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We are very sorry about the late newsletter today. I hope you can all enjoy it regardless!

Also, I previously thought that dead leaves are nothing but a major inconvenience. Boy, was I wrong! Find out more in the article below…

Innovation

This Startup Is Using Dead Leaves to Make Paper

Businesses often talk about creating a closed-loop or circular economy, but usually, they're focusing on small-scale efforts. Releaf Paper, however, is tackling a much larger challenge. They take dead leaves from city trees and turn them into paper products like bags and office supplies, aiming to make a significant impact.

The scale is massive. According to the WWF, six billion trees are cut down annually for paper products—everything from toilet paper to Amazon boxes. At the same time, cities produce around 8,000 metric tons of leaves every year, which often end up clogging gutters or being disposed of in landfills.

Releaf Paper is making real progress in addressing both supply and demand. Based in Paris, they produce 3 million paper bags annually from 5,000 metric tons of leaves. They partner with landscapers across Europe, bringing in thousands of tons of leaves to their facility. Their production process is low-water and free of sulfur and chlorine, resulting in paper with a smaller environmental footprint.

"In a city, leaves are green waste that should be collected. It’s a practical solution because we get fiber for making paper and return lignin as a semi-fertilizer for gardens or trees. It's a win-win model," says Frechka, co-founder and CTO of Releaf Paper. The company already supplies products to major companies like LVMH, BNP Paribas, Logitech, and Samsung. They plan to expand further by opening more plants in other countries, aiming to make their paper-making process from fallen leaves accessible globally.

"Our goal is to expand this idea worldwide. Ultimately, we want the technology to be available on all continents," Sobolenko told ZME Science.

World News

Stonehenge ‘Altar Stone’ Likely Originated from Scotland, Not Wales

The 6-ton Altar Stone at Stonehenge, long thought to have come from Wales, actually originated from Scotland, according to new research led by Australian scientists. Earlier studies suggested the sandstone slab came from the Brecon Beacons in southeast Wales, about 50 miles from Stonehenge. However, this new study shows the stone likely came from northeast Scotland, some 460 miles away.

Using advanced equipment, including mass spectrometers, the team analyzed the mineral composition of the Altar Stone and found it matched rocks from the Orcadian Basin in Scotland, not Welsh bedrock. Lead researcher Anthony Clarke noted that the mineral grains in the stone, ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 million years old, provided a clear fingerprint linking the stone to Scotland.

These findings suggest that Neolithic people had more advanced transport methods than previously thought, possibly involving long-distance trade networks and maritime routes. Moving such a massive stone overland from Scotland to southern England would have been incredibly difficult, pointing to a likely coastal journey.

Despite being one of the most studied ancient monuments, Stonehenge continues to reveal new information. The study also raises questions about the level of societal organization in Britain during the Neolithic period. Researchers are still working to pinpoint the exact location in northeast Scotland where the Altar Stone originated.

Environment

‘Sponge’ Cities

In China, a landscape architect is transforming cities by using nature to combat flooding through the "sponge city" concept.

Yu Kongjian, through his firm Turenscape, has implemented hundreds of projects in various cities, using native plants, dirt, and strategic planning to absorb excess rainwater and redirect it away from densely populated areas. Flooding is a growing issue, especially in the commercial south and agricultural north. Yu argues that traditional concrete and pipe solutions are inflexible, costly, and require constant upkeep. A 2021 World Bank report states that 641 of China’s 654 largest cities regularly face flooding.

“There’s a misconception that if we build higher flood walls or stronger dams, we can protect cities from flooding,” Yu told CNN. “We think we can control the water… that is a mistake.” Yu, often referred to as the “Chinese Olmsted” after Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of NYC’s Central Park, grew up in a small farming village in Zhejiang Province. There, 36 weirs channeled water across terraced rice paddies, an early inspiration for his work.

Turenscape’s projects, such as The Nanchang Fish Tail Park in Jiangxi Province, Red Ribbon Park in Hebei Province, and Sanya Mangrove Park in Hainan, integrate native plants to create highly absorbent ground that manages rainfall. These projects often reclaim polluted or abandoned areas. For instance, Nanchang Fish Tail Park was built on a 124-acre polluted fish farm and coal ash dump, now home to wildlife in a city of 6 million people. Sanya Mangrove Park replaced an old concrete sea wall and a barren fish farm, creating a "living" sea wall.

One hectare of Turenscape sponge land can naturally clean 800 tons of polluted water to a swimmable standard. These sponge projects have become popular local attractions.

Yu prefers these adaptable, localized solutions over large infrastructure projects, which can be costly and inefficient if misapplied. The sponge city projects in Wuhan, costing about half a billion dollars less than proposed concrete solutions, now include over 300 sponge projects, such as urban gardens and green spaces, which divert water into artificial lakes and ponds or capture it in soil, releasing it gradually into the sewer system.

Last year, The Cultural Landscape Foundation awarded Yu the $100,000 Oberlander Prize for his work in creating nature-based solutions that benefit the public.

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Mind Stretchers

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The head of a whale is six feet long; his tail is as long as his head and half his body, and his body is half of his whole length.
How long is the whale?

Answers to yesterday’s Mind Stretchers:

Unfinished business - Chris Hostetler got this answer first! 🌞 

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