This Saturday, 24 September 2011, get outside and enjoy National Public Lands Day! Volunteer a few hours on a conservation/preservation/restoration project and/or enjoy the day in a national park with free admission!
Find your public lands here: http://www.publiclandsday.org/npld-sites.
Fine your local national park here: http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm
Friday, September 23, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
Palladio Awards Entry Deadline 23 Nov 2011.
Always look forward to viewing the winners in the restoration and renovation cat's. See: http://palladioawards.com/
Someone from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign should nominate the north addition to Huff Hall for an award.
Huff Hall Addition University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaigns, looking S.E. Photo by: David J. Garner, August 2011.
Someone from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign should nominate the north addition to Huff Hall for an award.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Ecoconscious
Despite my grown-up façade and
middle age, I’m suffering from a premature case of panic. Recently, in the middle of the night, I’ve
had a strange feeling mostly because of the unknowing of what lies ahead in the
numerous symbols (and fragmented groups) within the ecology of the built
environment.
The
back flap of my 1972 external frame back pack.
Courtesy of: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecology_Flag
Panic is from my dreams that have been
taking me back to my youth, specifically the Boy Scouts, I am awe struck with
some of the wild meanderings and misdeeds that were undertaken during that time
of my life. In the early 1970’s, as I
neared earning my Eagle Scout award, our Troop became caught up in a new ecology
movement. Today it has morphed into "ecoconscious",
which is defined by Merriam Webster as: marked by or showing concern for the
environment.
Back then, there was a symbol that
seemed to be everywhere embracing this new “ecology movement.” That symbol was a small letter “e” inside the
larger letter “O,” the letters standing for “environment” and “organism” and
putting them in superposition, thereby forming a shape reminiscent of the Greek
letter Θ (Theta). On November 7, 1969, cartoonist
Ron Cobb invented the symbol and published it in the Los Angles Free Press, thus it was placed it in the public
domain. It appeared as a green U.S. flag
for the first time in the April 21, 1970 issue of Look magazine.
When I Googled “ecology symbol” it
brought-up 28 pages and I thought what a better time to dust off that 70’s ecology
symbol and bring it back into mainstream?
Not only for the heck of it, extending an olive branch to the green /
sustainability, but the ecology movement brought us new words such as
recycling, climate change, and acid rain.
Many of those words are included in today’s green movement.
The ecology movement of the 70’s also
caused a shift in our cultural and those collectively willing to do something
about it took leadership roles. Boy
Scouts and the many foot soldiers did things they could do locally, with
gusto. For example, wherever our Troop went, we
picked up teeny tiny itsee bitsee’s (trash) and planted countless variety of
trees on the land of a Christmas Tree Farm around Valparaiso, IN. That tree farm belonged to a childhood friend
of the Scoutmaster. We were told by the
ecology movement leadership that planting trees reduced the influence of
climate change, for us it was an excuse to get muddy, and it just felt good
engaging with the earth.
Those were important years because: a) The Environmental
Protection Agency was founded in 1970. b)
In a 1971 public service announcement, more successful than Smokey Bear’s, showed
a Native American canoeing down a polluted stream; a single tear rolled down
his face. c) America was conducting
nuclear tests in the Aleutian Islands. Google
Earth that place, Yowza!. d) A group of
anti-whaling environmentalists claimed the name “Greenpeace” in 1972. e) My Canadian buds tell me that in
Vancouver, BC there were billboards saying “Ecology? Look it up!
You’re involved.”
Today, my high country mountain
lifestyle is, once again, being gauged by that “ecology symbol” and the
ecoconscious of it all. That symbol is
on back flap of my 1972 external frame backpack. Somehow, that original ecology symbol wasn’t
as enduring as it should have been. The
green theta ornamented flags, buttons, t-shirts, walls, and yes,
backpacks for several years before it disappeared from the mainstream.
In my dreams, a woman eyeing my
backpack asks, “Where are you going?” I
blurt out 1972. I laugh then, silence
fills the dream, and the woman awaits a correct answer: place fixed on a
map. How can I tell her that this is no
laughing matter? In the early 1970’s ecology
was beginning to become entangled with society’s norms – for the better of
America. Due to historically outrageous
decisions by our countries leaders when it came to fossil fuels, ecology movement
was forgotten, but not lost. Not many remained
too kept up the mainstream fight and as the end of the oil embargo neared,
ecology quickly faded from memory as did the symbol. Depending on whom you talk to, the ecology /
ecoconscious has been going at the grassroots level since it faded from
mainstream, and today’s green / sustainability movement have taken the reins. Thus, I’m guessing the 28 pages of revised /
updated symbols. I ask that the
leadership of today’s green movement please “Keep er Steady” and embrace the
original symbol.
Remembering that the “ecology
symbol” was popularized in the seventies is okay. It was almost like another Zodiac and/or
Peace symbol. It seemed to messenger in a
new dawning awareness of our Mother Earth and the much needed Environmental Goodness. What a better time to revive it than
now? Please, will each and every one of you
that are involved with the conservation of historic resources within the built
environment bring the green theta back into our visual vocabulary? Will you please do this for Mother Earth and
a panicking middle aged Boy Scout dreamer?
Friday, September 9, 2011
Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2011
H.R. 1964: Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2011 is part of the
112th Congress: 2011-2012. It is currently pending in Congress to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and, if approved, will make permanent the special rule for contributions of qualified conservation contributions.
How does this affect conservation of the built environment? Well, it is an important tool and will be a means in supporting ways to assist local ranchers' long term survival by extending tax deductions for “conservation easements” and will do more to achieve family legacy of ranches than all the existing traditional programs combined.
Locally, the in Summit County, Colorado, the Howard Giberson - Land Conservation Legacy comes to mind (http://www.cdlt.org/friends/index.html). Howard Giberson was a third generation Summit County-an who was raised on his family’s ranch located between Frisco and Dillon where Giberson Bay of the Dillon Reservoir is today. Howard bought the ranch from his parents in the 1950’s only to see it gradually taken away from him; first by the Denver Water Board for Dillon Reservoir and then by the Department of Transportation for Interstate 70. The original 780 acre ranch was down to less than 200 acres. Mr. Giberson wanted to protect what was left of his family’s ranch. After granting thirteen small lots to his nieces and nephews, he protected the rest of the ranch with a conservation easement that he granted to Contintental Divide Land Trust (CDLT) in 1998. Howard’s commitment to protecting the land and the ranching heritage of his family and Summit County earned this special recognition. Mr. Giberson passed away in July 2007 at the age of 95. Mr. Giberson’s niece Peggy Chamberlain Alexander accepted the award on behalf of the Giberson family.
I do hope when restoration of historic resources, which are in need of restoration within this easement that the CDLT engages the proper consultants (Archaeologists, Historical Architects, Landscape Architects, Historic Preservation Specialists / Contractors) for such undertakings.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Federal Preservation Policy and Foot Soldiers
The Federal Historic Preservation
Program Task Force, which was convened by Preservation Action and the
Preservation Action Foundation recently released a report titled: “Aligned for
Success: Recommendations for Increasing the Effectiveness of the Federal
Historic Preservation Program” (http://www.preservationaction.org/Task%20Force/AlignedForSuccess.pdf).
It appears to me that it is a good
prescriptive document for policy and such.
However, in my opinion, proper education needs to immediately occur at
the grassroots level not high up. This
is because, recently, I have seen the historic fabric of many local historic
resources being adversely affected by the actions of foot soldiers (Public Work
Directors, Presidents of Historic Society, Maintenance Staff, Town Council
Members, Historic Park/Museum Directors, etc.) charged with stewardship of these
resources.
Some of these ill-advised decisions are
made out either out of a) pure ignorance (e.g., not knowing about the “Secretary
of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with
Guidelines for Preserving, Rehabilitating, Restoring, and Reconstructing
Historic Buildings,” not understanding how choose an appropriate treatment, or how
to engage trained professionals), or b) knee-jerk reaction to save local tax
dollars.
For sure, I get the need to have a
strong and all encompassing federal preservation policy, but an important focus
should be strengthening the "Community Assistance" component of the
policy. Right now the local foot
soldiers are not visible or even held accountable to anyone, for their actions,
not even the SHPO or the CLG, if one exists.
We are all taught in Intro to
Historic Preservation classes that the strength in policy is at the local
level. If the proposed realignment of
federal preservation policy will be focused at the local level, I will be in
full support, if not, I cannot support it.
So, if long-term proper care of historic resources is the desired
outcome of policy, it is urgent that foot soldiers and their engaged consultants / contractors
receive proper education and hands-on training.
This guidance will aid in reducing the continual damage
of historic fabric. Bottom line is that
the local foot soldiers must be held accountable for their actions and proper
decisions are vital for appropriately maintaining, thus conserving many local historic
resources over the long-term.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Bone Head Decisions - Replacement Windows
Back in 1987, I was heavily involved with the restoration of the Greek Revival Cottage in Leal Park, Urbana, IL. Early in August 2011, I returned to the flatlands of east-central IL to have a look at the restored windows in this historic resource and how the wood/resin composite repairs that were undertaken on the sash and sills were holding up.
Long story short. The restored windows and storm sash were replaced, by the new building Owner (Urbana Park District), over the objections of the previous building Owner (Preservation and Conservation Society of Champaign County), just 10 years after the restoration project.
This sad tale is just another (unnecessary) Bone Head decision by a building Owner. If only some standards exist that would assist and guide the movers-n-shakers and building Owners of historic resources. Well, I am happy to write that the Restoration Window Standards project cruses along. Late last year a handful of Historic Window Specialists got together and formed the Window Preservation Standards Collaborative (WPSC) website: http://ptnresource.org/WPSC/. These standards should be published next year.
I encourage everyone connected with the built environment (e.g.:Building Owners, Public Works Directors, Maintenance Directors, Facility Managers, Architects, Historic Preservation Specialists, Educators, Trainers, Homeowners, Planning Commissioners, Town Council Members, Conservation & Preservation Board Members, LEED Professionals, BPI Professionals, NAHB Certified Green Professionals, RESNET Professionals, Handyman, General Contractors, etc. to read the following articles.
NYTimes
http://tinyurl.com/3ty4b2y
Traditional Building:
http://tinyurl.com/3dzctbv
Door & Window Journal:
http://tinyurl.com/436vy5y
Greek Revival Cottage, Urbana, IL, looking SE, August 2011,. Photo courtesy of David J Garner.
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