Winter–Spring 2017
Soil + Sun is a Bowtie Project residency by ecologist and professional forager Nance Klehm. Following her research “reading” the Bowtie’s distinctive landscape, Klehm’s project focuses on the relationship between two ecological niches: the post-industrial area alongside the LA River, and the islands within it. Klehm is interested in the lack of communication between these sites; although geographically adjacent, they share few characteristics.
The residency resulted in a tour, Surface Walk, on February 11, 2017, and the creation of an herbarium that archives Bowtie ecology. The herbarium contains plant samples from each of these ecological niches, which Klehm collected, pressed, mounted on archival sheets, and catalogued, with assistance from Yara Herrarte. In the tradition of the world’s great herbariums, Klehm’s botanic archive of the Bowtie will be accessible to the public. You can hear audio documentation of Surface Walk below.
Field Recording
Nance Klehm's Surface Walk
February 11, 2017
19 minutes
Ecologist and professional forager Nance Klehm lead a walk at the Bowtie Project exploring the human uses and ecological functions of the native and spontaneous vegetation at the site. On this walk, she investigated how the vegetation relates to the ecology and vitality of the soil that supports it.