The Power of Fungi

During our 

first visit to the head water my fascination with the variety of fungi flourished. Over the last week, I collected several photos of these unusual decomposers, which are included below. Today while surfing ted.com I came across a talk on the significance of the role of fungi in the natural world as hope for a more sustainable future. Stamets holds so inviting possibilities for utilizing the characteristics of fungi to clean up pollution and aid in alternative energy.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/paul_stamets_on_6_ways_mushrooms_can_save_the_world.html

I think you will find this talk both relevant and inspiring. 

Beavers

“One has but to observe a community of beavers at work in a stream to understand the loss in his sagacity, balance, co-operation, competence, and purpose which Man has suffered since he rose up on his hind legs. He began to chatter and he developed Reason, Thought, and Imagination, qualities which would get the smartest group of rabbits or orioles in the world into inextricable trouble overnight.”

-James Thurber

This quote is particularly interesting after the facilitation lead by Erin and Tattiana focused on the connections between beavers and humans. In our discussion we decided that there were many similarities between these two species. The strongest connection for me was that they are the only true ecological engineers. I came to this same thinking point last night as I read through Wessels- what other species changes a landscape to produce a new ecosystem? I didn't think of humans on my own and was struck be the number of connections between these two animals: we are both deliberate in our development techniques, alter our environments, and abandon an area when the resources are depleted.

During this discussion the idea of language and wasteful humans were quietly mentioned in our small groups. Interestingly, the quote above suggests that human language has lead to our ability to reason which has precipitated the conflicts that we are facing with nature. The power of language is certainly unique to the human species however their is scientific evidence that supports that many species have specific forms of communication. I would argue that our reasoning and creativity has industrialized us beyond our basic needs and this is the distinction between us and our wild relatives. As mentioned in the discussion we unlike the beaver have found ways to bring our resources to our homes when the resources are depleted, the beaver must still move on as survival is their main concern.

Overall, the beaver chapter reminded me the power of perspective and how revisiting places is important to gaining a deeper understanding of our surroundings and self.

I Believe

For some reason, Martin Luther King has been resonating in my head as I have been struggling to write my belief statements. Finally I decided to reread the epic speech and remind myself of the powerful leadership and mindfulness that this hero possessed. The first lines,
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.

Are especially reflective of the conversations that I have had today and my reflection last evening. Today talking with Erin we tried to make sense of the internal conflicts that we have with living our beliefs. We, like most in this class, are aware of the impact of our choices and savy with knowledge about our consumer power, but often feel helpless when we try put these ideals into action. At points it seems as if everything is crumbling beneath our watch, we are losing biodiversity at alarming rates, people are starving, corruption had weaved it’s way into most industries, western consumerism supports child labor in impoverished nations, the list seems endless and understanding the issues alone is draining, When then do we find the time to invest ourselves in adjusting our actions to stimulate change. Maybe our goals are too lofty- this is something that I tried to keep in mind as I was creating the “I believe” statements that are meant to serve as my pedagogy as an environmental educator.
Keeping in mind Eleanor’s comment that we should be designing our lesson plans around our beliefs came me a focused perspective and challenged me to think deeply yet realistically. The feeling of helplessness was one that surfaced weekly during my teaching this past year. I would find myself stressed by the lack of time in the day that I could invest in relearning forgotten information that I was required to teach and then creating a lesson plan that would present the material in a conveying way to my students. Multiple that process by three and sleep became a foreign comfort. My advisors from the previous summer had keyed me into balance and necessity of taking time for yourself, but between my lack of patience towards settling with plans that I judged as inadequate, and maintaining my immediate personal relationships my individual needs often fell to the wayside. This is something that I hope to work on this coming school year and know will improve as I become more experienced and confident in my abilities. I truly think that this goal statement will provide useful as a frame of reference for reflection and serve as a reminder of why I got into this profession to begin with.

SIDENOTE… slammin facilitation by Vicki today. She provided a fabulous activity, “Values Auction” that challenged us to think about and chose one value that was most important to us. This would be a fabulous introduction for my Biology students into the idea of values and transition into making connections to nature.

Breaking It Down

The day began off step and continued into a whirlwind of moral beliefs of responsibility, topics transitioning into questions, drama & debate, and questions transforming into proposals. Loads of thinking, little processing, but progress made.


We uncovered an idea. I am not sure whom exactly, but it seemed to surface in the corner sometime between brainstorming and finalizing actual interests. The proposal has the potential to cause some ripples and that excites me. The question is multifaceted and I envision the various niches that the group members possess to fall into full swing as we further shape our goals. The plan thus far:


Overall (in my mind right now): We plan to establish a current baseline for composition and distribution of the current plant populations in order to facilitate possible inquiry regarding the changes along this boarder as well as to raise awareness about practical investments into the natural landscape.




We Need To…


-Create a baseline data set for the plant composition and distribution (Field Work)


-Analyze baseline data sets to gain a familiarity for the piece of land.


-Research sustainable land-use practices and utilize the local knowledge through cooperative extension.


-Find links between the boarder land and the needs of the landscape in order to promote accurate, relevant suggestions.


-Check out formatting of newsletters, pamphlets, websites (?)


-Create the guidebook- we will certainly need a clever name of some sort. (Your Natural Landscape: A Guide to Investigating your Surroundings)

-Tie it all together.




I Believe in This Project…

Because I believe that our investments will be utilized.





By the way excuse my rambling about cranberry farming, perhaps I just needed to vent in order to clear my mind of agriculture.

A more usable source, and interesting insight into the power of creativity:


http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

Looking Back at Week 1

I escaped up to the White River for the weekend- a continuation of the week in the wilderness. During the sunshine hours of Saturday I had some quiet time for reflection and I am still at a loss as to the direction that I want to take these next two weeks of research. The last readings as well as our afternoon with Randy Warren have my mind hooked on agriculture and the balance between farmers and nature. I have felt a strong connection to farmers and their dependency on nature for many years. During my travels to Tanzania it was the farmers that drew me in, I became eager to connect with their efforts to sustain life through utilizing the land. In New Zealand, I was taken aback by the naturally organic landscape. I became a reporter of dairy farming at it's finest- a model of sustainable design. 

My great great grandfather used to raise vegetables and sell them to the locals and summer visitors at his farm stand. His son, Robert Handy, started farming cranberries and passed the family business down to my grandfather, Arthur Handy, who later was a member of the board of directors of Ocean Spray. Today my uncle, Brain Handy, continues to farm the greatest number of acres of bogs on the Cape. We are a family that is deeply tied to the land and while my father did not become a farmer, his values and sense of place in nature are rooted in his character. His upbringing fostered a passion for the possibilities that lie within the soil.

 I have a ton of pride for my family and their history and feel somewhat helpless as I watch what is happening to small family farms across New England. In some respects cranberry farming is a niche product however, it too has faced the repercussions of large-scale operations. Interestingly, the bigger battle for my uncle has been people representing the environmental integrity of the land. Over the last decade a high percentage of his time has been filled with angry town meetings, lawsuits, interviews, and politics. Farming has almost been pushed on the back burner in order to save the integrity of the family business. 

These politics fascinate me and go beyond my families problems- family farms are a dying breed. However, sustainable agriculture is generating a movement of people that are interested in reaping the benefits of the landscape while preserving it's natural patterns. There is a trendy new lingo that is associated with eating local and shopping at farmers markets, but many New England farmers have been practicing these sustainable techniques for decades. The cranberry is a native plant to New England. The production of its fruit was harvested by the Native Americans. I have an invested interest in understanding what it will take to preserve this history.

What's the deal with this conservation easement that Randy was talking about? What information would be helpful for social or cultural understanding of this area and the agricultural history?

Tracking and Farming (Day 3)

The day began at Tamposi (Barrington headwaters) with professional tracker Dan Gardoqui. After brief introductions we set off off trail into the woods to search for signs of the creatures inhabiting the forest ecosystem. Dan's knowledge was incredible and he opened my eyes to many of the small signs of the patterns of the creatures that live there. 

Some of my favorites:

-Sap tapping squirrels

-The red under bark of hemlocks showing through as a result of the gnawing and scenting of red squirrels.

-The masked wood frog

- Porcupine homes located by the mounds of scat beneath a hollowed tree

-The white trails of snails climbing birch trees

-Nip twigs (45 degree brake) vs. Pull downs (rough brake)

I also enjoyed Dan's excitement as he was pointed in the direction of a beetle home and began to uncover clues that matched a previous hypothesis that he had made. As he sorted through the wood shavings and scat piled below the tree, he began to uncover the details that wood carpenter ants and red squirrels has inhabited the tree. He told us that he had seen this scenario before- a beetle inhabiting a similar habitat with the "resources" that were left behind by past occupants. The pure joy on his face as he encouraged the beetle to come out of the tree and snap picture of what he believes to be a species of scarab was inspiring, as it always is to be taught by someone who is passionate about what he/she does. I was fascinated by his ability to put together pieces of evidence to bring forth a hypothesis about the potential of a symbiotic relationship occurring between these species. It is not often that I take advantage of and reflect upon the clues that surround me- a skill I will work on this summer.

In the afternoon we were fortunate to travel to Warren's farm in Barrington. The property has been family farmed for decades and abuts the headwater property. Randy Warren, the current owner is rich will historical information as well as perspective in modern family. I was captivated by his take on organic farming and the downfall that is occurring in this industry. Never before had I thought about the fact that pesticides, herbicides and fungicides used by organic farmers are not necessary non-harmful to humans simply because the are made naturally on earth. Randy spoke of organic farmers using sprays that are heavy in copper and sulfate and today having problems with soils that are laden with these heavy metals. The resonating message that stuck with me as I left the farm was that, "excess is bad... too much of anything can kill you," and the planet. As we read Kumar and Kingsolver this point is reiterated, in order to make substantial differences were are going to have to learn to make sacrifices and conscious choices as to the materials and products that we consume!

Scavenger Hunt at Barrington Headwaters (Day 2)

This morning we drove out the site where we will be doing our field research for the rest of the month. Just minutes from Mendum's off Tibbetts Rd. Barrington headwaters is a bit a diamond in the rough. After brief instructions group "A" trailed off into the woods, Jennifer and I trailing behind our crew of  go-getters. The design of the hunt was clever and certainly repeatable for high schoolers as an inquiry based exploration (blue tags with station numbers scattered on trees throughout the plot, under the trees were ziplocks with instructions for observation and or the next stage of our exploration- nice job scattering the groups so that were all the groups weren't at the same station). 

The highlight of the walkabout for me was the vernal pool, which looked more like a expansive moss bed had recently been visited by and moose and perhaps a baby. The footprints, large and small, appeared to be arranged as if the young was grabbing a snack from his mama. The moss covering ground expanded beyond the low lying region that one would expect was the pool area causing us to hypothesize the flooding had occurred in  this area and possibly was the cause of lack of trees in this area. 

Aside from the quest to retrieve all of our baggies and clues, our group was most fascinated by the fungi forest beneath us. We carefully manuvered around the delicate mushrooms ranging in size from a pin head to a baseball. Their colors and textures also varied widely, most commonly rich shades of red, yellow and orange, sometimes speckled with toad like "warts". The purple patch we found was particularly special.  Jennifer spotted a unique variety that looked like a cross section of a tree- however I don't think the rings on this tiny fungi denoted the years that it had lain on that piece of the forest floor.  

LOCAL HISTORY...

A piece of the past as told by Eleanor... During the 1700s the headwater land was owned by wealthy people living in Portsmouth many of whom were interested in the tall white pines to by sold or used masts on ship. One theory behind the lack of tall white pines today is that the tallest tree genes were wiped out of the population! Genetics at its finest.