Food Security - Just as important as Data Security
Every year I try to "garden" and plant a few more plants. I put garden in quotations because I am not as skilled as a Nonna down the street, but what I lack in experience I am making up for in research.
This year is different - I am committed to studying the root causes of my lack of successful plant growth. I'm feeding my soil, not just fertilizing it. And, I have bought rain barrels which I will automate with a pump system to self-water when I'm not home during the week. My partner has helped me build multiple planter beds and a small greenhouse so we can grow our own vegetables and winter-hardy foods that can store well past the summer.
Gardening has taught me a lot about patience, care and humility. When I first started taking care of my grass 5 years ago, it was a struggle to even get it to germinate from seed, let alone survive throughout the summer and winter!
With more research coming out about the importance of soil health, water cleanliness and seed sovereignty I think its time for myself and those around my community to get out and start planting. Food security is just as important as data security. We can't do much technological progress if we don't have nutrient dense food for our brains.
Most of suburbia and the city is covered in grasses that are neither native to the area nor provide any type of food to the pollinators, small animals or other living beings in the area. Imagine being a bee flying around for hours and hours over vast green grass, looking tirelessly for just one flower to pollinate. We have turned our entire city into a inedible desert. Neither humans nor animals can really even eat the grass we plant - its no wonder bugs and critters crawl into our houses looking for food!
Most surprising this spring there are vastly different species of birds that are living in my crabapple tree. I have never seen these migratory birds before, and assume they may be seeking refuge after flying away from the California fires. The rocky mountains extend all the way to California after all, it would not be a surprise if birds came to Alberta to eat, rest and recover.
This is just a small example of how our world is changing. There will be much more symbiotic living in our future. People worldwide are gaining awareness on the lack and extinction of biodiversity on the planet. I don't think it's all "climate change" either, I think the ecological shifts are a change in our water, not our carbon consumption. See Charles Eisenstein "Climate - a new story".
Every year, no matter where I live, I battle to the death with the ants. There's about 3-4 species of ants that live in my backyard. Tiny red carpenter ants, giant black ants and everything in-between. I love to study bugs, but I don't want them in my house! So, I put out little ant traps, sprays and poisons to hopefully keep the population down. I can't help but wonder if this method is really working, or if there's another way. Maybe a middle-way where I can have an ant-free house and the ants can have a human-poison-free nest.
I recently read Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer and was deeply moved by the poetic scenery and stories she wrote in the book. I felt like the book so beautifully describe the absolute gift we get when we live on this earth.
It really shifted my perspective from viewing ecology as a thing to be categorized into a living organism that is unique just like a human being. After reading more into plant science and awareness, I now understand that plants have far more capabilities than I initially thought. Using their relationship to the fungal network and macrobacteria, plants are able to communicate and send all sorts of information to one another in a healthy environment.
There are so many things that we can learn about the world around us, when we humble ourselves to slow down and listen. I, for one, am very excited to be outside this summer to see where these learnings take me!
