The title of the 2019 event is ‘GARDENING ON THE EDGE’ – Rewilding green spaces. The statistics are stark – Wild animal populations have plummeted by 60% in 44 years – WWF Habitat loss, degradation and the resulting climate change are the main causes. In Ireland broadleaf woodland make up only 2% of our tree cover. Species-rich grasslands have declined by 97%. Two-thirds of the population are now living in urban areas. With urbanisation comes less green space and more concrete. We are living on the edge and it has become impossible to ignore. If we are living on the edge, then we are also gardening on the edge. Is there something more we could do on an individual level and collectively to help restore lost habitats and restore dwindling populations of animals, birds and insects. Do we really need a concrete driveway or a pristine mown lawn? Could we have species-rich grassland on our roofs where ground-dwelling birds might find refuge? Could we plant more native trees and plants in our gardens?
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
MONIQUE & THIERRY DRONET
Berchigranges garden, located in the Vosges mountains in eastern France, is the fruit of the complicity of two plant enthusiasts constantly learning from the observation of nature. Thierry, best described as a landscape anarchitect, gave a new life to the site – a former quarry and spruce plantation. He set up a great variety of areas and of habitats in the garden, where he started to bring native plants from the surrounding mountains. He eventually brought in a local plantswoman, Monique, whose nursery ‘A Cottage Garden’ promoted old cultivars and wild plants alike. Both see gardens as a form of artistic expression, and together, they manage the little world they created like a theatre stage, where wild plants and straight species of perennials are given the lead role.
DUSTY GEDGE
Dusty Gedge has been instrumental in promoting green roofs in the UK. This grew out of work with the London Biodiversity Partnership and his work on conserving the black redstart. This work culminated in the formation of Livingroofs.org, the UK’s first independent green roof organisation. Livingroofs.org is the number one website on green roofs in the UK had has campaigned successfully for a distinct living roof policy in London.
KEVIN SLOAN
Kevin Sloan is a landscape architect, urban planner and writer with international scope, located in Dallas, Texas. He is the founder and director of Kevin Sloan Studio, a design studio principally concerned with the urban design and landscape architectural problems generated by the metropolitan city and its new and unprecedented formation. He has taught architecture, urban design and landscape architecture at a number of universities and colleges, including as a visiting professor at Syracuse University in Florence, Italy. He has contributed numerous journal articles and is a former columnist on architecture and design for Dallas Downtown Business News.
The event takes place on the 23 February in the Crowne Plaza Conference Centre, Santry, Dublin 9. More at glda.ie ✽
