TRAINING YOUTH IN ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION

TRAINING YOUTH IN ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION
Engaging youth in the field of natural resource stewardship has been a foundational element of Lomakatsi since our inception in 1995. This summer, Lomakatsi is providing youth from all over southern Oregon with workforce training and employment opportunities in ecosystem restoration. Pictured here, Lomakatsi workforce trainers recently led eight Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) participants in active restoration projects on Forest Service lands in the Tiller Ranger District. Beginning next week, two additional Lomakatsi programs, the Ashland Watershed Youth Training and Employment Program and the Klamath Tribal Youth Training and Employment Program, will provide local youth from the Rogue Valley and tribal youth from the Klamath Basin with hands-on educational experiences this summer designed to inspire exploration and interest in natural resource career paths.

Learn more at www.lomakatsi.org/youth-training-employment/

Rachel Carson: Google Doodle Honors Author of ‘Silent Spring’

Photo: #HappyBirthday biologist and conservationist Rachel Carson, who was born today in 1907! Her book “Silent Spring” helped set in motion the global environmental movement.May 27, 2014, news.nationalgeographic.com | “Tuesday’s Google Doodle honors the 107th birthday of Rachel Carson, the writer and environmentalist who warned of the widespread use of pesticides in her 1962 book Silent Spring.  Carson’s landmark book documented the dramatic impact of human-produced chemicals on the natural world and is widely credited with launching the modern-day environmental movement.”

Let’s keep her legacy alive…
#HappyBirthday biologist and conservationist Rachel Carson, who was born today in 1907! Her book “Silent Spring” helped set in motion the global environmental movement.

Protecting the Amazon for Life

http://www.animalnational.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Amazon-Rainforest-Animals.jpgMay 21, 2014, www.worldwildlife.org | “It has taken millions of years for the Amazon to evolve into the most biologically diverse place on Earth. In just a tiny fraction of that amount of time humans have radically changed our natural world, and not for the better. The government of Brazil, working in partnership with WWF and others, envisioned a better way forward, a bold and aggressive move in how large-scale conservation is achieved.”

Protecting the Amazon for Life | Stories | WWF

Wild About Baltimore

Brad-Hunter

February 27, 2014, sierraclub.typepad.com | “Baltimore public school teacher Brad Hunter, above at right, a volunteer leader for the Sierra Club’s Inner City Outings program, says he found out about ICO totally by happenstance.”

“PROFILE: Sierra Club’s Program for Inner City Youth -> Wild About Baltimore
sierraclub.typepad.com
Baltimore public school teacher Brad Hunter, above at right, a volunteer leader for the Sierra Club’s Inner City Outings program, says he…”
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Grow Up! Rethink The Space Around You

Grow Up! Rethink The Space Around You.Here is some gr8 iformation on the value of vertical farming and why it excites me so, so much. I hope that we can get to the point where it is not just profit seekers, who are making this happen:Students at Columbia University determined that to feed 50,000 people,
it would take…

30 Story farm on 6.4 acres = feed 50,000 people
78 farms, using 0.1% Los Angeles
land Area = feed 3.9 million

Apply this to earth population of 7.2 billion. Need about 144, 000 vertical farms to feed the whole world. 921,000 acres of land – given that about 38% of earth’s land is currently being used for traditional agriculture, we find that we only need about .006% of the earth’s existing agricultural requirements. If the current agricultural acreage was used to put 30 story vertical farms side by side, then the food production would be enough to feed 34,440,000,000,000 (34 trillion people).

Grow up! Rethink the space around you.Hats off to The GreenHouse vertical farm! In a 48’x48′ greenhouse, the farm grows 135,000 plants a year in Tower Gardens, using 5% of the water used by outdoor farming. The farm supplies Walt Disney World resorts, along with Emeril’s Orlando, Ritz Carlton, Marriott World Center & the Hilton with fresh greens and herbs year round.”We also have incredibly small losses, and the consistency of growing allows us to be able to deliver the same quantities weekly to our restaurants, making us a lot more reliable than “traditional” farms.”… Katherine Grandey, Co-Founder & Owner of The GreenHouse

Klamath River Youth Travel to Brazil to Join Belo Monte Dam Fight

Klamath River Youth Travel to Brazil to Join Belo Monte Dam Fight

February 14, 2014, amazonwatch.org | “Today a Northern California delegation of Indigenous youth and Klamath River protectors depart San Francisco International Airport, headed to Brazil’s Xingu River Basin in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. The group will meet with communities affected by the proposed Belo Monte dam project.”

“Great news to see #Indigenous youth and allies joining global resistance!
Amazon Watch – Klamath River Youth Travel to Brazil to Join Belo Monte Dam Fight
amazonwatch.org
‘We want to show solidarity in the struggle to preserve and protect inherited cultures and natural resources from shortsighted projects…”

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Ecological Restoration work in Oregon and northern California

Ecological Restoration work in Oregon and northern California.
Empowering the green collar workforce is a win/win for people and planet!
Restoration workers use their bodies and minds to plant the trees along the streams and clearcuts, pull the invasive weeds, thin the dense, fire-suppressed forests, stabilize the slopes, seed the native grasses back to the woodlands, stack the sticks to reduce fire hazards and carry the drip torches across the steep slopes in an effort to carefully reintroduce fire back to these landscapes.

Empowering the Green Collar Workforce and honoring the vital role these individuals play in the restoration process is highly regarded within the Lomakatsi social philosophy. The treatment of the workers is reflected in the treatment of the land. The two are inseparable. As one of our principles states “Remember the Workers- Happy respected people do the best work”.

Photo: Restoration workers use their bodies and minds to plant the trees along the streams and clearcuts, pull the invasive weeds, thin the dense, fire-suppressed forests, stabilize the slopes, seed the native grasses back to the woodlands, stack the sticks to reduce fire hazards and carry the drip torches across the steep slopes in an effort to carefully reintroduce fire back to these landscapes.

Empowering the Green Collar Workforce and honoring the vital role these individuals play in the restoration process is highly regarded within the Lomakatsi social philosophy.  The treatment of the workers is reflected in the treatment of the land. The two are inseparable. As one of our principles states “Remember the Workers- Happy respected people do the best work”.
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The Nature Play Zone at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore: A case study

Children build with driftwood as part of the activities available at the Nature Play Zone at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

January 15, 2014, www.nature.nps.gov | “It is a gorgeous June day at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and I am watching several families enjoying the park (see photos throughout this article). One group is standing around a young oak tree looking up at two young girls scurrying up the branches like a couple of squirrels. Their mom turns to me and says, ‘I didn’t even know they knew how to climb a tree.’ Another group is playing in the sand, hiding rocks, digging up others, and exclaiming with joy as if they just found gold.  In another park location, these would all be ticketable offenses, and I would be going out to chide the parents and wrangle the kids back onto a trail or to a picnic area. However, these are just the sort of park interactions we are seeking at our new Nature Play Zone, so I just smile and watch.”

The Nature Play Zone at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore: A case study; Cover Article; Park…
www.nature.nps.gov
Social scientists and park managers explore a variety of options and examples that illustrate how the National Park System can inspire the American public to enjoy NPS resources and maximize health benefits
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Greening America’s Capitals

The Downtown Greenway along East Boulevard in Baton Rouge is located in a median that once contained a streetcar line. Rain gardens are located on the side of the street to collect and treat stormwater runoff before it goes into the city's sewer system.

January 13, 2014, www.epa.gov | “Greening America’s Capitals is an EPA program to help state capitals develop an implementable vision of environmentally friendly neighborhoods that incorporate innovative green infrastructure strategies. In collaboration with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) through the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, EPA provides design assistance to help support sustainable communities that protect the environment, economy, and public health and to inspire state leaders to expand this work elsewhere.”

Greening America’s Capitals | Smart Growth | US EPA
www.epa.gov
View of the Connecticut state capitol envisioned with native grasses and rain gardens. Image courtesy of Nelson Byrd Woltz.
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Primary school children build fuel-efficient stoves in Uganda

Students in the process of making the bricks. Photo courtesy of Kasiisi Project / Camp Uganda.January 10, 2014, news.mongabay.com | “A group of young children have become a catalyst in the effort to save Kibale National Park from deforestation. Children from Iruhuura Primary School in Uganda have collaborated with the Kasiisi Project and Camp Uganda to build fuel-efficient stoves, developing a more sustainable method of wood consumption around the hugely-biodiverse Kibale National Park.”

GoodNews FortheEarth shared a link.

“Primary school children build fuel-efficient stoves in Uganda — a win-win for people and planet
news.mongabay.com
A group of young children have become a catalyst in the effort to save Kibale National Park from deforestation. Children from Iruhuura Primary School in Uganda have collaborated with the Kasiisi Project and Camp Uganda to build fuel-efficient stoves, developing a more sustainable method of wood cons…”
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