The book provides a pre-settlement historical account of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in their Indian Ocean context. The project began as a search for clues to locations of two 18th century Dutch shipwrecks, and was expanded into a general account of the early island histories and associated mythological Indian Ocean islands and creatures.
Tired of Yard Work? Want to spend time in Paradise in the comfort of your own backyard? This book is for you. I explore composting, replacing your lawn, play, pruning, companion planting, edible forest gardens, tree guilds, perrenial plants, and creating your own microclimate. I also explore how to listen to the ways in which your backyard is already becoming Paradise.
Three quarters of the U.S.’s bird and plant extinctions have occurred in Hawai‘i, and one third of the country’s threatened and endangered birds and plants reside within the state. Yet despite these alarming statistics, all is not lost: There are still 12,000 extant species unique to the archipelago and new species are discovered every year. In Restoring Paradise: Rethinking and Rebuilding Nature in Hawai‘i, Robert Cabin shows why current attempts to preserve Hawai‘i’s native fauna and flora require embracing the emerging paradigm of ecological restoration—the science and art of assisting the recovery of degraded species and ecosystems and creating more meaningful and sustainable relationships between people and nature. Cabin’s extensive experience as a research ecologist and applied practitioner enables him to provide a rare, behind-the-scenes look at successful and inspiring restoration programs. In Part 1 he recounts Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge’s efforts to restore thousands of acres of degraded pasture on the island of Hawai‘i back to the native rain forests that once dominated the area and sheltered native birds now on the brink of extinction. Along the way, he presents an overview of Hawaiian natural and cultural history, biogeography, and evolutionary biology. Following chapters look at restoration work underway by the U.S. Park Service to reestablish native species within the vast Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park; by a charismatic scientist and dedicated volunteers to restore the native forests of Auwahi on the southern slopes of Haleakalā; and by the Limahuli branch of Kauai’s National Tropical Botanical Garden to revive a thousand-year-old taro plantation. To investigate the compelling and often conflicting philosophies and strategies of those involved in restoration, Cabin opens Part 3 with interview excerpts from a cross-section of Hawai‘i’s environmental community. He concludes with a provocative and insightful discussion of the contentious, evolving relationship between humans and nature and the power and limitations of science within and beyond Hawai‘i.
The first Europeans to set foot on North America stood in awe of the natural abundance before them. The skies were filled with birds, seas and rivers teemed with fish, and the forests and grasslands were a hunter’s dream, with populations of game too abundant and diverse to even fathom. It’s no wonder these first settlers thought they had discovered a paradise of sorts. Fortunately for us, they left a legacy of copious records documenting what they saw, and these observations make it possible to craft a far more detailed evocation of North America before its settlement than any other place on the planet. Here Steve Nicholls brings this spectacular environment back to vivid life, demonstrating with both historical narrative and scientific inquiry just what an amazing place North America was and how it looked when the explorers first found it. The story of the continent’s colonization forms a backdrop to its natural history, which Nicholls explores in chapters on the North Atlantic, the East Coast, the Subtropical Caribbean, the West Coast, Baja California, and the Great Plains. Seamlessly blending firsthand accounts from centuries past with the findings of scientists today, Nicholls also introduces us to a myriad cast of characters who have chronicled the changing landscape, from pre–Revolutionary era settlers to researchers whom he has met in the field. A director and writer of Emmy Award–winning wildlife documentaries for the Smithsonian Channel, Animal Planet, National Geographic, and PBS, Nicholls deploys a cinematic flair for capturing nature at its most mesmerizing throughout. But Paradise Found is much more than a celebration of what once was: it is also a reminder of how much we have lost along the way and an urgent call to action so future generations are more responsible stewards of the world around them. The result is popular science of the highest order: a book as remarkable as the landscape it recreates and as inspired as the men and women who discovered it.
Now Create a Landscape that's Naturally Beautiful, Naturally Inviting, Naturally Easy to Care for! Natural Landscaping shows you how to create your own woodland gardens, shade gardens, wildflower meadows, prairie gardens, water gardens, songbird gardens, hummingbird gardens, and butterfly gardens! It includes: - 9 detailed, full-color plans to provide plenty of inspiration. - 234 easy-care plant ideas to take the guesswork out of plant-work! - Plenty of projects and techniques that let you build in structure at your own pace! - Plus scores of finishing touches to help you achieve just the look you want! It's packed with real-life examples, garden plans, colorful combinations, at-a-glance plant charts, expert tips, related projects, and custom options, with lavish color photos and illustrations.
In this dazzling photo essay, Laman and Scholes present gorgeous full-color photographs of all 39 species of the Birds of Paradise that highlight their unique and extraordinary plumage and mating behavior.
Listening to British Nature: Wartime, Radio, and Modern Life, 1914-1945 traces the impact of sounds and rhythm of the natural world and how they were listened, interpreted, and used amid the pressures of modern life to in early twentieth-century Britain. Author Michael Guida argues thatdespite and sometimes because of the chaos of wartime and the struggle to recover, nature's voices were drawn close to provide everyday security, sustenance and a sense of the future. Nature's sonic presences were not obliterated by the noise of war, the advent of radio broadcasting and the rush ofthe everyday, rather they came to complement and provide alternatives to modern modes of living.Listening to British Nature examines how trench warfare demanded the creation of new listening cultures in order to understand danger and to imagine survival. It tells of the therapeutic communities who used quiet and rural rhythms to restore shell-shocked soldiers and of ramblers who sought toimmerse themselves in the sensualities of the outdoors, revealing how home-front listening in the Blitz was punctuated by birdsong broadcast by the BBC. In focusing on the sensing of sounds and rhythms, this study demonstrates how nature retained its emotional potency as the pace andunpredictabilities of life seemed to increase and new man-made sounds and sonic media appeared all around. To listen to nature during this time was to cultivate an intimate connection with its vibrations and to sense an enduring order and beauty that could be taken into the future.
"Dillman elegantly explores the evolution of English and British perceptions of the landscape of the West Indies and how their representations were used to support the development of the islands they colonized"--
