Headwaters Land Trust

Eco-tours is altering our strategy for reclaiming the forests. In light of the fact that downstream areas always fall victim to the conditions, "development" and mis-use that takes place in headwater areas that feed water to them, we are creating a land trust. This is a legal status for land that both exempts it from taxation, and protects it from development in perpetuity. Instead of just recovering lands that have been denuded and in many cases no longer support an integrated forest system, we will be branching out into protecting relatively pristine areas as well. As I have written about before, much of my adult life presented a subtle but pervasive quandary. The issue of ecological triage...

In my youth, I was violently opposed to this way of thinking. Think, for a moment about saying straight out and forever, we will cede this land, of that to the dust bin of history. This is what is being done far below the surface of the Earth to liberate "natural gas" through fracking. It is what has been done in many Superfund sites and is being done in hundreds of thousands of areas that have been toxified beyond recovery. Just like finding someone more dead than alive, occasions arise that we have to turn our attention to places that could recover, if we carefully and strategically allocate our resources. Now a young man, who realizes that Mother Earth is sacred, each of her elemental forces and each of her creatures and plants are sacred as well, cannot accept writing off a single acre to mistreatment by humans. Sadly, we now have no choice. Certain areas have been despoiled to the point that no life can inhabit them, only poisonous plants can grow in them and for centuries, they will continue to blossom with fruits of taint. Just as many of our brothers and sisters are coming to find, on the field of war, some will always be lost, with no hope of recovery. Mother Earth and her landscape share this eternal truth.

In addition to planting trees, as we will continue to do, we are adding land to trust status so that it can be protected for the long haul. We will target areas that have significant impact on downstream areas and will help, as all of the acres that we reclaim, protect and improve water quality. we are asking everyone who reads this to share a link with others, because we spend no money on advertizing and none on administrative costs. all of our efforts are done by volunteer time spent by those who are committed to our mission. Our Paypal account link is in the sidebar or you can use our street address and send checks snail mail to: 1445 Porlier street Green Bay, WI 54301-3334 USA. We have three distinct projects so let us know if you want your donations to go to trees, land or our capital program for creating the school of sustainability. Our visioning for the school this year is to create a place that exists between a summer camp and a spa, a hybrid that encompasses retreat centers and eco-tourism destination. We will use several modalities to address the need for an integration between ourselves and nature. To find out more about our structure and process, it helps to read about The Natural Step, no trace camping, How To Shit In The Woods and a little known book called Thinking Like A Mountain. We are healers, herbalists, fortune tellers, shamen and are working to unleash the magic in others by sharing the magic that we have found all around us.

It has taken nearly fifty generations to estrange the vast majority of us from our true nature, but we have far less time to get things right, or massive dislocation and trauma will be felt all around the planet. Saving as much land as possible, protecting it from the dangers of exploitation and desecration, poisoning and oppression of natural systems is the only way to stem the tide of recovery that we need to undertake. for the first time this year, we will be planting in the headwaters of Lake superior and we ask for donations to plant as many trees as possible. Appreciatively, Tony, Director ECO-Tours of Wisconsin Inc.

"It IS Sacred"

I sat through nearly nine of the twelve hours of testimony that was given yesterday to a subcommittee of Wisconsin State Legislators whose task is to pass mining legislation that has been written by, for the very first time in state history, the regulated industry. An entity that goes by the name of GTAC had a representative there to speak as well, but virtually nothing he had to say made any sense to those who know the history of mining in the state. I have participated in several rounds of public comments, working through the legislative process to help craft regulations and assisting in educating the public about the nature of trying to mine in sensitive areas and the headwaters of river systems that we all hold in common as citizens. What was just as stunning now as it was thirty years ago, when I began my own involvement in environmental issues, was the absolute disconnect between those who believe in their dominion over nature and those who realize that we are integral to the ecology of Mother Earth. The outright lies, about the nature of the geology, the proposed changes to wetlands protection, the air and water quality that mining would affect, the number of jobs that a mine would "create" and the impacts on local communities were bad enough. Serious questions arise about the validity of any position taken by the corporation, (GTAC) because they have already acted in ways that would normally be prosecuted.
It is an crime to tell someone that if they do what you want them to, something good will happen and if you do not do what they want, bad things will happen. When they ask for money, that is called extortion, organized crime is often prosecuted for engaging in this type of crime. Racketeering is enlisting enough people as to control a market. I see no reason why enlisting the government to help steal from the public should be any different from using any other group of organized criminals to do so. What will be stolen, in this case is two-fold. First off, by having a mining company re-write the laws, the company has already stolen our democratic process. The sham of only allowing twelve hours of testimony to be heard from the public, hundreds of miles from where the mine would operate, with only two business days warning has also stolen rights that belong to the public and have been well-established by time-honored practices that have served us well since Wisconsin has been organized as a state. The second thing that has been stolen from the people of Wisconsin are the laws that have sought to protect the environment from mining interests, who leave social distortion, cultural mayhem and environmental destruction in their wake. This assault on state law also renders useless, the hundreds of thousands of hours spent crafting the laws than now partially protect state resources like clean air and water.
I am writing in parlance that the average person might understand, but the deepest assault is a bit more esoteric. First, the history buffs and folks enamored by the "good old days" spoke about the need to recover the boom times that mining provided the north woods. What these people forget is that instead of prostrating themselves to set dynamite in warrens of tunnels, or shoveling the ore into carts, the way mining used to take place, modern mining allows a single guy in a truck to cart away more pulverized rock powder in a minute than a whole community used to be able to produce in a day. Forgetting the fact that the geology that led to mining certain parts of our state was the exact same geology that led to the end of mining, did not seem to be enough, the supporters also had to parrot back the same ignorant statements that they rest their arguments upon. One supporter hastened to say that the town of "Wakefield gets it's water from the (now-closed) Montreal mine". This may be true but has absolutely nothing to do with the proposed mine that lies under sulfide bearing rock that will be blasted to powder, creating acid mine drainage in the next watershed over.
The people who clung to the "jobs" issue failed to mention that the problems that they have always had with shrinking population is that the first extraction was the forest itself, then the mineral wealth under their feet. They do not understand that the low-grade ore that is left is just that. One person "in favor of the mine", bemoaned the "fact" that their children will all have to move away if they want to get jobs and another said that six homes on one lake alone had been foreclosed on and were now sitting empty. Hmmmm, sounds like a vacation retreat center about to happen, but that would require a bit of investment and commitment to finding creative ways of making a living. There are many flourishing vacation rental businesses across the north...One wondered if their children just wanted to get away from the land of not much to do. One fellow who, as I recall, was a school board chairman, said that if just six families would move into their school district it would help the school to hang on in spite of dwindling enrollment and plummeting state aid. Keep in mind that these same voices doubted the integrity of the science behind the opposition to the mine and the sentiment that most folks spoke out about that was we need to take our time and protect the environment, rather than bowing to corporate power and promises.
This is the second round for this law, even though it was reintroduced this session as AB 1 and SB 1, none of the prior testimony, which ran 348 against environmental destruction to 24 in favor of mine development, will be allowed to be considered in the new fight spear-headed by governor scott Walker, to reduce the effectiveness of Wisconsin state law.
Two particular interactions during the hearing yesterday were most telling, one was the question, late in the day by the committee chair. "Why is this issue more important in Ashland County than in Iron County?" Iron county is not even in the watershed that would be affected by acid mine drainage. 2/3 of the proposed mine and all of the acid mine drainage would be in Ashland County. To date, there has not been a single public hearing on this issue there. Secondly, and perhaps most sadly, was the representative who spoke against changing the current laws. You would think that someone who wants to protect the state would have a better grasp on the situation. They said that the wild rice which grows in the floodplain of the Bad River is "almost sacred" to native people. Luckily, there were folks close by who chimed in, "It IS Sacred!" Several times during the hearing, the relationship between the sanctity of the land and sacred rites and/or objects came out. Just the sheer amount of TNT that would be used to blast the rock to the consistency of talcum powder would unleash a toxic legacy that would last beyond seven generations. I am sorry if I misquote Mike Wiggins, but he said something like, Imagine wiping the Vatican from the face of the earth, that is what the headwaters of our reservation are to us.
Several times, it was brought to light that the rights of native populations were guaranteed by a government much older than that of the State of Wisconsin. The treaties entered into by their nations and the nation of the United States of America explicitly state that there is a responsibility of the federal government to assure protection of the resources upon which their culture, their nation, and their subsistence way of life depend. Because of these treaties, the relationship between the people and their land may not be taken for granted, cannot be infringed and certainly by this understanding, must not be ruined by releasing toxic substances into the air or water of one nation by negligence or design by the other. The air, the water, the earth, rock and the intact ecosystem upon which life thrives is sacred. This needs to be made clear to the temporary custodians of our state. Our interest is in protecting this land forever.

Open Letter to Wisconsin State Representatives

I am writing as a proud Wisconsinite, father & grandfather. I have tirelessly educated and informed people, in the Great Lakes region and around the world, about sustainability and economic factors referred to as externalities. Sustainability requires us to understand our relationship with the environment, that each action we take leaves a legacy for future generations. The true costs of our actions or inaction can be hard to calculate as they, even more than most potential benefits, often last long after our time here on earth has passed. A toxic legacy that will persist forever, in the sediments of the Fox River, in the lakes on Isle Royale and in the soil we have to grow crops on costs many lives compromises our health and reduces quality of life for many generations going forward. What is the true cost of that?

Wisconsin has a strong tradition of facing ecological problems head-on perhaps because we had made so many mistakes. Now we are facing massive ecological damage that is 100% preventable. I am referring to the proposed changes to our states mining laws. Our current laws have served us well for many years and recent changes in enforcement as well as proposed changes to the laws will allow contamination of hundreds of miles of streams, as well as the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River.

Having lived in several mining districts around the country as a young man, I am uniquely qualified to speak on issues of externalities associated with mining. First and foremost are the societal costs of extraction. Typically, mining is a young man’s job. They come from far away and take what little they might save away forever. They come for the fast money and spend a much larger percentage of their income on alcohol, tobacco, firearms, illicit drugs and prostitution. In addition, whatever ecological ethic is in the population prior to mining, is undermined by having to see, daily, the wanton corruption of the land, air, water and the lives of local people, their families and their children’s opportunities for the profit of those who are too far away to care. Violence to the earth leads to more violence in the general population as individuals with no future but mining become more and more desperate.

The second part of the story is the long-term destruction of both the land and the water. In the case of the proposed mining district in northern Wisconsin, the ore body that they are hoping to exploit contains iron yes but it is also extremely low grade ore. The overburden, which needs to be removed, as well as the ore body itself contains sulfide deposits which inevitably cause acid mine drainage. This, in turn, renders the entire watershed inhospitable to fish, collapsing the aquatic food chain. This condition will remain for hundreds of years, perhaps thousands. Long after the mine owners have gotten what they were after, with the land ruined forever, the citizens are left destitute. The lies and fanciful claims that have been made about how wonderful and lucrative mining will be for our state are not based on any realistic science or experience. In fact the current laws that have served for many years, were arrived at by hundreds of concerned scientists as well as hundreds of thousands of concerned citizens, working together to assure that our state would have reasonable protection for the environment we all share. This is the best way to secure health and a future for the greatest number of state residents. Far more jobs can be created at much less cost in conservation, ecotourism and by recycling the refined iron that has been scattered across the northern tier of counties.

 Immensely concerned, Tony Saladino Director ECO-tours of Wisconsin Inc. one, double four, five Porlier street 54301 (nine twenty) double eight four-triple two four.

Growing Power

The power of people had, for centuries, been used to transform the landscape. Over the past hundred or so years, that power has yielded and been subsumed by the industrial revolution, the chemical age, and the nuclear age. In the post industrial era, we will need to rediscover this power if we are to stave off or avoid altogether the negative impacts of the last hundred-fifty years of industrial contamination and the ruthless extraction, that the planet has faced, for building both tools of war and more powerful industrial processes that continue to despoil the landscape and leave poison in their wake. The legacy of toxic contamination in "civilized" parts of the world, as well as the sterilizing effects of industrial agriculture need to be overcome by people power and life giving approaches to breathing life back into these toxic landscapes.
We can look back across the ages at the pyramids at Giza, the mammoth cathedrals of Europe, or the aqueducts of ancient Rome and get a feeling for what humans are capable of, but to really appreciate the industrial rape of the planet is much harder to grasp. In many cases, we need to get down to the microscopic level, without losing sight of the macro-cosmic forces that we humans exert using all of the tools at our disposal. In addition to eliminating 90% of the forests that greeted the pilgrims as they stepped ashore and 90% of the wetlands that existed before our rough hand crossed this continent, so too, about the same percentage of native microorganisms has been erased as well. In most areas, 90% of the most fertile soil (the top few inches) has been either dug up, and carted away, washed away by rains, or blown away by wind and ice crystal in the winter. The tiny percentage of soil that is left has been attacked mercilessly with chemicals that try to replenish important macro-nutrients at the cost of what makes soil truly healthy, the micro-organisms who inhabit those precious top few inches.
Often, we look at systems after their inevitable collapse and try to attribute their demise to a specific event. In the cradle of civilization, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, we often say that people just walked away from their responsibilities of keeping the canals open. Perhaps they did get too comfortable enjoying the fruits of "civilization" to want to do any substantive work. Perhaps, with the bounty they had created, a class structure developed that allowed many of their chief administrators and community leaders to ignore their own part in a complex system. We may never know. At this time, and with our resources, we have the power to walk away from a non-functioning system, but the toxic legacy that is left behind will stun and bewilder anthropologists of the future. I wonder if they will be able to understand the clues left behind. I wonder if we will find enough people, disillusioned with the military, industrial, financial complex, that we just let them come to their inevitable screeching demise.
Growing Power, a local not-for-profit, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is demonstrating how to build good, organic soil inside urban America, protected from the toxic legacy of collapsed cities. Their way of allowing healthy life and community to thrive in the very areas that the ultra-wealthy and super powerful interests have written off is the beginning of a new way of using our human power to change the world in ways that even the most optimistic among us will be shocked to realize and eventually understand. The demise of agricultural communities across the breadbasket of our great nation, those that had based their entire economic system on mechanized, chemically based and what basically amounts to corporate welfare that encourages subsidized extraction is not surprising. In fact, production of nutrient dense food can take place at much higher levels on less ground, when people, not petrochemicals, are a significant portion of the input on what is sure to become the farm of the future. Instead of creating commodities of dubious quality, to be sold into world markets, we need more people who are willing to grow what we really need, healthy food.
Micro-acreage farms and those that respond to specific needs of their communities continue to flourish because the other option is to kill off more and more life for the sake of just a few species of genetically modified organisms tainted with poison and dosed with chemical fertilizer. A beautiful spirit and friend has a three acre farm that specializes in Biodynamic herb production. She has twelve employees on her micro farm, eight outdoor hands during the growing season and four indoor staff year-round who process the herbs that they grow there into everything from soap, lotions and healing ointments, to salves and teas. I have seen awesome photographs of the gardens at her place. She has over 150 healing herbs and flowers living in profusion, set about be bees, butterflies and creatures of all sorts. Trying to establish markets for healing products, rather than cash crop corn may not be as lucrative, and the government will never establish crop insurance schedules for calendula or mugwort, but the people who put the time in to making their land healthy do not suffer from the same problems that industrial agriculturalists do. Rarely does a diversified ecologic system suffer a 90% drop in production. Losing 90% of a single species is not even an issue if you are raising 100 different crops. By contrast, a farm based on raping the planet, with the same number of employees, could destabilize hundreds of acres, leaving them scarred for many generations.
The growing power that I am speaking of in this post is not of the traditional type. Slave labor, or being beasts of burden, like an ox or ass is not the type of human power that makes these changes possible. It is using our mind, our hearts and our spiritual constitution to "see" what is right and good and making the commitment to enhance those things by our practices. Putting our brains to work to solve some of the most pressing problems and putting our hands to the task of renewing a relationship with the planet as well as one another. a few such techniques that allow me to reach out across generations to infuse the future with sustainable soils are creating biochar, and adding it to the soil, aerate compacted soils that commercial/industrial agriculture has left sterile in it's wake and to love up the soils by enriching them with compost which helps stabilize them. A community of people world-wide is looking for answers to life's most pressing issues. We can surely find our way toward a more sustainable culture. What is perhaps most important is to have each one of us realize that the art of the give-away has to re-emerge if we are to have a chance of survival. Those in the biodynamic community give of themselves in service to a greater whole. Their land holdings, are seen as a unified organism whose "waste" is the food that we consume. These farmers give in ways that cannot be fathomed by corporate giants like Monsanto or Cargill. Giant corporations think of themselves as too big to fail. That is where they are wrong. They have failed us already. What they deliver is guilty by association with our contaminated landscapes as well as being deeply suspect because of the rising tide of disease in our culture. Brave souls like Will Allen, from Growing Power are stepping into community building. This territory includes rescuing impoverished areas from their isolation in food deserts. Building life and society from the ground up is what every major civilization has done up until now. The top down approach is failing all around us and We The People have both the right and the responsibility to share what we have learned as well as what works if we are to come out the other side of this revolution with our bodies intact and our soils capable of sustaining us into the future.

Deer Heart Pie

When we get a deer, we are as careful as possible to use each bit. As our knowledge grows and we gain experience, each of us has to confront the same questions, perhaps not about deer and how to use them, but with whatever resources we find ourselves blessed with. What is the best and highest use for the things that present themselves to us? How can we go about maximizing the good that can come from our activities and how will we finish the masterpiece of our own lives?

 I have had many deer lay down their lives for me and without them my whole being would be changed. This story is about some of the things that have come about because of my relationship with the deer and perhaps one of the deepest connections that I share with not only the individual animals that I have consumed, but of their species. I do not begrudge a deer the tasty bud-lets of the hickories that I have planted, nor those of the oaks. I feed the deer these treats and starvation rations because they have allowed me to provide great feasts for my own people and through their grace have survived many a winter. Of course, I protect the trees that I plant as much as possible, but for some of them, feeding deer is their highest purpose and I do not  get upset b their loss.

One very warm deer season, a few years back, we got several deer from a friend and had to make a hasty project of cutting, packing and chilling the meat. One of the creatures was barely weaned and still had a coating of yellowish milk fat around the haunches and backside. Bit by bit, we carved away the fat, as we do on any animal we are lucky enough to be blessed with. This was noteworthy because of the thickness and abundance of the fat. We rendered the fat down to make the best lard we have ever eaten. Some of this fat helped us to create the flakiest pie crust I have ever eaten. The heart pie that we made was not only a symbol of life for those who eventually ate it, but a continuation of life for the animals who laid their lives down for us.

I firmly believe that the same phenomenon that science describes as bioaccumulation (when it takes place with toxic compounds) takes place on a spiritual level with the critters we consume. If you feast routinely on feedlot beef, or factory farmed chickens, the spirit that comes through your diet is one of standing stock still, and waiting for your food to pass by in front of you, attending to nothing, dehumanized and demure. When you eat wild creatures, not only a portion of the wild instincts of the creature can be available, and brought into your being, but the full expression of their individualism and "intelligence" of their species can come through if you are open, aware and let it. The dozen or so people who feasted on this one particular deer heart pie were so impressed that a giant cast iron skillet full was plenty for us all. We brought the creation to a wilderness campsite and slowly cooked it for several hours. The scent of wild rice, the lard, the root crops and herbs all combined to fill us with a quickening of spirit that is hard to express.

We were wide-eyed with anticipation, like a doe at sunrise, surrounded with billions of droplets of sparkling dew. We stalked the perimeter of the site, hoping to find just the right local leaves or berries to add to the wonderful feast and several among us braved the circumnavigation of the lake we were camped near to avoid having to smell the delectable aroma of the pie. The smoke from our very low fire swirled and worked heavenward, like sacramental incense. There were some sputtering and other sounds that came from the pan as it cooked and by the time it was ready, a dozen hungry mouths were watering as we waited for it to cool a little after baking. We enjoyed it with such appreciation that after returning to "civilization" it was hard to match. There was plenty for everyone, but none went to waste either. We became full, but pleasantly so, not stuffed, but sated. It felt as if each molecule of our own being not only assimilated the food, but reveled in it. Even those who had proclaimed to "not like organ meat", were surprised and amazed at how sweet and delectable the heart turned out.

Even as I write this, many years later, I give thanks for the spirit of that animal, the precious heart that it brought into my life, the friendship of those who were willing to share that time with me and the animal itself, without which I would not have this story to tell and for the lush greenery of spice and the watery fields of wild rice which also bent low with in the waning sun of mid-august, humbly nodding their heads in ascent to Father Sky and Grandmother Moon. I give thanks for the sublime strength of the carrot friends who found their way into the pie that night, their onion brothers and the trembling hands that sliced off thick layers of fat the fall before to begin the process of making the pie. I am just as thankful for the bones roasted and cracked for their marrow, boiled down for the stock which made the gravy, and the fiddle heads of ferns that both nourished the animal and ourselves as well. We are one this pie and I. The part I took in the creation and the feast were but a tiny part, but they will be with me for a lifetime. So too, as we share ourselves with the world, the world transforms itself and gives back much more than we can ever imagine. Let us make decisions today that will sustain our people and the planet that sustains us, forever.

The End Of Colonialism

Religions, as the oppressors know them had their genesis in otherness. Dichotomy rules their beliefs about their inner world as well as their vision of the outer one. Native people from every part of the planet only know oneness. My very breath enlivens the living forest. We are one, these woods and I. My strength, health and vitality are one with that of the rest of life and spirit on this Earth. The fires burning in each of my cells are one with the Great Fire of humanity as well as the embers of festival fires. The water within my cells is the same water that girds the continents. The cellular water creates infinitesimally quiet rushing sounds, as it moves through me, but those sounds echo those of grand waterfalls. Our Spirit is Creator's. Each space is sacred upon the face of Mother Earth and under the watchful eye of Father Sky. Oneness and relations with this ALL is not a religion, but a resonant frequency of harmony and delight, Oneness with all that is. Not at all separate. We are the living ripples of God and Goddess energy, all in balance with the elements and seven directions. A crucible of that creative force, we are leaves on the wind of our ancestors breath, their lives transcend time through our temporal forms. A well-lived life in this context exudes abundance and a deep understanding that there is responsibility to accept humbly the gifts of Creator and add value to that abundance by giving it away.

State power has led to extraction of resources that are so broad as to frighten casual observers when they learn of the extent of the pillaging that has occurred over the past fifty years. Huge sectors of our economy as diverse as mineral wealth, extracting ultimately money from the Earth, labor strength, which used to, at peak, represent about 1/3 of workers, financial stability/banking collapse and bail out. Massive amounts of wealth have been drained away from all classes. The wealthiest just don't bother caring about the buying power of the common man, because their needs will be met at any cost. The vast majority of us have become poorer and poorer as the top power brokers have become much, much better off. During the Great Depression, and the recovery from that fleecing of the American public, the ultra-wealthy still had the money to afford the best schools for their children, the chauffeurs, maids, summer homes, private rail cars and such. they were taxed at astronomical rates compared to our billionaires today. These lush money-bearing lifestyles are lived by those who have become adept at their extraction, have fed, like parasites off the collective spirit and wealth of our entire country.

The harsh reality is that there are entities, mostly corporations, that are multiplying the amount of environmental assault in the face of diminishing returns. They are trying to divert our attention from all that is wrong with ruining our planet. The air and water have been desecrated, soil organisms have been under assault for half a century at least. Many of the evil tentacles stretch to what was once called the military industrial complex. There are other heads of this same monster in the financial world, entertainment industry, media of all types. These same elemental attacks are taking place in education, transportation, government and by killing off the planet, we are making life more and more untenable. That is why Idle No More is having such influence over the minds of people worldwide.

Putting millions of people in the streets by taking down their internet, is nothing compared to the fight for being able to live in places that are habitable after the ultra wealthy get what they want and subsequently move on. Extraction of all kinds, the oppression we are under by big everything, only yield benefit to the top-most dogs. One look around my old neighborhood in Philly and you didn't need a degree in economics to see what we had sacrificed for the mergers and acquisition crowd downtown. Pawn loan stores, never leave the neighborhood better off. As long as their is desperation, their business will remain safe, siphoning off the tiny bits of wealth that can be accumulated. Most of those neighborhoods you either would not want to grow a carrot or you just plain couldn't. After a century of being bathed in industrial fallout, the soils are dead.

As long as we allow the billionaires to set our course, using the millionaires in Congress to act as their fig leaf, we will write off ever-greater acreages to their wrath. We have seen the globe from space and know our Starship Earth is finite, we can no longer afford to ship wealth to paradise while spoiling the rest of the planet. we must realize sooner than later that the scars that they leave in their wake will never disappear. Every action reverberates through time. Fouling our planet for the enrichment of a select few has got to stop. sustainability is capturing the imagination of people worldwide and the best way to starve off the parasitic ultra-wealthy is to stop buying their lies. We have already come a long way to seeing the truth behind the lies, but we must remain ever vigilant about where we are getting our information.

We must become adept at asking ourselves and learning enough to answer the questions. Who benefits if I do this? and Are these people who really need my money? I bet that if you ask yourselves these questions enough, 2013 will find you divesting in some, or most of your stock, taking the time to teach your own children more while they are at home, planting a few more tomatoes, if just to give a few more away, turning up enough soil to at least find out whether anything will grow or not, Walking or riding your bike a little more, carpooling if you can and ultimately taking a bigger part in demanding your birthright to clean air, water and soil upon which all live thrives. If you are in a food desert with contaminated soil, find a place to compost and start building healthier soil, Lord and Lady know that we need more soil.

Permaculture, ECO-Ethics, Trees

I encourage everyone to learn all that they can about sustainability, whether you attend or participate in our ECO-Tours or not. Our approach to teaching has remained the same since our inception. Like mast seeders, like oaks, we spread our seeds widely and in profusion. Many may fall where insects can hollow thgem out, others will fall where they can be eaten by deer, or squirrels. Still others fall on hard surfaces that offer no soil to get things going. in the end though, there will be enough abundance to assure the next generation will have a chance of seeing the fruits of our labor, resting in the shade of a great great grand child's shade.
Permaculture Introductory course (free)
Friends don't let friends remain ignorant. The policies and perspectives that hold the most promise for the greedy exploiters are the ones that make the most money the quickest. We are in this for the long haul. ECO-Tours has never paid a fee for service, or paid a solitary cent on salaries. all of the labor that keeps the trees being planted has come from the goodness of the hearts of people who support us and our work. Blessings to them for without their concern and commitment, we would have done nothing and been unable to share with you this outstanding blog or the links that we occasionally find that are worth your time to explore.
May you find peace and abundance in the new year!