Blessed Unrest

Tiny forests, big miracles

A patch of a Miyawaki forest in Berkeley, California. Installation overseen by SUGI. Photo by Betsey Crawford

“The forest is the root of all life; it is the womb that revives our biological instincts, that deepens our intelligence and increases our sensitivity as human beings.” ~ Akira Miyawaki ~ Much of Earth’s land area would like to be forest. Not in the aridity of deserts or grasslands or the sogginess of wetlands.

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Gardening as if life depends on it

What we do with our land, however small an area, matters not just to us, but to the life of our planet. Landscaping isn’t a static, visual element but an active participant in the world we create. It can foster healthy soil and air or drench it with chemicals. Clean water as it filters through healthy soil or send it laden with toxic compounds to underground aquifers or nearby waters.

Most importantly, it can help save birds, butterflies, and other living beings from extinction.

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The lost words

In 2007 the Oxford Junior Dictionary removed the word acorn from its print edition. Also the words blackberry, otter, willow, bluebell, and newt. Fifty such ‘nature words’ were eliminated and replaced by words like broadband, MP3 player, and chatroom.

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A wild love for the world

My youngest nephew is standing at the gates of adulthood, appalled by what he finds beyond them. He has a lot of company, of all ages. But I feel particular sympathy for the youngest and tenderest among us. It is one thing, at my age, to acknowledge that I will not see the promised land

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The enchanted boy

White iris douglasiana with ferns on the Baltimore Canyon Trail, Larkspur, California by Betsey Crawford

Inside, that’s where I store these moments, accumulated in a cabinet of noticings and happenings, brought out when I need them most, to illuminate. I must go into the world to find new things. They are always there. Always.~ Dara McAnulty ~ Faced with devastating news from every direction, I have been reading an incandescent book.

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