On the open landscape of Israel and the West Bank, where pine and cypress forests grow alongside olive groves, tree planting has become symbolic of conflicting claims to the land. Palestinians cultivate olive groves as a vital agricultural resource, while the Israeli government has made restoration of mixed-growth forests a national priority. Although both sides plant for a variety of purposes, both have used tree planting to assert their presence on—and claim to—disputed land. Shaul Ephraim Cohen has conducted an unprecedented study of planting in the region and the control of land it signifies. In The Politics of Planting, he provides historical background and examines both the politics behind Israel's afforestation policy its consequences. Focusing on the open land surrounding Jerusalem and four Palestinian villages outside the city, this study offers a new perspective on the conflict over land use in a region where planting has become a political tool. For the valuable data it presents—collected from field work, previously unpublished documents, and interviews—and the insight it provides into this political struggle, this will be an important book for anyone studying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

How afforestation reveals the often-concealed politics between humans and plants In Plant Life, Rosetta S. Elkin explores the procedures of afforestation, the large-scale planting of trees in otherwise treeless environments, including grasslands, prairies, and drylands. Elkin reveals that planting a tree can either be one of the ultimate offerings to thriving on this planet, or one of the most extreme perversions of human agency over it. Using three supracontinental case studies—scientific forestry in the American prairies, colonial control in Africa’s Sahelian grasslands, and Chinese efforts to control and administer territory—Elkin explores the political implications of plant life as a tool of environmentalism. By exposing the human tendency to fix or solve environmental matters by exploiting other organisms, this work exposes the relationship between human and plant life, revealing that afforestation is not an ecological act: rather, it is deliberately political and distressingly social. Plant Life ultimately reveals that afforestation cannot offset deforestation, an important distinction that sheds light on current environmental trends that suggest we can plant our way out of climate change. By radicalizing what conservation protects and by framing plants in their total aliveness, Elkin shows that there are many kinds of life—not just our own—to consider when advancing environmental policy.

This book focuses on the politics of street trees and the institutions, actors and processes that govern their planning, planting and maintenance. This is an innovative approach which is particularly important in the context of mounting environmental and societal challenges and reveals a huge amount about the nature of modern life, social change and political conflict. The work first provides different historical perspectives on street trees and politics, celebrating diversity in different cultures. A second section discusses street tree values, policy and management, addressing more contemporary issues of their significance and contribution to our environment, both physically and philosophically. It explores cultural idiosyncrasies and those from the point of view of political economy, particularly challenging the neo-liberal perspectives that continue to dominate political narratives. The final section provides case studies of community engagement, civil action and governance. International case studies bring together contrasting approaches in areas with diverging political directions or intentions, the constraints of laws and the importance of people power. By pursuing an interdisciplinary approach this book produces an information base for academics, practitioners, politicians and activists alike, thus contributing to a fairer political debate that helps to promote more democratic environments that are sustainable, equitable, comfortable and healthier.

How afforestation reveals the often-concealed politics between humans and plants In Plant Life, Rosetta S. Elkin explores the procedures of afforestation, the large-scale planting of trees in otherwise treeless environments, including grasslands, prairies, and drylands. Elkin reveals that planting a tree can either be one of the ultimate offerings to thriving on this planet, or one of the most extreme perversions of human agency over it. Using three supracontinental case studies--scientific forestry in the American prairies, colonial control in Africa's Sahelian grasslands, and Chinese efforts to control and administer territory--Elkin explores the political implications of plant life as a tool of environmentalism. By exposing the human tendency to fix or solve environmental matters by exploiting other organisms, this work exposes the relationship between human and plant life, revealing that afforestation is not an ecological act: rather, it is deliberately political and distressingly social. Plant Life ultimately reveals that afforestation cannot offset deforestation, an important distinction that sheds light on current environmental trends that suggest we can plant our way out of climate change. By radicalizing what conservation protects and by framing plants in their total aliveness, Elkin shows that there are many kinds of life--not just our own--to consider when advancing environmental policy.

In this new monograph, artist Corinne Silva considers how gardening, like mapping, is a way of allocating territory. Garden State is the outcome of exhibitions at The Mosaic Rooms and Ffotogallery. Offering an?unexpected view on gardening? (Wall Street Journal) Silva presents 53 colour plates which trace suburban settlements in Israeli occupied territories. 0 0Between 2010 and 2013, Silva made a series of visits to Israeli occupied territories between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River. She travelled across twenty-two Israeli settlements making photographs of public and private gardens. Silva presents this visually rich photographic journey and examines how the gardens in these occupied lands are both material and symbolic evidence of a continuing colonisation.

Planting Nature exposes a collaboration that cuts across environmental, governmental, and business interests, that subverts the power of people who think that they are building a better world by planting trees.

Since the 18th century, when Pope and Addison meditated deeply on gardens, there has been very little critical discussion of gardens and gardening. This stimulating, entertaining and original collection of essays aims to redress that balance, renewing the connection between gardening and the wider intellectual and cultural world. Essays include : "The Garden And The Division Of Labour" by Martin Hoyles, "Horticultural Intervention Art" by Tony Heywood, "Digging For Anarchy" by Tom Hodgkinson, "The Spirit Of The Geometrician" by Fernando Caruncho, "As The Garden, So The Earth - The Politics Of The Natural Garden" by Noël Kingsbury, "Landscape Design And Life: Conflict Or Complicity?" by Gilles Clement, "The Explosion Of Garden Visiting In France" by Louisa Jones, "Garden, Nature, Art" by David Cooper, "Nyc Wtc 9:11: The Healing Gardens Of Paradise Lost" by Lorna Mcneur, "The Power Is In Harmony" by Nori and Sandra Pope, "Unnatural History: Women, Gardening And Femininity" by Rozsika Parker, "Zen And The Art Of Tea Gardening" by Charles Chesshire, "Where Have All The Critics Gone?" by Anne Wareham, "The Garden As Art" by George Carter, "Gardens Of Ethnicity" by Clare Rishbeth and "Psychotopia" by Tim Richardson.