Bioremediation
This is an ongoing area of research and I have several long-running projects in play. This work got started in 1988 with my Toronto installation (in collaboration with Janis Bowley) Lead Down the Garden Path, which combined agit prop with a trial of phytoremediation of lead contamined soil using a buckwheat cover crop.
The soil in the vicinity of Garnet Press Gallery on Richmond St. had been heavily contaminated by lead from a nearby battery reprocessing facilities and residents of the neighbourhood were warned by municipal authorities they could no longer grow vegetables in their back yards; a long standing practice in the predominantly working class area. Children in particular are susceptible to the effects of lead poisoning which can manifest itself neurologically in the form of learning disabilities and a propensity toward violent behavior.
To address this grave ecological injustice, I proceeded to test out a protocol of buckwheat as a metal-a accumulating cover crop and to advocate 'horticultural resistance' against the contamination of the neigbourhood.
By the early 1990's I was employing sheet mulching techniques as well as planting Black Locust and various species of bamboo to absorb spot contamination of heavy metals at the Cottonwood Community Gardens. For a detailed account of this, check out my essay in Leila Darwish's excellent Earth Repair. Urban brownfield sites often have very localized levels of contamination and it is important to find these before cultivating food crops. Sometimes phytoremediation or mycorediation can yield impressive results but there are cases where a better strategy is to reserve the most contaminated zones for non-food, metal-sequestering crops like Black locust, which can be fashioned into long lasting objects.
Recently I have been working with the artist Kathy High in Troy, New York employing a number of approaches to a heavily contaminated brownfield site that is being converted into a community garden. For a nicely written account of some of this early work, see this article written by a student intern: http://www.mediasanctuary.org/blog/bioremediation-l-lot
projects:
events:
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Thursday, March 19, 2020 - 09:00 - Saturday, March 21, 2020 - 21:00
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Friday, October 25, 2019 - 18:00 - Sunday, October 27, 2019 - 20:00
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Thursday, August 1, 2019 - 09:00 - Tuesday, October 1, 2019 - 21:00
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Friday, April 26, 2019 - 18:30 - 21:30
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Friday, March 29, 2019 - 20:00 - Sunday, March 31, 2019 - 18:00
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Sunday, June 24, 2018 - 09:00 - Saturday, July 7, 2018 - 19:00
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Friday, June 22, 2018 - 09:00 - Sunday, September 30, 2018 - 17:00
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Saturday, June 9, 2018 - 09:00 - 16:00
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Saturday, May 19, 2018 - 12:00 - Sunday, November 11, 2018 - 19:00
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Sunday, April 22, 2018 - 10:00 - 20:00
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Friday, April 13, 2018 - 19:00 - Sunday, April 15, 2018 - 14:00
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Friday, January 26, 2018 - 06:30 - 08:00
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Saturday, July 1, 2017 (All day) - Sunday, August 27, 2017 (All day)
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Friday, May 26, 2017 - 09:00 - Saturday, May 27, 2017 - 12:00
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Sunday, May 14, 2017 - 10:00 - 14:00
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Sunday, April 30, 2017 - 17:00 - 19:30
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Sunday, April 9, 2017 - 15:00 - 17:00
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Tuesday, November 15, 2016 - 11:00 - 13:00
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Tuesday, April 12, 2016 - 14:00 - 15:30
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Tuesday, March 1, 2016 - 09:00 - Monday, June 6, 2016 - 18:00
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Thursday, February 25, 2016 - 11:15 - 11:30
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Tuesday, February 16, 2016 - 11:15 - 21:45
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Wednesday, December 2, 2015 - 19:00 - Sunday, December 6, 2015 - 19:00
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Saturday, November 21, 2015 - 16:00 - 18:00
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Friday, September 18, 2015 (All day) - Sunday, December 6, 2015 (All day)
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Saturday, May 16, 2015 - 13:00 - 16:00
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Friday, April 17, 2015 - 16:00 - Saturday, April 18, 2015 - 19:00
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Wednesday, February 25, 2015 (All day) - Wednesday, March 25, 2015 (All day)
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Tuesday, November 11, 2014 - 17:00 - 21:00
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Monday, September 22, 2014 - 09:00 - Saturday, September 27, 2014 - 23:00
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Wednesday, July 30, 2014 - 09:00 - Sunday, August 3, 2014 - 22:00
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Tuesday, July 22, 2014 - 10:00 - Friday, July 25, 2014 - 16:00
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Wednesday, March 19, 2014 - 18:00 - 19:00
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Saturday, March 15, 2014 - 09:00 - Friday, March 28, 2014 - 09:00
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Thursday, March 6, 2014 - 16:00 - 18:00
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Tuesday, February 25, 2014 - 11:00 - 12:15
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Friday, October 25, 2013 - 08:30 - Saturday, October 26, 2013 - 16:00
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Saturday, September 28, 2013 - 17:30 - 20:30
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Monday, September 16, 2013 (All day) - Tuesday, September 24, 2013 (All day)
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Sunday, May 26, 2013 - 15:00 - 18:00
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Saturday, May 25, 2013 - 11:00
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Thursday, May 9, 2013 - 15:00
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Thursday, February 21, 2013 - 19:00 - 21:00
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Thursday, February 7, 2013 - 14:00 - 16:00
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Tuesday, December 4, 2012 - 19:30
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Sunday, September 30, 2012 - 18:30 - 21:00
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Wednesday, September 26, 2012 - 17:00 - 21:00
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Saturday, August 25, 2012 - 13:00 - 16:00
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Friday, June 1, 2012 - 11:00 - 13:00
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Friday, February 17, 2012 - 18:00
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Thursday, January 26, 2012 - 12:00 - 14:00
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Friday, November 18, 2011 - 18:30 - Sunday, November 20, 2011 - 21:00
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Sunday, September 18, 2011 - 10:00
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Saturday, September 17, 2011 - 10:00 - 14:00
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Saturday, June 25, 2011 - 10:00
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Thursday, June 23, 2011 - 19:00
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Wednesday, June 22, 2011 - 19:00
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Thursday, May 5, 2011 - 19:00
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Thursday, October 28, 2010 - 19:00 - 22:00
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Tuesday, June 1, 2010 - 18:00 - 21:00
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Friday, April 16, 2010 - 20:00
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Wednesday, March 31, 2010 - 19:00 - 21:00