RETREET BLOG

RETREET redefines disaster relief by engaging communities to replant lost trees.

SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.115

A rather strange mystery has developed in Midtown Omaha. Who is stabbing trees in public parks with meat-wrapped knives, and why?

Over the past 25 years, a fascinating transition has taken place in areas of England that were absolutely decimated by mining operations. It's incredible to see what a few million saplings can do given the right amount of time.

Is your city one of the most bicycle friendly in the US? Click the link below to find out!

THE BEST BIKE CITIES IN NORTH AMERICA (article)

Have you ever wondered what a squirrel sees as it zips through the trees? Well, one inquisitive individual grabbed a GoPro and took it on a canopy tour. This is a really fun video to watch.

A SQUIRREL TAKES US ON A TOUR OF THE TREES (video)

SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.114

Most people think a forest is something that exists far away, a bastion of nature untouched by human development. Not so, says TED Fellow Shubhendu Sharma. Click below to learn how you can grow a complete, complex 100-year-old forest in your own backyard, in just 10 years. We're already digging!

GROW A FOREST IN YOUR BACKYARD (essay/video)

Once your backyard forest has been established, crush another commonly held misconception: that forests are places in which trees just battle for supremacy, a vast competition for resources. In fact, trees do more than help each other out in times of need, they collaborate. Another fascinating TED Talk on that subject follows.

Life surely has ups and downs, low points and moments when you're riding high. That being said, no one rides higher than Felix Guirola of Havana, Cuba. If this picture isn't clickbait enough, what is?

SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.106

We've seen folding bicycles before, but the GI FlyBike really takes the cake. This futuristic ride halves in size in seconds and makes for easy storage. This is clip we could watch again and again. And again.

Happy Birthday to the world's oldest tree! Methuselah, a bristlecone pine, just turned 4,847. It's exact location is kept a secret by the US Forest Service in order to protect it, though we know it stands somewhere in the Great Basin. Here's to many more years!

What's better than a public food forest? One that floats! Swale, an edible tourist attraction built on a barge, is set to disembark this June in NYC. If you have a chance, check it out.

SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.103

There are a lot of rules governing the production of road bicycles, especially those used in races like the Tour de France. Standardized dimensions, materials, and functionality are set by Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), and must be strictly followed. One designer, Robert Egger of Specialized, decided to throw all of that out the window and push the limits of possibility. Behold the fruits of his labor, the FUCI. Yes, the name means what you think it means.

SPECIALIZED CONCEPT BIKE (video/article)

Speaking of rules, did you know that all trees break at essentially the same windspeed? 94/mph. Explore why at the link below.

Trees give us so many edible delights. What better place to plan a foodie expedition than in the forest? Check out The Forager, a bicycle that enables you to scout, prepare, and consume the bounty that awaits.

SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.101

NASA is using a system of satellite and lasers to create a 3D map of the world's forests in order to determine the amount of carbon dioxide that they encapsulate. The system they've devised, called "lidar," is phenomenal, and is the latest advancement in tree cartography. Learn more below.

NASA USES SPACE LASERS TO MAP FORESTS (article)

Norway is investing $1 billion to create a system of two-lane bicycle highways that connect the country's nine largest cities. The hope is that this new infrastructure will greatly reduce the impact of emissions, and the goal is for at least 10% of journeys to occur by bicycle in 2030. We hope it works!

NORWAY SPENDS $1 BILLION ON BICYCLE HIGHWAYS (essay)

Architects in Ho Chi Minh City were asked to create a new university campus. Taking into account the rapid urban sprawl and takeover of the natural environment, one group created a beautiful design that purposefully invokes a city overrun by vegetation. Seems almost post-apocalyptic. After seeing the photo spread, we definitely want to attend this university!

FOREST CAMPUS IN HO CHI MINH CITY (photo essay)

SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.98

What to do when you run out of potential green space in an urban environment and still want to plant more trees? Create a floating forest! Jeroen Everaert, a resident of Rotterdam who runs an art production company, has been working with the city to establish trees in unused harbor space. Quite the installation piece!

THE FLOATING FOREST OF ROTTERDAM (article)

In celebration of Black History Month, we share the following story. Few know of the all-black 25th mobile infantry, a group of incredibly tough men who rode 1,900 across the US on bicycles in 1897 in order to test the new device as a potential mode of troop transport. The story of their adventure is incredible, to say the least.

A man in Seattle, whose close relations call The Human Shovel, transplants unwanted trees using nothing more than a shovel, pickaxe, and antique truck. Over the past five years, Bernie O'Brien has saved hundreds of trees from the bulldozer. Noble work indeed.

SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.85

This week, we feature a whole host of bicycle and tree related art projects, all of which should bring a smile to your face.

Are you a fan of Monty Python? A big enough fan to attach a coconut clapping device to your bicycle so that it sounds like a trotting horse while you're riding? Yes, there is an app for that.

This 16-year-old artist uses fallen leaves as her canvases, and creates some strikingly beautiful cityscapes in paint. Her work also promotes a simple idea: we do not need to cut trees down for paper. Take a look at her inspired offerings.

Before there were iPhones and bluetooth speakers, there were record and gramophone players. Now, thanks to the ingenuity of a couple of Dutch designers, you can turn your bike into one of the latter and rock your preferred tunes with a stroke of the pedal. Talk about a soundtrack to life!

Most of us treat cardboard as a disposable form of packaging. One artist, Evan Jospin, has given the product a profound second life. Invoking the strong and durable yet raw and impermanent qualities of the medium, which mirror those of trees, she carves intricate and dense forests by gluing several layers together and slowly excising the interior. Hers is some incredible work.

SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.82

Safety is an important part of riding, and lights at night are a key element. The Monkey Light Pro is about as cool a way to be noticed as possible when cruising the streets after dark. With thousands of patterns to choose from, these are some slick LEDs!

A group of students from the Estonian Academy of Arts recently built a series of giant megaphones and placed them in a forest outside of the capital, Tallinn. An art installation and resting place, these beautifully crafted pieces allow passersby to experience the trees in a whole new way. Hardly the sounds of silence!

ESTONIAN FOREST MEGAPHONES (photo essay)

Hayao Miyazaki, one of the world's most famous animators, announced that he will build a park in Okinawa, incorporating themes from some of his most beloved films. This is guaranteed to be a magical place. We would love to walk down these paths.

SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.63

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!

"Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel...the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood."

- Susan B. Anthony

This week on Sunday Show & Tell, we start with a virtual forest walk. Spend your evening on a stroll though some magical and soothing locales from around the world.

Next, take a trip underground to Mega Cavern, a spelunking mountain bikers ultimate paradise right outside of Louisville, KY. Formerly a crushed stone mine, this 17-mile long, 320,000 square foot venue is known simply as THE MINE.

MEGA CAVERN - UNDERGROUND BICYCLE PLAYGROUND (film)

Finally, in the all senses of the word, is the burial pod that allows you to become the tree of your choosing. Imagine replacing cemeteries with spiritual forests where each tree physically represents a person. An interesting idea...what do you think?

BURIAL PODS THAT TURN YOU INTO A TREE (photo essay)

SUNDAY SHOW & TELL
vol.62

Sunday Show & Tell is back! Its brief hiatus was due to all of the exciting announcements and activities we have shared over the past month or so. There is just so much to say!

This week, we start with the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory, the tallest skyscraper in South America at 1,066 feet. That's as tall as the Chrysler Building! Located in the middle of the Amazon, this tower was built to monitor the relationship between the world's largest rain forest and the atmosphere. Take a peak at these amazing photos.

AMAZON TALL TOWER OBSERVATORY (photo essay)

Since the late 1970s, China has been planting BILLIONS of trees on the southern end of the Gobi Desert. After centuries of deforestation, advancing sand dunes began to seriously threaten farmland and cause horrible dust storms in some of China's largest cities. The answer? The Great Green Wall! Learn all about it at the link below.

THE GREAT GREEN WALL (article/photos/video)

Speaking of China, American-based Chinese designer Pengtao Yu dreamed up the Cojoy Dual Bicycle. This cooperative set of wheels looks like a cross between a wheelchair, a roller-coaster, and a paddleboat. We'd love to give it a whirl!