Cardinal Chronicle

RIGHT NOW THE PATCH OF GROUND JUST east of the Keck Science Building, across from the Rodin Sculpture Garden, looks a little like a Chia Pet after just a few days of watering. Come spring, it will be a lush, sculpted garden. It was commissioned in conjunction with the exhibit "The Changing Garden: Four Hundred Years of European and American Art," which opens in June at the Cantor Arts Center. The garden, designed by New York artist Meg Webster, is planted with native California plants and will become a permanent part of the campus landscape. The drought-resistant native flowers and grasses were started small so they would develop long roots, said CATHY BLAKE, a landscape architect and assistant director of the architecture and planning office. Over the next few months, campus strollers can watch as showy milkweed, meadow barley, California oat grass and other species grow into art. The garden will open to the public in June.

LAST WEEK, PHILIPPE COHEN, DIRECTOR OF the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, accepted a "Green Building" award for the Leslie Sun Field Station from Sustainable San Mateo County, a nonprofit organization that promotes environmental and economic sustainability. The building is a hit with users as well, reports Cohen. The heating bill for the 10,000-square-foot building was a "pretty trivial" $400, thanks to solar collectors and photovoltaic panels on the roof. "I love this building," he said. There have been some aggravations, including the headaches staff are having trying to decipher the highly sophisticated computer software connected to the solar collectors. "It's been a steep learning curve," he said. Lesson learned? "Never underestimate the ability of a new technology to make a simple thing complex."

HELP WANTED: THE STANFORD BLOOD CENTER is looking for personable volunteers to help at the Stanford and Mountain View offices, and at blood drives throughout the Peninsula and the South Bay, including campus blood drives. Volunteers are needed to help out before and after blood drives and to help monitor blood donors. For information on how to volunteer or to schedule a Blood Center tour, contact TESSA MOORE, volunteer services manager, at 723-6795.