[Friday Five] February 9

Hello again,

Another week with 5 of my stories that stood out this week.

1. Stephen Barstow. I already have his book, Around the world in 80 plants. He’s most known for his salad creations that include 200+ ingredients all from his forest garden in Norway. Needless to say, this sort of 5 star harvest menu is something we aspire to here at Pinsch of Soil Farm. I came across one of the videos in which he wanders through his forest, picking ingredients for his salad. Enjoy the article and video here.

2. Prinzessinnengarten (Princess Gardens). For certain, this will be a stop on my next trip to Berlin, Germany. In 2009, a barkeeper and a documentary film maker got together and, with the help of friends and neighbours, transformed 6000 sqm of wasteland into an urban garden that supplies fresh produce, provides a green escape in the middle of the city and created a hub for the community to meet and get their hands dirty in the soil.  Enjoy the video and be sure to check out their website 

3.We The Block – A West Vancouver neighbourhood block initiative: I came across tKris Suri presents his neighbourhood block iniative that collects on average 100lbs of non-perishable items a months for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.his story in a local newspaper. In short, West Vancouver teenager Kris Suri started to collect non-perishable items for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank (GVFB). Every first Sunday of the month, people in his neighbourhood leave their cans and dried foods at the door steps from where Kris picks them up and donates them to the GVFB. Almost like crowdfunding, this is a wonderful project where a lot of people can make a big difference by each giving  a little bit. Keep it up Kris! Here is the link to Kris’ project website.

 

 

4. Elderberry cuttings: February is a great time to take cuttings from your elderberries. My cuttings are about 1-1.5 feet long. I place them straight into the ground were I want them. They should already grow 1 – 2 feet in the first year. They make great hedges and provide food for us and birds. For me, Elderberry syrup is the best remedy to fight a cold in the fall.

5. The Road: Great story in the Globe and Mail by STEPHANIE NOLEN, who travels along the BR-163, 2000km into the rainforest. The story of this road is in many ways the story of Brazil’s relationship with the rainforest. Highway BR-163 cuts a brutal path through Brazil’s conflicting ambitions: to transform itself into an economic powerhouse and to preserve the Amazon as a bulwark against climate change. As it turns out, with a greed to maximize this resource immediately, with no value attributed to the forest, inefficient farming practices and inefficient bureaucracy, the Amazon rainforest is under a bigger threat than it actually needs to be.

 

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