Flamingos invert expectations. Often thought of as tropical birds in the United States, all three... more Flamingos invert expectations. Often thought of as tropical birds in the United States, all three South American species of Flamingo are found in the high, arid and inhospitable environments of the altiplanos. Native to South America, the James Flamingo, Chilean Flamingo, and Andean Flamingo are uniquely and remotely situated in the highly saline pockets of water that exist from runoff from the Andes, volcano lakes, and geyser-fed lake oases. Is it possible to mechanize flamingo effects on the landscape? What, from the perspective not of a biologist or conservationist, but the perspective of a landscape architect sensitive to those concerns in addition to primarily landscape-specific concerns, can be gained from being-in-place with a flock of dozens or hundreds of animals forming a pink haze on an otherworldly landscape? Questions of sediment processing and filtration, questions of water quality and turbidity as related to the subtleties of particle size filtration and algae quality and quantity, and questions of broader implications of the impacts humans and other fauna have on the planet we share, theoretically and practically culminate here: How does this place translate to other places, and how do these processes translate to problems we are tasked with solving and mitigating at home and elsewhere? How can we help territorialize flamingo habitats in a way that minimizes, eliminates or renders ineffective, those negative impacts on a singular habitat and landscape? How do flamingos cope with pollution, advancement of humans and recession of available habitat?
Flamingos invert expectations. Often thought of as tropical birds in the United States, all three... more Flamingos invert expectations. Often thought of as tropical birds in the United States, all three South American species of Flamingo are found in the high, arid and inhospitable environments of the altiplanos. Native to South America, the James Flamingo, Chilean Flamingo, and Andean Flamingo are uniquely and remotely situated in the highly saline pockets of water that exist from runoff from the Andes, volcano lakes, and geyser-fed lake oases. Is it possible to mechanize flamingo effects on the landscape? What, from the perspective not of a biologist or conservationist, but the perspective of a landscape architect sensitive to those concerns in addition to primarily landscape-specific concerns, can be gained from being-in-place with a flock of dozens or hundreds of animals forming a pink haze on an otherworldly landscape? Questions of sediment processing and filtration, questions of water quality and turbidity as related to the subtleties of particle size filtration and algae quality and quantity, and questions of broader implications of the impacts humans and other fauna have on the planet we share, theoretically and practically culminate here: How does this place translate to other places, and how do these processes translate to problems we are tasked with solving and mitigating at home and elsewhere? How can we help territorialize flamingo habitats in a way that minimizes, eliminates or renders ineffective, those negative impacts on a singular habitat and landscape? How do flamingos cope with pollution, advancement of humans and recession of available habitat?
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Drafts by Alisa Chirico