I have this simple idea:

We can reverse climate change.

Overview

I started this in Eco Restoration 01 back in 2020. Now it’s 2022, so how are things going, what have I learned, and where are we going with this? 2023 Update …

Pics

Spring 2022

All my bees from last year died. So I ordered more bees, both packages and nucs. I installed bees in my backyard and (key point) got neighbors interested in hosting hives in their back yards. I have bees in 4 yards this year.

I also ordered some trees and shrubs to provide food for critters.

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Summer 2022

It’s been a dry hot year. I installed some sprinklers to help the plants.

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Learnings

• Honey bees don’t seem to do that well in the PNW winters
• Native bees love the clover I planted on the hugulkultures
• Logs take a long time to decompose
• An old, used, low mileage, low range (~50 miles) Nissan Leaf has been a game changer. I have taken a few longer trips where I needed to fast charge. But mostly, my lifestyle has evolved to just driving in the 5 miles around me…to yoga or to get groceries. Otherwise, I take the bus, lightrail, or train. I still have a gas car, but I almost never use it.
• I am going to increase my focus on planting a variety of flowers and plants for a variety of pollinators

Other thoughts

I sold my sailboat this year. Then my partner and I joined a small sailing club and have been spending our weekends sailing dinghys around the local lake. So now I am spending a lot less money on a sail boat and actually sailing more. It’s pretty fun sailing a dinghy around, and it’s only a 5 minute drive to the beach. I might still go sailing around the world on a full size boat, but it certainly is interesting that I can have tons of fun doing something local, too.

Links

Political

Global Justice Ecology – love this site

• https://globaljusticeecology.org

Maria Thomchick is amazing

• https://kodxseattle.org/eat-the-airwaves/

I’m sure you all know this one…

• https://democracynow.org

Russ sends a hopeful message to us through this site…

• https://www.russvernonjones.org

Building

I’m thinking of ways to make our living spaces more ecological and fire resistant

• https://strawbale.com/
• https://strawbale.com/wp-content/uploads/Fire-ResistiveStrawbaleWalls-CASBA.pdf

Gardening

Check out the tall grass meadow plant list in the project resources section.

• https://www.seattleparksfoundation.org/project/maple-leaf-reservoir-park/

Here’s a good site with local native meadow plants and recommendations:

• https://northwestmeadowscapes.com/

And if you’re gonna do some quantity, these guys are cheaper but have a $500 minimum.

• http://www.heritageseedlings.com/native-seed

I have purchased cover crops from these folks (clover, for example):

• https://www.highmowingseeds.com/

I have purchased several pounds of wildflower mixes here

• https://www.seedsavers.org/bee-feed-mix

And you can get free seeds from psba here:

• https://pugetsoundbees.org/psba-shopping/#!form/Shopping

A few years ago I ordered 100 packets and then walked around my neighborhood and gave them away to my neighbors…one packet at a time. I have no idea how many people planted them, but that sort of outreach can have a huge effect. I’m doing the same thing this year…as soon as they send me the seeds.

I have purchased various trees and shrubs both locally from swansons and also from burnt ridge

• https://www.burntridgenursery.com/

Summary

I’m just playing around with the idea that if I change what’s important to me, then my actions follow suit.And if I start making the planet and our ecosystem my priority, then … who knows what good can come of it?