Lynden Blog

Last Wednesday, on the closing day of their Inside/Outside exhibition, Inverse, artists Amy Cropper and Stuart Morris led a tour through the garden, discussing their own work as well as sculptures by other artists. Another former Inside/Outside artist, Philip Krejcarek, was in attendance, and he sent us these wonderful pictures he took during the event.

Last fall we drained the Little Lake, harvested the algae from the bloom , and used it for compost and papermaking. In the late spring we removed as much algae as we could and refilled the pond for the summer season and invited Christine to make a plan to control the bloom. At Lynden, we are constantly balancing the aesthetic imperative—our desire to maintain the landscape that Peg and Harry Bradley created—with out commitment to sustainability. Large buffer zones and aggressive aquatic plantings might make a bigger dent in the algae problem, but they would also radically alter the look of the pond and the area around it. With this in mind, and with lots of consultation with Lynden staff, Christine developed a plan.

II.

What can be done to control algae blooms?

Small ponds pose one of the biggest challenges to management but I have proposed a number of measures that are in the process of being approved and implemented. Elimination of lawn fertilization has been in place for a few years and will help to reduce nutrient run-off into the basin. Here are the highlights of the proposed plan that will help to reduce the prevalence of algae blooms:

1. Drain and dredge the lake. Dredging the lake will take place once the lake is drained and consists of removing the existing pea gravel and a portion of the sediments. This will remove some of the nutrients from the system in addition to some algae spores.

2. Submerge barley straw. Hydrogen peroxide and other enzymes/chemicals are released when barley straw decomposes in the presence of oxygen. The decomposition products inhibit algal growth, but do not kill existing cells.

3. Install a reciruculating pump. A recirculating pump will allow for continuous movement of water and help to discourage surface bloom formation while maintaining a more uniform oxygen concentration. The pump will encourage decomposition of the barley straw and will, with the help of the wind, circulate the products of decomposition throughout the basin. It will also enable us to run the waterfall on a regular basis!

4. Shoreline restoration.
Phase 1: Aquatic plants. Emergent aquatic plants will trap nutrients while shading the lake bottom, thereby reducing the surface area on which benthic (bottom-loving) algae can grow. These plants not only provide essential habitat for wildlife (frogs, turtles, some birds), but also stabilize the shoreline and provide a barrier to the organic matter that blows in from the lawn.
Phase 2: Shoreline plants. Plants that grow along the shoreline are adapted to wet or moist soils. Like emergent aquatic plants, shoreline plants encourage wildlife (birds and butterflies), stabilize the shoreline (they have deeper root systems than lawn turf) and help to block terrestrial organic matter. Moreover, geese are less likely to “hang out” by a shoreline where predators lurk.

Care will be taken to use plants native to Wisconsin, and which were raised in Wisconsin, to
maintain the ecological integrity of Little Lake.

We had a busy July at Lynden. In addition to our summer art camps and our weekly Yoga in the Garden class, we hosted a lecture by Jonathan Lippincott, a sold-out performance by Eiko & Koma, and a free workshop and screening from the Echo Park Film Center Filmmobile. Now that things have died down a little bit (although there's a camp running as I type this, and two events coming up), I thought I'd take this opportunity to recap and post photos from the last month. (A special thank you to Claire Ruzicka for the wonderful Lippincott and Eiko & Koma photos!)

Jonathan Lippincott is the author of Large Scale: Fabricating Sculpture in the 1960s and 1970s, and the son of Don Lippincott, founder of Lippincott Inc., the first fabricator dedicated exclusively to making large scale sculpture. At Lynden, in front of an engaged and enthusiastic audience, Jonathan talked about the large-scale sculpture fabricated at Lippincott in the '60s and '70s, and provided many interesting details about some of the works in Lynden's collection--all illustrated by wonderful slides.

During the talk.

Showing slides.

Amidst George Sugarman's Trio, which was manufactured at Lippincott Inc.

With Lynden's Executive Director Polly Morris.

At the book signing.

Eiko & Koma arrived a week later. During an earlier trip to the garden, the dancers had chosen a spot in the southeastern corner of the garden to stage their performance. This time, however, the sight of the recently drained Little Lake caught Koma’s eye. While the barren area was a perfect fit for Eiko & Koma’s apocalyptic Japanese dance, it meant that all the previous arrangements for the performance were now out the window. In the next 48 hours, a stage was constructed (under the tireless leadership of our Facilities and Sculpture Manager, Sergio Salinas), a PA system was brought in and set up (including some speakers hung in trees), and everybody rolled with the punches all the way up to and through Eiko & Koma’s performance of “Raven.” Claire Ruzicka was on hand to take pictures of the performance, which involved maneuvering through the sold out crowd, and following Eiko & Koma as they moved off the stage, into the garden, and back.

Performing.

Performing.

Crowd & performance.

Performing.

Crowd.

After the performance.

The following Monday, the Echo Park Film Center Filmmobile rolled into town. The Filmmobile is a traveling film school and cinema operating out of a converted school bus fueled partially by vegetable oil that is run by Echo Park Film Center staff Paolo Davanzo and Lisa Marr. Steeped in the tradition of itinerant cinema, each summer, Marr and Davanzo tour the United States offering free film workshops and screenings. At Lynden, they gave a Direct Animation workshop, and then, once dusk came, screened movies on the side of their bus, as it was parked on the gravel area next to the pond. The program mixed short films from all over the world with work made at the Echo Park Film Center and at workshops on the road. The audience, which ranged in age from toddlers to grandparents, ate some snacks, played some bingo, and enjoyed the diverse selection of films and live musical accompaniment. We hope to welcome the Filmmobile back to Lynden in the future.

Paolo Davanzo, with the Filmmobile in the background.

Filmmobile & Bingo Bunny!

Audience & projector

Screening.

Screening.

We are very excited to have the Echo Park Film Center Filmmobile stopping by Lynden for a series of free events today. At 5 pm, Echo Park Film Center staff Paolo Davanzo and Lisa Marr will host a Direct Animation Workshop. This workshop is suitable for all ages. Following the workshop, there will be a picnic (bring your own picnic) at 7 pm, and a screening with live musical accompaniment at 8 pm.

For more info on the event, click here.

For more info on the Echo Park Film Center Filmmobile, click here, and to keep up with their journey across the country, click here.