Off topic

Tanzania rethinks a highway through the Serengeti

Still close to my heart, even after four years

Zebra snuggle, taken in Ngorongoro Crater, January 2007 - Emma Weisbord

Summer Solstice

I don't know if it was the summer's arrival or the fire poi that I spun last night, but something unblocked my blogger's block.

Happy summer!

I woke up yesterday morning and yelled that to my roommate through our paper thin walls. She yelled it back and we ended up jumping around the living room a little, excited about the long awaited arrival of summer.

The day was wonderful. Summer heralded the return of our favourite tree guy who hadn't been on site for over one month. He returned with a vengeance, bringing hand outs for us and we actually sat down in the conference centre and talked about trees in a structured way... for about an hour.

After a short intro/review of trees and identification, we headed outside into the beautiful sunshine and went for another walk to identify trees in their habitat.


This internship has really made me re-evaluate my learning style. We've had a few workshops and conferences on how different people learn. I used to think I was a purely visual learner. It turns out that I'm nothing in particular. I seem to learn best when I can mix visual with auditory and kinetic learning. I suppose that a mix is always the best way to absorb information, but some people seem to do best in very specific settings. One of the interns learns best when he can repeat/rephrase information back to the "instructor". Another intern needs to write things down in her own words. I definitely tend to doodle. I also have been having trouble sitting still for any amount of time recently. It doesn't help when it's incredibly sunny and beautiful out for the first time in days.

Anyway, all to say that it's an interesting thing to know about yourself. How do you learn? Also, for the kind of work that we'll be doing, it's great to have tips, ideas and tricks for incorporating all the different types of learning into a workshop. The CIL training we did was with this incredible facilitator who made sure that we were never sitting still for more than 30 minutes at a time. She used visual aids, anecdotes, encouraged questions, had us play games... It was wonderful. She was an older woman, probably mid 60s and had that teenage energy about her that is so refreshing to feel. Managing ten young energetic interns seemed like a walk in the park for her.

Back to the solstice. We went for a walk with the tree guy and halfway through the walk, I subtly brought up the idea of walking to the waterfall. We found out a few weeks ago that "Falls Brook Centre" was actually named that because there IS indeed a waterfall on site. It is only a 15 minute walk in the woods. We arrived there after several stops to point out different trees and herbaceous plants that are used as Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs). The previous days of rain had turned what was apparently a trickle just last week into a gushing waterfall. It is beautiful. I can't believe I hadn't been there before. Knowing how close it is, I'll definitely be going back there as much as possible.


There is something so calming about flowing water. The cool breeze coming off of the waterfall was a nice surprise after a sweaty, buggy walk. The breezy air was enough to keep the pesky deer flies off of us for the time we were there. It was a fantastic moment. We were all standing around or sitting or exploring around this beautiful little waterfall with the breeze carrying the smell of clean, cold water and the sun streaming through the canopy in little rays.

We finally tore ourselves away from the waterfall by remembering that lunch was being served in 20 minutes. Walking back, we had a nice conversation about how our forests yield so much more food than we think. The tree guy explained how the Hog Peanut, easy to grow and propagate, native to our forests, produces beans along a ground runner that has the same quantity of protein as soy beans. That was just one example of the different foods he mentioned.

A few hours with him is like downloading an encyclopedia into your brain. Imagine shaking out an encyclopedia onto someone's open head and the words, images and descriptions fall into the head. It's something like that. Except the information is compounded by smelling the trees, feeling the bark, hearing anecdotes and getting bug bitten.

The afternoon was quiet and sunny. I sat outside with my computer, making an excel file of Cuban medicinal plants and NTFPs. The afternoon was mainly me trying to stay busy while getting really excited about the solstice party.

When the clock hit 5pm, we sent off a crew of people to go get groceries for a solstice barbecue. I spent an hour skyping with my wife J in England. We caught up, gossiped and traded recent pictures. After that, I headed over to the "Ay Papi" centre to meet everyone for our barbec!

I made my way through the woods and showed up to people standing around a table filled with store bought hamburger buns, hotdog buns, veggie dogs, homemade relish, homemade ketchup, intern made potato salad... all the makings for a lovely summer barbecue. I ended up being the grill master for the chicken, the veggie dogs and the FBC-grown shiitake mushrooms. My grilling skills aren't amazing, but the chicken turned out pretty well. Everyone ate really well and then we waited for dark. Which is ironic since it was the longest day of the year. And everything we had planned needed darkness. Silly interns.

By 10:30, the sky started getting dark and we started plotting our next step. E and M had gone to town to buy me some flammable fluid for my poi and had picked up some goodies to surprise people with. They got those started to everyone's surprise.

I managed to get some great pictures of the fireworks. Once the fireworks had worn out their amusement, I grabbed my poi, which I had been soaking in fluid for 30 minutes.

I also only drank water all evening, in hopes that if I were extra hydrated, I would be less flammable. E put my hair in a french braid and I wet it to make me less flammable. I changed into my least flammable clothes: spandex and lycra.

When I picked up my poi, I was really surprised by how much heavier they were compared to usual. I spun them a little to get rid of extra liquid and then walked over to the fire to light them. POOF. They were lit. I backed up and tried a few simple spins.

Then a few more.

Then some weaves. Then some turns. IT IS SOOOOO MUCH FUN!

I'm hooked. It's exciting and awesome and wonderful and great exercise. I escaped with all my hair unsinged and didn't even hit myself with the fire poi. The most difficult part was actually putting them out. I was on a high for a few hours after that.

We spent the rest of the evening/night singing random songs, looking at shooting stars and laughing. It was the best night we've had in a while! E and I walked back with M to our cabin and were shocked at the brightness and quantity of stars. It was breathtaking. E and I got back to the Greenhouse after much yelling and screaming about how amazing life is and had a dance party until we crashed.

Here comes the sun...

The almost finished panel

Welding

Prepping to test the panel

Cuba compadre

So, the general rule here seems to be that when I'm having way too much fun, I forget to blog.

Which is a good thing. Or a great thing! I'm going to make this another short post with fun pics.

I've been having trouble with the wordsmithing... something seems to be blocked in my brain and I haven't been able to get words down on paper or screen so you'll have to settle for pictures until I get the problem sorted out.

Last weekend, we had a workshop on how to make solar panels. It was really interesting, but was unfortunate in that it was during our precious spare time. Other than the Ap Tech boys who will be teaching this workshop in Nicaragua, the rest of us only attended the first day.

Couch bed crew!

Waiting for the silicon to dry on the solar cells

The Cuba Crew!!!

This week went by really fast. We spent three days in a CIL (Centre for Intercultural Learning) training. Basically it was three days of intercultural preparation with everything from ethical discussions about development to meeting a resource person from our placement country to ask questions.

Friday night we had a party in the barn to celebrate life.

Quick recap, life is wonderful, the work is fascinating, Cuba will be intense, I love my fellow interns, the weather is getting better.

Gussied up for the barn party ;)

Roomie/Cuba buddy

BARN PARTAAAYYYY

A few wonderful things

My roomie is back! Laughter has hit it's peak, like peak oil, but laughter is an unlimited resource. So... HAHAHA!

We all went out to the local nightclub and partied. There was a cage on stage and our boys got sexually harassed by the locals.

We had a few school groups for the Ducks Unlimited Wetland Education program. I forgot how much I love working with kids.

Bonfires galore :)

The herb garden looks great, I have almost finished categorizing it all with names, pictures, medicinal uses and method of preparation. I'm also making a tea recipe book, based on plants the we have on site.

We also had to shovel out the outhouses and empty them. It was a shitty day, literally. It was also a really fun time, in a weird way. You really discover who your friends are when they help you empty out several wheel barrows of slightly decomposed poo.

It turns out the the Cuba project will involve a water project.

Life is amazing.

Updates to come... Articles for now

I had to write a few articles for the local newspapers and the organization's bi-monthly periodical.
I'm putting them up here.
Cause I can.
Narcissism at its best.
GO BLOGS!

Article for the Bugle

The Great White North is often seen as the Mecca for freshwater. As Canadians, we identify with various purely “Canadian” items; moose, beavers, maple syrup, snow, hockey and water. Water is our lifeblood, and history has shown that very little other than water issues can get our polite Canadian selves riled up. This being said, we are inefficient at water conservation and our water policies leave much to be desired. As of 2006, Canadians were consuming over 330L of freshwater every day and approximately 1400 cubic metres of water every year. To date, Canada has yet to ratify a modern national water policy that encourages conservation and environmental education is sorely lacking across our country.

Our disregard for water consumption may be because we see it around us in such abundance that we suppose it will never run dry. Yet, the amount of actual available water in Canada belies our common misconceptions. Although media and international opinion casts us as a water-rich country, Canada has only a fraction more renewable freshwater reserves than the United-States, tying us in fourth place for water richness.

Water is obviously not evenly spread throughout the country and some areas are more abundant in renewable freshwater than others. Due to water-demanding production sectors like agriculture and industry, water is often diverted from natural ecosystems to suit human needs and often returns to the environment severely degraded.

It is crucial to keep in mind that we live in a closed system and that we cannot create more water. The water that we use today has been on the planet since before humans existed and we have the responsibility to leave it as clean as possible for future generations. There is a myth of water abundance in Canada that leads to irresponsible administration and overuse of our most precious resource.

Water conservation is not simply a matter of turning the tap off when we brush our teeth, installing rain barrels and investing in low-flow showerheads. Water conservation must also occur on a larger ecosystem scale by protecting the areas that filter, purify, decontaminate and store our water, all the while creating areas for biodiversity to flourish. I am talking about wetlands.

These areas are crucial parts of our watersheds and are severely underrated and underappreciated. The GeoNB project (available at http://geonb.snb.ca/geonb/), launched this past January, is an important tool in determining where these areas are. People fear that this tool may lead to decreased land values if wetlands exist on their properties. These fears are unfounded since the regulations about developing wetlands are not changing; the tool simply allows government departments, non-government organizations, industry, not-for-profit companies, academia, and the general public to view the landscape and then plan for strategic and sustainable development. GeoNB is just one of many examples of how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be used to manage and protect the environment. The system is a useful device for understanding our surroundings. 

By understanding our environment and the ecosystem that we live in, we can better understand our place within it and create a society that protects and maintains our clean freshwater supplies.  Wetlands need to be protected, not only for the next generations, but also because of the immediate benefits they provide to communities.  Don’t take my word for it though. Get out there and find out for yourself how important they are. Find out how you can get involved in wetland conservation at http://www.ducks.ca.

Article for the County Bridge

“RUN!”

“FASTER!”

“KEEP RUNNING!”

“YOU ALMOST HAVE IT!”

My friends hollered encouragements and advice at me, while I ran at full speed through the wet grassy field, soaking my shoes and my jeans. After ten seconds of running, I was laughing so hard that I could barely catch my breath enough to pump oxygen into my leg muscles. Still, I kept running, hoping that the big colourful bumblebee that was floating behind me, attached to a string, would catch some of the non-existent breeze and soar higher than the real bees that were hiding from the rain. I felt a little tension on the string and released some more, likely too soon. I’m no expert. In fact, this was my first time flying a kite.

Following the seasonal trend, the annual kite festival was rained out this year. A few die-hards came to show their support and partake in the damp festivities, bringing smiles and sharing stories about previous sunny years. As the FBC interns, we showed up to see what the fuss was about and even with the rain, we weren’t disappointed. I was giddy with excitement to fly my first kite and no amount of rain was going to stop me from trying.

Though I wasn’t able to get my bumblebee airborne, a fellow intern lent me his soaring kite so that I could feel what it was like to fly one. I giggled the whole time. There I was, standing in a field of dandelions on a rainy day, looking up at a tiny speck of a kite that was flying high above my head. Whoever invented kites should win some kind of medal for “Most Fun Flying Toy Ever”. It was an amazing feeling, akin to harnessing the power of the wind… something that we in fact do here at FBC. If generating wind power could be made to be as fun as flying a kite, no one would object to alternative technologies.

The rain petered out after 2pm and having worked up an appetite by running around, chasing after the smallest puff of wind, we lined up to put in our orders for personalized pizzas. Meat, cheese, onion, broccoli, green peppers, fiddleheads… FIDDLEHEADS! ON PIZZA! Will wonders never cease? The portable copper oven that they must be magical because that was the most delicious, perfectly cooked pizza I had ever eaten. It took my mind off of the soaking wet shoes that I was splashing around in.

After a snack in the yurt (Mongolian style round tent), we filed back outside to try our luck again on the windless day. As I photographed my fellow interns running around like children, I realized that there one thing that brings everyone to the same level: fun. It doesn’t matter how old you are, how mature you are, how much your monthly mortgage is, what kind of car you drive, what colour your tricycle is… when you’re flying a kite, everyone experiences the same child-like glee. My most recent epiphany has been: GO FLY A KITE!

Tea Time With Emma 

I tend to get colds when seasons change and I have found that tea is the best medicine. Several years ago I became interested in herbal medicine and I was thrilled when I became the intern in charge of the herb gardens here at FBC.

To treat my cold, I went on a steady tea diet. I’m not generally one for using recipes, so the quantities here are approximate.

Rescue Tea

Thyme

Oregano

1 tbsp of fresh oregano

1 tbsp of fresh thyme

1 tbsp of honey

Squeeze in half a lime or lemon

It is also good to inhale the steam from this tea to clear out the lungs and sinuses.

On one of the many cloudy, overcast days, we were all feeling grumpy and blue. By chance, I found a patch of lemon balm in a weedy, overgrown herb garden. Lemon balm has mood uplifting qualities so I picked a few handfuls and made a big pot of tea for everyone.

Cheery Tea

1 tbsp fresh lemon balm

1 tbsp fresh spearmint

Chocolate Mint

After Eight Tea

2 tbsp chocolate mint

1 tbsp cocoa shells (or cocoa powder)

1 tsp of honey

This is a good tea to drink with dessert.

Life goes on

Step 1: Shovel Compost into Wheelbarrows

Today we had two workshops on the sunniest day we’ve had yet. Talk about poor timing. This morning we learned about Results Based Management (RBM), which is CIDA’s way of developing projects and evaluating proposals. It was an interesting exercise in useless bureaucrazy. To be fair, it is useful in determining what a project’s overarching goals are and developing short-term indicators of whether or not the objectives are being met as the project progresses. 

Step 2: Put Compost on field

The full RBM is painfully long and wordy. The workshop involved some interactive activities in which we were broken up into our assigned countries and had to develop a Result Chain for each one of our Ultimate Outcomes. For Cuba, the overall goal was to restore biodiversity in a forest ecosystem, while simultaneously enhancing rural economic development. Oof. Quite the goals. All of this within a socialist context. The first thing we had to do was mind map the direct problems. We came up with biodiversity loss (due to sugarcane monocropping), resource access (embargo and rural location) and the socialist system/bureaucrazy. Then we had to flag which problems were more easily tackled. Biodiversity loss. Obvi.

Step 3: Get big strong man to till

After lunch, we had another workshop, this time en espanol sobre el genero (gender). I thought it was very interesting and we kept bringing it back to the Latin American context, where there is the issue of machismo along with the baseline inequality that exists. It was reassuring to know that aside from a handful of technical words, I understood everything. I also made an effort to get over my shyness over my accent and to participate in the debates and conversations that came up around the subject of gender. The Cuba project coordinator who ran the workshop is from St-Bruno and has the same Quebecois accent I have. It made me feel a lot better to hear that she can’t trill either.

Step 4: Observe beautifully tilled field

There are three of us among the interns who can’t trill and we’ve been practicing together, with the help of a select few interns and youtube videos. We sound like revving car engines or growling howler monkeys or hissing snakes. The three of us sit there, with our heads tilted back, to help our tongues relax, trying to push air through our mouths enough to roll our rs. It’s ridiculous. I don’t understand how some people can do it so easily and others sound like mad horses. All to say that the project coordinator came up to me during the break to say that she was happy with my level of Spanish and that our accent is considered cute in Cuba. Phew.

Step 5: Make raised beds in lovely rows

After the taller (workshop in Spanish), we headed to the garden to finish it up. This time, I brought my camera and took before and after pictures. Again, we were like little worker bees, going in, buzzing around and working together efficiently. The blackflies had a feast on us today. They have gotten worse! I traded my black sunhat with one of the Ms. He only realized twenty minutes later why I wanted to wear his beige hat instead of my black one. “You tricked me!” he said. All I did was smile and say please… Since when is that tricking? The gender gap! La brecha de genero.

Step 6: Observe beautifully made raised beds

We composted, tilled and made rows in the rest of the CSA field. The land that we use to plant on here is so low lying that it just seems like it’s always wet and clay-ey. Trying to hoe clay sucks. I have no poetic way of saying that. It’s like digging into thick pudding mixed with cement. Walking in the wet mud between the raised beds, it becomes apparent why we make raised beds. (Drainage)

Our work from the past few weeks with plantlets coming up

The things we planted over the past two weeks are starting to peek out of their beds and say good morning to us. The plantlets are sooooo cute! 

Little pea shoots, onion sprouts and mini lettuce heads just popping out of the ground.  
 Over the past two days, the land has woken up from a long winter. The flowers on the fruit trees are out; the crops are starting to grow and the hills are alive with the sounds of leaves! (and music on certain nights)

I checked on my herbs earlier and the solar dryer has done its work very well over the past two days. I now have dried comfrey, valerian, oregano, spearmint, chocolate mint and raspberry leaves. I have almost cured myself on a steady tea diet of thyme, oregano, mint, honey and lime. Now, I am off to A and S’s new cabin for a housewarming tagine feast! In Spanish.

… (some time later)

Yuuuummmmmmm

Dinner was lovely. P and A make the best meals each week! After dinner, P and I stepped outside and medicated my cough by smoking a mix of mullein and thyme. I’m not sure how I feel about smoking something that is supposed to detox your lungs. I have the feeling it might work against my goal. But! I haven’t coughed since I smoked it. Both herbs are supposed to be expectorants and antispasmodics. I’ll keep track of whether or not it actually worked.

STRAWberries... get it? Get it?

Keeping those pesky peas fenced in

Fruit in the making