Can Land Be Developed?

It was informal but rewarding to have two evenings with two fine scientists from Oklahoma. The Scientist Talks were led by State Soil Scientist Steve Alspach and Oral Roberts University Biology Professor Dr. Hal C. Reed. What a shame only a select (our designation) handful people participated in  the two lectures.

Yes,  Soil Health management strategies can ensure the Dust Bowl doesn't happen again; and yes, the insect societies sustain our own communities. Our livelihoods are based on the soil, the land, the water, and the environment. The soil needs to be enriched for generations to harvest food, the flowers need to grow for untold insect species to pollinate; the trees need to grow to improve the air quality; and the water needs to flow to everywhere for a sustainable environment. The key here is that we humans have to enrich the soil, grow flowers, plant trees, distribute water, and support life. Can land continue to be developed? My answer is: NO. Land can neither be developed nor explored for profit until we learn how to put back what we have taken.

I declare my yard is the" Pollinator Sanctuary" and welcome ants, worms, and wasps as well. I will choose the ground cover that can improve the soil quality over a visually "green" lawn (Can I burn my front lawn for a healthier and more diverse piece of land?). The answer my friend, is in the land.

Oklahoma State Soil Scientist Steve Alspach

ORU Biology Professor Dr. Hal Reed

100 Meridian National Monument

Antelope Hills, Oklahoma

Welcome to James' and Yiren's 100 meridian land walk! This is an introduction to a special Oklahoma/Texas border. We are attempting to establish this border as a National Monument and become the start of a great uninterrupted natural path around the world called the Greenbelt Meridian. This border lies along the 100th Meridian West and would appear less than perfect for a "Greenbelt" Meridian, yet it is in reality tailor made for our project. We are dedicated to creating a corridor that has no roads, no fences, no man's and no shoes land. The land is returned to the native land, before the landrun, before the treaties, before the purchases, and before the colonization. It will be kept as a symbol of hope for the Earth, preserved forever, into the future.

Please sign the petition through the following link and be one of the GBM real troopers. Thank you.

Designate the 100th Meridian at the Oklahoma and Texas border as a National Monument and the first section of a global Greenbelt Meridian.
Please sign the petition at:
tinyurl.com/greenbeltmeridian

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http://100meridianwalker.blogspot.com/

Life along the 100th Meridian

Rrichard Long Sculptures

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Greenbelt Meridian Project

James and I physically started our Greenbelt Meridian Project campaign nine months ago with nothing except a vision. Thanks everyone who helped along the way and who showed up for the opening reception ( it takes a great effort to walk in such hot weather). We wish we could spent time with everyone at the opening to express our gratitude.  Share with you here is our first GBM introduction to the public.

Greenbelt Meridian (2 minutes and 17 seconds)
wildlifes-need-to-roam

The Greenbelt Meridian light was created by Geoffrey Hicks.

It Is The Same As It Ever Was

a moth 

In the course of two years while we have been planning this exhibition, many things have happened for better and for the worse in our private lives and in the world. We have learned of so many organizations and individuals  that are making a great effort  to discover new territories in art, science, and global policies. Regrettably though, more animals have continued to be slaughtered for no acceptable reason, more rainforest cut down; more rivers and lands compromised by radiation and runoff chemical, and more humans are born and more killed. Is the notion half for nature and half for human an impossible dream? or unnecessary?

Life is linear, but the land, the earth,  nature, the environment, the universe,are all infinite. An unexpected twist happened when we were preparing for this exhibition: We thought of the stages of death quite a lot. " It is the same as it ever was..." (from All is Well by Henry Scott Holland, 1847-1918)

The opening of the Greenbelt Meridian fell on July 18th, the birthday for Maria Gallagher, my mother-in-law, whose life is being taken away by a terrible dementia. Maria hasn't  been able to enjoy the world around her for more than two years. James and Yiren are dedicating this exhibition to her love of life and  her inspiring will to survive.

It begins right here!

The Greenbelt Meridian's initiative is to return a complete circle of land back to nature, free of all human interference, therefore we think it is necessary to mention American Land Art during the 70s, because the ideas of Earthwork, conceptual art, and installation art have been an underlying influences (at least in spirit) for our direction in working large scale, inside and outside the gallery! Earth Art is an art movement and an art form that is created in nature. Large scale structures and sculptures are not placed in landscape, rather land is in various ways the subject and means of creation. In 2012, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles presented "Ends of the Earth: Land Art to 1974", the first large-scale, historical-thematic exhibition to deal broadly with land art. Many of the earth works have eroded with time and only exists in photos, video, or paper documents. http://moca.org/landart/

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The notion of maximum effort and minimum impact is totally against human progress and value, and that is our conscience toward nature. We appreciate Belgian-born, Mexico-based artist Francis Alys' social practice on earth and share with you one of his early projects here.

Francis Alys, The Loop Tijuana-San Diego 1997

In order to go from Tijuana to San Diego without crossing the Mexico/United States border. I followed a perpendicular route away from the fence and circumnavigated the globe, heading 67* south East, North East and South East again until I reached my departure point. The project remained free and clear of all critical implications beyond the physical displacement of the artist.  --Alys

Greenbelt Meridian Footbook

We put some of the stories and visions that inspired us into coloring pages and this is a companion book to Greenbelt Meridian Coloring Book that has never published.

Greenbelt Meridian Footbook

A Passage

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through.  For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.    -- Matthew 7:13

A narrow gate

A bridge to other field


A divided house makes space for the greenbelt meridian to pass through.

All the way through  BOK parking lot and beyond