Grazing over a Big Topic

In the 3 countries, Spain, Portugal and Morocco, that I just visited it was evident that their wild landscapes are being regularly grazed by flocks of sheep and goats. At first, I was moved by the sound of the lambs frequent bleating for their mothers and the mothers' (or fathers') deep-toned answers. It was a strangely musical background to my groups' search for flowers.
Herding animals has gone on since time immemorial.They eat the green stuff and we eat them. Only now we wish they would be more selective about what they eat: not delicate narcissi or rare orchids!Not the alpines in our own western states! But when we put animals into feedlots away from precious plants,we run into new problems.
I have no solutions. Maybe if there were a growing industry of plant tourism farmers would make some changes.
The thing about plant/flower tourism is that the local people, especially the children, need to know that it's not the plucked flower that we're after. It's heart-wrenching to turn one's back on a child holding a colorful bouquet. Our tour leader told of a field of rare orchids having been picked by children for their bouquets.
The good thing is that all 3 countries had national parks or preserves which we visited. They know they have wonderful landscapes to preserve. We must help them however we can to succeed.

Three Countries in Two Weeks: Lots of Plants

The mistress of this blogspot said I had to write something about my
recent trip, so here goes: I signed up for a Greentours.com tour of Iberia and Morocco focusing primarily on the many species of narcissi that are native to that region. There were 7 members, plus 2 leaders, in our group and we were all intent on getting up close to every interesting plant we saw. Some narcissi were hanging from steep rock faces, many were hugging the asphalt of roads, others were in soggy wet streamsides. The leaders knew what they were leading us to and they made sure to go over the botanical names of just about everything we saw (including butterflies, birds and one snake) from a long check list every other evening . I hope to get up to speed with labeling all the plant species that I photographed (yikes, that's a lot!).
Morocco was an experience in itself. The Atlas Mountains are magnificent and we did a lot of single lane, dirt road, hairpin turn and wash-out navigation up and down the slopes - Not for those with vertigo. Often, we were wearing all the clothes we brought for warmth, but fortunately we were never forced to leave the slopes due to rain, hail or freezing temperatures.
I leave you with an image of the only plant we saw of this species and one that our leaders had never before seen in Morocco: Androcymbium gramineum

Hey Brooklyn!

Our borough now faces critical cuts in service that will negatively affect the commutes of thousands of Brooklynites each day. Please click here to sign our petition and oppose these cuts!

Also, please attend the MTA’s public hearing in Brooklyn next month and let your voice be heard. Details are below:

Wednesday, March 3, 2010
6 p.m.
Brooklyn Museum
Cantor Auditorium
200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn

Among the proposed cuts to your borough are:

Elimination of Student MetroCards
$40 million in cuts to Access-a-Ride
Buses to be eliminated: B23, B37, B39, B51, B71, B75, B77, X29, X37 and the X38
Weekend elimination of the B2, B24, B69, X27 and X28
The following trains face reduced service, which will result in longer waits and more crowded subway cars: D, F, G, A, L and M trains. The M will be replaced by the V train.

Take Action!

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Help us collect signatures for our petition, which we plan to deliver to each of the MTA’s public hearings. You can find our petition online by clicking here.

Sign up to volunteer! If you would like to volunteer, please contact Nick Rolf at NROLF@council.nyc.gov

Urge the MTA to find alternative ways to prevent these terrible cuts. To contact the MTA by phone, dial (212) 878-7483. To contact them by e-mail, click here.

The New York City Council and the Straphangers Campaign have proposed an alternate budget solution that will allow us to avoid these painful service cuts. To read more about our plan click here.

With your help we can stop these drastic cuts and ensure greater input from Brooklyn residents in the MTA’s budget process.

Farm City

I'm currently reading Farm City, The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter and I have to say it's making me want a pig. And also grow a lot of food without having to leave Brooklyn. I really appreciate the helpful hints Novella gives, in case I ever do get a pig, and I also love how funny and unpretentious she is. There is tons of great info in the book, but what I find particularly pertinent info to share is that cities can really change themselves to being self-sustaining. Did you know that in Shanghai they grow 85% of their own produce? Wow! In Polish cities, over 25% of families raise their own food and in Dar es Salaam, a city in Tanzania, the government encourages the cultivation of every piece of open land. Other cities active in urban agriculture are Cuba, Caracas, Tokyo, and of course many US cities. So it's not just idealist hippies growing food or the latest trend, but whole cities, hungry for food independence and accessibility.

What we need to get urban farming really taking off in NYC is a little leadership and support
(cheaper land could help too). One leader who has made urban farming a key issue for him is Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. Check out his vision of a sustainable and bountiful NYC. FoodNYC: A Blueprint for a Sustainable Food System

Here are some inspiring photos of urban farms all over the world. Many of the photos are from a cool blog called www.cityfarmer.info

We're So Excited!

Because we met Martha Stewart! OK, so it was just for 30 seconds, but still she is sort of the Queen of it All, so it was thrilling none the less. We were on set helping our friends at Woolly Pocket set up a green wall on the stage. It looked great! Here are some pictures of the process and a peak inside Martha's world. Check it out on March 5th when it will be screened.

People's Garden

The Who Farm is at it again, now in NYC campaigning for an organic vegetable farm in front of our own City Hall.
This campaign has yet to enlist the double-decker-upside-down-farm school bus that it crossed the country in to raise awareness of local food, but I'm sure it will find another way to build up the excitement for a City Hall farm. Check out the People's Garden website and sign their petition if this is something you'd like to see.

And while you're getting involved with city politics, do attend this:

DEP is holding meetings in each borough to discuss "water rates, new services, and what the future holds for DEP’s customers.” Will water rates factor for stormwater management in our future?

I know this meeting could sound a bit dry (no pun intended) but this is a crucial part of reducing water pollution in our city. To find out about the meeting in your borough and more about the subject matter visit: DEP and / or SWIM

If you're already well aware of the stormwater problem NYC has and you have an idea on how to reduce it, draw a sketch of what you have in mind and submit it to mindsinthegutter.org

Your Lands, Your Wildlife

Check Out the Interactive "Your Lands, Your Wildlife" Map

The Your Lands, Your Wildlife Campaign is working to protect the nearly 3,000 wildlife species and 10,000 plant species that inhabit the 449 million acres managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.