Though our lived-in ethics projects are coming to an end, there are several things that I learned throughout my project that will surely stick with me for a long while to come. Many of the significant things I learned I have written about in previous posts such as bioregionalism, the joys of getting your hands dirty, the sense of accomplishment that comes from planting a tree, and ideas for increased sustainability on campus. Another big component of the project that will remain with me beyond this class, is the Shooks Run Agro-Forestry project itself, which I plan to continue next year and hopefully beyond that as well.
I gained a lot from this project but in retrospect there are some things that I wish I had done differently. One of these things came to me after reading the article by Walter Sinnot-Armstrong, which for the most part I do not agree with, however, I found his argument about the responsibility to advocate for large scale, institutional, and political change to be very valuable. I wish I had incorporated into my project time to write letters and make phone calls advocating for important environmental causes.
Regardless, the project also made me think about all of the different feasible ways, some more ambitious than others, I can continue practicing lived-in ethics. On a smaller scale, I would like to make a conscious effort to take more time eating meals and being fully present in conversation, two things that Schor discusses the importance of in True Wealth. On a larger scale, for the next 3 years at CC (and hopefully beyond those), I would like to avoid taking planes back and forth from home. There is a train that runs from here to Boston and the only reason I wouldn't take it is because it is less time efficient. It is, however, significantly more sustainable than plane travel and allows you to see the country in a way that planes do not.
Overall this project, and this class in general, has been a very beneficial experience for me and I feel that I have gained a lot of insight and further developed my own, personal, environmental ethic.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Wrapping up with Rapp
Last week marked the end of my time volunteering with the Shooks Run Agro-Forestry project (for the time being at least). The highlight of my time with Gary last week was hearing his suggestions in regards to sustainability initiatives on campus. I pitched to him a few of the ideas that our class came up with last week (ie: green roofs and farm plots outside the dorms) and he was very enthusiastic about these. Although he did say they sounded of similar nature to the ideas he had when he was younger that no one would listen to.. Yet he persevered so so can we! One idea that I have pondering that was not brought up in class, is that whenever facilities is planning to plant a new tree, shrub, etc. they should chose fruit bearing trees and bushes. I asked Gary if he thought this was feasible and he directed me to Colorado Spring's Landscape Code and Policy Manual.
This is a very helpful resource because it goes into detail about which species are native to the different ecosystems in Colorado Springs as well as the historically adapted species. The most relevant parts of the manual are Appendix A: "Native Plant Communities," Appendix B: "Selected Plants," and the Signature Landscapes Design Manual addendum. He also sent me a set of maps of the city's Native Plant Communities, Climate Zones, and General Vergetation and Soil Associations, which I found to be pretty interesting.
Another great resource that Gary referred me to is the Pikes Peak Urban Gardens organization:
http://ppugardens.org/
They are doing great things and I am sure they could be very helpful in on campus initiatives, such as the dorm farm plots. Next year I will be living in the Local Living and Learning Community and my goal is to undertake this idea and hopefully make it happen.
This is a very helpful resource because it goes into detail about which species are native to the different ecosystems in Colorado Springs as well as the historically adapted species. The most relevant parts of the manual are Appendix A: "Native Plant Communities," Appendix B: "Selected Plants," and the Signature Landscapes Design Manual addendum. He also sent me a set of maps of the city's Native Plant Communities, Climate Zones, and General Vergetation and Soil Associations, which I found to be pretty interesting.
Another great resource that Gary referred me to is the Pikes Peak Urban Gardens organization:
http://ppugardens.org/
They are doing great things and I am sure they could be very helpful in on campus initiatives, such as the dorm farm plots. Next year I will be living in the Local Living and Learning Community and my goal is to undertake this idea and hopefully make it happen.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
True Wealth and the Reclamation of Time
There are many parts in the book True Wealth, by Juliet Schor, that directly relate to my lived-in ethics project. Most prominently, the fact that the first principle of plenitude is the reclamation of time. Though perhaps not perfect, I loved Schor's ideas on the ways that society and our values can shift in order to become a more sustainable, stable, happy global community. The fault that I found in her proposal is that it may not be realistic. Her proposed change of priorities from ones related to work, consumption, and monetary achievement to ones about relationships, serving one's community, creating more, and becoming more self proficient, are incredibly appealing to me.
For the past few days I have kept Schor's vision in mind but the things that she makes seem easy have been proving quite difficult. For example, simply slowing down in general and spending less time working and more time connecting with people. These are very difficult tasks in the context of Colorado College. The times last week that I chose to converse with friends, practice yoga, or to spend time painting, instead of getting straight to my homework, only resulted in my being significantly more stressed out when it came time to get to work. This, of course, is the opposite of what Schor intends with her proposed lifestyle changes. Another issue is that there is so much that I want to do and so many opportunities that I want to take advantage of and I think hat my life would be less satisfying without all of these activities. Yet, this rarely allows me time to sit back and relax which is a key component of plentitude. I love her ideas I want to slow down and live that way but it involves sacrifices that are not realistic. Regardless of these flaws, many of Schor's ideas have promise and, if anything, provide initiatives to strive towards whether or not it is realistic for an individual to accomplish all that plentitude entails.
For the past few days I have kept Schor's vision in mind but the things that she makes seem easy have been proving quite difficult. For example, simply slowing down in general and spending less time working and more time connecting with people. These are very difficult tasks in the context of Colorado College. The times last week that I chose to converse with friends, practice yoga, or to spend time painting, instead of getting straight to my homework, only resulted in my being significantly more stressed out when it came time to get to work. This, of course, is the opposite of what Schor intends with her proposed lifestyle changes. Another issue is that there is so much that I want to do and so many opportunities that I want to take advantage of and I think hat my life would be less satisfying without all of these activities. Yet, this rarely allows me time to sit back and relax which is a key component of plentitude. I love her ideas I want to slow down and live that way but it involves sacrifices that are not realistic. Regardless of these flaws, many of Schor's ideas have promise and, if anything, provide initiatives to strive towards whether or not it is realistic for an individual to accomplish all that plentitude entails.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
More Adventures with Gary Rapp
For the past few weeks Gary and I have been working on planting Cottonwood poles and Box Elder Maple Trees, while making sure that other newly planted trees are getting enough water and care. Getting my hands dirty has been a very refreshing and rewarding experience, but I've realized that what I benefit from the most is the conversations that Gary and I have. He is incredibly knowledgable about the Colorado Springs area and eager to share his knowledge.
Learning from Gary I feel that I have gained a better sense of bioregionalism. When we discussed the bioregionalism quiz in class a few weeks back, I realized how little I knew about the area's ecosystems, but over the past few weeks I have acquired a pretty good sense of Colorado College's bioregionalism. For example, I can tell you 5 grasses prevalent in the area (blue grama grass, buffalo grass, kentucky bluegrass, crested wheatgrass, and curly mesquite grass) and that the Siberian Elm trees that are now one of Colorado Spring's dominant tree species, were brought over from Siberia in 1872 by Gen. Palmer because of their drought tolerance. All of this has definitely given me a new appreciation and sense of connection towards the plants I see in passing everyday.
The other day, when deciding where to plant our first Cottonwood pole Gary told me to go with my first instinct. He later elaborated that he has been thinking a lot about the idea of the "shared unconscious" and that perhaps my first instinct was based on the unconscious connection I have with the earth. This is a pretty cool idea to me and here is a link Gary sent me about it if anyone is interested in looking further:
http://www.swaraj.org/shikshantar/Gregory_Bateson.pdf
Learning from Gary I feel that I have gained a better sense of bioregionalism. When we discussed the bioregionalism quiz in class a few weeks back, I realized how little I knew about the area's ecosystems, but over the past few weeks I have acquired a pretty good sense of Colorado College's bioregionalism. For example, I can tell you 5 grasses prevalent in the area (blue grama grass, buffalo grass, kentucky bluegrass, crested wheatgrass, and curly mesquite grass) and that the Siberian Elm trees that are now one of Colorado Spring's dominant tree species, were brought over from Siberia in 1872 by Gen. Palmer because of their drought tolerance. All of this has definitely given me a new appreciation and sense of connection towards the plants I see in passing everyday.
 |
| A Siberian Elm tree |
The other day, when deciding where to plant our first Cottonwood pole Gary told me to go with my first instinct. He later elaborated that he has been thinking a lot about the idea of the "shared unconscious" and that perhaps my first instinct was based on the unconscious connection I have with the earth. This is a pretty cool idea to me and here is a link Gary sent me about it if anyone is interested in looking further:
http://www.swaraj.org/shikshantar/Gregory_Bateson.pdf
Another interesting link Gary referred to me is about The Land Institute located in Salina, Kansas. This is an area that has developed "natural systems agriculture" for prairie ecosystems. This idea of natural systems agriculture is what Gary is trying to instate in the Shooks Run Park ecosystem. The link is an episode of This American Land and minutes 6:44 to 12:02 discuss the Land Institute:
Enjoy!
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