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#forestgardens

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Getting to know our food, and how being good stewards of the land can help us eat better

by Katharine A. Jameson, Vermont Country magazine
03/01/2024

Excerpt: "Learning from the land

"Chief Stevens points out that it’s all in one’s perspective. He gives the example of #dandelions. 'You might look at them as a weed but I might look at them as a food source,' he explains, noting the wine and greens for which they’re used.

"When Europeans arrived in what they later named Vermont, they saw the lush #ForestGardens Natives had fostered, but didn’t recognize that it had been cultivated. 'The sophistication of the agriculture system was so high that people couldn’t see it at all. It just looked like abundant wild lands, but really they were so abundant because of our deep connection and long-term #stewardship of them,' #Abenaki tribal member, #JohnHunt describes in a new, short film posted to YouTube about Abenaki food systems.

"What can we learn from these growth practices? Professor Tiana Baca of Sterling College explains in this film: 'Nature doesn’t grow in #monocrops.' She notes that Native people’s lush gardens maximized yields by #CompanionPlanting crops like the #ThreeSisters. 'The three sisters is a companion planting group of corn, beans and squash. They’re plants that grow together and support each other. The corn is growing up, it’s providing this living trellis. The beans use that to climb on. The beans are then fixing nitrogen and supporting the growth of the corn and then the squash plant kind of sprawls out and creates this living mulch. All of them working together makes all of them produce better.'

"Respect runs deep in the Abenaki tradition. From the elders and ancestors from whom they learn to the food and animals they consume, they bless the animals they dispatch with tobacco and hold sacred the chain of custody of each of their seeds.

" 'We have to have some foresight about it. Treating the land with respect and not looking at it always through our need, but as a collective community need. In the old days we used to look at community more than individual needs.' Stevens discusses the Native mentality that land, contrary to the European way, is to be shared by all creatures, not owned.

" 'There is hope,' Chief Stevens says. 'There is a way to reconnect and change the outcomes of what is happening. But the only way to do that is to put the effort, time and resources into connecting with us, the native people and others to try to remember that historical knowledge of connection to our land, our animals and our wild food sources. The forests and the wild foods sustained our people for thousands of years. Why would we not think it wouldn’t do that now?'

"The Chief set out a few things we can all do to help save the planet."

vermontcountry.com/2024/03/01/

Vermont Country Magazine · Getting to know our food, and how being good stewards of the land can help us eat betterBy Katharine A. Jameson, Vermont Country correspondent. We’ve been divided for a long time. Since shortly after Europeans set foot on the land we now call
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Ooooh...! And more from #FarmingTheWoods author Steve Gabriel!

INHABIT: "Farming the Woods" with Steve Gabriel

"‘Inhabit’ is a documentary film exploring the idea of conscience inhabitance through permaculture.

Check out our site here at www.InhabitFilm.com

"In this short extract from the upcoming film we look at Steve Gabriel's forest farm."

Watch:
vimeo.com/110729096

#ForestGardens #Forests #FarmingTheWoods #Woodland
#SolarPunkSunday #BackyardWoods
#Ecosystems

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There's a companion website for #TheWoodsInYourBackyard ! Sweet! It also has PDF versions of the book (I like having physical copies of books).

The Woods in Your Backyard

"This web site was developed as a companion piece to 'The Woods in Your Backyard: A Guide to Your Woodland.' This resource guide was developed by the Maine Forest Service to help you understand the woods in your backyard and provide ideas about how to work with your property, whether you own a 1-acre lot or 20 acres on the edge of town.

"A directory of state agencies and natural resource-based organizations can be found beginning on page 3 in Chapter 1 and also in the Chapter 1 section below. These agencies are good initial contacts and a great source of additional information on a variety of topics.

"'Backyard Family Activities' are included at the end of each chapter to help you learn more about your property as a family. The activities are most suitable for older children and teens, and they all require adult supervision. Teachers and youth group leaders can adapt them for use with older students. When completed, the Backyard Family Activities also provide a planning framework for working in your woods.

"We hope you enjoy this web site and find the information enjoyable and valuable!"

maine.gov/dacf/mfs/publication

#ForestGardens #Forests #MaineForests #Reclaiming
#GardeningForWildlife #FarmingTheWoods #Woodland
#SolarPunkSunday #BackyardWoods
#Ecosystems #Maine #MaineForestService #Foraging

www.maine.govWoods in Your Backyard: Publications: Maine Forest Service: Maine ACF
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52/52 Anyway, to bring this #mammoth (!) thread to a close: I feel it's here on mastodon that we are forging those connections, having these conversations. I would love to learn more from all those of you doing #permaculture, #indigenous rights, #forestgardens, etc - very much at the beginning of all this myself.

PS i would never, ever have dared to do this on the birdsite - fear of backlash, of not getting it right. But here I felt I could. Thank you #mastodon