White, fluffy, and insulating is the cover over our gardens and landscape this fall. Sooner than I expected I settle next to the warm wood stove, open a book and move through our green-scape in virtual reality. Now is the time to enjoy winter, albeit early, but also to read up on the many wonders of nature - the non-human life that abounds about us, under our feet, surrounding us, and above us. Now is the time to learn how we can, in the light of climate change, and ecosystem depletion - how we all can practice regenerative earth building starting in our own backyards. Here is what I am reading for encouragement, knowledge, and ideas for action, be it increased biodiversity plantings, soil cover crops, or observing and learning more about our native plants, insects, and other wildlife.
Dancing with Bees – a journey back to nature. *****
By Brigit Strawbridge Howard
Brigit writes, “My aim in writing the book was to encourage people to look again at the wildlife on their doorsteps – there is so much that goes unnoticed!” Follow along as her “ability to observe and describe nature” improves significantly and as she is inspired to take the time to notice, look and listen. As my similar mantra expresses, Stop, Look, and Listen, nature will astound you.
Brigit summarizes “It matters not whether you are in a familiar landscape, or in a faraway place, whether you are surrounded by trees, mountains, rivers, or the vegetables on your allotment. Having a relationship with the rest of nature is about opening our hearts, our minds, and ourselves, knowing that we can, if we wish, rekindle our lost connections…”
Indeed even though the discoveries and learning take place in England and possibly Ireland, the place could well be your own backyard. And that is the very point!
Upon being sparked first as a child and now as a middle-aged adult, she shares not just her deliciously entrancing observations and what she learns from them, but also an ecological worldview extrapolated from a small plot of land and at times from less than a square meter of soil or plant life. Walk with her through high grass and perennial flower meadows, touch the bark of an ancient tree, and sink your feet in warm sand and water as she describes how “Sun, rain, wind, and earth make me feel alive.” Follow her as she “encounter[s], in the truest sense of the word, other living, non-human beings that live there [on our own doorstep].” She relishes in her nonprofessional’s lack of knowledge about the wildlife she views, because of the “fun and enjoyment to be had when you discover new things. …[I]t is never too late to experience connections to the natural world.” By asking questions of what she sees, she becomes a nature detective.
We learn a good deal about bee life – native bees and honeybees. Did you know that at least some bumblebees sit on their eggs as birds do to keep them warm until they hatch? In addition, evening primroses (according to recent research) respond to the sound of bees buzzing. Learn about soundscape, learn that their around six thousand species of the hoverfly family (Syrphidae) – key pollinators. We learn from the author what happens when as in the Sichuan region of China, “once the largest apple-producing areas on the planet” native wild bees are completely eradicated – the apples must now be pollinated entirely by human hands. Learn about wildlife corridors and their importance. Consider the phenomena of shifting baseline syndrome, whereby each generation having lost huge chunks of nature before they arrived, start the degradation metric anew, losing sight of how much ecology is truly being lost. Consider phenology – the timing of insect emergence and plant flowering, how climate warming is disrupting the match, and what we can do to help (Brigit encourages us to help address the impacts of climate change to insects by planting for bloom succession, buy or grow insecticide-free plants, take care of the soil, and plant flowers, meadows, shrubs, and trees.) Though enjoying nature does not require knowing the names of plants, it is still helpful in learning more about individual plants. The author explains the biological taxonomy naming/classification of plants and insects. There are also gardening tips such as how to make comfrey tea as a natural fertilizer for tomato plants.
Moreover, what carries this boatload of information about nature is the enticing way the author brings us astride her walks, observations, and thoughtful inquires of what she sees and learns of nature. Brigit tells us “It is only when we reali[z]e that we are a part of nature, rather than apart from it, and behave accordingly, that real change is likely to happen.” Dancing with Bees brings us on “a journey back to nature” one we can easily replicate right outside our own backdoor.
Farming on the Wild Side” *****
The evolution of a Regenerative Organic Farm and Nursery.
By Nancy and John Hayden.
“ We can all affect change.” Thus, the local book. Farming on the Wild Side – The Evolution of a Regenerative Organic Farm and Nursery ends after showing us how The Farm Between in Jeffersonville owned and by the authors Nancy and John Hayden was and is continually regenerated. The book speaks to us of love of the land and of all living species, and to the practical needs and ways to work with land and living species for all (species) benefit.
This book is not just for small farmers. Indeed, it is also a story for families who want to feed their children healthy food and an equally healthy recognition of our relationship with the bio-diverse forms of life and their little-understood relationships that form a system that feeds us.
If you want encouragement as well as practical advice on stewarding your land be it 100 sq feet or multiple acres, grow a small garden or plot of flowers, grow fruit or vegetables truly organically, this story and guide will help you with the many changes we are facing environmentally, socially, economically.
John and Nancy seek to create a regenerative food production system that at the same time improves soil and water quality – and they tell us many ways they have incorporated this goal – including failures and successes. Theirs is not a vanilla approach. Creative ideas-ventures kept at a small scale are easier to test out without risking overall failure. (“Diversity equals stability,” they advise).
We hear how soil is alive. These two ecologists and organic farmers (John likes the descriptor “practicing regenerative agro ecologist”) explain how soil is alive, how to do less damage to the soil, how to improve soil, and why this is important. Most valuably, their how-to’s are for the most part practical and applicable for even small yards.
Read this book for the philosophy offered on adaptation, (social and economic) resiliency, relationships with all living matter, pests and invasive plants, as well as practical approaches to improving soil, growing no chemical food and flowers, improving the soil in creative inexpensive ways, supporting native bees and other pollinators and recommendations on the specific nut, berry and other fruit plants.
Then as they suggest in the preface: Take action on behalf of life – Conserve or plant something!
Dirt to Soil. One Family’s Journey into Regenerative Agriculture.
***
By Gabe Brown.
Reed Sims of Jericho, VT wrote me to say
“Gabe Brown is admired throughout the soils and climate-aware farming communities and was one of the first to fully implement no-till, diverse cover crops, and carbon farming. He is also willing to talk about it with the world, and ‘his’ world of Great Plains and Midwestern farmers, creating many converts.”
Though the author’s message is directed primarily to farmers, he reveals an open-minded look at how nature works and his effort to work with nature. His story inspires and educates us all on the importance of healthy soil and how to improve what we have. So much of our mass-produced foods, both vegetable and meats are grown as monocultures and hybridized for long shelf life yet lower nutrient value. Soil has been severely degraded. The results are low nutrient foods, crops grown with chemicals, herbicides, and pesticides, and an ecosystem and farmer business plan both out of balance.
Understanding land management that mimics nature’s way is to walk the path to regenerative agriculture (regenerating our ecosystems), gardening, and even back and front yard landscapes. We all can create conditions in our yards as well as farms, in which the soil biology can thrive – in particular, the mycorrhizal fungi in the soil and whereby the soil organic matter can increase. The author explains that mycorrhizal fungi have a symbiotic relationship with the roots of most plants and are essential for healthy soil.
The five principles of healthy soil explained are limited disturbance, armor (soil covered at all times), diversity of plants, and living roots as much of the year as possible.
Most concerning to me is the message in this book about the low nutrient value of much of the food from large-scale monoculture farming, the dependence on fungicides, pesticides, and chemical fertilizers, and most alarming the severe degradation of soils across the country. The upbeat message in the book is that though there are no exact recipes there are methodologies we can use to improve the organic matter and overall health of our soils. There is still some life in our soil; we need only create the conditions to allow the soil biology to thrive again.
Each of these books was obtained from the
Jericho Community Library via interlibrary loan.
Available for purchase at https://www.chelseagreen.com/
Jericho Vermont
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