<![CDATA[Catherine Oranchak / Landscape Architects - musings]]>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 05:30:42 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Light Pollution]]>Thu, 24 Jul 2025 16:27:19 GMThttps://www.catherineoranchak.com/musings/light-pollutionCheck out this New York Times piece on how Pittsburgh is combatting light pollution.

]]><![CDATA[Winter Drought]]>Wed, 23 Apr 2025 16:37:41 GMThttps://www.catherineoranchak.com/musings/winter-droughtPicture
Rains this month are starting to help alleviate some of the drought conditions around our state. The map above
​(https://www.mass.gov/info-details/drought-status), shows we are inching our way out of the worst of it. 
]]><![CDATA[Peabody Essex Museum Garden]]>Thu, 28 Sep 2023 13:22:49 GMThttps://www.catherineoranchak.com/musings/peabody-essex-museum-garden
Peabody Essex Museum Garden Salem, MA. Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects.
The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) hosted a Garden Dialogues session on September 16, 2023. Intricate granite detailing and a rich plant palette result in a gem of an outdoor space. The museum itself is worth a visit and the garden just adds to the experience. 
]]><![CDATA[NOAA Urban Heat Mapping 2022]]>Thu, 28 Jul 2022 17:10:55 GMThttps://www.catherineoranchak.com/musings/noaa-urban-heat-mapping-2022We're hearing a lot about climate change affecting underrepresented communities in particular this year where heat waves flash floods and wild fires are especially rampant. Summarized below is an article focused on ongoing studies pertaining to urban heat, check it out!
With greater risk of heat related illness cities around the country have partnered with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association) in order to create heatmaps of various communities. Volunteers have been equipped with special heat sensors that record temperature, humidity, time, and their locations. NOAA is using the information gathered by these volunteers to map heat islands in urban areas. The hope is that the maps created can aid city officials in managing extreme heat in underrepresented areas and greatly reduce the amount of heat related deaths. full article here
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]]><![CDATA[Black History Month]]>Tue, 02 Feb 2021 03:31:08 GMThttps://www.catherineoranchak.com/musings/black-history-monthToday marks the first day of Black History Month. I've been reading about the first American professionally-trained black landscape architect, David Williston (1868-1962). Mr. Williston was born in North Carolina, studied in Washington D.C., New York and Pennsylvania. He taught "agricultural science" at Tuskegee University (and elsewhere) where he was also responsible for campus planning and development. If you'd like to learn more, follow this link to the National Park Service's "Learning From Leaders" article featuring Mr. Williston. Below is a photograph of a campus space at Tuskegee University and a portrait of Mr. Williston. 
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]]><![CDATA[Helleborus niger]]>Wed, 20 Jan 2021 08:00:00 GMThttps://www.catherineoranchak.com/musings/hellebore-nigerHelleborus niger, Hellebore (commonly known as Christmas Rose) is a surprisingly tough yet delicate perennial that blooms in winter. The 2020 Christmas Day rain washed away the snow to uncover this beauty!
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]]><![CDATA[The Practice of Redlining and How to Erase It]]>Thu, 29 Oct 2020 23:21:44 GMThttps://www.catherineoranchak.com/musings/the-practice-of-redlining-and-how-to-erase-itCheck out this article in the DIRT about the practice of redlining. 

And this one from the NY Times!
See Below for a redlining map of Atlanta Georgis dated 1938.
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]]><![CDATA[Our Public Open Spaces- Are They Really Open to All?]]>Wed, 16 Sep 2020 20:31:44 GMThttps://www.catherineoranchak.com/musings/our-public-open-spaces-are-they-really-open-to-allGreat article in the Boston Globe that starts to explore the issues of race and equity in our public open spaces. What do you think?



]]><![CDATA[COVID19 impacts]]>Fri, 27 Mar 2020 15:28:31 GMThttps://www.catherineoranchak.com/musings/covid19-impactsThe pandemic has changed virtually everything in our daily lives. But what does it mean for our profession? Here is an interesting article that helps us consider our roles now and into the future. ]]><![CDATA[It's Climate Week!]]>Wed, 25 Sep 2019 14:23:26 GMThttps://www.catherineoranchak.com/musings/its-climate-weekIt's Climate Week! Climate change has been in the news with folks young and old taking to public spaces around the globe to "strike" a chord with those in power to implement necessary climate-related policies, the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York earlier in the week, and various organizations spreading the word on steps to take NOW including the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and so many more. But what does it all mean to us, in the Boston area? To find out more about work being done to prepare for climate change in our own backyard, see this interesting case study developed by the ASLA.
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Stoss Landscape Urbanism
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