is white, I wondered if she had difficulties establishing a relationship of trust.
Here is her answer:
Last night Hurricane Laura made landfall. Against expectations Houston and its Ship Channel, depicted in this map, remained unscathed.
People east of us were less lucky. The residents of coastal Louisiana got hit by 150-miles-per-hour winds plus violent storm surge. And at least one chemical plant – in Westlake, Louisiana – caught fire. It is releasing chlorine as I write this.
Had the hurricane landed further west, in Galveston Bay, we might now be experiencing Westlake times fifty. To see why, look at this map of chemical plants along the Houston Ship Channel, which I created with information from Google Maps: