Newsletter #50
"Yes, trees are the foundations of forests, but a forest is much more than what you see. Underground there is this other world- a world of infinite biological pathways that connect...
trees and allow them to communicate and allow the forest to behave as a single organism. It might remind you of a certain intelligence.”
~ Suzanne Simard, is a leading forest ecologist who explores the connections between trees, other living things and the forest as a whole.
Hello Friends!
Welcome all new subscribers and a big thank you to all paid subscribers! We are just over 4 weeks away from Spring and I am so looking forward to seeing all my tree friends leafing out again. They are still in their dormant phase, and their essential life processes are continuing at a minimal rate, and getting a well-deserved rest. Sounds a bit like when we are on a “restful holiday,” which is what I recently experienced, having squeaked a little time away to celebrate the birthday of one of my dearest friends!
A few days ago, I listened in to a webinar about how Climate Change is expected to affect the Hudson Valley. It was fascinating and I’ll share my notes in another Newsletter, as I want to gather more info and resources for you, which will apply no matter where you live.
In the meantime, you will either learn for the first time or be reminded of the Benefits of Buying Whole Spices (preferably organic as well); Communities that have Taken Over their Utility Grid; an art and nature collab Breathing with the Forest; a resource for listening to the Sounds of Forests from around the world; Thousands of vintage Nature Illustrations available for free and two Films I watched recently that I recommend. Onwards!
#1-Benefits of Whole Spices
By buying some spices whole rather than ground, saves you money. Whole spices stay fresh and flavorful for at least two years and some even longer. Just ground, or grate them as needed.
I started growing my own organic flaxseed at my River’s Edge Farm last summer! Whole Flaxseed is best stored out of the sunlight (all spices should be stored away from sunlight). To ground up flaxseed, I use a spice grinder, and store the ground seed in a freezer-safe-glass jar in the freezer. I use spoonfuls as needed. Storing the ground flaxseed in the freezer preserves it’s nutritional benefits, and the body can absorb it more effectively than whole seeds. I add flaxseed to probiotic yogurt with wild berries I picked that morning (in the summertime) or I also enjoy a half a cup of frozen berries I saved from the previous summer’s foragings.
I also use the spice grinder to turn my eggshells into a fine dust (info about this in another newsletter).
Flaxseed is packed with nutritional benefits, omega-3 fatty acids and fiber.
I also grow my own organic Coriander at River’s Edge Farm. It’s very easy. All you do is let your cilantro go to seed. Collect the seedpods, dry them at home and store them in glass jar away from the sunlight.
Using an olive wood mortar and pestle, crush the coriander seeds with the pestle. It smells wonderful! I use it in soup, rice dishes or sprinkled on avocado.
The mortar and pestle can be used to make pesto or other small batch ingredients for a sauce or dip.
Coriander seeds boost immunity, promotes digestion and gut health and improves kidney function.
I bought the nutmeg, which grows primarily in Indonesia. This is the spice that lasts for years.
I use a small grater to grate it over a dish, which I also use to grate fresh Himalayan salt.
I use grated nutmeg on potato or creamy pasta dishes or rice pudding.
Nutmeg contains anti-inflammatory properties, and is helpful for joint pain.
#2-Public Power
Did you know that climate activists have set their sights on a new target in the fight to slow global warming: utilities.
Around a dozen communities across the country have launched campaigns to get rid of their investor-owned electric utilities, and replace them with publicly owned ones. Calling their goal ‘public power,’ advocates argue that existing utilities have saddled customers with high rates and frequent outages, while lobbying to delay rooftop solar and other climate policies.
Advocates say local ownership of the power grid would lead to lower electric bills, a quicker transition to renewables, and a greater accountability to customers.
Public power supporters in California, New York, and Michigan are launching campaigns, and face opposition from legacy power utilities. POWER SAN DIEGO needs 80,000 signatures by July, and residents could decide in November whether to oust their current investor-owned utility.
This is an excerpt from a longer piece. Read more here
Back in March 2014, I wrote (in my previous Almanac Newsletter) about the small town of Feldheim, located in Germany. An otherwise nondescript hamlet of just 130 people an hour's drive southwest of Berlin, Feldheim's claim to fame is its huge investment in energy infrastructure. As well as the wind turbines, the village also has its own biogas plant, a wood-chip burner, a battery storage system and a solar power plant.
It began in the 1990’s, when the town first built a handful of wind turbines, and then it built a local grid, solar panels, battery storage and more turbines. Feldheim’s hands-on approach to producing its own eco-friendly energy draws thousands of visitors from around the world each year. Letting local residents participate and benefit from the project was key to Feldheim’s success. The town’s close-knit community approved all the turbines, which exports about 250 times as much electricity as it consumes.
To read more about Feldheim and its environmental impact, here
I’ll be following this story and will give updates on the progress of this people powered movement. It’s hopeful to learn that it’s possible to change the way things have been done for so long. It’s not easy going up against the big utility companies (or corporations). For further reading, I recommend a book called Be The Change by Thomas Linzey. This book will teach you how to achieve true self-governance and help provide ecosystems with the inalienable right to exist and flourish.
#3- Breathing with the Forest
A recent show in London (Dec 1-10th at Bargehouse) Breathing with the Forest, was an immersive video installation that illuminated the direct continuity between our bodies and the mighty rainforest. Every breath we take- every sip of water- is connected through global cycles to the Amazon rainforest. By synchronizing our own breath with the cyclical breathing-rhythms of the forest, we can expand our sense of ourselves to include the forest around us in an open-eyed meditation that brings us into deeper relation with our fellow living beings.
Surrounded by the rainforest’s pulsing rhythms, visitors were synchronizing their breath with audiovisual cues born of the forest, and a hidden network of interconnections emerged. In this moment of communion, Breathing with the Forest nurtured a sense of connection with the more-than-human world.
When I walk through the forest near my home, I prefer a silent meditative walk. This way, I can better feel its rhythms and energy, be aware of its delicate and fleeting perfumes that emerge in unexpected spots, especially over the summer and then listen to the sound of the breezes carried through the trees branches or ruffling the ferns covering the ground.
The show in London by Marshmallow Laser Feast was part of a shifting landscapes exhibition by Emergence Magazine.
I missed Breathing with the Forest show in London. Thankfully, Marshmallow Laser Feast has a show much closer to where I live, and hopefully where you live as well. Our Time on Earth show, opens Feb 17th- June 9th, 2024 at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. It’s a major exhibition celebrating the power of global creativity to transform the conversation around the climate emergency. Through art, design, science, music and philosophy, the exhibition presents a range of radical visions for the future of all species.
I can’t wait to see it!
Source of piece: The Guardian
#4-Sounds of the Forest
This is wonderful! You can now tune into Tree Sounds from around the world. Sounds of the Forest are collecting the sounds of woodlands and forests from all around the world, creating a growing soundmap bringing together aural tones and textures from the world’s woodlands.
People around the world are recording the sounds of their forests, so you can escape into nature, and unwind wherever you are. Take a breath and soak in the forest sounds.
Listen to the sounds of a forest in Andasibe, Madagascar:
You can send your own recording of your woodland or forest here. I’m going to do this and will share it here when I’ve posted it.
Here is a video of my woodland:
Climate change and governments are destroying our forests. Let’s leave some trees for our grandchildren to climb and make the steps to restore our planet.
#5- Botanical & Animal Illustrations are Free to Download
In an effort to share information and promote collaboration to combat the ongoing climate crisis, 150,000 botanical and animal illustrations are currently available for free from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. It’s the world’s largest open access digital archive dedicated to life on Earth. Click here
Also available for free… are 435 illustrations from John J. Audubon’s ‘Birds of America.’ Printed between 1827 and 1838, these are life-size watercolors of North American birds. Click here
*You will need to subscribe to their mailing list in order to download images.
#6- Movie: Legacy
Through a succession of images of the planet seen from the sky, Legacy is an ode to the beauty of nature and humanity. Director Yann Arthus-Bertrand looks back with Legacy, on his life and fifty years of commitment. It’s his most personal film. The photographer and director tells the story of nature and man. He also reveals a suffering planet and the ecological damage caused by man. He finally invites us to reconcile with nature and proposes several solutions.
Watch the trailer here
Available via Prime
#7- Movie #2: Seeds of Time
I’ follows agriculture pioneer Cary Fowler on his global journey to save the eroding foundation of our food supply in a new era of climate change. He travels the world, educating the public about the dire consequences of our inaction.
Available via Prime
Watch the trailer here
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This newsletter was a bit longer than usual, as I was unable to post one 2 weeks ago. I hope you enjoyed reading this issue #50! I highly recommend you watch both of the movies I posted. Seeds of Time came out in 2015 but is more relevant than ever, as is the film Legacy.
Please forgive any typos I might have missed!
Wishing you a wonderful rest of the month and see you soon again.
All the best always,
Priscilla