Ecology Action

Ecology Action is a Santa Cruz, CA nonprofit environmental consultancy delivering cutting edge education services, technical assistance, and program implementation for initiatives that assist individuals, business and government to maximize environmental quality and community well being.

Since 1970 Ecology Action has combined municipal, foundation, and private funding to establish cutting-edge conservation programs, prove their effectiveness financially and operationally, and establish each program as a permanent community resource.

They seek innovative ways to instill environmental awareness, promote pragmatic change, and create opportunities for individuals, businesses, and community agencies to save money, create jobs, and contribute to a sustainable local economy.

Browse some of their current programs:

Bike Smart! Promotes safe bicycling through fun, hands-on education programs at Santa Cruz County schools.   Bike to Work Provides incentives, free breakfast, and support to get you hooked on bicycling as transportation.

Business Waste Assessment Waste assessment software to help government and businesses reduce waste, save money, and promote resource conservation.   Clean Beaches Coalition Ongoing beach cleanups including the Annual Coastal Cleanup

Climate Solutions Program A leadership initiative to mobilize the entire Monterey Bay Area to radically reduce our carbon footprint.   Electric Bike Information Providing reduced prices, safety and skill training, and increased service for Santa Cruz County residents.

Folding Bikes in Buses Providing reduced prices on folding bikes and bus passes to promote bike with bus transportation for Santa Cruz County residents.

Cabrillo College Go Green Choose an alternative to driving alone and you can make a difference in reducing traffic congestion and greenhouse gases. For Cabrillo College students, staff and faculty members.

Green Building Information about the design and construction of healthy, sustainable places to live and work.

Green Business Program Offers free technical and promotional assistance to help you become a certified green business.

Green Gardener Program Provides professional training and certification in ecological landscaping and helps customers find certified Green Gardeners.

Home Composting Program Offers a wealth of home composting resources and opportunities for the residents of Santa Cruz County.

Household Hazardous Waste Provides information about local and regional drop-off facilities and alternatives to traditionally used chemicals.

Integrated Pest Managment Provides information and technical assistance about less-toxic alternatives to traditional pest management.

Livestock and Land Provides technical assistance and cost share dollars for manure and land management approaches that protect water quality.

LodgingSavers Program Delivers a comprehensive suite of rebated energy efficiency retrofits to Lodging Properties in PG&E service territory.

Model Schools Program Reduces pest problems, flooding and erosion, and the use of toxic chemicals in schools.

Multifamily Recycling A partnership with twelve local agencies and haulers, implementing comprehensive recycling and waste reduction programs at low income multifamily housing complexes.

Oil Recycling Provides information about local and regional used oil and filter drop-off facilities for cars, boats, and farm equipment.

Our Water Our World Raises public awareness about alternatives to using hazardous pesticide and fertilizer products in and around the home.

Santa Cruz County Recycles Provides information that enables people and businesses to reuse, recycle, and buy recycled in Santa Cruz County.

Special Event Recycling Offers recycling and waste reduction programs at events through technical assistance, outreach and education.

RightLights Program Provides subsidized lighting upgrades and free professional assistance to help businesses lower energy bills and boost cash flow.

Tourism Recycling Offers recycling and waste reduction programs at events through technical assistance, outreach and education.

Transportation Membership Services Encourages member employees to use other ways than driving alone to commute to and from work.

Waste Free Schools Program Assists Santa Cruz County schools in institutionalizing campus recycling, composting and reduce / reuse programs.

A Way to Control Nut Grass

This information on getting rid of nut grass (Purple nutsedge or Cyperus rotundus) comes from a C/T/H/A/R (College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources—University of Hawai’i Manoa) publication.

This is from removing from ornamental areas but seems appropriate for organic veggie gardens too—if you have 2-4 months.

Weed cloth, or woven black polypropylene weed mat, can be effective in suppressing purple nutsedge when used properly. It is porous to air and water and can be an effective tool for reducing underground tubers without the use of chemicals or tedious hand-weeding. It is a very durable material that can be re-used many times if handled carefully to avoid making holes by tearing. Using weed cloth against purple nutsedge requires that the garden area be fallow (not planted or tilled) for a period of 2–4 months. After the last crop is harvested, remove all plant residues by mowing or rototilling, and cover the planting area with the weed cloth. The method of securing the cloth to the soil is crucial in preventing purple nutsedge penetration through the weed cloth. The preferred securing method is to use long (10–12 inch) spikes fitted with a large flat washer. These spikes secure the weed mat to the ground but should not be used to pull the weed mat too tight. There should be enough slack to allow some air space between the soil and the weed mat. The worst way to secure the weed mat is to use rocks, soil, or other heavy objects. When the weed mat is held tightly to the ground, purple nutsedge shoots can push through the fabric.

With the weed mat properly in place, purple nutsedge is induced to sprout by generous and frequent watering. A new weed mat tends to repel water, but after a 2–3-week exposure to full sunlight, shrinkage occurs and water can pass through the material. As the purple nutsedge germinates, it pushes the weed mat upward, as if it was inflating it. The purple nutsedge grows so fast that when the pointed tip of the leaf blade gets caught in the weave of fabric, the rapidly elongating leaf blade starts to crinkle up behind it, and penetration of the cloth is thus prevented.

The weed mat must remain in place long enough for weeds to germinate below it and die from lack of sunlight. After several cycles of weed growth and die-back during the 2–4-month period, the weed mat can be removed and the garden replanted. Most of the weed propagules (including purple nutsedge tubers) will have tried to emerge and died.

When the plastic is removed, it is important not to disturb the soil unnecessarily. Cultivation brings up lower layers of soil that will likely contain viable weed seeds and purple nutsedge tubers. Mulching the soil surface after removing the weed cloth will help to suppress any weed seeds remaining in the soil and slow nutsedge germination by preventing increases in soil temperature.

Download the CTHAR document.

Victory Gardens

What is a Victory Garden?
During World War I and World War II, the United States government asked its citizens to plant gardens in order to support the war effort. Millions of people planted gardens. Emphasis was placed on making gardening a family or community effort — not a drudgery, but a pastime, and a national duty.

Why plant a victory garden?
Today our food travels an average of 1500 miles from farm to table. The process of planting, fertilizing, processing, packaging, and transporting our food uses a great deal of energy and contributes to the cause of global warming.
Planting a Victory Garden to fight global warming would reduce the amount of pollution your food contibutes to global warming. Instead of traveling many miles from farm to table, your food would travel from your own garden to your table.

How can my actions make a difference? I’m only one person.
Each one of us may only be one person. However, we each have an impact on the environment and can make changes to reduce our impact.

I have no backyard, what can I do?
You can combine vegetable plants with flowers in your frontyard. You can plant in containers on your porch, patio, or balcony and can grow sprouts indoors. You can also choose to purchase foods which are grown close to home by visiting your local farmer’s market. If local foods are not available to you, choose foods which use fewer chemical pesticides – such as organics, are in season, or have minimal packaging.

Do I need to use a lot of pesticides to increase yield?
Organic soil building with compost pays for itself with increased plant productivity.
What do I do with the food that I grow?
Eat what you can and then share or preserve the rest.

Wondering how to get started?
Contact your local County Extension office for information on gardening in your area.

Community
Growing food with family, friends, and neighbors can be a community building experience. Trade produce and share tools with neighbors. Visiting the farmer’s market can bring you into direct contact with the people who are growing food.

Look for more information at:
Revive the Victory Garden website

Future FarmersVictory Gardens 2007+ website

Kihei Elementary School Garden – First Planting

On Monday, February 2, students in Ms. Alana Kaopuili’s second grade science classes at Kihei Elementary, planted the first plants in the garden. By the end of the week, five classes planted cherry tomatoes, lettuce, green beans, and marigolds.

Many thanks to Emily Goss (School Garden Committee Chair) and Gene “Blaze” Weaver who did an incredible job (see the video).

Thanks also to Mark and Barbara Beebe for guiding the the installation of irrigation valves and piping and to Jim Kinney, manager of HISCO (Hawaiian Irrigation Supply Company, Inc.) in Wailuku for donating the irrigation materials.

The Edible Schoolyard

How to create and sustain an organic garden and landscape that is wholly integrated into the school’s curriculum and lunch program. It involves the students in all aspects of farming the garden – along with preparing, serving and eating the food – as a means of awakening their senses and encouraging awareness and appreciation of the transformative values of nourishment, community, and stewardship of the land.

Garden classes teach the Principles of Ecology, the origins of food, and respect for all living systems. Students work together to shape and plant beds, amend soil, turn compost, and harvest flowers, fruits, and vegetables.

In the kitchen classroom, students prepare and eat delicious seasonal dishes from produce they have grown in the garden. Students and teachers gather at the table to share food and conversation during each class. The cycle of food production is completed in the kitchen, as students eat fruits, vegetables, and grains grown in soil rich with the compost of last season’s produce.

FROM SEED TO TABLE

Student participation in all aspects of the Seed to Table experience occurs as they prepare beds, plant seeds and seedlings, tend crops, and harvest produce. Through these engaging activities, students begin to understand the cycle of food production. Vegetables, grains, and fruits, grown in soil rich with the compost of last year’s harvest, are elements of seasonal recipes prepared by students in the kitchen. Students and teachers sit together to eat at tables set with flowers from the garden, adults facilitate conversation, and cleanup is a collective responsibility. They complete the Seed to Table cycle by taking vegetable scraps back to the garden at the end of each kitchen class. The Seed to Table experience exposes children to food production, ecology, and nutrition, and fosters an appreciation of meaningful work, and of fresh and natural food.

The Edible Schoolyard website
Site resources:
The site has pages on: A day in the garden , A day in the kitchen, How it works, Lessons, The garden manager, Kitchen lessons & recipes, The chef teacher, Classroom lessons, educational resources, ecoliteracy, teacher liason.

How to start a school garden and kitchen
Includes list of 20 good reasons to have a garden and a kitchen at your school.

The Edible Schoolyard Academy
Creating Garden and Kitchen Classrooms in Every Community

Garden of Eating: Middle School Students Grow Their Own Lunch An Edutopia article.

The Edible Schoolyard: Seed-to-Table Learning
Video presentation of the Edible Schoolyard.

WEB SITES Programs Evergreen. www.evergreen.ca Gardens for Growing People. www.svn.net/growpepl San Francisco Green Schoolyard Alliance. www.sfgreenschools.org Eco-Schools. www.eco-schools.org Kidsgardening. www.kidsgardening.com Aquatic Outreach Institute. www.aoinstitute.org Two Angry Moms www.angrymoms.org Feed Me Better www.feedmebetter.com Chef Ann Cooper www.chefann.com The Food Project www.thefoodproject.org People’s Grocery www.peoplesgrocery.org GRUB www.eatgrub.org Slow Food USA Education www.slowfoodusa.org/education Yale Sustainable Food Project www.yale.edu/sustainablefood Food Change www.foodchange.org Project Food, Land and People www.foodlandpeople.org Community Alliance with Family Farmers www.caff.org Life Lab www.lifelab.org Rooted in Community www.earthisland.org/ric Environment and Sustainability Center For Ecoliteracy. www.ecoliteracy.org The Food Systems Project. www.foodsystems.org Berkeley Horticultural Nursery. www.berkeleyhort.com Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. www.oaec.org Community Food Security Coalition. www.foodsecurity.org The Ecology Center. www.ecologycenter.org The Garden Project. www.gardenproject.org Sustainable Agriculture Education. www.sagecenter.org Funding Kidsgardening   • School Garden Grants. www.kidsgardening.com/teachers2.asp   • Youth Garden Grant. www.kidsgardening.com/grants.asp   • Resource Directory for Grants. www.kidsgardening.com/resources/resource.asp Environmental Protection Agency. www.epa.gov/teachers/grants.htm National Wildlife Foundation. www.nwf.org/schoolyardhabitats National Environmental Education and Training Foundation. www.neetf.org School Grants. www.schoolgrants.org The Foundation Center. www.fdncenter.org These sites all contain additional resources and links that should prove helpful. Resourcefulness and networks within your own local community will also lead to supportive individuals, groups and organizations.

BOOKS
(a partial list)

The New Oxford Book Of Food Plants. J.G. Vaughan.. Oxford University Press.

Rice: From Risotto to Sushi. Claire Ferguson. Rizzoli.

The Cook’s Journal. Christopher Warmell. Running Press.

Africa, Europe, and Asia: Ready to Use Interdisciplinary Lessons and activities for Grades 5-12. D. Bloom. The Center for Applied Research in Education.

Food is Elementary: A Hands-On Curricula for Young Students. Antonia Demas. Food Studies Institute.

Potatoes from Pancakes to Pommes Frites. Annie Nichols. Rizzoli.

Chez Panisse Vegetables. Alice Waters. Harper-Collins.

Chez Panisse Fruit. Alice Waters. Harper-Collins.

Bread. Beth Hensperger. Chronicle Books.

Food In History. Reay Tannahill. Stern and Day.

Slumps, Grunts, and Snickerdoodles: What Colonial America Ate and Why. Lila Perl. Clarion Books.

The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. Marion Cunningham. Alfred A. Knopf.

You Eat What You Are: People, Culture, and Food Traditions. Thelma Barer-Stern. Firefly Books.

The Greatest Table: A Banquet to Fight Against Hunger. Michal J. Rosen. Harcourt Brace and Co.

Play With Your Food. Joost Elffers. Stewart, Tabori, and Chang.

The Food Chronology. James Trager. Henry Holt and Co.

Through the Kitchen Window: Women Explore the Intimate Meanings of Food and Cooking. Beacon Press.

Material World. Peter Menzel. Sierra Club Books.

Recipes From A Kitchen Garden Volume 2. Renee Shepherd and Fran Raboff. Shepherd’s Garden Publishing.

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. Harold McGee. Simon and Schuster.

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Photo Cards. CA Nutrition Education and Training Program. Ca Dept. of Ed.

A Taste of Heritage. The New African–American Cuisine. Joe Randall and Toni Tipton-Martin. Macmillan.

Soul Food: Recipes and Reflections From African-American Churches. Joyce White. Harper Collins.

Everything You Pretend to Know About Food And Are Afraid Someone Will Ask. Nancy Rommelmann. Penguin Books.

How Are You Peeling? Foods With Moods. Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers. Scholastic Press.

Women In the Material World. Faith D’Aluisio and Peter Menzel. Sierra Cliub Books.

The New Guide to Fruit. Kate Whiteman. Lorenz Books.

Food. Weverley Root. Smithmark.

The Gourmet Alter: The History, Origin and Migration of Food of the World. Susie Ward. Macmillan.

Fast Food Nation. Eric Schlosser. Houghton Mifflin.

The Unsettling of America: Culture and Agriculture. Wendell Berry. Sierra Club Books.

From the Good Earth. Michael Ableman

The Green Machine. Polly Cameron

Kids Cook Farm Fresh Food, Sibella Kraus. CA Dept. of Education

Kids in Gardens: Student Education Program, Aquatic Outreach Institute

Teaching Organic Farming and Gardening, Albie Miles and Martha Brown, eds. University of Santa Cruz

No-dig Gardening

A productive vegetable garden that only needs watering every 10 days!

The technique has been used since the 1977 paperback, “Esther Deans’ Gardening Book: Growing Without Digging,” promoted it as a solution to poor soil, rampant weeds, water shortages and costly food

No-dig is more efficient, water wise, because once a plant has a 10- to 12-inch root system, the layers of compost and straw keep moisture around the roots. And you can keep layering it over and over again as the organic matter breaks down.

• Click here to read the Los Angeles Times article, How Do His Veggies Grow? The No-dig Way.

• Click here to see photos of the no-dig gardening process.

• Here’s an interesting blog post on no-dig gardening.

Thai Composting Method Speeds Cycle

This is a composting process for large piles of compost where air is added into the piles using a blower to ensure sufficient level of oxygen for the digestive activities of microorganisms, making it unnecessary to turn over the piles manually.

Click here for details

Biodynamic Farming and Gardening

Biodynamic Gardening is a unified approach to agriculture that relates the ecology of the earth-organism to that of the entire cosmos. Essentially, biodynamic farming and gardening looks upon the soil and the farm as living organisms. It regards maintenance and furtherance of soil life as a basic necessity if the soil is to be preserved for generations, and it regards the farm as being true to its essential nature if it can be conceived of as a kind of individual entity in itself — a self-contained individuality. It begins with the ideal concept of the necessary self-containedness of the farm and works with furthering the life of the soil as a primary means by which a farm can become a kind of individuality that progresses and evolves.

Soil improvement is obtained by proper humus management — e.g., by the application of sufficient organic manure and compost in the best possible state of fermentation; by proper crop rotation; by proper working of the soil; by protective measures such as wind protection; cover crops, green manure, and diversified crops rather than monocultures; and by mixed cropping so that plants can aid and support each other.

Biodynamic Farming Association
Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association was founded in 1938.

Hawai’i Biodynamic Organization: Patrick Moser, 845 Pe’ahi Road, Ha’iku, HI 96708; (808) 572-1766; Email.

Google search for biodynamic gardening.

Kihei Elementary School Garden

On Monday December 22 SMS put boots on the ground for our first school garden project. Three raised beds were built at Kihei Elementary School. The first gardeners will be second-grade students of Alana Kaopuiki. Pictured are Alana, Blaze, Emily, Hokuao, Maury, Nio, Stuart and Terry,

Food Security: Bill Moyers Interviews Michael Pollan

Bill Moyers sits down with Michael Pollan, Knight Professor of Journalism at UC Berkeley, to discuss what direction the U.S. should pursue in the often-overlooked question of food policy.

PART I

PART II (click here)

Moyers and Pollan discuss:

• CHANGING THE WAY WE EAT
  Innovative schemes aiming to change the way our nation eats. View Will Allen, of Growing Power, a pioneer in the urban farming movement in action. Find out about what Alice Waters, international-known chef and sustainable farm advocate, is hoping to see on the White House Lawn. And take a virtual visit to one of artist Fritz Haeg’s Edible Estates.
• VOTING WITH YOUR FORK
  Find out simple ways that you can change the world one meal at a time.
• OUR DAILY BREAD — HUNGER RESOURCES MAP
  Why are America’s food banks suffering shortages? Find out what you can do to help.
• DEBATING THE FARM BILL
  Is it a farm bill or a food bill? What’s behind the debate over American farm policy.

Pollan is author of In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto; The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals; A Plant’s-eye View of the World: A Place Of My Own and advice to the next president in An Open letter to the Farmer in Chief, an important article in the New York Times Magazine.