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Community
PENNY SIMPSON
1. Turn off water while brushing your teeth*2. Turn off those lights and replace with LED light bulbs* (available at Home Depot - learn more athttp://lightbulbs.org/led-light-bulb-primer)3. Say “NO” to plastic bags; bring your own reus-able bags or old plastic bags4. Use cold water when washing your clothes*5. Unplug that cell phone charger and other rarelyused appliances* (these draw power even when acell phone’s not attached, and when appliancesaren’t “on”)6. Recycle old electronics instead of throwingthem out (they contain heavy metals, and danger-ous chemicals that need to be dealt with respon-sibly)7. Recycle paper, plastic, metal, glass, cardboard,etc.8. Buy food that is local or grown close by (BC/Washington apple vs. New Zealand apple)9. Whenever possible choose organic products10. Stop idling the car; after 10 seconds you willhave wasted more gas than it takes to restart thevehicle*11. Carpool, or better yet, walk, bike or take the bus*12, Cook at home to reduce waste*13. If you must get fast food, go inside instead
of idling in the Drive Thru*
ESSENCE
The Environmental Studies Student’s Association Periodical
HEIKE LETTRARI
“Well, I suppose we’ll be a small but enthusiasticcrowd,” Carleton McNoughton began, smiling outat us from behind the podium. Ten people made theaudience in the lecture hall, but a few gave cheerand clapped, and I couldn’t help but smile either.With a booming voice that checked whetherwe could hear him speak without a mic, Mc-Noughton told us about one of the oldest andlargest land conservation organizations: TheNature Trust of BC (NTBC).The creation of NTBC came about through a$4.5 million Trust Fund from the Trudeau gov-ernment back in the 70’s. Bert Hoffmeister, thefounder, was a chairperson for the non-pro
t,non-advocacy organization for twenty years,and only recently retired.Their mission statement declares that “The Na-ture Trust is dedicated to conserving British Co-lumbia’s biological diversity through selectivesecurement and effective management of areasof ecological signi
cance and natural beauty forfuture generations.” With this in heart and mind,the organization has over the years partneredwith federal, provincial, and local governments,foundations and corporations, conservation or-ganizations and First Nations, and stewardshipgroups and community volunteers to pursuethis commitment.McNoughton rattled off some impressiveinformation: in total, $64 million has been in-vested, and 452 individual pieces of propertyare owned – these lands amount to 60,000 hect-ares (150,000 acres) of critical habitat all acrossBritish Columbia. Key acquisitions include theHoodoos Property, some of the Okanagan grass-lands, the Englishman River Estuary, and somemuch coveted Garry Oak habitat.Obtaining land that contains habitats withhigh biodiversity values at the greatest risk of being lost is a priority of the NTBC. The basis of their decision making for the acquisition of suchproperties is a scienti
c evaluation according totheir 3R system:1. Richness: how many species are found onthe property?2. Rarity: how rare are those species?3. Risk: what would be lost if the propertywasn’t bought?Because it is dif
cult to tailor a conservation ef-fort to a single key species while not compromis-ing the habitat or chance of survival for another,especially when you have only small pieces of property to work with, an effective alternate per-spective is the landscape approach.After explaining the concept, which recognizesthat ecological systems are living, breathing, un-predictable, dynamic and complex systems thatare always much more than the sum of their in-dividual parts, McNoughton introduced an ex-ample of the approach, which is also a case studyof biodiversity ranching here in B.C. – the SouthOkanagan-Similkameen Conservation lands. Inthe past, conservation efforts were undertakenone property at a time, and with individual spe-cies in mind, but today a landscape approach toconservation is employed.The South Okanagan-Similkameen area alreadyhad a strong history of conservation efforts, begin-ning with a migratory bird sanctuary in the 1920’s,and today it looks like a wonderful patchwork quiltwith many properties owned by various conserva-tion groups, all working together to provide a largeswath of prime habitat for many species.The landscape-scale conservation approach is re-ally a precautionary stance for the hopeful. Citingevidence found by climate change expert and ad- junct professor at the University of Victoria, Richard J. Hebda, McNoughton says that the South-CentralOkanagan Corridor must be kept in the best condi-tion possible to offer an escape route for animals.The Corridor is the tip of a desert ecosystem thatlies largely in the UnitedStates, but if, as predicted,the animals migrate up-wards because changinghabitat, they would moveup and through that cor-ridor into Canada.
Biodiversity ranching,a merging of conserva-tion efforts and tradi-tional ranching opera-
COVER IMAGE BY MILA CZEMERYS
.
.. (continued onpage 2)
“
The Nature Trust isdedicated to conserving BritishColumbia’s biological diversitythrough selective securementand e
ective management of areas of ecological signi
canceand natural beauty for futuregenerations.
”
PHUONG TRAN
MARCH 5, 2009
Cooperation: the New Roots of Conservation
A Green LivingChecklist
JARED SMITH
The term “sustainable development” is beingthrown around like a quick-
x, all-purposecleaner, guaranteed to clear even the worstenvironmental stains and blemishes. It is being used to lure environmentally consciouscitizens to shell out big dollars to perpetuate
awed economic systems. It is an attempt todisguise a gaping and gangrenous wound witha “one size
ts all” band-aid.Such arguments may be both cynical and skep-tical, but the market’s response to climate changeand environmental degradation has little connec-tion with common ecological sense. This doesn’tgive me much hope in corporate capitalism’sability to exchange the fundamental principle of perpetual, exponential growth and maximizationof pro
t for the altruistic aspiration of true envi-ronmental sustainability and social justice.Some of the “solutions” heralded seem to domore harm than good in the way that they a)convince the masses that both corporations andgovernments are aware of the problem and deal-ing with them; we can go back to consuming, b) we can deal with environmental problemswithin our current global economic system, andc) create confusion as to what the ultimate causeof such widespread devastation is.True global sustainability would entail livingwithin ecosystems instead of above them. Itwould require us to live off of nature’s abun-dant interests rather than exploiting the capital.Sustainable living would compel us to realizethat all species have a de
nitive carrying capac-ity within their environment.Expanding beyond that carrying capacity, asproved by numerous ecological studies, resultsin the depletion of resources, con
ict, and aneventual decline of natural populations until thepoint of extinction, or with any luck, a stabiliza-tion of numbers at a sustainable level.Our approach thus far reminds me of attempt-ing to put a round peg in a square hole. I wastwo or three when
rst confronted with sucha problem. My block set and I disagreed for awhile after which I realized that I could onlysolve the problem using a different method. Acompletely different set of tools and organiza-tion are needed to solve our environmentalproblems as well. We cannot attempt to repairour ecosystems with the exact same mentalitythat destroyed it.Where’s the scapegoat? Although pointing
n-gers will certainly lead to con
ict, it is absolutelyessential to understand the root cause of theproblem if we are to
x it. Here I turn to “TheStory of Stuff,” a
lm I recommend watching (itcan be found on www.youtube.com). It is anexcellent portrayal of how our current system of extraction, production, distribution, consump-tion, and disposal is fundamentally
awed.The entire system was designed to producemaximum pro
t in the shortest amount of time.Here is where we must brainstorm and experi-ment to produce a system that values environ-mental sustainability and social equality overmoney. I’m not suggesting a disintegration of the capitalist system. What I do suggest, however, is that we ponder long and hard aboutwhether we can overcome our environmentalproblems while continuing with our presentrates of growth and consumption.The changes we need are compatible with sometype of regulated smaller scale free market.We need to realize that our present path of “progress” bene
ts few while the majority suf-fers. The fact that we have solved the humangenome, landed on the moon, cloned a sheep,and can
y around the world in hours, makesme wonder why we cannot provide clean waterto the more than one billion people without.It makes me question why after the green revo-lution, land is depleted, water is contaminated,native species are going extinct, and there arestill 3 billion people worldwide who are stillconsidered malnourished.Despite this I have hope. I believe that humanshave the ingenuity to adapt our social structuresto enable the continuation of our species and thespecies we share this planet with. The time forchange is now.
JESSICA MILES
We have been infected with the “Smokey-the-Bear” syndrome, casting a shadow over the posi-tive effects that
re has on land. Today manypeople have a negative association with
re dueto years of
re suppression – people are afraid of what
re could do to their homes, communitiesand surroundings. However,
re is an impor-tant tool that promotes biological diversity and builds resiliency against pests, pathogens, andother negative disturbances.In and around Victoria,
re reduces the en-croachment of large conifer trees and promotesthe growth of native plants like salal and swordfern, and for centuries,
re has similarly shapedecosystems all over the world.From the Australian Aborigines’ use of cul-tural burning, to the slash and burn techniquesused in Brazil,
re has historically been used asa strategy for land management.The Gulf Islands National Park Reserve is anexcellent local example of a
re maintained land-scape. Fire is an essential natural disturbance inthe Gulf Islands, as illustrated by Traditional Eco-logical Knowledge (TEK), historical documents,and
re ecology research. Speci
cally,
re wastraditionally used to enhance the production of camas and to promote new plant growth as foodfor herbivores. Camas, an important dietary car- bohydrate, contains the same active ingredient asonions and becomes sweet when cooked.First Nations practiced selective harvesting byre-planting the small bulbs and burning the Gar-ry Oak meadows regularly. Cultural burning byFirst Nations took place in mid-summer to fall,which was historically documented. Prescribed burning in the Gulf Islands became especiallyimportant to First Nations after Europeans set-tled in camas harvesting
elds in Fort Victoria.Today, years of
re suppression inhibit the res-toration of places like the Southern Gulf Islands.For far too long we have neglected our symbi-otic relationship with
re. Just as our ecosys-tems require
re to restore our west coast envi-ronment, our people require the re-introductionof both wild and human induced burns.So next time you hear about using fire tomanage the land remember that it is “eco-cul-tural” restoration and bene
ts both people andour ecosystems. Embrace the
ame, as only onespark is needed for great things to happen.
WILDFIRE, PHOTO BY BRENDA BECKWITHBURNT STUMP; PHOTO BY BRENDA BECKWITH
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(continued from page 1, Cooperation: The NewRoots of Conservation)
Biodiversity ranching, a merging of conserva-tion efforts and traditional ranching operationsthat utilizes the landscape-scale approach, is aconcept new to British Columbia, though boththe United States and Africa successfully use thisprocess today. It requires partnerships betweenconservationists and the family-based livestock operators known as ranchers.Why biodiversity ranching? There are manyreasons, though the one that brings the two to-gether most is a common interest for the land,and developing the activities that happen on itin a sustainable manner. Ranchlands are idealfor maintaining the goals of both conservationistand rancher.Highlighting several achievable goals of biodi-versity ranching, McNoughton shared the suc-cess of a project in the White Lake Basin in theOkanogan. The partnership has demonstratedthat grazing livestock can co-exist with spe-cies at risk; that the rangelands can be used foradaptive management processes; that local com-munities, conservation organizations, and otheragencies can integrate interests associated withgrassland ecosystems; and that it is possible tokeep productive biologically diverse ecosystemswhile ensuring human economic, social, and en-vironmental needs are met.Rotational grazing, as well fencing off riparianareas and creating alternate sources of wateringlivestock, photopoint monitoring, bird counts,invasive species management, tree thinning, pre-scribed
re, property maintenance, research, and balancing public access are all components of the biodiversity conservation plan in the basin.According to McNoughton, there has histori-cally been a deep cleft between conservation-ists and ranchers, but a project like this is bridg-ing that divide. Instead of the black and whitethat used to be ranchers and conservationists,“there’s a lot of good gray area in there now,”McNoughton
nished.People are working together successfully toachieve goals in which they believe, and man- that’s encouraging.
Setting the world on fireOf global sustainability
ERIKA VAN WINDEN
In the squally weather made by the thrusts of seagull wings,crabs puddle in the tide pools—clawsoutstretched like grandmother hugs.we’re visitors to this place, I observecolours in the rocks,remember our tripto Nice. Last yearwe were sunburned, charredlike vegetables on a barbecue.hereand now, salty cliffssurround us.you count waves, onlysmall ones that lick the sand.a marine biologist; you aretoo busy collecting datato notice the approaching mist—(I’ll wrap you in my jacket)to noticethe sky is swollen with coloursof a rainbow—spectrums of lightrefracting—your eyeswill echo sadness laterwhen I ask you if you saw it.
You count waves
2
THE ESSENCE
March 5, 2009
ABE LLOYD
Did you know that rabbits on campus are cute
and
tasty? This recipe is called Rabbit Restora-tion Stew because these bunnies are destroyingthe native landscape on campus. By eating the bunnies, not only are you helping restoration ef-forts on campus but you are also decreasing yourdependence on industrial meats, which demandenergy-intensive production. Note: Please bediscreet in your rabbit-hunting as some peopledon’t enjoy the sight of a dead rabbit.
INGREDIENTS
1 UVic RabbitNodding onion (
Allium cernuum
)Queen Ann’s lace (
Daucus carota
) stalk or rootBurdock (
Arctium minus
)
stalk or rootSalsify (
Tragopogon dubius
) stalk or rootFennelBare-stem desert-parsley (
Lomatium nudicaule
)SaltPepper
DIRECTIONS
Killing: Kill a nice, fat, UVic rabbit. The rec-ommended method is to bait it in, pin it to theground, grab it by its hind legs, and whack the back of its head hard against the ground, killingit instantly.
CLEANING:
Hang the rabbit from a rope by its hind legs.This will keep fur from getting on the meat.Cut the tail off.Cut around the hind ankles, up the inseam of the legs, and across the crotch.Pull the skin down (towards the head); it willcome off inside out. When you get to the headand front wrists, it won’t pull off any further, socut the wrists and head off.Rub off (don’t wash) any fur that stayed onthe meat.Now you are ready for the anatomy lesson:Cut the belly of the rabbit from the area near thegroin to the rib cage. Be sure to not puncture the bladder or intestine.Remove the stomach, intestines, kidneys, etc.and discard as soon as possible.Cut the chest cavity open, remove the heartand lungs, and wash thoroughly.
COOKING:
Boil your rabbit in salted water for a couple of hours until the meat is loose.Remove from the water and allow to cool.Pull the meat from the bones, then return themeat to your cooking pot.Add veggies. For the (urban) forager, I rec-ommend nodding onion or wild garlic bulbs,Queen Ann’s lace stalk or root, burdock stalk orroot, salsify stalk or root, fennel, and bare-stemdesert-parsley. Note: In the fall and winter, usethe roots. In the late spring and early summer,peel and use the stalks before they mature andproduce
owers.
Modi
cation: For those more com- fortable in grocery stores, I recommend onion, carrot,parsnip, leak, yam, and parsley.
NICOLE FONG
Enter, guerrilla gardeners. Fling seed bombsover fences! Root trees in unused
elds! Sowwild
ower seeds like rice at a wedding!You may have noticed the soil-
lled medianalong Highway 17, or a strip of desolate turf lounging between two buildings. It was hightime you faced that hollowness and admittedyou had become the cause of a landscape...without cause. You were in need of some radi-cal gardening.New Yorker Liz Christy first used the term“guerrilla” in the context of gardening in 1973,thus founding “Green Guerrillas.” Reacting to theabundance of vacant and misused land withinurban environments, she began activley plantingvegetation in areas she din’t of
cially own.Christy also created the
rst seed bomb. Theseconsisted of local wild
ower seeds, fertilizer andwater coaxed into a balloon before being throwninto empty lots. Guerilla gardening has sincecome to embody the process of gardening as apolitical gesture apart from / in addition to itsusual horticultural purposes.It’s possible to tend midnight vegetable patch-es under the anonymity of darkness, openlyengage and inform local communities throughplanting in a public space, or simply beautify aneighborhood by spreading seeds at random.The political element of guerrilla gardeninghas much to do with a reconsideration of landownership and rights. In the modern context,land is largely seen as a
nancial asset, and fewthink to go against the norm of
awless lawnsand assemblies of exotic vegetation which si-multaneously introduce non-native species intolocal ecosystems.Similarly (or not, depending on your perspec-tive), what can be concluded about a societythat values asphalt and fences over usable greenspace? Through a non-violent, coalition-basedorganization, the issue of neglected public spaceis addressed through the juxtaposition of, say,the appearance of a vegetable garden wherethere was once a mottled strip of dead grass atthe end of an alley.Another large inspiration for guerilla garden-ing is the arti
ciality of land ownership. Howcan one “own” what existed before the idea of ownership did, whose fate and usage affects ev-eryone in the social community?Guerilla gardening is not entirely separatefrom the values in community gardening,where environmental connection rises alongwith an increased sense of productivity, accessto social support and personal consciousness.Especially in light of recent scandals involvingfood source contamination, self-regulation of food production not only ensures security, ethicsand access, but an understanding of productionrequirements. Public ownership and manage-ment makes for a social community answerableto both themselves and others.Forms of guerilla gardening also existon the international scale, motioning towardsthe control of food production and land usage.Brazil’s Landless Worker’s Movement (MST)occupies hectares of land to put under cultiva-tion. London’s Parliament Square: “May Day”of 2000, witnessed the progression of Westernguerilla gardening, when vegetables and
owerswere planted in the area.On Guerrilla Gardening: A Handbook for Gar-dening Without Boundaries by Richard Reyn-olds, maps worldwide guerrilla hotspots as themovement extends across Europe and someparts of the U.S.So go. Now. Fill those empty spaces withgreen gardens. Reclaim that space and becomeinvolved with a sustainable community. Be itthrough the physical planting of agriculture, thefostering of a productive crop-driven landscape,stomping a bulb into loam or the sideways tossof a seed bomb into a yard, you will harvest re-sults. Even if it’s just a dandelion in the middleof your neighbor’s yard.
Sumptuous Seed Bombs
From The Guerrilla Art Kit by Keri Smith
Materials
:
Mixed Seeds (use native seeds)CompostPowdered Red or Brown Clay (You can use aclay-based sticky soil instead. You can
nd clayat art supply stories or gardening stores, but soilis more readily available).WaterCombine 2 parts mixed seeds with 3 partscompost. Stir in 5 parts powdered red or brownclay. Moisten with water until mixture is dampenough to mould into balls.Pinch off a penny-sized piece of the clay mix-ture and roll it between the palms of your handsuntil it forms a tight ball (1 inch in diameter).Set the balls on newspaper and allow to dryfor 24-48 hours. Store in a cool dry place untilready to sow.Watering or burial not required; all they needis access to sun and rain to germinate.Throw in city planters, empty lots, cracks insidewalks... And enjoy.
Gonzo Cookies
HEIKE LETTRARI
I’ve had such a positive response to the recipeI’ve doodled with this year. A number of peoplehave asked me for a copy of it, so here it is!Mix: ¾ cup butter/margarine1 cup brown sugar1 dollop honey(or ½ cup brown sugar)Add: 2 eggsAdd: 1 tsp baking soda1 tsp baking powder2 cups flour (WW, white, or kamut,or a mix)1 tsp vanilla1 ½ cups oats1 ½ cup choc. chips (semi-sweet)*Approx. 2 cups of:*any mix of nuts/seeds/ dried berries you like!For example, pumpkin seeds, sun
ower seeds,hemp seed hearts,
ax seeds, cashews, walnuts, al-monds, a sesame seed and cranberry mix is great.Any kind of combination or these is wonderful.For some, the chocolate chips might not
t.Bake at 350ºF until brown (approx 20-30 min-utes, depending on their size)
PENNY SIMPSON
This documentary examines the role of wateras a critical resource and explores how priva-tization and corporate interests are marginal-izing people worldwide. The film discusseswater contamination from personal productslike soaps and cleaners, and industrial ef
u-ents, fertilizers, and chemicals, the unregulated bottled water industry in the United States, andWorld Bank pressures on developing nations toprivatize water.Among other things, the
lm illustrates howlack of regulations for the bottled water industryin North America is a big problem. A study bythe Natural Resources Defense Council tested1000 bottles of water from 103 different brands.It concluded that 30 per cent contained harmful bacteria, synthetic (man-made) organic chemi-cals and arsenic.On the topic of American water quality, Wil-liam Marks,author of Water Voices from Aroundthe World , states that there are 116,000 syntheticchemicals that end up in the public’s water sup-ply. Right here in Victoria these same chemicalsare
ushed into the ocean.FLOW won the 2008 award for Best Documen-tary at the UN Association Film Festival, the2008 Best Documentary at the Vail InternationalFilm Festival, and has now been selected for the2008 Sundance Film Festival.I would de
nitely say it’s a must see for every-one, considering the relationship between privateinterests and public supply continues to be a hottopic. The
lm ends with examples of inexpen-sive solutions. One of these was a playpump: apump that works from children playing on it (likea merry-go-round). The documentary shows greatimagery from Bolivia, India and South Africa anddelivers some powerful interviews from corporateexecutives and citizens. The
lm was well directedand straight to the point, enlightening and educa-tional for a wide-ranging audience.
Guerrilla gardening: A gardener’s revolution
Cook up a pot of Rabbit Restoration Stew
AMY HARTZENBERG
With a guest lecturer just about every class ES200 is an intriguing course. All lectures seem tohave some similar ideas while looking at thecause of today’s environmental problems, ourimpact on the world, and what people are doingabout it. Food is used as an umbrella to guide alook at ideas such as societies’ need to consume,the need for a change in priorities, and the needto preserve not just land but traditions of dif-ferent cultures.For example, James Rowe, one of the guestlecturers, gave a interesting lecture discussingroot causes of why we are experiencing an en-vironmental crisis. Societies’ need to consumewas a major cause of this, but, what is the rootof this need? He attributes it to a fear of natureand death which we cannot escape or separateourselves from. This causes a feeling of less than being in control with our lives and situations,and this insecurity is expressed in a constantdrive and need to consume.When looking at the impacts we have on theworld, the focus is social problems as well as en-vironmental, as these issues are often connected.In one class we saw a video about Ladakh: aregion of the Indian states Jammu and Kashmir,which is experiencing rapid industrialization.The impacts the Western world is having on thiscountry are clearly visible with the connections between people and society deteriorating alongwith the creation of pollution.Many people are working on fascinating proj-ects to address some of the issues raised in class.The Land Conservancy project works to pre-serve land with historical, traditional, cultural,and ecological value. The Mosqoy foundationworks to help people in Peru who are losing apart of their culture as they lose their traditionalweaving practices and struggle with changes brought on from modernization.ES 200 is an interesting course covering a rangeof topics which opens the mind and sets thestage for further courses. It has certainly causedmy perspective on the world to change.
A Peek Into ES 200
Review for FLOW: For Love of Water
March 5, 2009
THE ESSENCE
3
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