Chipco Preserve

By Maeve Kiley Small Worlds, Big Impacts Most people have heard legends of Little People. Tiny creatures, often winged or possessing magical capabilities, that live in tiny homes beneath flower petals and inside tree holes. They go by many names and wear many faces: fairies, pixies, gnomes, brownies, leprechauns, Yunwi Tsundi (Cherokee) and so much more. As we grew older, many categorized these legends under a nostalgic haze, but the idea of tiny worlds inhabited by tiny people is not simply...

Vienna’s Vegetable Orchestra turns fresh produce into music, dinner, and a lesson in sustainability. Most of us were taught not to play with our food. A group of musicians in Vienna heard that instruction and chose a different path. And the music is truly an acquired taste. The Vegetable Orchestra performs with instruments made from fresh produce. Carrots become recorders. Pumpkins provide percussion. Radishes form bass flutes. Leeks fill in for violins. Eggplants clap, celery is hollowed...

Scientists are studying the microscopic structure of cicada wings for clues to creating antibacterial surfaces. The discovery offers a striking example of biomimicry and a reminder that biodiversity may hold solutions we have not yet learned to recognize.