All Blog Posts (385)

Hi,

Carly asked me at the potlach about a recipe for poppyseed roll bread. This link below takes you to the recipe that I used. First you make the leavened bread. I didn't measure anything. I just activated some yeast in milk and sugar with some potato peelings (which seems to help the yeast multiply) and added it to flour which had some baking powder in it and a little bit of sugar. Then I worked it until it looked right and covered it to rise.

I used a mix of rye, barley,…

Hi all,

Every year I buy a bunch of tickets from the Rogue Folk Club at a member discount and make them available at cost to friends and fellow music lovers.

This year tickets are $122. (Early bird passes thru the Folk Fest were $135 thru June 11, and are currently $150.) Naturally, my supply is limited, so 1st come, 1st serve.

If you're interested. please contact me at "folk fest tix" [email protected].

Cheers,

Ross

P.S. Anyone who's interested…

Only a couple of days left to register for my short workshops at Langara College:

July 9th - Intro to Bioremedial Ecoart practice. An intensive half-day intro to Bioremedial practices. Learn about pragmatic arts-based practices of rehabbing damaged sites, wetlands, and waterways.

July 11th - Wild in the City. Gain in-depth knowledge of local flora and fauna through this daylong journaling workshop in Stanley Park. Based on early Naturalist observation and journaling. With a…

EcoSex Symposium! (Portland)

Click for Symposium info

"More than 21 workshops on sexecology, sensual & sustainable living, the pleasure of permaculture, EcoMagicks, bees, mycelium/mushrooms, stardust, polyamory, ecoactivism, herbal aphrodisiacs, culture, sexual liberation, plant medicines, embodiment, & more.

More than the Opening Ceremony on Friday, the EcoBall on Saturday Night, or Sunday's Closing…

An article from BBC Scotland about the movement to free up unused public land for market gardens is here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-18405257

This issue is crucial to us in a City regulating itself and its residents to death, or at least into homelessness and malnutrition. In my book, homelessness and malnutrition are tantamount to death,…

There are still two days to apply to the Vancouver Tool Library's "Build It" volunteer and tool training program!

"Build It” is a program that aims to support our volunteers as they become more involved with their community while developing their personal skill set in tool use and woodworking. Over the six month duration of the program, participants work one shift per week at the VTL and receive monthly training and workshops, as well as all the necessary materials,…

We’re about to push the Earth over the brink, new study finds

By David Roberts

There’s a new scientific paper out in the journal Nature called “Approaching a state shift in Earth’s biosphere.” In a sane world, it would be front page news. This is from the…

Hey folks,

As part of a "Compassionate Communities" project put on by Frog Hollow Neighbourhood House, a small group of people started talking about a way to visit and get to know others interested in edible gardens, chicken coops and bee hives. We came up with the idea of a "crawl" and applied for a Neighbourhood Small Grant...and got it! So now we have to organize the thing.

Here's the email we just sent out to our current mailing list (see below). I'm hoping some of you…

Crime & Fear

There are two conflicting outlooks towards city trees and vegetation. On one hand, a natural landscape is believed to promote healing and renewal. On the other hand, the presence of vegetation is implicated as a screen for criminal activity. This article addresses the second perspective and summarizes the research findings on the relationship between urban vegetation and crimes, aggressive behavior, and safety. The science findings are not conclusive and even may…

"At Amsterdam’s first Repair Cafe, an event originally held in a theater’s foyer, then in a rented room in a former hotel and now in a community center a couple of times a month, people can bring in whatever they want to have repaired, at no cost, by volunteers who just like to fix things."

Awesome!

Read the article:…

Welcome to the Nature Language Project

We love nature, fear it, play in it – but we’re losing it, and we’re losing the language to speak of it. This website is a place where you can join in a community by reading stories, sharing a story, and commenting on stories about meaningful interactions with nature. It’s also a place where you can contribute to research. If you choose, your story will be used by a research group at the University of Washington interested in the ways people…

Off-the-Grid Living in Brooklyn

TEST BUILDING The Delta in Carroll Gardens, which has been built to run entirely on solar energy,

is a showroom for a “net-zero” rental planned for Park…

I'm writing a piece about food forests for a Vancouver magazine.
Do you know of any food forests in the city?
I'm especially interested in getting photos of mature sites...
Thanks!

I have half a yard of soil in the back of my truck. Need to get it gone! Happy to deliver it to your curb for $25 if you're not too far from 25th/Knight :)

We are very excited to announce that the Vancouver Tool Library will be bringing on a part time Events and Promotions Coordinator this summer! We are currently seeking a dynamic individual to work in this contract position along side our Board of Directors to help plan and promote the exciting workshops and events that the VTL runs.

Interested in applying? Check out thefull job description on our…

NOTE - Most of these have now been picked up...

FREE concrete pieces (aka East Van paving stones) from a sidewalk demo. Good for a walkway, small patio or permaculture herb spiral. Help yourself. They're in the alley behind 557 E12th (near cedar hedge). Please don't disturb the residents! If you take them, kindly let me know so I can delete this notice.

Nifty little article of self-help advice from Grist Magazine

Why do we love our lawns when they don’t love us back? We pay a gardener or mow every week. We weed, edge, and blow. We aerate and add chemicals that pollute our waterways. And still, our lawns need more—often a lot more.

What’s more, a tremendous amount potable water is used to irrigate our landscapes. And because grass and the soil under it are often severely compacted, many lawns act like a paved surface that water…

This story is part of AlertNet’s special report Solutions For A Hungry World

By Katie Nguyen

LONDON (AlertNet) - It was designed to increase production and exports of vegetable oil, a commodity in short supply after World War Two, and foster growth in post-war Britain and Tanganyika.

Instead, Britain's scheme to carve out million-acre plantations for growing groundnuts in what is now Tanzania ended in disaster - scuppered by the thick bush that rendered machines to clear…

(Reuters) - Disillusioned by the unfulfilled promise of the cities and feeling stifled by tough austerity measures aimed at coping with an economic downturn, some Portuguese are opting out and returning to the land.

More:
Portuguese plant seeds to cope with crisis

By Lisa Hymas

E. O. Wilson thinks you should get out there and make some noise.  We had lots of questions for acclaimed biologist and conservationist.

Edward O. Wilson when he dropped by the Grist office recently while touring to promote his latest book, The Social Conquest of Earth.

But Wilson directed the toughest question of the day back at us: Why aren’t you young people out protesting the mess that’s being made of the planet?

As we squirmed in our seats,…