Civil Eats

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

There, she’s using her vast ecological expertise to develop curriculum for the Indigenous Food Lab training center and lead community engagement programming. “As She mixes Indigenous traditional knowledge with modern science in a way that feels practical yet fun.” Black Elk’s efforts go beyond education. Let’s back up a bit.

Forage 117

Forage Food Ecology Pesticide 117

The Equation

MAY 11, 2023

Because like the Dust Bowl of so many decades ago, this tragedy stemmed from a collision of multiple systemic problems—in this case, unchecked climate change layered atop the excesses of industrial agriculture. Enter the Agriculture Resilience Act, or ARA. All the time.

Agriculture 120

Agriculture Agriculture Fertilizer Plowing 120

The Equation

MAY 15, 2023

Industrial agricultural practices such as tillage (plowing) and leaving fields bare between growing seasons degrade soil structure, reduce water infiltration, lower water storage capacity, and increase runoff (the flow of water across the soil’s surface).

Industrial Agriculture 76

Industrial Agriculture Crop Agriculture Agriculture 76

Sustainable Harvest International

NOVEMBER 30, 2023

“ “My philosophy has always been that the health of soil, plants, animals, people, and the environment is one.” ” — Rattan Lal, professor of soil science + 2020 World Food Prize Laureate Conventional, or industrial, agriculture uses chemicals to defend crops from weeds, certain insect species, and diseases.

Compost 59

Compost Fertilizer Crop Food 59

The Equation

APRIL 3, 2023

is the single most-asked question I hear as someone working daily with water science, advocacy, and policy in California. The ongoing megadrought that has afflicted California since 2000 has caused profound challenges for people, agriculture, and ecosystems throughout the state. “Is California still in a drought?”

Agriculture 87

Agriculture Agriculture Crop Food 87

ATTRA

JANUARY 30, 2024

So, it’s ecological or cybernetic or complexly interrelated, but it is not magic. A web is a serviceable metaphor for complex relationships, ecological and human, but I want to employ another connective metaphor. The fun stuff that can look so much like magic is that it’s not always clear what and where the connections are.

Farming 40

Farming Farming Ecology Rural Development 40

Civil Eats

JUNE 20, 2024

—Nina Elkadi Medicine Wheel for the Planet: A Journey Toward Personal and Ecological Healing By Jennifer Grenz “To use only fragmented pieces of [Indigenous] knowledge is to admire a tree without its roots,” Nlaka’pamux ecologist turned land healer Jennifer Grenz writes in Medicine Wheel for the Planet.

Food 124

Food Farming Farming Forage 124