Safety First: Training with our Installation Team
The Offshoots Team spent the day doing safety training at Hood Park: The bike pavilion's roof in the park is a PHYTO Air Pollution Buffer. The planted roof addresses the air pollution caused by the congested highway traffic on the interstate immediately to the west;...
Phytoremediation in the news: Effects of Biochar With Phytoremediation for Copper and Hydrocarbons
Finding innovative ways to bioremediate land is always at the forefront of our minds. This study conducted by Mazzurco-Miritana, V., Passatore, L., Zacchini, M. et al. explores biochar-based strategies to remediate polluted areas, particularly soils contaminated with...
Phytoremediation in the news: Scientists at UMass Amherst Engineer Plant
“As we know, we are in the era of renewable energy. Conventional mining is monumentally destructive, but phytomining can give us a sustainable, domestic supply of nickel to help fuel the green transition.” - Om Parkash Dhankher, professor of molecular biology and...
A Compost Win-Win-Win
A Quick Debrief on Decomp Anything that grows can decompose. Composting is the natural process of recycling organic matter into a fertilizer that enriches soils. Compost also improves soil health because it’s high in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, all essential...
Phytoremediation in the news: From Research to Practice
“Now I can imagine, when I'm going back in my nursery, I can start implementing propagating sapling that have abilities to phytoremediate some pollutant, especially copper and also sulfate mercury as a contaminant from the soil,” said Nyakokpa. We are inspired by this...
The Somerville Pollinator Action Plan: A Successful Volunteer Day
In collaboration with the City of Somerville’s Mayor Ballantyne’s office and the Division of Public Space and Urban Forestry, Offshoots, Inc. created a Pollinator Action Plan for the City and its residents. By identifying spatial and behavioral interventions that...
Phytoremediation in the news: Research Publication
This article from Phys.org highlights a recent study focused on the role of phytoremediation strategies in combating microplastic pollution! The study emphasizes the importance of understanding and harnessing natural processes to mitigate environmental pollution. From...
Orchard and Spring Bulbs Installation
As winter's grip loosens, our installation team finished planting a vibrant display of spring bulbs and soon to...
Phytoremediation in the news: Mallard Lake, DuPage County, IL
DuPage County, IL In 2023, scientists from around the world gathered in DuPage county, IL, to tour a closed landfill at Mallard Lake. Just 10 years ago, the USPA and IEPA recorded seepage of leachate from the perimeters of the landfill into surrounding water systems...
Springtime at the Blessing of the Bay Native Pollinator Meadow
With the spring season upon us, our horticulture team has been doing seasonal cleanup and maintenance services at Somerville's Blessing of the Bay Native Pollinator Meadow. As always, there is a lot of activity at the native meadow! We are seeing many of our planted...
Installing the Native Meadow: An Art and a Science
Somerville's Blessing of the Bay Earlier this November, Offshoots’ design and horticulture teams, alongside Larry Weaner Landscape Associates, conducted a site visit at Somerville’s Blessing of the Bay to assess vegetation performance in one of our designed native...
Rabbit-Resistant Native Plants for Year-Round Interest!
Residential Planting Installation - Rabbit Resistant, Native, and Full of Seasonal Interest! Offshoots Inc. strategically incorporated a variety of plants to ensure year-round visual interest. Spring brings forth a burst of life with native asters and the vibrant hues...
Phytoremediation Case Study – Dr. Ron Zalesny and the USDA Forest Service
Phytoremediation at a global scale New from the world of Phytoremediation —Forest Service Scientist Dr. Ron Zalesny is taking phytoremediation to an international scale! Dr. Zalesny and his team have been studying sixteen agroforestry phytoremediation buffer systems...
Scaling up! — Upcoming Speaking Event featuring Kate Kennen
University of Rhode Island: Landscape Architecture Lecture Series On Thursday, November 16th, the University of Rhode Island will host Kate Kennen, FASLA, founder of Offshoots Inc., and co-author with Niall Kirkwood, PHYTO: Principles and Resources for Site...
Malden River Works Invasive Plant Management Day!
Malden River Works Invasive Plant Management Day! Welcome back to the second year of Malden River Works Invasive Plant Management Day, a community-driven initiative in collaboration with Offshoots, dedicated to restoring and preserving the ecological balance of the...
Calahan Park Comprehensive Plan: Playground Updates!
Calahan Park debuts its new playground, a product of community collaboration and careful planning by the Burlington Parks, Recreation & Waterfront (BPRW). Guided by community insights from Offshoots' 2022 comprehensive plan, it goes beyond being just a play...
Orchard Installation!
Our installation team just wrapped up an addition to the Sudbury Farm Orchard! They planted an additional 8 apple trees including Malus ‘Fuji’, Malus ‘Honeycrisp’, Malus ‘Honey gold’, Malus ‘Freedom’, and Malus ‘Pink Lady’. Last year, a total of 20 trees were planted,...
Blessing of the Bay Meadow – Field Trip, July 2023
Today was an exciting day at the Blessing of the Bay Meadow in Somerville! Offshoots met with the Somerville Pollinator Action Plan Advisory Committee and members from several local planning and advocacy organizations on site to discuss some of the successes and...
Phytoremediation in the News: The International Phytotechnology Society’s 17th International Phytotechnology Conference in Chicago Illinois
From research to practice, phytoremediation strategies continue to grow and have positive impacts on contaminated sites at the 2023 Phytoremediation Conference in Chicago, IL. In May of 2023, Offshoots’ founder Kate Kennen participated in the 17th International...
Evidence for Using Plants and Fertilizer to Help Break Down Petroleum!
University of Alaska Microbiology Professor Mary Beth Leigh recently lead a team to study the long-term progress of the affects of introducing grass and fertilizer to soil test plots contaminated with petroleum. The original experiment was conducted in 1995 by the US...
PHYTO Trees Clean Contaminated Stormwater!
Kate recently went on a walkthrough of DuPage County Landfill in Chicago where poplar trees are being used to clean up contaminated leachate from an unlined landfill. Since 2018, a remediation system comprised of 8,500 trees on 14 acres of land irrigated by polluted...
Miyawaki Forests in Cambridge!
Offshoots recently discovered an organization called Biodiversity for a Livable Climate (Bio4Climate), the group responsible of the creation and succession of the Miyawaki Forests in Cambridge, MA. Bio4Climate was formed in 2013 when four climate activists bonded...
Phy2SUDOE: A Collaborative Resource for Advancing Phytoremediation Research and Development
Interested in learning more about phytoremediation? The Phy2SUDOE project is a 30-month long research investigation, starting on January 11th, 2020, that focuses on developing phytoremediation strategies for contaminated sites in Southern Europe. The project involves...
NorthCreek Nursery – Space Invaders: Multiflora Rose
NorthCreek Nursery, one of our favorite sources for native plant plugs, has an excellent blog post this month on how this common MA invasive arrived here, how it spreads and impacts the landscape, and steps you can take right now to minimize it's spread. Check it out...
Carbon-Negative Concrete: Meet CarbiCrete!
As Landscape Architects, we are always trying to find ways to reduce a project's carbon footprint, yet one of the most ubiquitous, materials we find ourselves having to specify is concrete; however, the production of concrete produces a lot of carbon dioxide. This is...
Seed Germination at New England Biolabs!
A few weeks ago our installation team wrapped up work on a woodland transition restoration project in Ipswich. The planting mimics the existing Oak-Hickory Forest to create a transition zone that will help restore the woodland edge over time. Quick germinating fescues...
Green Barriers by Ramo!
Check out this green barrier by Ramo! We are always happy to find low carbon footprint alternatives to concrete, plastic, and unsustainable wood sourcing. This noise barrier looks like a promising alternative. Source:...
Hood Bike Park is in Landscape Architecture Magazine!
We are thrilled to find Offshoots’ work featured in Landscape Architecture Magazine (October 2022 issue)! Offshoots and Elkus Manfredi worked together to create Hood Bike Park, a phytoremediating bicycle hub and social space in Charlestown, MA and we are thrilled to...
Hood Bike Park is in Architectural Record!
It’s an honor to find Offshoots’ work featured in Architectural Record (5/2022 issue)! Offshoots and Elkus Manfredi worked together to create Hood Bike Park, a phytoremediating bicycle hub and social space in Charlestown, MA and we are thrilled to have received a 2022...
Help Save the Monarch Butterfly!
Did you know that as of July 2022, the Monarch Butterfly has been classified by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Endangered?! Threatened by habitat destruction and climate change, all surviving sturgeon species – also migratory, found across the northern...