The Ecological Calendar

"In the eyes of Chris Hardman, a creator of the ECOlogical Calendar, the old Gregorian year is passe. Chopped artificially into months and weeks, it says nothing of cyclic birth and death, the change in day length or the true age of the universe. So Hardman has designed an alternative calendar divided into four panels- one for each season- that show not only the days of the year but the phases of the moon, the ebb and flow of tides, and the blossoming, thriving, and fading of life. In the summer panel above, three of the season’s brightest stars- Deneb, Altair, and Vega- form a triangle at the top; the moon reaches its apogee in early August; ripe cherries and birdberries burst forth, and a young salamander breathes with gills underwater. Gone are the old names for the days. Instead, running along the panel bottoms, are their poetic alternatives: ThistleCricket, PlumpCherry, RubyThicket, and 362 more."

~ Marcel Pacatte
Discover Magazine
Vol. 25 No.12 / December 2004 Reviews

"This year's most spectacular calendar. This replaces the traditional squares. This is a continuum of the seasons. There is more information here than in many a thick book. But it's so friendly, you get it at a glance. This ECOlogical Calendar is fabulous for your home, your office, and especially for your kid's classroom."

~ Gene Shalit, NBC's TODAY SHOW

Reimagining the Days of Our Lives: A visionary California theater company unveils a new kind of calendar

~ Karen Olson
Utne Reader
January - February 2003
See Page 68

“Congratulations on your calendar. As more and more of us live in cities, in human created environments, it is easy to forget that we are still biological creatures subject to the forces of nature. We should celebrate our place in the cosmos, in the solar system, on this planet. I hope your work helps us do that.”

~ David Suzuki, PhD, Chair of the David Suzuki Foundation

“This beautifully illustrated calendar is a powerful guide-- reminding us to slow down and find balance through reconnecting ourselves to nature's sacred rhythm.”

~ Julia Butterfly Hill, Founder of the Circle of Life Foundation

“This is a celebration of time and its infinite manifestations. It marries the sun and the moon to feathers, rime and starfish.”

~ Paul Hawken, Executive Director, Natural Capital Institute

“Your calendar is very beautiful. Congratulations on putting together such a beautiful and well integrated calendar. Calendars began as a way to track important natural events, typically seasons, and reconciling the natural cycles was probably the most important force behind the early development of astronomy.”

~ Celeste Burrows, Chabot Space & Science Center

“The ECOlogical Calendar is one of those unique forms of communication that ties time, nature and people together into one piece of information that allows anyone who sees it to recognize their own place in the picture.”

~ Phil Frank, Cartoonist, author, historian