Newsletter #8
Hello Friends!
The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.
~ Barbara Kingslover~
Welcome to my latest newsletter! I love hedgerows and I’m working on creating a bigger one at my place. Learn all about the benefits of hedgerows in this issue, as well as a lake that has launched a lawsuit; the brilliant World Hope Forum; a zero waste restaurant in London; a closet spring cleaning resource; the latest Dirty Dozen list and an extra bit of good news, which hasn't made it to the headlines and should have. Enjoy!
1- Hedgerows
Nature loves hedgerows because they support wildlife. Why are hedgerows important for wildlife? In open land, they increase the “edge effect”, which is important to many species of wildlife. Hedgerows serve as a source of food and cover for wildlife, depending upon the variety of vegetation planted. They also provide corridors or screened travel lanes through which wildlife can move safely from one area to another.
More info here about Hedgerows
Further reading: A Natural History of the Hedgerow: and ditches, dykes and dry stone walls by John Wright
This is a lovely book that is a practical and comprehensive record of hedges, dry stone-walls, ditches and other agricultural boundaries found throughout the United Kingdom. The author starts by explaining the history of these boundaries from the Stone Age up until the present time, the legislation designed to protect them, the importance of the unique ecosystems that these barriers give rise to (the rich variety of plants and animals that call them home), and ends with a surprisingly interesting discussion of how to build and maintain your own hedge, dry stone wall or fence. The book is lavishly illustrated with full-color photographs, and writing is informative and charming, and exhaustive in detail. This is a wonderful treatise on a man-made habitat that is a quintessential part of the English countryside.
~available at your local bookstore or Amazon~
2- A Lake in Florida is Suing to Protect Itself
(Excerpted from a longer piece)
In case you missed this fascinating piece in a recent New Yorker by Elizabeth Kolbert…Did you know about Lake Mary Jane, in central Florida, that is being threatened by a possible development, and has launched its own lawsuit to protect itself.
A development planned for a site just north of Mary Jane would convert nineteen hundred acres of wetlands, pine flatlands, and cypress forest into homes, lawns, and office buildings.
In an effort to protect herself, Mary Jane is suing. The lake has filed a case in Florida state court, together with Lake Hart, the Crosby Island Marsh, and two boggy streams. According to legal papers submitted in February, the development would “adversely impact the lakes and marsh who are parties to this action,” causing injuries that are “concrete, distinct, and palpable.”
Still, Mary Jane’s case is a first. Never before has an inanimate slice of nature tried to defend its rights in an American courtroom. Depending on your perspective, the lake’s case is either borderline delusional or way overdue.
“It is long past time to recognize that we are dependent on nature, and the continued destruction of nature needs to stop,” Mari Margil, the executive director of the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights, said in a statement celebrating the lawsuit.
Read the whole piece
3- World Hope Forum
~We have the creative power to transform society from within. Join us to design a future full of hope~
I’ve attended several of the World Hope Forum’s virtual webinar events, and marveled at the many inspiring and creative people from around the world. So many people are creating incredible things!
Founded by Lidewij Edelkoort and Philip Fimmano, the World Hope Forum is an organization whose main goal is to create a global platform for the exchange and expansion of knowledge, innovation of business practices. Under the leadership of ambassadors chosen in participating countries, the World Hope Forum brings together speakers and selected case studies, good practices, retail reinventions and different solutions and scenarios brought together in a global (virtual) forum several times a year, where ideas are exchanged for all of us to learn from and to inspire our creative energies... Rebuilding the renaissance of society together.
The World Hope Forum Manifesto
TAKING CARE OF THE PLANET AND ITS PEOPLE
We can start up from scratch and build new systems where social and common aspects outweigh the ego, where morals and values overrule shareholder profits, and where collaboration and cooperation prevail to give more people equal opportunities. We have no choice but to join forces and stand together. New pacts need to be forged between fiber farmers, yarn makers, textile industries and fashion houses, between raw material producers, independent designers and their craftspeople. Whole chains need to be integrated, stimulated by federal funds, finding a shared interest and income from this rebirth in business. The economy of hope has the potential to transform society from within.
Find all previous World Hope Forum events on their Youtube Channel:
Sign up for their free newsletter:
4- Silo
-a zero waste restaurant in London-
Silo is a restaurant in London designed from back to front, always with the bin in mind. The production of waste has been eliminated, by simply choosing to trade directly with farmers, using reusable delivery vessels and choosing local ingredients that themselves generate no waste. Any remaining scraps of food are then composted…Closing the loop.
Silo was conceived from a desire to innovate the food industry while demonstrating respect: respect for the environment, respect for the way our food is generated and respect for the nourishment given to our bodies. This means we create everything from its whole form, cutting out food miles and over-processing, while preserving nutrients and the integrity of the ingredients in the process.
Using their own flour mill, they turn ancient varieties of what into flour the original way, opposing over-processed industrialized bread making techniques. They churn their own butter and oat milk, roll their own oats and support a nose to tail ideology, meaning that if the animal dies for food, they maximize the whole beast, respectfully. They have an on-site brewery that creates natural fermented drinks from live cultures.
The restaurant’s furniture and fittings are created from a desire to re-use, choosing up-cycling before recycling. Their furniture is made from materials that would otherwise have been wasted, crafted from innovation to serve a function. Their plates are formed from plastic bags and tables from reconstituted food packaging. Lightshades are made from mycelium grown on used brewery grains and crockery are made from crushed wine bottles.
They chose to work like this to deliver delicious natural food, while demonstrating that sustainable food business is financially viable. That way, they want to encourage the growth of other waste free businesses through collaboration, but also simply by demonstrating that it is possible and it works.
And then they created this yumminess and won Best Zero-Waste Dessert!
5- Boox
Declutter and Get paid!
Clean out your closets and send your unwanted items to Boox! Boox makes it easy for everyone to reduce waste through reuse. We all have extra stuff we don’t need or want. Send us yours! We’ll pay you right away and find it a new home. The planet will thank us both.
Boox accepts any combination of items in good condition: Jeans, footwear, kids clothes, accessories, handbags and phones for payouts up to $475 per item!
6- EWG.org
-The latest Dirty Dozen list-
My long time favorite and trusted resource is the EWG (Environmental Working Group), a non-profit research and advocacy organization that works to protect us from toxic chemicals in what we consume, the air we breath, and the products we use every day.
Every year, they release The Dirty Dozen list which names the produce with the highest pesticide levels, and should only be bought organically grown. When organic options aren’t available, the EWG suggests buying from the Clean Fifteen list, 70 percent of which had no detectible pesticide levels at all, even when conventionally grown.
EWG Toxicologist Alexis Temkin, Ph.D, said in the press release. "Shoppers have the right to know what potentially toxic substances are found on these foods, so they can make the best choices for their families, given budgetary and other concerns."
EWG Dirty Dozen list for 2022
Buy only organically grown: Strawberries, Spinach, Kale-Collard-Mustard Greens, Nectarines, Apples, Grapes, Bell Pepper-Hot Peppers, Cherries, Peaches, Pears, Celery and Tomatoes.
EWG Clean Fifteen list for 2022
Conventionally grown and the least sprayed with pesticides: Avocadoes, Sweet corn, Pineapples, Onions, Papayas, Frozen Peas, Asparagus, Honeydew Melons, Kiwis, Cabbages, Mushrooms, Cantaloupes, Mangoes, Watermelons and Sweet Potatoes.
Sign up at EWG.org to receive their latest news
Extra bit of great news!
Did you know that on March 29th, wind turbines in the U.S. produced more electricity than coal or nuclear plants for the first time on record. That made wind the second-biggest source of electricity that day, behind only natural gas and narrowly ahead of nuclear.
Have a wonderful rest of April and see you in two weeks!
All the best,
Priscilla
P.S. Paid subscribers will receive my recommended list of favorite nature & lifestyle films!