It’s a classic design school project: redesign an everyday object (the stapler and the chair are popular picks.) Maxime Evrard, a student at the Ecole de Design Nantes, chose to redesign the chicken coop. You thought the Eglu was cool? Maxime’s Cocorico looks like a spaceship. With a tent attached. Would this be a good […]
Green Gardening & Living
Cover me: the low-down on green manures
I didn’t do so well at planting a winter vegetable garden this year (I am terrible at planning for winter in the height of summer, which is, unfortunately, when you need to do your planting for winter harvesting). Other than some quick-growing salad greens that I managed to sneak in at the beginning of September, […]
Vote for the environment. Canucks: listen up.
Canadians have a powerful new online tool to help them cast a vote for the environment. VoteForEnvironment.ca provides a recommended pick for every riding in the country for the Liberal, NDP, Green or Bloc party candidate most likely to overwhelm their Conservative opponent. “At a time when we need urgent global action on climate change, […]
Ladybugs love aphids: using beneficial bugs to wipe out the bad
Ladybugs: keep refrigerated. I have these euphorbias (E. amygdaloides) in my front garden bed that get crippled by aphids every spring. Despite their aphid problem, they’re quite lovely, which is why I’ve kept them this long. (I’m not sure what variety of euphorbia they are; they are the developer’s last remaining contribution of my garden.) […]
40 ways to encourage more local food production
Want to change the food system? Here are 40 great ways everyone – from individuals to the government – can do so. Some of my fave’s: For individuals:#6 Establish community canning workshops where people can work together to can food.#8.Establish a Young Farmers Institute for the next generation of farmers.#12 Encourage Community Fruit Tree Projects […]
Gone Wild
I met Hartley and Anne-Marie (above) at the farmer’s market last year, because, well, they were selling plants – need I say more? Early in the spring, there are always more vendors selling plants than fresh produce. Mostly it’s pretty basic: pots of herbs, annuals and a few cottagey perennials. But there’s also Otto with […]
Book review: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
I just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Subtitled “A Year of Food Life,” it’s a personal account of back-to-the-land living crossed with an inquiry into the (big) business of food. It’s not a new book (it came out last spring), nor is it a new concept. But whether Kingsolver’s arguments for eating […]
The Story of Stuff
Have you seen The Story of Stuff yet? You can watch a teaser below, but I urge you to watch the full version here. What is it, you ask? It’s a 20-minute film that’s a provocative look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns; about “all our stuff–where it comes from and where it goes when […]