Essence March 2009

ESSENCE

MARCH 5, 2009

The Environmental Studies Student’s Association Periodical

A Green Living Checklist 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 at http://lightbulbs.org/led-light-bulb-primer) 3. Say “NO” to plastic bags; bring your own reusable bags or old plastic bags 4. Use cold water when washing your clothes* 5. Unplug that cell phone charger and other rarely used appliances* (these draw power even when a cell phone’s not attached, and when appliances aren’t “on”) 6. Recycle old electronics instead of throwing them out (they contain heavy metals, and dangerous chemicals that need to be dealt with responsibly) 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 products 10. Stop idling the car; after 10 seconds you will have wasted more gas than it takes to restart the vehicle*

Community

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*

COVER IMAGE BY MILA CZEMERYS

Cooperation: the New Roots of Conservation HEIKE LET TRARI “Well, I suppose we’ll be a small but enthusiastic crowd,” Carleton McNoughton began, smiling out at us from behind the podium. Ten people made the audience in the lecture hall, but a few gave cheer and clapped, and I couldn’t help but smile either. With a booming voice that checked whether we could hear him speak without a mic, McNoughton told us about one of the oldest and largest land conservation organizations: The Nature Trust of BC (NTBC). The creation of NTBC came about through a $4.5 million Trust Fund from the Trudeau government back in the 70’s. Bert Hoffmeister, the founder, was a chairperson for the non-prot, non-advocacy organization for twenty years, and only recently retired. Their mission statement declares that “The Nature Trust is dedicated to conserving British Columbia’s biological diversity through selective securement and effective management of areas of ecological signicance and natural beauty for future generations.” With this in heart and mind, the organization has over the years partnered with federal, provincial, and local governments, foundations and corporations, conservation organizations and First Nations, and stewardship

groups and community volunteers to pursue this commitment. McNoughton rattled off some impressive information: in total, $64 million has been invested, and 452 individual pieces of property are owned – these lands amount to 60,000 hectares (150,000 acres) of critical habitat all across British Columbia. Key acquisitions include the

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The Nature Trust is dedicated to conserving British Columbia’s biological diversity through selective securement and effective management of areas of ecological significance and natural beauty for future generations.

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Hoodoos Property, some of the Okanagan grasslands, the Englishman River Estuary, and some much coveted Garry Oak habitat. Obtaining land that contains habitats with

high 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 such properties is a scientic evaluation according to their 3R system: 1. Richness: how many species are found on the property? 2. Rarity: how rare are those species? 3. Risk: what would be lost if the property wasn’t bought? Because it is difcult to tailor a conservation effort to a single key species while not compromising the habitat or chance of survival for another, especially when you have only small pieces of property to work with, an effective alternate perspective is the landscape approach. After explaining the concept, which recognizes that ecological systems are living, breathing, unpredictable, dynamic and complex systems that are always much more than the sum of their individual parts, McNoughton introduced an example of the approach, which is also a case study of biodiversity ranching here in B.C. – the South Okanagan-Similkameen Conservation lands. In the past, conservation efforts were undertaken one property at a time, and with individual species in mind, but today a landscape approach to conservation is employed. The South Okanagan-Similkameen area already

had a strong history of conservation efforts, beginning with a migratory bird sanctuary in the 1920’s, and today it looks like a wonderful patchwork quilt with many properties owned by various conservation groups, all working together to provide a large swath of prime habitat for many species. The landscape-scale conservation approach is really a precautionary stance for the hopeful. Citing evidence found by climate change expert and adjunct professor at the University of Victoria, Richard J. Hebda, McNoughton says that the South-Central Okanagan Corridor must be kept in the best condition possible to offer an escape route for animals. The Corridor is the tip of a desert ecosystem that lies largely in the United States, but if, as predicted, the animals migrate upwards because changing habitat, they would move up and through that corridor into Canada. Biodiversity ranching, a merging of conservation efforts and traditional ranching opera-

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PHUONG TRAN

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THE ESSENCE

March 5, 2009

Setting the world on fire

JARED SMITH

JESSICA MILES We have been infected with the “Smokey-theBear” syndrome, casting a shadow over the positive effects that re has on land. Today many people have a negative association with re due to years of re suppression – people are afraid of what re could do to their homes, communities and surroundings. However, re is an important tool that promotes biological diversity and builds resiliency against pests, pathogens, and other negative disturbances. In and around Victoria, re reduces the encroachment of large conifer trees and promotes the growth of native plants like salal and sword fern, and for centuries, re has similarly shaped ecosystems all over the world. From the Australian Aborigines’ use of cultural burning, to the slash and burn techniques used in Brazil, re has historically been used as a strategy for land management. The Gulf Islands National Park Reserve is an excellent local example of a re maintained landscape. Fire is an essential natural disturbance in the Gulf Islands, as illustrated by Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), historical documents, and re ecology research. Specically, re was traditionally used to enhance the production of camas and to promote new plant growth as food for herbivores. Camas, an important dietary carbohydrate, contains the same active ingredient as onions and becomes sweet when cooked. First Nations practiced selective harvesting by

(continued from page 1, Cooperation: The New Roots of Conservation)

Biodiversity ranching, a merging of conservation efforts and traditional ranching operations that utilizes the landscape-scale approach, is a concept new to British Columbia, though both the United States and Africa successfully use this process today. It requires partnerships between conservationists and the family-based livestock operators known as ranchers. Why biodiversity ranching? There are many reasons, though the one that brings the two together most is a common interest for the land, and developing the activities that happen on it in a sustainable manner. Ranchlands are ideal for maintaining the goals of both conservationist and rancher. Highlighting several achievable goals of biodiversity ranching, McNoughton shared the success of a project in the White Lake Basin in the Okanogan. The partnership has demonstrated that grazing livestock can co-exist with species at risk; that the rangelands can be used for

Of global sustainability The term “sustainable development” is being thrown around like a quick-x, all-purpose cleaner, guaranteed to clear even the worst environmental stains and blemishes. It is being used to lure environmentally conscious citizens to shell out big dollars to perpetuate awed economic systems. It is an attempt to disguise a gaping and gangrenous wound with a “one size ts all” band-aid.

WILDFIRE, PHOTO BY BRENDA BECKWITH

re-planting the small bulbs and burning the Garry Oak meadows regularly. Cultural burning by First Nations took place in mid-summer to fall, which was historically documented. Prescribed burning in the Gulf Islands became especially important to First Nations after Europeans settled in camas harvesting elds in Fort Victoria. Today, years of re suppression inhibit the restoration of places like the Southern Gulf Islands. For far too long we have neglected our symbiotic relationship with re. Just as our ecosystems require re to restore our west coast environment, our people require the re-introduction of both wild and human induced burns. So next time you hear about using fire to manage the land remember that it is “eco-cultural” restoration and benets both people and our ecosystems. Embrace the ame, as only one spark is needed for great things to happen.

adaptive management processes; that local communities, conservation organizations, and other agencies can integrate interests associated with grassland ecosystems; and that it is possible to keep productive biologically diverse ecosystems while ensuring human economic, social, and environmental needs are met. Rotational grazing, as well fencing off riparian areas and creating alternate sources of watering livestock, photopoint monitoring, bird counts, invasive species management, tree thinning, prescribed re, property maintenance, research, and balancing public access are all components of the biodiversity conservation plan in the basin. According to McNoughton, there has historically been a deep cleft between conservationists and ranchers, but a project like this is bridging that divide. Instead of the black and white that used to be ranchers and conservationists, “there’s a lot of good gray area in there now,” McNoughton nished. People are working together successfully to achieve goals in which they believe, and man - that’s encouraging.

Such arguments may be both cynical and skeptical, but the market’s response to climate change and environmental degradation has little connection with common ecological sense. This doesn’t give me much hope in corporate capitalism’s ability to exchange the fundamental principle of perpetual, exponential growth and maximization of prot for the altruistic aspiration of true environmental sustainability and social justice. Some of the “solutions” heralded seem to do more harm than good in the way that they a) convince the masses that both corporations and governments are aware of the problem and dealing with them; we can go back to consuming, b) we can deal with environmental problems within our current global economic system, and c) create confusion as to what the ultimate cause of such widespread devastation is. True global sustainability would entail living within ecosystems instead of above them. It would require us to live off of nature’s abundant interests rather than exploiting the capital. Sustainable living would compel us to realize that all species have a denitive carrying capacity within their environment. Expanding beyond that carrying capacity, as proved by numerous ecological studies, results in the depletion of resources, conict, and an eventual decline of natural populations until the point of extinction, or with any luck, a stabilization of numbers at a sustainable level. Our approach thus far reminds me of attempting to put a round peg in a square hole. I was two or three when rst confronted with such a problem. My block set and I disagreed for a while after which I realized that I could only solve the problem using a different method. A completely different set of tools and organization are needed to solve our environmental problems as well. We cannot attempt to repair our ecosystems with the exact same mentality that destroyed it. Where’s the scapegoat? Although pointing ngers will certainly lead to conict, it is absolutely essential to understand the root cause of the problem if we are to x it. Here I turn to “The Story of Stuff,” a lm I recommend watching (it

BURNT STUMP; PHOTO BY BRENDA BECKWITH

can be found on www.youtube.com). It is an excellent portrayal of how our current system of extraction, production, distribution, consumption, and disposal is fundamentally awed. The entire system was designed to produce maximum prot in the shortest amount of time. Here is where we must brainstorm and experiment to produce a system that values environmental sustainability and social equality over money. I’m not suggesting a disintegration of the capitalist system. What I do suggest, how ever, is that we ponder long and hard about whether we can overcome our environmental problems while continuing with our present rates of growth and consumption. The changes we need are compatible with some type of regulated smaller scale free market. We need to realize that our present path of “progress” benets few while the majority suffers. The fact that we have solved the human genome, landed on the moon, cloned a sheep, and can y around the world in hours, makes me wonder why we cannot provide clean water to the more than one billion people without. It makes me question why after the green revolution, land is depleted, water is contaminated, native species are going extinct, and there are still 3 billion people worldwide who are still considered malnourished. Despite this I have hope. I believe that humans have the ingenuity to adapt our social structures to enable the continuation of our species and the species we share this planet with. The time for change is now.

You count waves ERIKA VAN WINDEN In the squally weather made by the thrusts of seagull wings, crabs puddle in the tide pools— claws outstretched like grandmother hugs. we’re visitors to this place, I observe colours in the rocks, remember our trip to Nice. Last year we were sunburned, charred like vegetables on a barbecue.

surround us. you count waves, only small ones that lick the sand. a marine biologist; you are too busy collecting data to notice the approaching mist— (I’ll wrap you in my jacket) to notice the sky is swollen with colours of a rainbow—spectrums of light refracting— your eyes will echo sadness later when I ask you if you saw it.

here and now, salty cliffs

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March 5, 2009

Guerrilla gardening: A gardener’s revolution NICOLE FONG Enter, guerrilla gardeners. Fling seed bombs over fences! Root trees in unused elds! Sow wildower seeds like rice at a wedding! You may have noticed the soil-lled median along Highway 17, or a strip of desolate turf lounging between two buildings. It was high time you faced that hollowness and admitted you had become the cause of a landscape... without cause. You were in need of some radical gardening. New Yorker Liz Christy first used the term “guerrilla” in the context of gardening in 1973, thus founding “Green Guerrillas.” Reacting to the abundance of vacant and misused land within urban environments, she began activley planting vegetation in areas she din’t ofcially own. Christy also created the rst seed bomb. These consisted of local wildower seeds, fertilizer and water coaxed into a balloon before being thrown into empty lots. Guerilla gardening has since come to embody the process of gardening as a political gesture apart from / in addition to its usual horticultural purposes. It’s possible to tend midnight vegetable patches under the anonymity of darkness, openly engage and inform local communities through planting in a public space, or simply beautify a neighborhood by spreading seeds at random. The political element of guerrilla gardening has much to do with a reconsideration of land ownership and rights. In the modern context, land is largely seen as a nancial asset, and few think to go against the norm of awless lawns and assemblies of exotic vegetation which simultaneously introduce non-native species into local ecosystems.

Similarly (or not, depending on your perspective), what can be concluded about a society that values asphalt and fences over usable green space? Through a non-violent, coalition-based organization, the issue of neglected public space is addressed through the juxtaposition of, say, the appearance of a vegetable garden where there was once a mottled strip of dead grass at the end of an alley. Another large inspiration for guerilla gardening is the articiality of land ownership. How can one “own” what existed before the idea of ownership did, whose fate and usage affects everyone in the social community? Guerilla gardening is not entirely separate from the values in community gardening, where environmental connection rises along with an increased sense of productivity, access to social support and personal consciousness. Especially in light of recent scandals involving food source contamination, self-regulation of food production not only ensures security, ethics and access, but an understanding of production requirements. Public ownership and management makes for a social community answerable to both themselves and others. Forms of guerilla gardening also exist on the international scale, motioning towards the control of food production and land usage. Brazil’s Landless Worker’s Movement (MST) occupies hectares of land to put under cultivation. London’s Parliament Square: “May Day” of 2000, witnessed the progression of Western guerilla gardening, when vegetables and owers were planted in the area. On Guerrilla Gardening: A Handbook for Gardening Without Boundaries by Richard Reynolds, maps worldwide guerrilla hotspots as the

movement extends across Europe and some parts of the U.S. So go. Now. Fill those empty spaces with green gardens. Reclaim that space and become involved with a sustainable community. Be it through the physical planting of agriculture, the fostering of a productive crop-driven landscape, stomping a bulb into loam or the sideways toss of a seed bomb into a yard, you will harvest results. Even if it’s just a dandelion in the middle of your neighbor’s yard. Sumptuous Seed Bombs From The Guerrilla Art Kit by Keri Smith Materials: Mixed Seeds (use native seeds) Compost Powdered Red or Brown Clay (You can use a clay-based sticky soil instead. You can nd clay at art supply stories or gardening stores, but soil is more readily available). Water Combine 2 parts mixed seeds with 3 parts compost. Stir in 5 parts powdered red or brown clay. Moisten with water until mixture is damp enough to mould into balls. Pinch off a penny-sized piece of the clay mixture and roll it between the palms of your hands until it forms a tight ball (1 inch in diameter). Set the balls on newspaper and allow to dry for 24-48 hours. Store in a cool dry place until ready to sow. Watering or burial not required; all they need is access to sun and rain to germinate. Throw in city planters, empty lots, cracks in sidewalks... And enjoy.

Review for FLOW: For Love of Water PENNY SIMPSON This documentary examines the role of water as a critical resource and explores how privatization and corporate interests are marginalizing people worldwide. The film discusses water contamination from personal products like soaps and cleaners, and industrial efuents, fertilizers, and chemicals, the unregulated bottled water industry in the United States, and World Bank pressures on developing nations to privatize water. Among other things, the lm illustrates how lack of regulations for the bottled water industry in North America is a big problem. A study by the Natural Resources Defense Council tested 1000 bottles of water from 103 different brands. It concluded that 30 per cent contained harmful bacteria, synthetic (man-made) organic chemicals and arsenic.

On the topic of American water quality, William Marks, author of Water Voices from Around the World, states that there are 116,000 synthetic chemicals that end up in the public’s water supply. Right here in Victoria these same chemicals are ushed into the ocean. FLOW won the 2008 award for Best Documentary at the UN Association Film Festival, the 2008 Best Documentary at the Vail International Film Festival, and has now been selected for the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. I would denitely say it’s a must see for everyone, considering the relationship between private interests and public supply continues to be a hot topic. The lm ends with examples of inexpensive solutions. One of these was a playpump: a pump that works from children playing on it (like a merry-go-round). The documentary shows great imagery from Bolivia, India and South Africa and delivers some powerful interviews from corporate

Did you know that rabbits on campus are cute and tasty? This recipe is called Rabbit Restoration Stew because these bunnies are destroying the native landscape on campus. By eating the bunnies, not only are you helping restoration efforts on campus but you are also decreasing your dependence on industrial meats, which demand energy-intensive production. Note: Please be discreet in your rabbit-hunting as some people don’t enjoy the sight of a dead rabbit. INGREDIENTS 1 UVic Rabbit Nodding onion (Allium cernuum) Queen Ann’s lace (Daucus carota) stalk or root Burdock (Arctium minus) stalk or root Salsify (Tragopogon dubius) stalk or root Fennel Bare-stem desert-parsley (Lomatium nudicaule) Salt Pepper DIRECTIONS Killing: Kill a nice, fat, UVic rabbit. The rec-

ommended method is to bait it in, pin it to the ground, grab it by its hind legs, and whack the back of its head hard against the ground, killing it 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 will come off inside out. When you get to the head and front wrists, it won’t pull off any further, so cut the wrists and head off. Rub off (don’t wash) any fur that stayed on the meat. Now you are ready for the anatomy lesson: Cut the belly of the rabbit from the area near the groin 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 heart and lungs, and wash thoroughly.

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Gonzo Cookies HEIKE LET TRARI I’ve had such a positive response to the recipe I’ve doodled with this year. A number of people have asked me for a copy of it, so here it is! Mix: ¾ cup butter/margarine 1 cup brown sugar 1 dollop honey (or ½ cup brown sugar) Add: 2 eggs Add: 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking powder 2 cups flour (WW, white, or kamut, or a mix) 1 tsp vanilla 1 ½ cups oats 1 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, almonds, 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 minutes, depending on their size)

A Peek Into ES 200 AMY HARTZENBERG With a guest lecturer just about every class ES 200 is an intriguing course. All lectures seem to have some similar ideas while looking at the cause of today’s environmental problems, our impact on the world, and what people are doing about it. Food is used as an umbrella to guide a look at ideas such as societies’ need to consume, the need for a change in priorities, and the need to preserve not just land but traditions of different cultures.

executives and citizens. The lm was well directed and straight to the point, enlightening and educational for a wide-ranging audience.

Cook up a pot of Rabbit Restoration Stew ABE LLOYD

THE ESSENCE

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 the meat to your cooking pot. Add veggies. For the (urban) forager, I recommend nodding onion or wild garlic bulbs, Queen Ann’s lace stalk or root, burdock stalk or root, salsify stalk or root, fennel, and bare-stem desert-parsley. Note: In the fall and winter, use the roots. In the late spring and early summer, peel and use the stalks before they mature and produce owers. Modication: For those more comfortable in grocery stores, I recommend onion, carrot, parsnip, leak, yam, and parsley.

For example, James Rowe, one of the guest lecturers, gave a interesting lecture discussing root causes of why we are experiencing an environmental crisis. Societies’ need to consume was a major cause of this, but, what is the root of this need? He attributes it to a fear of nature and death which we cannot escape or separate ourselves from. This causes a feeling of less than being in control with our lives and situations, and this insecurity is expressed in a constant drive and need to consume. When looking at the impacts we have on the world, the focus is social problems as well as environmental, as these issues are often connected. In one class we saw a video about Ladakh: a region of the Indian states Jammu and Kashmir, which is experiencing rapid industrialization. The impacts the Western world is having on this country are clearly visible with the connections between people and society deteriorating along with the creation of pollution. Many people are working on fascinating projects to address some of the issues raised in class. The Land Conservancy project works to preserve land with historical, traditional, cultural, and ecological value. The Mosqoy foundation works to help people in Peru who are losing a part of their culture as they lose their traditional weaving practices and struggle with changes brought on from modernization. ES 200 is an interesting course covering a range of topics which opens the mind and sets the stage for further courses. It has certainly caused my perspective on the world to change.

Un-Naming Our Traditions: Writing

COLIN FULTON

You may or may not be familiar with UVic’s literary journal, the Malahat Review, whose most recent issue collected naturethemed and environmentally-tinged poetry, short prose, essays and interviews. All of this writing was collected under the title “The Green Imagination”, and in the middle of January its editors held a release party of sorts that allowed the writers themselves to read their work and participate in an impromptu discussion on the theme. I was lucky enough to attend – curious to see how literature would represent ecology under this issue’s somewhat vague title. ‘Green’ as a term that has been appropriated and simplied to such an extent lately that I’m automatically wary of whatever it may be attached to: art or not. Now, it’s not at all my intention here to criticize the Malahat or the reading. It was a great time overall and drew over a hundred people. “The Green Imagination” as an issue is to be admired: its collected pieces are quality reads, not at all didactic and very broad in style and approach. Read it at the library if you get a chance. However, I was left with some errant thoughts and concerns by the time I caught my bus home, which sprang from both the pieces themselves and the discussion. What role can and does writing play in ecological activism? Is the written language the mechanism that separates us from or unites us with nature? Does art come from nature, and therefore our creativity and personhood? Can an institutional entity like a publication change anything? Much of ecology, indeed science as a whole, competes for textual clarity where complex environmental, and therefore social, concepts arise. This inevitably leads to linguistic contradictions within the realms of academic thought where thinkers may nonetheless be in full agreement on a given question. What should be considered ‘wild’ or ‘degraded’ in restoration? Is this or that viewpoint representative of ‘deep ecology’ or ‘eco-feminism’? Such disputes are helpful in the construc-

tion of theory or schema, which presumably will be a sort of consensus of knowing for our textual tradition. You can see this drive everywhere in Western thought. But one wonders if the inability of words to express our most complex, therefore important, beliefs – and let’s admit that knowledge is just our best-defended belief – has been partly to blame for how society interacts with nature. The dualities of night and day, male and female; these words don’t express the systems that give meaning to what they represent or those experiences. We seem to separate ourselves from nature and then seek an understanding of it through

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Into the hush of palm fronds that define the wind enters the chirp of a yellow bird whose name we have not found. - from “Horizon Notes” by Derk Wynand

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language, as if jargon can describe what even thought can only rarely grasp. Philip Kevin Paul was the Malahat event’s rst reader – a stunningly talented poet, a member of the WSÁ,NEC (Saanich) nation and a graduate of UVic’s own Creative Writing program. It was his paraphrasing of the American poet T.S. Eliot that

inspired the thrust of this essay: those who name a tradition can no longer be a part of it. His fully oral language has only recently begun to meet the page as its last uent speakers die, and I sensed that he’s worried that such a drastic translation of oral to textual tradition poses a threat to knowledge and doing. Something about this sentiment is also deeply important to environmentalism, as well as writing and reading creatively within academia. Both disciplines, if you can call them that, are subversive. Both invite dissidence. Both are pursuits that anyone could approach outside of an institution: why do we pay tuition to express our creativity in poetry and activism in midterms, when there are urban sprawls to be guerrilla gardened and corporate book franchises to be inltrated with hand-published zines? The most important thing for environmentalists and writers to think critically about is the lingo and labels that we wade through every day, every class. “Allusion” and “species” and “free verse” and “food security”. This naming of our traditions, the generalizations and misinterpretations – the tunnels, as Kevin Paul said – are too easy to get stuck inside. Yet the written page is what human society communicates across: that giant white plain over which our words are often lost. This is the medium through which we as students hopefully can gain inspiration and knowledge. The most impactful poetry and prose, the most enlightened articles and essays, didactic or subtle; we rely on text. I noticed two things about the pieces compiled by the “Green Imagination”. First, its “imaginings” mostly deal with nature: new ways to see it or be in awe of it, rather than ‘solutions’. This isn’t surprising and is by no means a criticism. No one wants the overt righteousness of preachy poetry or prose. Second, there was no one thread that unied the journal’s contributors under

and Environmentalism “ the label ‘green’ – not that everyone wants that label. I noticed many pieces concerned with the natural of course, but also with feminism, romanticism, apocalypticism, as well as First Nations rights and human mortality. You see, I’m trapped in the very wordplay that this essay is trying to discuss. So if we can never accurately name ourselves, can never name these traditions or how we express them in art and study, then it’s difcult to see our society changing for the better. Isn’t that what we want? Even at its best, writing and all art can perpetuate what seems to be the treadmill that our legitimizing ideologies run. Canadian

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The Sound lays claim to me, a child of Saanich. From under the tongue, someone teaches me.

language, pure refusal, blindness to my dimension—

gorgeous immortals, I crawl on them, their cold beauty— their only mercy is that they are real ~ from “Bear Brains” by John Steffler.

~ from “Descent into Saanich” by Philip Kevin Paul.

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poets like Roo Borson and Don McKay, featured in the issue, are emblematic of how our national literature currently approaches nature. In an interview, McKay denes wilderness as “the capacity of all things to elude the mind’s appropriations”. I have a feeling that under his apt denition we cannot con-

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sider most academic language to be “wild”, even in ecological restoration’s many discourses on wilderness. Yet I like what he suggests in claiming that all things, even us environmentally sinful humans, have the capacity to escape appropriation and remain untouched. It allows us to remain part of nature by acknowledging how the mind, through language, separates us. If textual traditions such as ours try and prevent the escape of a word, if we name and explain things, then oral traditions could be better described as observing a thing’s interconnectedness and expressing this through language. Environmentalism or whatever you want to call it will not succeed by naming and explaining itself. It will succeed if it “eludes

the mind’s appropriations”; if it fends off terms like ‘green’. Maybe we can do this by mixing the oral tradition into the textual instead of the other way around. Perhaps poetry as an expression both oral and textual can help, as can art in general. Can you imagine a university that operates on oral tradition? Is it a coincidence that most oral cultures were and are more equitable in their relationships with the land? Socrates praised conversation over the forgetfulness that he thought writing would beget. We can deny this forgetfulness of our traditions by denying the codication of thought that’s all too common in Western academia. I believe that Environmental Studies as a faculty has the best chance of doing this at UVic, and it may change the way we learn as well as act. Tim Lilburn, a UVic writing professor and Malahat contributor, suggested in the event’s discussion period that great poetry can gleam a certain rhythm or syntax from nature by being attentive to its interrelatedness. This is an insight as pertinent to poetic metaphor as to ecology. This essay kind of began on a bus and now ends like a bus nishes its route. The natural world surrounds the route and accepts it into with a systematic clarity that we will probably never express perfectly in the written word. It’s just the world. It’s just everything. I do want to emphasize how much I enjoyed both the Malahat’s event and their publication: provoking thought as they did in me and others is the best possible outcome. Now is time to take those thoughts off of the page and into our lives.

Colin Fulton is in his 3rd year at Uvic, majoring in Creative Writing and Environmental Studies

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THE ESSENCE

March 5, 2009

“The Earth is a house for us all”: The importance of environmental education KATE MOSLEY I will not pretend to be a teacher. I am still in school to become one. I also will not pretend to be a faithful environmentalist. Organic food can be pretty pricey, and lets face it – sometimes that plastic container of moldy leftovers is just too stomach churning to clean out and recycle. But, I will say this: both of these issues are always on my mind. I am an aspiring teacher, composter, and friend to the world. In order to effectively fight my battle, I have decided to combine forces – taking my love for the environment and bringing it into the classrooms that I am a part of. Environmental education, in particular experiential environmental education, is such an important part of our future on this planet. It is clear to most living in today’s world that our planet is in dire need of repair. The damage caused by humans over the past few centuries has created a host of unprecedented problems – some of which we have no idea how to x. If we are to get anywhere in the future with the current problems that plague our planet, the best bet is to start in the classroom, so that future generations will be equipped with the knowledge and power they need. In the words of Mohandas Ghandi, “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” To teach students about the importance of keeping our planet healthy, we must rst pro-

vide them with meaningful encounters with nature. Experiential environmental education involves students having valuable, individual connections with their world. After all, how can we ask students to respect Mother Nature if they haven’t seen or felt her beauty?

The mantra “Reduce, reuse, recycle,” is commonly heard across schoolyards and ofces alike. Posters of devastated wetlands and rainforests are tacked onto walls and billboards. Cautionary tales of melting icecaps and global warming are frequent topics of conversation. As an educator, how can I expect my students to care for their planet if they have no personal or sentimental connections to it? I had heard countless times that the oceans and rivers of our world were in trouble, but until I saw the highly polluted River Lee in Cork, Ireland a few summers ago, I had no real connection with this pollution.

Recipe for tasty lentil burgers EMILY JENKINS Whether you’re a vegetarian or not these burgers are deliciously awesome! The secret: potatoes. They hold everything together.

1 ½ - 2 cups brown/green lentils 1 large (or 2 small) cooked and mashed potatoes 1 ½ cup bulgur 1 cup raw oats ½ cup cooked rice 1 cup coconut (optional) 1 cup sunower seeds Cook the lentils and rice per packaged instructions. Boil and mash potatoes. Combine the bulgur with 1 ½ cups of boiling water and

let stand. Combine all ingredients with spices of your choice. Have fun with it! Some great suggestions: -Garlic 4-5 cloves nely chopped -1/2 onion nely chopped -Engevita yeast (also called nutritional yeast) -Salt and pepper -Cayenne pepper -Fresh or dried herbs like: thyme, basil, oregano, parsley…etc. To combine everything together you can use a hand blender or mixer. Or you can use my preferred method…with your hands! Form into patties and lightly fry in oil, or freeze (they do freeze fairly well). It depends on how big you make them as to how many you end up with…I usually make around 20. Enjoy!

What I saw there was astounding: plastic bags, boots, empty fast food containers, you name it, all oating in the river. It wasn’t until I saw evidence of the devastation I had heard about that I really began to care. I now had a personal and meaningful connection to the facts and warnings I was hearing everywhere. Some people may think that throwing their old boot into the river gets rid of it. But in reality, this boot is now a part of the waterway and may cause one or more sh to become ill or die, affecting the food chain of the river, and thus affecting future availability of sh.

will be hard for students to truly show care and interest in saving it. This is why experiential environmental education is so important when it comes to environmental issues. With experiential environmental education, we can show students the beauty in the natural world, or better yet, let them nd it themselves. If they learn to appreciate and love their earth, maybe they will learn to love it as they do their own home. For in fact, the earth is as much their home as their house is. We need not fear that these youngsters will fail us in preference of the latest Nintendo sensation. If we use every tool on the belt, it is my hope that we can provide the planet of the future with a legion of faithful protectors. As The Be Good Tanya’s remind us, sometimes it is “the littlest birds [that] sing the prettiest songs.”

So, when Mr. Litterbug wonders why his dinner plate is void of tuna, he need only think back to that old boot. Now, this may be a bit extreme, and to tell the truth, I am doubtful there is much in the way of healthy aquatic life in the River Lee, but the point is that without solid and meaningful connections to our planet, it

ESSA t-shirts are available! Price: $25 The shirt: USA-made 100% Organic Cotton shirt from American Apparel, produced chemical free, sweatshop free, colours varied, small ESSA logo on sleeve, oak tree design on left front/side

Hand Silk Screener: Fan Tan Alley based ‘wool and water design’ by Mila Czemerys and Jade Owen. The Victoria based design partnership is focussed on community building, art, and sustainable creating.

Prot sharing: ½ to ESSA, ½ to the Madrona Farm The cause: In order to address the issue of local food security, the Friends of Madrona Farm (FoMF) have entered an agreement with The Land Conservancy to purchase the farm for $2.5 million. They are currently on a fundraising campaign to make this happen, and ESSA is trying to help them out!

Contact: ESSA at: [email protected] or ‘wool and water design’ at: #202, 3 Fan Tan Alley, 250.896.5539

March 5, 2009

Unsettling Old Farmer Tractorwheel came from overseas, and all he knew was digging holes.

MAT T LOEWEN Old Farmer Tractorwheel was a man with calculator eyes that spun wool into malleable thread. His ashlight hands could grip an idea in the light for his refrigerator brain. His mouth was a mug of coffee, bitter and steaming, but it kept you alert. He was the kind of man who cried to prove his modesty and shouted to prove his condence, but more often than not just sat silently in thought. His wife, Old Goody Tractorwheel, had rubber glove knees and a warm microwave heart. Her frying pan feet were tarnished but devoid of grime, and she was the kind of woman who whistled while she worked- softly, and to herself. She smiled because she felt it was all she could do. Her needling smile wove her husband’s thread into her own thick yarn. They shared the kind of love that was silent. The two settled on a plot of dusty turf some decades past. They tore the soil while it slept, and soon it awoke, batting a concerned green eyelash come spring. They sold the multicolored tears on those lashes to the grocer, Herbias J. Corningstone, a man proud enough to demand his middle initial be included in all references. His twine was constantly raveling and unraveling so that he sputtered when he spoke and fettered with his fingers, but he was always ready with a swift warm smile. Their cornucopia spilt into baskets on market day, where the townsfolk advanced with knives and forks under their hats and bonnets. The Tractorwheel’s cracked lips rose in a thin grin. The Tractorwheel family grew, swollen with

children. Chores reddened their hands and leveled their heads. Sons and daughters both civil and roguish grew to be men and women. Some moved, some got married, and some died. But the oxen still gritted their bits and squinted their keen eyes ever forward, lugging leather, metal and wood through the fragrant dirt. One day the tabloids featured some hungry Mexicans. A fancy scientist with a special coat and hat ew in and cast his chemistry magic on the plants to save them. He reckoned that fertilizer, pesticides and water were required to grow his lab-grown Frankenplants. And hell it worked. No strings attached. The Mexicans didn’t starve, and the whole world wanted a piece of this ‘industrial agriculture.’ Old Farmer Tractorwheel sold his mighty oxen, and applied newfangled methods. He had to; other farmers had green dripping from their hands and eyes, and he wasn’t about to be left behind. He bought a tractor and spreader, different laboratory seeds and chemicals and the whole works. He set about a change. The plants pierced the skies and leaned with weight of ear and pod. But prices dropped in this time of surplus, and people came a-rushing to market with their checkbooks twixt their eyes. So Old Farmer Tractorwheel met with a company man with a big rig, and had his corn and peas and spuds shipped to the same place the money came from; Lord knows where. He signed a document agreeing to send his crops off when the truck came, no buts about it. He agreed to buy seed from the company man, and chemicals too. All under contract; he liked that. It made it feel like he was being catered to. The town was changing with the times. Herbias J. Corningstone was out of business, overrun by a stark food warehouse with well-lighted aisles and special deals and fancy labels. He sat outside the pool hall in the bottom of a mug of coins, his last threads roving down his cheek. They gleamed eerily in its descent, illuminated

Caring for our campus and our planet. The University of Victoria has drafted a new Sustainability Policy and five-year Action Plan for Campus Operations that will further advance our committment to sustainability in the classroom, on the ground, and in the region. We want UVic to act as a living laboratory for students and demonstrate innovation in integrating sustainability into teaching, learning, research, community partnerships and the way we operate our campus. Together we can all be a part of the solution. www.uvic.ca/sustainability

by the new petrol ll-up across the way. It was there he died a few weeks later, ribs nearly bursting from his skin for hunger. One morning after slopping his hogs, Old Farmer Tractorwheel went into town for his monthly meeting with the man who managed his nances. The bank was dry and heavy, as was the banker. He told Old Farmer Tractorwheel that the global surplus had caused a drop in price again. Matter of fact with a trim toothbrush moustache, the banker’s crowbar tongue rattled like the hard, clinging leaves in winter. Despite an increased yield, the price had dropped so much that payments on the machines- not to mention seed, chemical pesticides and fertilizers- had outstripped the prots. Old Farmer Tractorwheel was digging a different hole now, but a seed planted in this hole just eats down; it doesn’t sprout. The Tractorwheel’s thin lips were straightened and grim. Then the company man lettered the farm. Payments were due, scribbled in pencil, and Old Farmer Tractorwheel had lost his eraser. He showed his confidence and scribbled on the mortgage papers, trapped, for the lines were too deeply engraved on his vinyl for the needle to play a new song. It just skipped back to sound the same optimistic, misguided tune. And the ballad fathered a dirge. The Old Couple grew a plentiful harvest. But they grew short of targets. Then they grew short of coin, and they grew short of food. They grew short of health. And short of time. Old Goody Tractorwheel still smiled, though. She smiled and swelled with hope and cancer. A chemical razor sawed at her thread; at their thread. But she still smiled, whistling softly to herself. Her rain-cloud hands were stained pink from bug juice; and the same silent smudge throbbed in her abdomen. While his wife ebbed quietly in a quilted room, Old Farmer Tractorwheel toiled. He toiled for her medicine, toiled for her food, and he toiled for her

THE ESSENCE

7

doctors. He drudged his bones into the soil, and the sprinklers wept. The sobbing hogs lamented. The pining weather vane wailed in the wind. And his poisons pumped succulent tears from green, leafy lashes. But prices still dropped. Then Old Goody Tractorwheel softly eloped. And Old Farmer Tractorwheel dug another hole. The company man lettered again to remind him of his other green holes. The homestead, farm, and vehicles were owed. Old Farmer Tractorwheel proved his modesty, and accepted his fate. The company man came by to collect at sunrise. The suit wore his man cleanly, and no threads frayed to or fro. They were well-combed and organized like a typewriter. His briefcase hands were tipped with simpering steel. Old Farmer Tractorwheel invited him in for breakfast, set on a black and white polka dot tablecloth. A meager meal of toast and tea was all he had to offer. The tiny teacups clinked; Old Farmer Tractorwheel drank his cup down, and the company man did the same. A pink tinge stained the white china, and Old Farmer Tractorwheel’s thin lips shook. A dual thread stretched down his cheeks as their airways simultaneously constricted. And so Old Farmer Tractorwheel dug his nal hole.

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THE ESSENCE

March 5, 2009

8 thoughts concerning environmental issues AMANDA PATT

Contributors

The following list is what I nd to be eight truths about various environmental issues. Sometimes the solutions given to various problems end up creating entirely new sets of problems; therefore, some of the things I present as problems below, are considered to be solutions in the mainstream environmental movement (recycling and biofuels for example). Because our denitions of a problem will be what shape our future solutions to that problem, I hope that this list causes you to think a little bit more about what you think are the causes of major environmental problems.

Layout Julia Bennett Nicole Fong Amy Harzenberg Heike Lettrari Jodie Thomson Editors Julia Bennett Georgia Brander Nicole Fong Jasmine Green Heike Lettrari Alex Stirling

1. The main reason for the environmental degradation of the planet is the transfer of too much matter, too quickly, from one storage reservoir into another, and the concomitant removal of too much energy from the system too fast.

Artwork/Photography Brenda Beckwith Mila Czemerys Nicole Fong Phuong Tran

2. The issue of global warming is tied to the Earth’s carbon cycling system: taking too much carbon from the lithosphere in the form of fossil fuels, and transfering it to the atmosphere in the form of greenhouse gases. As a result, this normally buffered and damage-resistant system has become overloaded.

Articles Ashley Akins Nicole Fong Colin Fulton Amy Hartzenberg Emily Jenkins Heike Lettrari Abe Lloyd Matt Loewen Jessica Miles Kate Mosley Amanda Patt Adam Podolec Penny Simpson Jared Smith Erica Van Winden

3. There are many more cycling systems, each with their associated issues, though many aren’t being paid attention to now: nitrogen, phosphorus, oxygen, and sulphur. For example, with the overuse of fertilizer, nitrogen and phosphorus are moved from the lithosphere to the hydrosphere; this results in a process known as eutrophication (the loss of biological productivity and diversity due to reduced levels of dissolved oxygen in the water). 4. Who thinks of the life-sustaining soil organisms that we have cut out of our new water-cycles designed of concrete and metal? By digging into, building on, or paving over this precious layer of fertile soil, we disturb thousands if not millions of year’ worth of work that went into creating it. 5. Only about 10% of the energy is transferred up through each of the stages of life: from its base of sunlight taken up by photosynthetic plants, to the herbivores, omnivores, and nally, to the carnivores. The more we force these energy networks into serving human purposes—for energy-intensive meat, for mechanical replacements for plants in the form of solar panels, for “biofuels”—the more we steal a very limited and precious energy resource. 6. All highly compact forms of energy will become dispersed with use, often as heat. The

Essence

name “renewable energy source” is misleading; the term must be taken as referring not to the energy, but to the source as being renewable. The energy was already part of Earth’s system; and it must already have been doing some kind of work within the system, and that work will now be undone. 7. Recycling, the nding of new ways to use or transform novel substances, is a helpful technology in the short-term manufacture of familiar goods but it does not address the continued production and circulation of further garbage. I am dening garbage as a substance with “no further use” after humans are nished with it (plastic, glass, puried metal, etc.). We have created a

new reservoir for matter—a junk-sphere. 8. Life-forms are self-sustaining; we need to nd ways to stop ghting with them for control and start working with their strengths. We are undermining the ability of future generations of organisms to adapt on their own; this is why the loss of real diversity in favour of product diversity is so dangerous. I am presenting these thoughts because for me, they clari ed what I believe are the real environmental problems of our time. I am not asking you to agree with any of my statements, but simply to think critically about them, and thereby, to further clarify your own ideas about environmental problems for yourself.

Business Advisor Tim Lindsay *** Extra thanks to Heike Lettrari for organizing article submissions and editing, Nicole Fong for ESSENCE’s visuals, and Julia Bennett and Amy Hartzenberg for layout. ***

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Oppotunity to nourish ESSA will continue to flourish Many People to thank No order or rank Common respect Ful of Ideas and intellect Essence of this effort Contribute and share Show that you care Turned out great Time to celebrate --Adam Podolec

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