Ecology

The Klamath River dams: reweaving a river

A bear fishing for salmon in a river running through a very green Tongass National Forest. Photo by Betsey Crawford.

I have a special interest in the removal of the Klamath River dams: my grandfather helped build them. And I am delighted to see them come down after decades of advocacy launched by the Yurok and Karuk Tribes. When the salmon return to the river this fall, they will find 400 miles of free-flowing habitat for the first time in over a century.

Biomimicry: designing with nature’s 3.8 billion years of research

Biomimicry: abalone shell interior by Betsey Crawford

The first time I heard about biomimicry, it was the kingfisher’s eyelid that grabbed me. The largest hydroelectric dam in the world had problems with changing water levels. Nothing could grow well on the surrounding soil, so erosion was rampant. The down-flowing dirt and dead, decaying plants were causing water pollution. Four young designers decided …

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Rights of nature

When you look at the mountain above, your reaction is likely to be colored by what is most important to you. Skiers may think of the thrill of the trip down, climbers of the trek up. Mining executives of the coal or metals to be found there. Road engineers of the challenge of finding a …

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Songlines 2017: widening circles

California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) El Soprante, California by Betsey Crawford

I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world These words, from Rainer Maria Rilke’s exquisite Book of Hours, are slightly paradoxical because this year we traveled less than any of the other years since we set off on our journey in 2011.  My partner George’s health isn’t up to life …

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Laudato si, repictured

Laudato si — Praise be! — are the opening words of each of the verses in Saint Francis’s beautiful Canticle to the Sun, and is also the title of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical defining the Catholic Church’s doctrines on the care of the earth. Last year I discovered that September 1 had been chosen as the annual World …

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A season of birds

The spring of 2017 began with a small avalanche of ducklings. Nearby in Marin is the Corte Madera Marsh, a remnant of a vast area of marsh, estuary, and mudflats that once formed the margins of San Francisco and San Pablo Bays. For the most part, these wetlands now hold houses, Route 101, schools, hospitals, …

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Treasuring bees, saving the world

The invitation came from Susan Friedman, whom I met on the weekend with Joanna Macy, and whose native plant gardens were part of Retaining Paradise. The Work that Reconnects workshop was held at Canticle Farm, an urban farm in Oakland, a more or less rectangular open space created by combining the yards and gardens behind …

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Blessed unrest: the bioblitz

I’d never seen the word bioblitz until I got my first invitation to one. It had instant appeal: join a group of volunteers to survey a specific area, in an effort to catalog every species you find. Being on the ground taking photos of plants and bugs is one of my favorite things to do. …

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