Keeping Watch
Invisible pollution: Spotlight on clean air coming to Charlotte
UPDATE: The programs mentioned below have all been canceled due to coronavirus concerns. It’s all around us, but we usually can’t smell or see air pollution. A major art piece and a series of events coming to Charlotte this spring could help change that. “Most air pollution in North Carolina is invisible,” said June Blotnick, […]
Steele Creek wins first in Autobell Creek Challenge
A team of fourth- and fifth-grade students from Steele Creek Elementary School in Charlotte won first place Saturday, March 4, in the second Autobell Car Wash Creek Challenge at UNC Charlotte. The morning contest capped weeks of study and activities focusing on science and water quality topics as well as local history and geography. Eight […]
With more deer but few predators, county turns to hunts
Mecklenburg County’s population of white-tailed deer has ballooned in recent years, as residents of Charlotte and other towns can verify with frequent sightings of deer gamboling and grazing in backyards, gardens, parks and greenways. At the same time, deer hunting in North Carolina’s most urbanized county has also expanded, in part through specialized hunts. The […]
Your backyard can be habitat for wildlife
[highlightrule] Learn more about KEEPING WATCH on HABITAT for 2017[/highlightrule] Walk into Ernie McLaney’s backyard in southeast Charlotte and for a moment, you may forget you are in a neighborhood of more than 6,000 residents. It’s a serene and private place, enclosed by trees, shrubs and a fence and lined with a curlicue paver path. […]
KEEPING WATCH exhibit for 2017 extended by a month
The KEEPING WATCH initiative enters its fourth year with a focus on wildlife habitat in the urban ecosystem. Beginning with an opening reception Feb. 24 at UNC Charlotte Center City, KEEPING WATCH on HABITAT will offer three months of programming through May 27. Organized in 2013 by the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and the UNC […]
How to safeguard Charlotte’s trees? Plan aims to support the canopy
Imagine: Charlotte neighborhoods with their own master plans to care for their trees. A citywide initiative to pinpoint neighborhoods with few trees and then help get trees planted there. A dependable, dedicated source of public money to care for Charlotte’s street trees. Assistance for low-income homeowners who can’t afford to give proper care to large […]
Designing for indoor air quality: Talking with Jefferson Ellinger
Just as trees can improve the air quality in our communities, plants can make the air in our homes and buildings cleaner. UNC Charlotte Associate Professor of Architecture Jefferson Ellinger and his partners at Fresh Air Building Systems have been working for years to develop the AMPS (Active Modular Phytoremediation System), a “probiotic” plant wall […]
A ‘winning strategy’ for air quality? Better city design
Local air quality, says Brian Magi, is “a resource we should cherish and protect.” And it’s the subject of some of the more wide-ranging research he has underway. Magi is assistant professor of atmospheric sciences at UNC Charlotte in the Geography and Earth Sciences Department. He spoke about what he has learned so far about […]
Ever wondered … are there secret creeks in uptown Charlotte?
Mecklenburg’s 3,000 miles of creeks run through every part of the county. This includes uptown Charlotte, although such an urbanized spot of land might be the last place you would expect to find creeks. Many of uptown’s small creeks have been hidden from view over the years as land uses changed and storm pipes and […]