In late April, on a mostly sunny, cool morning, with the temperature in the low fifties, I drove out from Ann Arbor on Whitmore Lake Road to Slow Farm. I found Bayer and co-farm manager Magda Nawrocka-Weekes standing at the edge of a large field on the west side of Whitmore Lake Road, near the farm’s gate.
Posts filed under Environment
Autumn Foraging
There is something romantic and melancholy about the Earth Mother closing out the heat of summer and preparing herself for the cold winter’s embrace. We instinctively feel the shift and are compelled to engage with the natural world, seeking to bask in the cascades of warm yellows, reds, and oranges in the trees and almost methodically find our way to apple orchards, pumpkin patches, and forests to take in the beauty and bounty of the season.
Leonids: Worth a Look
Last April’s total eclipse had many of us looking to the southern sky at that rare astronomical phenomenon. The following month, some of us in Southeast Michigan were out on our porches or in our yards late at night looking in the opposite direction, hoping to get a rare glimpse of the Northern Lights. This fall, we may have another opportunity to witness a celestial display—the Leonids. Each November, the night sky lights up with a meteor shower as the earth passes close to the Tempel-Tuttle comet’s orbit.
Green Living~Foraging and Using Natural Materials for Home Crafting
Nature provides a variety of inspiring materials that can be useful for crafting traditional and useful things. What a joy it is to learn, year by year, a bit more about the qualities of the natural world by foraging and co-creating with nature.
Green Burial: From Stardust to Soil
On a cloudy afternoon this past winter, as we stood in the muted, gray light of our kitchen, I said to my wife, “When I die, just put me in the ground, maybe wrapped in a shroud—or in a pine box, or something like that—and let nature do its thing.”
A Walk in North Bay Park in Ypsilanti
I stood near the entrance to a boardwalk watching an egret do very little. It was nearly motionless amid a cluster of pond lilies that covered the water’s surface. Its shape—long, slender neck, bulbous body—reminded me of the glass beakers we used to mix potions in high school chemistry, it’s white plumage radiant in the afternoon sun.
Gateway Farm: Growing with Permaculture
The mid-January day I visited Gateway Farm in Plymouth was breezy, and the temperature was in the low thirties with faint flurries falling. At the farm’s small, dirt parking lot off Joy Road, I met Bridget O’Brien who, along with her husband Dr. Charlie Brennan, is the farm’s co-director. After we greeted each other, I said, “Not the best time of the year for me to see the farm, I guess.” “It’ll be okay,” she replied cheerfully. “We’ll be able to see everything because there’s no snow on the ground. Plus,” she added, “The sorrel is still green.”
Joob Activewear — Ann Arbor Clothing Company — Aims For Fair Trade, Climate Neutral Fashion
The hiking pants swished as I walked, hugging my legs as I squatted, lunged, and brought my knees to my chest. Not as tight as a legging but not as loose as a typical hiking pant, they ghosted over my skin, covering it, but not hampering movement a bit. I pushed my hands in the front pockets, felt the tug at the elastic waist, and checked out the zippered back pockets. A barely-there logo of an elephant shimmered near my left hip on the black fabric. I found the fit comfortable. I could wear these pants all day.
Garden Juju Collective
Water, sun, and soil might seem a simple enough equation for a house plant, but a home garden can be more of an intricate undertaking. Shade or sun, frost or flood, drought or disease—the shifting conditions can challenge any green thumb. That’s when we turn to the experts. Bridget O’Brien and Charlie Brennan of Garden Juju Collective are in a long-term relationship with the earth. “Simple isn’t always quick,” they reminded me. Bridget and Charlie tend the land with both hands and long vision, so that a well-designed fix can be properly applied and nurtured in time. It might take a fleet of earthmovers and months of remediation, but the relationship of the water, sun, and soil can be remedied to become sustainable and self-sufficient, just as nature intended it to be, “on pace with the seasons.”
Roadside Marsh
The westbound traffic on Interstate 94 is at a crawl this morning and I couldn’t be happier. It’s a Wednesday and brilliant sunshine glints in my rear view mirror.
Ann Arbor Farm and Garden: Flower Therapy and Community Beautification
Do you like playing in the dirt? Maybe you’re a bit of a novice when it comes to plants, but you enjoy taking walks in neighborhoods that have been enhanced with beautiful flowers, or even learning more about them from an expert. Do you think of ways that plants and flowers can create beauty in a public place in need of some love and care? What about arranging flowers? Are flowers your go to for a loved one suffering from an illness? Would you like to help students who have a passion for botany or in improving the natural environment? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then read on to learn more about Ann Arbor Farm and Garden, an organization that has been giving back to the community for more than 75 years.
Green Living: Ditching the Paper Towel
Did you know the invention of paper towels was completely accidental? Many are familiar with the Scott Paper Company which founded toilet paper all the way back in 1879. In the early 20th century, the Scott plant received a railroad car’s worth of paper rolled too thick for toilet paper. Instead of scrapping the whole load, one of the founders used a story he heard about a school using small pieces of soft paper to hand out to students with runny noses during flu season as an entrepreneurial opportunity. The paper was perforated into small towel-sized sheets, called Sani-Towel, and sold to hotels, restaurants, and railroad stations for use in restrooms. It wouldn’t be until almost 30 years later before paper towels were popularized for household kitchens the way they are today.
Green Living: Now is a Great Time to Plan Your Rain Garden
By Serena Dobson
Rain is probably far from your mind this winter. It’s more likely you’re stressing over snow—the mornings you’ll spend plowing your driveway and the salt you’ll inevitably be tracking into the house. But even though drizzly spring days seem a world away, the winter months are the perfect time to start thinking about planting a rain garden.
Stormwater runoff is a major issue facing the health of waterways all over the world. On impervious surfaces like paved roads, sidewalks, and roofs, rainfall flows unimpeded, collecting pollutants like pesticides and animal waste as well as litter like cigarette butts and plastic. This contaminated water makes its way into storm drains, where it enters our sewer system, or might even flow directly into rivers and stream, where it threatens flora and fauna.
Rain gardens were developed as a way to mitigate this problem. Consisting of vegetation planted within a shallow depression in the ground, they collect, absorb, and filter water that would otherwise run freely through urban areas. Washtenaw County residents are lucky to have a robust rain garden program, run through Washtenaw County Water Resources. The County offers a Master Rain Gardener Course that gives participants the opportunity to gain all the knowledge needed to construct and plant their own rain garden. The prerecorded course and necessary materials are available on their website, along with other helpful resources.
By studying up over the winter and making important decisions about your garden ahead of time—such as location, design, and what plants to use—you’ll feel much more prepared when it comes time to plant. Most sources recommend planting your rain garden at least 15 feet away from any buildings to keep water from pooling around and damaging structural foundations. Utilities like wells and septic tanks will need to be considered, too. As far as location goes, one option is to stake out an area near roof gutters or downspouts but still distant enough from your home that there’s no risk of damage while another is to position the garden further down your yard so that it collects runoff from the lawn as well as from the downspouts. Wherever you place it, your rain garden will need to be downhill from the channel that will be directing the water and situated on flat or slightly sloped ground.
The Master Rain Gardener Handbook suggests making your rain garden be “four to six inches deep and 20–30% the size of the impervious surfaces.” Though you won’t need to start digging until the spring, it’s good to figure out and troubleshoot these measurements ahead of time. Once you know how big your garden should be, you can experiment with different shapes—like a crescent, teardrop, or other organic form—settling on one that complements the existing features of your yard. Don’t be afraid to sketch it out! Putting your ideas on paper is the best way to visualize your garden-to-be.
What native Michigan plants you choose should be dependent on how much sun your garden will be getting. Purple coneflower is perfect for full sun, while wild geranium prefers things to be partly sunny. Plants like fox sedge and black-eyed Susan can thrive in either situation. You might also keep in mind the kinds of pollinators you most want to attract. A garden filled with bee balm and rose mallow would be hummingbird heaven!
Leslie Science & Nature Center (LSNC) will be incorporating a rain garden into the design of their our developing Nature Playscape with their upcoming water play installation in 2023. Using pumps along the perimeter of the water play area, visitors will be able to manipulate a flow of water that will run downhill, feeding a rain garden populated with native flowers, grasses, and shrubs. They will design pumps for ease of use, ensuring that visitors of varying physical abilities can enjoy the feature equally. The rain garden will be staggered down the hill and fed underground by runoff from the water play area. Our water feature will provide an opportunity to educate visitors about informed water usage and the role that rain gardens can play in a healthy urban ecosystem.
By using mindful landscaping techniques like rain gardens, the center can positively contribute to the health and beauty of the local watershed. Rachel Carson wrote in Silent Spring that water must be thought of “in terms of the chains of life it supports.” As you begin to plan your rain garden, consider how this choice will impact all the life around you—your family and neighbors, your pets, the songbirds nesting in your backyard, and the trees in your favorite park. From the smallest insect to the tallest sycamore, we all depend on clean water to thrive, and we as humans have the power to make a beneficial and lasting contribution to our environment.
List of resources:
Rain Gardens: Sustainable Landscaping for a Beautiful Yard and a Healthy World by Lynn M. Steiner and Robert W. Domm
Creating Rain Gardens: Capturing the Rain for Your Own Water-Efficient Garden by Cleo Woelfle-Erskine and Apryl Uncapher
Let’s Build a Rain Garden by Sally Wenczel (children’s book)
Water Resources Washtenaw County: Rain Gardens: washtenaw.org/647/Rain-Gardens
Water Resources Washtenaw County: Master Rain Gardener Class washtenaw.org/675/Master-Rain-Gardener-Class
Huron River Watershed Council: Rain Gardens in Our Watershed: hrwc.org/rain-gardens-in-our-watershed/
Serena Dobson is the Development & Administrative Assistant at the Leslie Science & Nature Center and Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum and holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan. She loves to hike and birdwatch all over Washtenaw County.
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Tucked into a three-acre section of Brush Street in Detroit’s North End lies a utopia of freshly grown foods available to the surrounding communities at no cost. Made possible by the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (MUFI), the project, known as America’s first sustainable urban agrihood, aims to combat challenges unique to urban communities such as Detroit. More than 120,000 pounds of food are grown from seed from this portion of Detroit’s land, which was once abandoned.
Pulling Weeds in Crow, Montana
I was viscerally aware, that the United States of America, with the help of the Supreme Court, has broken every single treaty it signed with our indigenous siblings. The Supreme Court recently has upended environmental law. Fire season in the dry, western states has begun. I think about Jackie Whisperstep and the fragility of her house given the heartiness of the weeds that grow too near it. And I long to go back, to stand with those to whom we made promises we did not keep.
Empowered by Earthella--Ann Arbor's Planet Parade & Action Network
It was a typically beautiful autumn afternoon in Ann Arbor, and I was happily wandering around the Farmers’ Market in Kerrytown, heading toward the People’s Food Co-op. Well, I was mostly happy, aside from that sort of nagging feeling rolling around in the dark back corners of my mind—that antsy sense of restlessness about what’s happening, (and not happening) with our environment, our climate, our depleting soil, our very soul as one entity—human…. “What is really happening here?”
Community Farm of Ann Arbor-- A Look at the Past, the Present, and the Future
The Community Farm of Ann Arbor was founded in 1988. It was one of the first organic, and perhaps the only biodynamic, farm in Michigan, as well as one of the first CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture). A few years after the Farm began, and up until three years ago, it was run by Annie Elder and Paul Bantle. After Annie and Paul moved to California in 2018, several other farmers ran things, and then this spring, Dan Gannon was hired to run the Farm.
Bringing Nature Back to Our Yard: Trading In Harmful Landscaping Habits for Healthy Sustainability
Late winter is the time we may start dreaming about the color green, about flowers, imagining new vistas as we look out our windows or walk around our frozen yard. This is a wonderful time to explore a fresh outlook on our little piece of earth. As new life emerges from dormancy, we may ask ourselves, “What is the purpose of my yard?” There are many possible answers: enjoying beauty and colorful flowers, complying with homeowners’ association regulations, conforming to the neighborhood, impressing neighbors and friends, creating a safe space for the kids to play, or wanting to help save our planet.
The King Family: Half a Century of Farming, Making Music, Teaching Yoga, and Building Community
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Life Force: Discovering Invisible Allies Outside Your Door
As the sun moves higher in the sky, warming our bones and our soil, we might find ourselves more frequently drawn outside. We venture into our personal landscapes just outside the door, onto the trails of our neighborhood park, or even Nichols Arboretum, looking for more signs of life emerging from the earth. What is our personal connection with this green world outside? Some of us have started a spring vegetable garden, some of us hike or play regularly in the wild, and some of us might not know anything about plants—we just know what looks beautiful to us or how good we feel after spending time outdoors.
A community garden is like a little shared oasis, a special spot where folks from all walks of life come together to grow delicious veggies, fragrant herbs, and beautiful flowers. It becomes a green sanctuary, where members roll up their sleeves, dig in the dirt, and let nature work its magic. Often organic, community gardens help promote soil health and community connection as much as they do delicious, locally grown food.