Good Morning, Earthlings!
Wow, yesterday really felt like spring, and today a nice gentle rain of “April Showers” to help those "May flowers" up out of the ground. 🌷
Shout-out and Welcome to the new recipients of this newsletter.
We had a terrific presentation recently from the Conservation Burial group in Williamsville, Higher Ground. There were 42 participants on Zoom and a number of others who couldn’t participate live but have requested the recording. So here it is:
https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/nT-48m7zS59oacD-gSQ5YAVTXmqPjF2BSHiC3J78Riw9nhYZ6L41ggKii8NwSgGH.qeXSrFYmnz64G3CtPasscode: 9F2Q6&9P
I tried it and it works!
In addition, here is some information from Mike and Fred:
Dear LEAG friends & colleagues, Thanks to all who joined us for the Zoom call LEAG hosted April 1st introducing Higher Ground Conservation Burial. With the link now available for the recorded session*, here’s a recap of the opportunities we mentioned that you may wish to further explore: 1. Monthly zoom sessions where we update developments with the Green Burial project and discuss what's on peoples' minds -- including volunteer opportunities, introduction for people new to green burial – see invite attached for the link. 2. Visit to the Manitou land as Spring unfolds; we'll arrange through Caitlin times for getting together for walks... and trail work for those interested, along with regularly scheduled Healing Walks every 2nd and 4th Friday, starting April 22, 4PM! 3. Green burial background and materials from informed sources, a great starting point being Lee Webster's http://nhfuneral.org, which has useful links to a vast array of practical, informative resources. 4. Subscription consideration for a natural burial site and becoming part of the Higher Ground community. Be in touch with either of us and we'll get back to you with details. We're excited about building the ongoing connections with LEAG members, and the natural alignment we share in vision and purpose. Do reach out with any questions! Warm April wishes, Michael Mayer mmayer92@gmail.com Fred Taylor rtaylor@antioch.edu
The LEAG Core Group has finally resumed meeting at the West West Church, complete with SNACKS! We are anticipating a bunch of exciting outdoor programs beginning in May. The Earthship talk and tour will happen in May person, on the site in West West. (Not on Earth Day 🙁 as originally planned). We are busy cooking up gatherings for you and us. If you have a suggestion, please let me know! pcadair@sover.net. Details to follow in the next Living Earth Newsletter.
Meanwhile, here’s some interesting stuff:
The Language of Trees: A Conversation with Alison Hawthorne Deming and Kathleen Dean Moore
The Forest School at the Yale School of the Environment, Orion Magazine and the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology present the third event in a series to celebrate Orion's latest anthology, "Old Growth." "The Language of Trees" will feature a conversation between Alison Hawthorne Deming, author of "Zoologies: On Animals and the Human Spirit," and Kathleen Dean Moore, author of "Earth's Wild Music: Celebrating and Defending the Songs of the Natural World." "The Language of Trees" will be held virtually on Tuesday, April 26, 2022 at 2:00 pm ET. It will also be recorded and captioned for later viewing. Register for "The Language of Trees"The event will foster a dialogue around the language of trees: how they communicate with one another, and how their futures are shaped by the language with which humans describe them. Moderating the event is Mary Evelyn Tucker, co-author of "Journey of the Universe", co-founder and co-director of Yale's Forum on Religion and Ecology, and lecturer at the Yale School of the Environment and Yale Divinity School.
Kathleen Dean Moore (left). Alison Hawthorne Deming (right), photo by: Bear Guerra."The Language of Trees" is organized by Orion Magazine, The Forest School at the Yale School of the Environment, Yale Forest Forum, Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, and Yale Environmental Humanities. We hope to see you at "The Language of Trees!" Please contact yff@yale.eduif you have any questions. Warm wishes, The Yale Forest Forum Team And if you wish to create Paradise in your garden or neighborhood, you’ll want to contact my friend Andrew Mangold. I met Andrew several years ago when he helped out in my own garden. At that time he was planning and planting a Native Fruit Walk in his hometown of Newtown, CT, as a memorial to the children.
Andrew has since created Earth Repair Nursery in Shelburne Falls, MA, where he grows hundreds of fruit and nut trees and shrubs. Peter and I visited last summer and came home with a hawthorn bush and a ‘Heart Nut’ tree, a kind of walnut with (you guessed it) heart-shaped nuts. Both are growing enthusiastically in our garden. Andrew does not have a website, but uses Facebook as his platform. I took the entry below from his Facebook page: Paradise Gardens - Edible Landscape Installation and Management 11h · Transform your yard into an Edible Paradise. Contact Paradise Gardens - Edible Landscape Installation and Management to be a client for 2022. Help the planet, support pollinators, and sustain local ecology while generating valuable fruit, nuts and medicine at home! We'll help you create a legacy that lasts for generations. 11 years of experience planting successful ‘Food Forests’ in the Northeast. We emphasize the most dependable, hardy species that thrive in our region. Expert plant selection for your unique site. Thoughtful, artistic planning, careful planting, and professional tree-protection to protect your investment, informed by over a decade of experience. We handle the planning, planting, protection, pruning and sequence of installation, so you can sit back and enjoy lifelong gifts of a beautiful, edible, ecological Paradise.
Edible landscapes provide unique, healthy crops every season. They offer year-round beauty and seasonal interest, instilling a deep connection to nature. Edible landscapes restore health and diversity to the landscape, supporting pollinators, songbirds, and enriching local ecology. Nothing compares to foraging fresh fruit with your loved ones, or marking the seasons with each month’s unique bouquet of berries and flowers. We plant rare plants alongside dependable species, selected for your site and your goals. Our practices are 100% earth-friendly, employing no harmful chemicals or potentially invasive plants. We hand-craft lifelong food forests that benefit your loved ones and the earth for generations. It’s never been a better time to ensure greater food security and resilience at home. Play your part in sustaining a healthy planet, transitioning toward local food systems, growing super healthy food at home, all while enjoying an increasingly rich, fertile, beautiful, fragrant, edible oasis. Contact Paradise Gardens by DMing our Facebook page, Or calling (203) 943-2161 Or email: AJM09@Hampshire.edu To purchase plants to install yourself, visit World Repair Nursery 1063 Mohawk Trail Shelburne, MA 01370 AND, even more local to some of us, remember to visit the Livewater Farm stand on Westminster West Road, about a half-mile south of WW village. They are always increasing their offerings. My current favorites are yogurt, milk, and Orchard Hill Croissants (Saturdays only). Stop in to support a local diversified farm with 6 milking Normandy cows and three generations of the Aquaviva family. Open 9-10 am and 5-6pm. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Closing with a quote from herbalist Rosemary Gladstar: “Talking to plants is one way of talking directly to Spirit.” That feels like enough for now, friends. May we all be enlivened and encouraged by the anticipation of a glorious Spring! With love and hope for our planet and our people and our plants and our water and our animals, Caitlin Adair
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