Andrea's Everything Eco Exploration

Hello again! I’ve realized that I am no good at regular updates to this blog. Living in the woods with no internet has a big part to play in that. But at long last, I’m back to give an update on my west coast life. Recently Michael and I have invested in a solar array. We’ve got two monocrystaline 270 W panels, two 400 Ah, 6 volt flooded lead acid batteries in series, a charger and a inverter. The whole system cost over 2,000$. And while the price was an uncomfortable pill to swallow, we are now off the grid energy wise. It feels right, to be set up in a small clearing in an alder and salmon berry forest, less than 500m from a small organic farm, and to be hooked up to solar power. It feels like one more step towards assimilation with our natural neighbours. In a sense, we are photosynthesising energy to run our little trailer. And our bodies are fuelled by the vegetables we pick, which ate the same tasty sun, less than a km away.  On our property we also have our own l...

Sweden is burning your trash and unsold clothes And it's being touted as an environmentally applaudable behaviour. This is green-washing at its peak. Incineration/waste to energy (W2E) is second last on the waste management hierarchy. Simply it means they burn the garbage to produce heat which makes steam which runs a turbine. It's not very energetically efficient, and it requires a lot of big machinery and filter systems to ensure the pollution doesn't escape and spread its toxic vapours everywhere. And then they must safely dispose of the concentrated chemical ash. But what I find most troubling about W2E is that they lock cities and countries into contracts, assuring they provide a certain amount of feedstock / garbage each year. This sways the motivation away from reducing waste in the first place, and instead towards the perpetuation of our over-consumptive materialist culture. There's no incentive to implement zero waste practices or change behaviou...

That title is not the cat walking on the keyboard after I've typed my name. No, rather it is a class of non vascular plants, which contain mosses, like those found in the order Andreaeopsida. I've just recently learned a fun little mnemonic to remember the division of evolution: "Dutch king Phillip came over for green spinach" or : Binomial nomenclature is when we name things with two Latin words. These words are the  Genus and the species. Species  being the most specialised branch of the tree of life, whereas kingdoms can be seen more as the trunk of the family tree. The three main kingdoms are Animals, Plants and Fungi.  When I mention class and order in the first paragraph, I'm talking about a branch that forks off around the middle of the time line of evolution. Mosses are an early evolutionary plant, and consist of a rudimentary life form, so it doesn't include a vascular system ie: a way to get water up from the ground and into high branch...

Again, it's been a long time since I posted here. My last post was talking about the new chapter I entered when I parted ways with what I thought was my dream job. Going forward, not only do I feel like a new chapter, I feel like I'm on to book two of my life! Which is an exciting place to find myself, and I would like to share my experiences and learning with the ethereal internet. Two months ago I moved to the Sunshine Coast in order to try something different, challenge myself, and learn more about the natural world. I started off by getting really into embroidery. I had people asking for commissions, and even got my work into a local bistro. I was taking much needed time to fill my creative well, and simply be. And when my hands got too sore from embroidering, I would explore nearby forests and lakes, and I began to learn the native plants of a new environment. For a few years now I have become very interested in plant medicine and the amazing wealth of nutrition...

It's been a while since I've posted in here. Mid October I landed a prized position at DIRTT. A company I admired and studied in university. As established DIRTTbags told me, it's like drinking from a fire hose.  I was thrown into the throng and hit the ground running.  Everywhere I looked there was something needed greening.  But I was inexperienced and green myself, and I floundered. The fire-hose kept firing and I was soon struggling to keep my head above water. I won't go into more detail, but let's say that chapter of my life has since come to an end. At first I was distraught, caught unawares as the safety net of salary slipped away. But upon further reflection this new change of pace allowed for many opportunities to present themselves. Now I could dedicate time to commission painting, hiking, foraging, camping and cabining. I could enjoy my summer without the blanket of stress. I felt it was for the best. Now, money has always been a teather. And...

Like caterpillars on the underside of leaves,  left to our own devices we devour more than what we need   I am a self professed environmentalist.  I pledge allegiance to the Earth. But I find our side is losing a long drawn war. A slow slip into defeat. We are simply outnumbered. We're encumbered by the hands clasping at our heels,  Like mud weighing down our slowing step. Soon we might stop, and watch the rush of corporate fuel ignite. With each tree we uproot we create more kindling More tinder in a dry drought desert. Why can't we be bothered To make a simple  switch Use a hand dryer instead of paper towels For example. I feel alone in my effort The behaviour has set like dye I gravitate towards the hand dryer every time Because I see no point in consuming a resource in less than 30 seconds Placing it in a trash bin and condemning it to a lifetime buried in a wasted grave Preserved in  airless inertia. And I can't say w...

We've created a backwards loopholed logic that frames our every day.  We've gotten lost in the word play and persuasion.     Our purses burst & beg impulse purchases.   Does it please us sufficiently?