Lots, and lots of apples. We have 111 fruit and nut trees, most of which are apple. Conner and Jess helped us with this year’s harvest.
We then made apple sauce, butter, apple cider vinegar and maybe we’ll get at some apple crumble before we’re all done. Later you’ll see our trial and errors at making an apple press and the final results! Yum.#purenewzealand #lakewanakanz #wanaka #lovewanak
#mountainspirt #applecider #mountainspirit
Check out our new video which gives you an overview of what we’re up to, our goals and dreams to make Mountain Spirit a place where people can connect to nature, themselves and each other. The video was done by “The Master” *Ashley Leung. Ash did the ground work, all editing and production. Keep the good work Ash! Randall did the aerial footage, and Ash made magic with it.
*We feel very fortunate to have Ashley, his wife Autumn and their new daughter as family friends. We miss them them and look forward to their return to New Zealand.
Cedar Circle Farm, view “not from the riverside”
Yesterday we had an interesting and serendipitous discovery of Cedar Circle Farms in East Thetford, Vermont. We had planned to stop by the Lebanon Coop after a spontaneous ride in our little Boston Whaler where we put in just south of Lyme, NH and headed north to where we didn’t know on Connecticut River. It was a hot afternoon, and after putting along we decided to give the 25hp Merc all she’d do, and skimmed along the calm waters. Never having been on the river before, we thought we’d do a little exploring, complete with our 1-yr old on board.
After about ten miles, we happened upon a boat landing on the Vermont side of the river, and decided to hop out and find out where we were. We met someone in the little village who told us we were in North Thetford. We happened to mention we were starting a juicing fast, and had to get back to Hanover, NH before the Coop closed. She responded with, “ Hey, why don’t just get back in your boat and head south again a few minutes to Cedar Circle Farm. They have a small boat landing and (more…)
Pepsico, Quaker Oats & GMO: You’re On Your Own
From: Corporate Greed Chronicles
Pepsico...Just to Big for its Own Good
PepsiCo Inc. is a Fortune 500 global conglomerate with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company and Frito-Lay, Inc. PepsiCo has since expanded from its namesake product Pepsi to a broader range of food and beverage brands, the largest of which include an acquisition of Tropicana in 1998 and a merger with Quaker Oats in 2001 – which added the Gatorade brand to its portfolio as well.
Since 1989 Pepsico has contributed more than $10 million to federal and state political campaigns, and since 1997 they have spent an additional $28 million on lobbying. Topping their politician recipient list is former Pennsylvania House Speaker John M. Perzel, the alleged mastermind of the $13 million “Computergate” scandal that pled guilty to corruption charges and is currently awaiting sentencing. Rick Perry comes in number two, with Ed Rendel, Barack Obama and George W. Bush rounding out the top five.
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We don’t know what Pepsico got from the money they gave to Perzel, but we do know at least one thing they are getting from their lobbying investment: So far, it has kept GMO warning labels off of their products.
“GMO” stands for “genetically modified organism”, i.e. organisms whose genetic material has been artificially altered using genetic engineering techniques. The USA is the largest commercial grower of genetically modified crops in the world, and at least 75% percent of the processed foods consumed in America contain GMO ingredients.
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GMOs are banned or significantly restricted in 30 other countries around the world, including Australia, Japan and all of the nations in the European Union. But here in the Corporate States of America, consumers aren’t even given the benefit of GMO warning labels.. Read the rest of this story..
Check out the South Coast Environmental Society, and stay tuned for the video, “Welcome to the Food Forest”. There are tons of volunteer opportunities as well.
YOUR FOOD SUPPLY #31: A Modest Kiwi Environmental Centre Note: (This video series started in 2010, while listening to the audio version of the book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, when Amanda and I were driving across the U.S. and were seeing the effects of industrial farming in real time while listening to the book. Here’s that first entry Your Food Supply #1 To see the whole series, click on the category “Your Food Supply” in the category section of this blog on the right of your screen.
An Outpost of Sustainability
Robert and Robyn Guyton were determined to start a food forest instead of mowing a front lawn. And a forest did they grow, when in the mid-’90’s, they purchased some land and a house in the small coastal town of Riverton, New Zealand. Riverton along with its neighbor, Invercargill rank as one of the southernmost towns in the world, and back then Riverton was an affordable place to buy land. It still is compared to the northern resort towns of Wanaka and Queenstown, the latter which graces its runway with private jets, rivaling Aspen Colorado.
The Guytons worked in earnest on their two lots planting trees and plants based on permaculture practices. When they first started, they received some odd looks from the neighbors, as their front yard started to take on the forest look. There were no other like-minded people in Riverton when they arrived, but undeterred, they started a cooperative learning center called the South Coast Environment Society.
YOUR FOOD SUPPLY #30: Build it & They Will Come Note: (This video series started in 2010, while listening to the audio version of the book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, when Amanda and I were driving across the U.S. and were seeing the effects of industrial farming in real time while listening to the book. Here’s that first entry Your Food Supply #1 To see the whole series, click on the category “Your Food Supply” in the category section of this blog on the right of your screen.
Today the organization modestly states on its website it is an umbrella group for a “several” local environmental groups who have information,displays and meetings in the centre. Those several groups include:
Groups working for protection and enhancement of local ecosystems:
Groups working to promote sustainable lifestyles:
Groups promoting sustainable growing methods
Robert Guyton
My wife and I met the Guytons when they were giving a presentation on sustainability to the ultra small Garston School, (which deserves its own blog post), New Zealand. We were intrigued with their presentation, which included a movie (to be posted on this blog) called “Welcome to the Food Forest”. We decided to take our chances and take the hour and half drive from our place and show up unannounced. Even though we had a standing invitation, we happened to miss them, when we stopped by to say hi. Nevertheless, I decided to interview Mark Baily while visiting the centre. You can see the video on my adjacent post. We’ll have to get down there again when Robert and Robyn are home, so we can get the proper tour of their food forest!
YOUR FOOD SUPPLY #30: Build it & They Will Come Note: (This video series started 13 years ago, while listening to the audio version of the book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, when Amanda and I were driving across the U.S. and were seeing the effects of industrial farming in real time while listening to the book. Here’s that first entry Your Food Supply #1 To see the whole series, click on the category “Your Food Supply” in the category section of this blog on the right of your screen.
Is the Future Hydroponics?
O’Hare Aeroponic Garden Provides Fresh Produce to Airport Eateries
From: Chicago Department of Aviation
The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) and HMSHost are pleased to announce the grand opening of the O’Hare Urban Garden, a cutting-edge, environmentally friendly aeroponic garden located in the mezzanine level of Terminal 3, G Concourse.
“On behalf of the City of Chicago and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, we are delighted to open the world’s first airport aeroponic garden at O’Hare and invite passengers to take a few minutes to visit the calming garden and learn more about this unique and earth-friendly type of gardening,” said CDA Commissioner Rosemarie S. Andolino. Read the rest of this story…
Editor’s Note: It seems the Juice Plus company is behind this technology, (or at least has marketing rights) and will be rolling it out to distributors sometime in the next year. While I’m not a huge fan of MLM companies, (Juice Plus says it’s not multi-level) I have been taking Juice Plus for years, so expect their Hydroponics to be something worth looking into.
As our world moves closer to facing climate change and its consequences, MSI is doing our part to provide education and awareness on how to achieve some measure of personal sustainability.
We invite you to come to Vermont on June 10-12, 2011 for a weekend retreat to explore how to make healthier choices about food, relationships and navigating everyday life in a healthier and more conscious way.
In our upcoming Creating A Sustainable Lifestyle program, we feature some of New England’s most gifted teachers and facilitators.
Henry Homeyer
Henry Homeyer, author of four gardening books and New England garden columnist, will share insights from over 60 years of organic gardening experience.
Jen White, Sustainability Coordinator at Colby Sawyer College, will help us understand the global impact of our choices, connect with our values and live sustainably from the heart.
Miles Sherts, author and founder of Sky Meadow Retreat in northern Vermont, has been teaching about conflict resolution and communication skills since 1990. Miles will lead a workshop on Conscious Communication.
So please think about joining us at Sky Meadow Retreat in June – at the very least it will get you thinking about what you can do to live more in alignment with the earth, and we guarantee, you’ll learn a few good things about Creating A More Sustainable Lifestyle.
A downturn in the maple syrup market is having harmful side effects for trees in northern New England. For the first time in decades, the maples are remaining untapped, with sometimes-dangerous results.
At right: Maple-syrup maker Ryan Tilley braves a forest aflame with exploded maple to tap his trees.
Hear the mp3 story here.
The Revolution will begin our food supply
Over the past 12 days, the Obama administration has unbelievably chosen to approve two biotech crops, Roundup Ready genetically modified (GMO) alfalfa and Roundup Ready genetically modified (GMO) sugar beets. Obama’s recent approval of them will allow them to be planted as early as this spring, despite widespread acknowledgement that these crops are certain to contaminate both conventional and organic farmers non-GMO crops. Their approval only benefits one company — Monsanto.
These decisions are a devastating blow to our democracy and the basic rights of farmers to choose how they want to grow food on their land and the rights of consumers who increasingly choose organic and sustainably grown food for its positive health and environmental impacts. Click here to join us in telling President Obama that it’s time to stand up to Monsanto and reject these GMO crops today.
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