There's no doubt that we're much more likely to Google a question than grab the nearest encyclopedia (let's be real—there are a fine few who even own one nowadays) and thumb through its pages until we find the answer we're looking for. The Internet has given us a relatively anonymous way to interact with our inquiries that requires only milliseconds of our time in return. In response, it seems that books are wiggling their way into a spotlight within the world of sustainable design—which is a little silly, considering their paper guzzling construction. Or maybe designers are just picking up on the irony that comes with educating the masses through a clever little book design that has nothing to do with reading, perusing pages or putting it on a shelf. One great example: Our recent write-up on the Drinkable Book—a publication whose folio are actual water filters. Next up on the list of do-good books is Basia Irland's project Ice Receding/Books Reseeding.
By embedding seeds from a region's local fauna into frozen blocks of river water, Irland hopes to bring attention to impending climate change, glacial melting and the important of our local water sources. Irland put together a video—it's a bit dated, but the information is all there—on the project and how the books are made. Check it out:
Irland encourages each book carver to send off each seed pod with a community launch, bringing locals to the river banks she's trying to bring attention to. The river currents melt the ice blocks, spreading the seeds along river banks and thus embodying the reach of the water source. Irland goes more into the books' impact on her website:
I work with stream ecologists, biologists and botanists to ascertain the best seeds for each specific riparian zone. When an ecosystem is restored and the plants grow along the riverbanks they give back to us by helping sequester carbon, mitigating floods and drought, pollinating other plants, dispersing seeds, holding the banks in place (slowing erosion), creating soil regeneration and preservation, acting as filters for pollutants and debris, supplying leaf-litter (for food and habitat), promoting aesthetic pleasure and providing shelter/shade for riverside organisms including humans.
Irland's project has traveled far and wide, from Spain to Wyoming and everywhere in between. If you're interested in creating and seeing off your own Ice Book, contact Irland on her website.
Via My Modern Met
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