[BSW] March 7 - The Persian Garden

[Kathy Bilton]

The next Botanical Society of Washington meeting is coming up, as in 
February, on the last possible date for a first Tuesday: the 7th at 7pm.

Time and date: March 7 at 7 pm
Location: VZ Conference Room (WG 33), National Museum of Natural History, 
Speaker: Steve Lonker
Flier for posting: http://botsoc.org/mar17.pdf

Topic:
"The Persian Garden: 2,500 Years of Producing Earthly Paradise in Extreme 
Climate Through Innovations in Sustainable Landscape Design"
Presented by Steve Lonker, Ph.D.

Bio:
Steve holds a B.S. (geology) from Franklin & Marshall College, M.S. 
(geology) from University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Ph.D. 
(geology/chemistry) from Harvard University. After a post doc at the 
Carnegie Institution of Washington's Geophysical Lab, he spent the next 15 
years overseas in academia at the Australian National University; 
conducted field, laboratory and geochemical modeling studies in New 
Zealand's and Iceland's geothermal systems; and explored for platinum 
deposits in southern Africa. In the mid-1990s, Steve returned to the USA 
and combined his interest in science and skills in Web/IT working in 
government agencies most recently at the National Science Foundation. 
Since retiring in 2012, Steve has kept busy as a docent in the Smithsonian 
National Museums of Natural History and American History and volunteer at 
the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, among others. Avid 
naturalist, traveler, botanical art collector, and photographer with 
interests in habitat preservation, invasive species, and sustainable 
landscape design. This evening's talk was inspired by an October 2015 trip 
to Iran.

Abstract:
The Persian Gardens trace their roots to the 6th century B.C.E. during the 
reign of Cyrus the Great and span 2,500 years of technological innovations 
in sustainable landscape and building design, water management, and 
micro-climate modification in a harsh, arid climate. Always divided into 
four quadrants intersecting at a central pool, water plays a key role in 
irrigation and sacred geometry. The gardens symbolize the Zoroastrian view 
of paradise on earth, Eden, with four rivers and the four divisions of 
earth. Nine of these gardens have been elected to UNESCO’s World Heritage 
List under 'The Persian Garden.' These gardens offer one solution for 
creating sustainable green spaces in urbanized areas in arid and semi-arid 
climates through bioclimatic landscape and design approaches that mitigate 
heat islands, wind and dust storms, and air pollution through woody 
vegetation, manmade structures and water features.