WHAT'S HAPPENING AT GREEN ACRES

Environmental Graffiti: Creative Green Street Art

(images via graffiti research lab, time, and treehugger) The development of the graffiti and green movements were anything but parallel. Sure, both began as outside-the-mainstream subcultures, but the aerosol paint and urban landscapes of the graffiti world were inherently opposite to environmental stewardship. But new technology and trends in street art mean that spray paint is not the only tool in the hoodie-wearing artist’s palette. The result: street art has gone green with its practices and even its philosophy. Reverse Graffiti (image via ecomonkey) British street artist Moose first came up with the idea of reverse graffiti in his hometown of Leeds. He has since taken his talents to the US. Reverse graffiti simply involves “cleaning” words and visuals into dirty walls. Authorities aren’t quite sure what to make of this, as it is not vandalism in the traditional sense. Laser Tagging (image via Graffiti Research Lab) Laser graffiti is a rather new invention. Utilizing lasers, high powered projectors, and Macintosh computers, artists have been able to reach previously unreachable heights when it comes to tagging. This impermanent form of graffiti is making headway in Hong Kong, where famed tagger MC Yan has been been laser-painting some of the cities most recognizable structures. Living Graffiti (image via inhabitat) Moss is the new spray paint. Artists in London, New York and Eastern Europe are using moss, which clings to surfaces and eventually spreads, to make statements about the environment and also to create unique, attention-grabbing, naturally evolving public art. Reverse Graffiti Goes Corporate (image via October Online) Not only are eco-conscious street artists practicing reverse graffiti, some of the world’s biggest corporations are using this new approach to graphic art to put their logo on the street (literally). Companies like Dirty Street Advertisng are specialists at this form of guerrilla marketing. If nothing else, this offers reverse-graffiti artists a chance to fund their night jobs. Masking Tape Art (image via Melbourne Metblog) This rather ingenious idea has been around for a while. Rather than using it as a kind of makeshift stencil, some artists have been using tape to actually make art. The result is interesting, non-toxic, and easy to clean up. At the Bus Stop (images via coolinsights and hanser ciecierski) German design house Hanser Ciecierski shows that bus-stop art is alive and well with this award winning poster that advertises a conference about the environment in Poland. This bus stop ad in Singapore used recycled cans are part of the visual. Unfortunately, the cans on some posters were crushed or taken, a rarity in super-strict Singapore. Moss Graffiti (image via inhabitat) Artist Edina Tokodi used moss to create living graffiti in a trendy Brooklyn neighborhood. Despite the fact that it is an easily removable form of graffiti, a surprising amount of her work remains in place, untouched by authorities or residents. Brochures (image via Bridgitte Schuster) This invitation card was made by Montreal-based graphic designer Bridgitte Schuster. The card was made to help advertise a conference about urbanization and the environment that was taking place in Brazil. Street Art for Pedestrians (image via fractal enlightenment) Montreal-based street artist Peter Gibson began painting crosswalks as a way to protest his country’s car culture, which, according to some, has grown at the expense of more traditional means of travel, like walking. Some of Gibson’s art uses already existing traffic lines as part of the picture. Street Calligraphy (image via stay live and keep fresh) Tsang Tsuo-Chio was the self-proclaimed King of Kowloon. He claimed that he found documents that prove his family owned a majority of Kowloon prior to the British take-over of Hong Kong. His work was mainly done in calligraphy-style, not typical spray-paint street art (call him an unintentionally environmentally-friendly graffiti artist). He was quite famous by the time he died in 2007. Recycled Art (images via Good Magazine and Oregon Live) Graphic Designer Dylan Royal took recycling in creative directions with his college project entitled How to the a Graphic Designer without Hurting Little Bunnies. Portland-based SCRAP (School and Community Reuse Action Project) created this ornement out of recycled material and had it hung on the White House Chrsitmas tree last holiday season. Recycling Gets Violent (image via Lemon Tree) This stencil was photographed in Greece. Anarchists put an ironic twist on the whole “recycling is good” message. No matter what you think of protests, graffiti and recycling, you have to appreciate the dark humor and irony.

Garbage to Green: 10 Landfills Turned into Nature Preserves Posted: 10 May 2009 08:44 PM PDT (images via NYC.gov, ttkonsult, and NUS) Landfills are among the most notorious pieces of real estate in the world. Even a hardcore recycler is still directly or indirectly responsible for creating trash that will find its way to a landfill. It is a side effect of modern human life. But landfills don’t have to remain steaming heaps of smelly rubbish. Take these ten former trash heaps that are now characterized by abundant green and diverse wildlife. Pulau Semakau (image via SIIA) This island off Singapore’s southern coast used to be a fishing village. When the government bought out the residents, Pulau Semakau became a dump for a majority of the city’s waste after it was incinerated. When the site was converted into a nature preserve earlier in the decade, impermeable lining was put around the area where the ash is stored. There is a coral reef off the coast that teems with marine life, while birds and mangroves populate the shore. It is possible to visit Semakau, but everyone who sets foot on the island is led by a trained guide in order to preserve the natural habitats. Tifft, Buffalo (image via Panoramio) This nature preserve is located three miles from downtown Buffalo. It is built above a landfill. The park contains 264 acres and is a sanctuary for birds, deer, fish and other marsh creatures. Fishing in the preserve is possible, but most visitors are bird watchers, photographers or people just out for a stroll in this conveniently located park. Aside from being a recreation area, Tifft also has programs that seek to educate people about nature, conservation and area ecosystems. Mount Trashmore, Virginia Beach (images via concrete disciples and virginiabeach.com) This affectionately named hill is, in fact, made out of compacted trash that is covered with clean soil. The site was well planned and includes recreation areas like a basketball court, skate park and picnic area. Unlike most of the other parks on this list, Trashmore is not a nature preserve. However, its design and almost completely self-sustaining, low-water garden are recognized for their ingenuity. Trashmore is a popular tourist attraction for resort-goers in Virginia Beach. Bukit Tagar, Malaysia (images via ocned and ttkonsult) Unlike the other sites on the list, Bukit Tagar is still a working landfill. However, in addition to state of the art equipment and facilities, this area also has plenty of natural elements. Reed beds are used to help absorb leachate and make the regular process of purification more efficient. many tropical birds live in and around the landfill. Millennium Park, Massachusetts (image via universal hub) This 100-acre park has six miles of trails and offers some great views of downtown Boston. Though the area is not one of the most naturally spectacular on this list, it was the product of a hard fought campaign by Mayor Thomas Menino, who sought to clean up Boston soon after he first took office in 1993. The creation of Millennium Park, a former landfill that was shut down in 1994, was the first step in a movement that has made Boston one of thegreenest cities in the US today. Chambers Gully, Australia (image via dcoghland) Chambers Gully in suburban Adelaide, used to be a local landfill. The land was reclaimed and naturalized almost completely by volunteers, making it unique from the others on this list, which were mostly built with government funds. Now the land is a haven for wildlife, including koala bears, which are often seen perched in the park’s many eucalyptus trees. Hiriya, Israel ((images via restoration planning and isragood) Hiriya is an unmistakably-shaped geographic feature south of Tel Aviv is first visible from the air. Anyone flying into Ben Gurion Airport will see the mound from the air. The site is currently the largest landfill in the Middle East. But, Hiriya is in the first stages of a naturalization process that began in 2001. When completed, the landfill will become part of a vast natural area known as Ayalon Park. This project is expected to be completed in 2020 and will make the area one of the world’s largest urban parks. Sai Tso Wan, Hong Kong (image via Deryck Chan) This multi-purpose recreation area in Hong Kong is the first of the city’s parks built on top of waste. Great care was taken to seal the waste from the now-green surface. In addition to multi-purpose sports fields, this area has a playground, track and picnic spots. Located in the Lam Tin area of Hong Kong, Sai Tso Wan has helped to increase the desirability of the neighborhood. In addition, the park has become a poster-child for Hong Kong’s green movement. Wind turbines have been installed on park grounds, as has a rainwater collection system. Freshkills Park, New York (image via nyc.gov) When the entire process of greening is complete, Freshkills Park will be three times larger than New York’s Central Park. However, the project will take more than 30 years to complete. That might seem like an unacceptable time frame, but considering that the park will cover what used to be the largest working landfill in the U.S. and create one of the largest urban parks in the world, the lengthy development process is understandable. Cesar Chavez Park, Berkeley (images via Berkeley Partners for Parks and benefactor123) This Bay-side park was built on top of one of the Bay Area’s largest landfills. The expansive lawns and recreation fields are a drfaw, but most people simply come to take in the view of the water’s edge. This is a smaller park that some of the others on this list, but the undeveloped north end is a haven for wildlife. A wetlands area further adds to the park’s eco-cred. A mile-and-a-half-long trail circles the entire park and allows visitors to get a glimpse of the diverse landscape.