The Compact

May Day Kombucha

2011-05-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

Happy May Day! I hope you weren't working today, International Workers Day. I certainly wasn't. Instead I was in the streets, hollering at counter-protestors (GO BACK TO ARIZONA!), and later drinking some beer.

Before all of that I poured off my first drinkable batch of kombucha and started a second. Fermentation is fun.

Flowers are my fiction III

2011-04-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more to guess. Some of the flower parts in this batch are positively inter-galactic.

Also 9.

10.

Also 10.

Stamens from 10. Poricidal anthers are characteristic of this family.

10. This is what I mean by flowers are fiction. I dunno what you see but I see a parade float.

Pistil from different specimen of 10.

11.

12.

13. Purple people eater?

14.

Flowers are my fiction II

2011-04-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

The plant porn continues. I'm leaving the plant names off for a few days so people can guess. Feel free to send your thoughts.
BTW, you can click on the photos to make them larger. Twice even.
Enjoy!

Same as 3.

Same as 4, different color.

6. Modified, 1 petal removed.

Awwwwww

Same as 6. Modified: Only sepals and pistil. Petals and stamens removed.

Pistil from ... 6. I think.

Pistil from 1.

Flowers are my fiction

2011-04-05T20:46:00.000-07:00

I've been a little stressed lately. Who hasn't, right? Revolutions, worker uprisings, climate change and the day to day. I have a few coping strategies for stress. Dissolving into fiction for brief spells usually gives my brain a chance to relax. For some reason I keep choosing heavy material, e.g., Beloved (Toni Morrison), Flight (Sherman Alexie). I switched to non-fiction, grabbing Eaarth by Bill Mckibben at a used bookstore last week. Also heavy, whew. I groaned aloud through the entire introduction as McKibben counted the ways in which we are supremely fucked on this rock.

For the moment I've given up on reading and turned to Spring for reassurance. Delving deeper into botany serves as a delightful distraction, particularly as buds open all around us. I found myself squinting at poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) flowers at Lake Merced today. They're tiny and not without charm. Their allure held me up for a second, but I resisted the urge to get a closer look with my hand lens. As much as I hang out with poison oak, I couldn't recall its family this afternoon (Anacardiaceae).

Learning plant families dominates my botanical pursuits at the moment. I might be a little obsessed with the families. I almost wish that when you asked people "What's this plant?" that they responded with the family instead of the species. I know it wouldn't be the most precise answer but how cool would it be to learn the families first? We learn the kingdom and then the species but I want what comes between them.

Thus the delving into flowers and families. In order to learn the families, I'm frequently counting flower parts, teeny tiny flower parts. Plant id sucks me in like a good book. A little oak branch can be a whole new world, with its own weather, topography and critter community. It's easy to get caught up in the bugs, thereby forgetting the flowers for a second. I couldn't capture the tiny white bugs on this oak leaf (Fagaceae, Quercus agrifolia), but you can see their labor in the crevices of the midvein. I dunno what this critter is, despite my half-assed attempt to find it in the Peterson Insect Field Guide.

The house I live in has an abundance of nature books and clever tools for the investigation of small plant parts. I'm enjoying the drafting table and ample work lamps as I pick apart petals in search of pistils and other pieces. Tweezers that screw together to hold samples: brilliant! Sharp scalpels that slice through soft, flexible sepals and petals make getting to the insides quick and clean.

I've always taken comfort in counting, so I suppose it's natural for me to enjoy counting flower parts from the outside in. Here's some amateur flora porn from today's adventure with the families.

Grossulariaceae, Ribes sanguineum

Sepals from Lamiaceae family (Stachys?)

Staminate flowers of Fagaceae, Quercus agrifolia

Lamiaceae up close with stamens

Buckeye stamens (Hippocastanaceae or Sapinaceae, Aesculus californica)

Press and Fun Fact

2011-02-20T13:57:00.000-08:00

There was an article in the New York Times about the SF Free University teach in so I thought I'd post it. It even includes a mention of the class I helped with, Restoring San Francisco's Urban Wildlands.

Did I ever post this article about eating invasives? I was interviewed for it.

Fun Fact: Yesterday I counted 73 Zigadenus fremontii on Bernal Hill, the only place in SF where it blooms.

Oh yeah, and some pix of those art bottles I made from the edible weeds!

Wildflower Walk Sunday at 11AM, Bernal Hill

2011-02-10T19:43:00.000-08:00

I'm going to lead a wildflower walk this Sunday starting at 11AM on Bernal Hill in San Francisco. We'll look at early wildflowers, including a locally rare population of star lilly's (Zigadenus fremontii). Other early bloomers include Footsteps-of-Spring, Lomatium, and a few suncups.

We'll meet at 11AM at the South gate of Bernal Hill, which is near Anderson Street. I'll probably be hanging out by the water fountain.
Invite your friends, bring your kids. Dogs on leash are welcome.
Showers ok, steady rain cancels.

See you there!

This Sunday: Free University 'Class' and Art Project

2011-02-03T17:47:00.000-08:00

This Sunday I'm helping with a class (of sorts) for the Free University of San Francisco's first teach-in weekend. I'll be assisting Sharon Beals, who is an awesome nature/wildlife photographer, and Martin Holder, who also works in restoration. The class is called "Restoring San Francisco's Urban Wildlands", so we'll show a bunch of pretty pictures of plants, animals, landscapes, people, and hopefully some maps from your favorite GIS nerd. There will be a lot of discussion so bring your piercing questions.

Did I mention that the Free University is free? And that we're all instructors if we have something to share? I'm stoked.

The class will be at 9AM Sunday morning, downstairs at Viracocha (998 Valencia St). See you there!

Later that day I'm participating in a nifty art show (who'da thunk it?) put together by the Revel Art Collective. I participated in the Fun-A-Day project in January by eating weeds every day and documenting that fun activity by preserving samples of each species in solutions of varying toxicity .... Yes, I like chemistry, too. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I'll try to post some soon. Oxalis is way prettier when you turn it clear or something akin to blue.

Here's a brief statement about the piece: During January I responsibly harvested invasive plants so that I could eat them. I took a sample of each plant and submerged it in 3 solutions of varying toxicity to alter the chlorophyll of the plants. I enjoyed watching the plants break down and change colors over the course of the month. There's also something satisfying about about leaving these previously edible samples as toxic and damaging to individual creatures as they are to entire urban habitat fragments. These 3 bottles hold about ten species each, just a small sampling of the invasives encroaching on local open space.

And just to make this a little more disjointed, I saw two very cool wild animals today. The first was a beautiful male coyote at Twin Peaks. He hung out at a safe distance for ages and was appropriately concerned about our presence but still very observable. Much to my co-workers' surprise, this was my very first coyote siting in SF. All these years of seeing elusive brush rabbits and way more snakes than anyone I know, I've been longing to see a coyote. Speaking of elusive hoppers, I had the great fortune of seeing a brush rabbit in our office parking lot today (Golden Gate Park), which according to a fellow gardener has been around for about a year, but was presumed dead after a long spell of no sightings. Cutest butt ever. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of them either.

Finally, wildflowers are starting. Star lily open at Bernal so I want to do a walk asap. Probably next Sunday. More on that later.

First Day

2010-12-12T08:19:00.000-08:00

So what happened to the rest of my Summer and Fall?
Long story, but here goes:
When I left San Francisco in July I had just applied to take a civil service test for a gardener position in San Francisco. I've done a lot of work with the Natural Areas Program of Rec and Park. I even came back to SF from London to do my Master's research with the group.

I applied for the test, but went about my summer return to the South knowing that the process could be long or even exclude me. It took a while to find a place that would train me for GIS work in the Gulf ... and as soon as I found one, I learned that I'd get to take the civil service test. So I headed to see some family and catch Amtrak back to San Francisco.

So GIS in Mobile did not happen, unfortunately.

My Amtrak journey was long but enjoyable. I met some amazing folks, including two fun guys who continued to be my friend even after I slammed Starbucks, where it happens one of them has worked for ages. Whoops. Our queer camaraderie lasted from the downed tree on the tracks in an Iowa storm all the way to Salt Lake City, where my new friends departed. At which point I met a fellow geographer headed to Davis for a conference. Davis is very close to San Francisco so this got me through to the end of my journey. I like Amtrak. You should take it some time.

I got back to SF to find that the test was a week later than expected so I took my bike plus a bus or two up to the Russian River to study for a week. It's not like I had anywhere to live in San Francisco, so my escape to fellow Compactors John and Rob's place in Cazadero meant my own bed as much as a place to study. I biked the Russian River as usual. It was a stunning return to California, filled with a lot of confusion about where I actually lived at this point... And about where Blake actually lived (Phoenix, yuck)... and about where our darling cats lived (boarding in a private home).

Soon it was the end of August, test time. I took the test and started a long house sitting job at Pooches' Playtime, where I worked for about 7 years previously. The dogs provided a great distraction from the fact that I had no place to live when the gig was complete ... At which point I moved in with a friend, who also runs a dog boarding facility in her home. I spent 3 weeks at Brandy's as I continued my quest for decent housing for myself and the best cats ever. Somewhere in this time I found out that I did well enough on the civil service test to get on an eligible list. Sometimes it's good news to be on a government list?

It was an excruciating housing search, which I refuse to think about because living it once was enough. I'm pretty sure I'll never use craigslist again because every time I see the blue and purple's of those pages I feel panicked! In October I found a decent but very very loud room. The cats and I moved in but got an amazing offer just two days later so we moved out. I forfeited the month's rent and apologized profusely to the two housemates at the first place.

I have very happily landed in an amazing home in Bernal Heights. A few days after moving in, I knew something was wrong with Quivus, my 12 year old cat. Cancer, the terminal kind no matter what you do ... even though I caught it early. Crushing.

I had a few weeks to adjust to this news before I was asked to apply for a gardener's position for the Recreation and Parks Department, which I did. Then the hardcore fretting began: Will I get an interview? Thank goodness I had the dog walking to distract me, and a new house to clean up, and my sweet cats.

Long story short, I got an interview. This caused me to drag my nonconformist body to Macy's, where I bought brand new, fancy clothes for the first time in forever. I absolutely hated the entire experience. I think it might have been worse than the actual interview. The awful Christmas music really put it over the top. (I love good Christmas music, btw.)

I did well enough at the interview and yesterday was my first day as a full time staff member for the Natural Areas Program. It's too exciting to really describe, but suffice to say that I've wanted this for a long time. I signed the paperwork on my 30th birthday (which lead to me mis-dating a slew of signatures). Ending an 18 month job search with the job I've wanted most all along is quite rewarding. Spending my first day installing new plants with dedicated volunteers in the Oak Woodlands of Golden Gate Park was great fun. Preparing a presentation on GIS stuff for Friday was somehow more fun than when I was trying to do it for a contract. Even when the office computer turned off in the middle of my work, I was less than frustrated. I'm thinking that tolerance of machine failure will wear off quickly, but I hope the excitement and enthusiasm stick.

Though the oncologist thought Quivus would be gone by now, she's still enjoying life. She's got several channels of "bird TV", which are actually windows with birds outside. And she goes outside with me daily. I know I'm going to lose her soon, but I'm grateful that she's here to share my joy right now. I'll admit, I've ditched the Compact where it concerns Quivus. I've bought her two new beds (one was made of recycled soda bottles if that's any consolation), countless toys, catnip seeds, and anything else I've thought might bring her joy.

But I'm keeping it real with Christmas. No gifting as usual. Luckily my family and friends still get my aversion to gifting, so it's easy to abstain. Plus, I've got so much now, how could I ask for anything?

GIS in Mobile? + the Southern Coastal Cities/Mountains Tour

2010-08-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

Looks like I might have found a place to volunteer some GIS and GPS skills in Alabama. I've signed up for a training this Friday so I'm hoping there will be space for an out of towner. The form said you have to be willing to monitor the coast at least 2x/week for at least 2 weeks of at least one month. I can do that! I would hope to do more than 2x/week, but I'm guessing there might be limited GPS unit availability. But perhaps I can help other teams since I know the software very well.

I have my fingers crossed!

Last week Blake and I took a bit of a Southern (Coastal) Cities Tour. We went from Atlanta to Savannah to Cumberland Island to Charleston to Asheville back to north Georgia ... in 5 days. If you knew us back in the Georgia days, then you probably know we hit a few of these cities as teens, in typical whirlwind fashion. This time was a little different because we did not sleep in the car or in a Waffle House or on a beach as we did as teens. Instead we camped or hosteled, which was barely a step up considering how insanely hot it was along the coast. Asheville was a much needed respite by Friday.

Our trip to Cumberland Island was HOT and yet very worth it. We saw the feral horses, a baby coachwhip (snake), armadillos, lizards galore, fish in the sea, vultures, laughing gulls (hilarious), other shore birds, and more. The stallion to the right gave us a start when he charged behind us to reunite with his herd. I swear we kept our distance but he was perturbed by our presence between himself and the others.

We heard the effects of the recession in the preponderance of southern voices in the campground. I broke the Compact in New Orleans to buy a shirt with a distorted BP logo below the letters "FUBP". While wearing this shirt in the Cumberland shower area I obscured those letters with a handkerchief, inspiring a woman to call me out: "You're brave to wear that shirt".
"Why", I asked, completely unaware that she couldn't see the "FUBP", thus assuming she didn't like the intimation of swearing around her daughter, whom I'd been chatting with about the beach.
Nope, this lady took issue with me supporting BP in "this pristine place". Oh! I whipped away the handkerchief and we both laughed in solidarity. It was really funny. I admired this lady for speaking her mind when she thought I was trying to have BP's back. How backward would it have been to see a BP logo trotted out to Cumberland (which I would not call pristine in any sense but admit is a treasure)? It was also just hilarious to be momentarily mistaken for an oil giant advocate.

Did I mention how hot it was in South Georgia? Crap it was hot. Driving away from Cumberland we crossed the zillion rivers draining the piedmont and plain, rolling over bridges nearly every mile with marshy swamps below the highway. It's a beautiful, bug ridden place. Looking east as we headed back toward Savannah I caught sight of an alligator basking on a sandy spit into one of those many rivers. First wild 'gator I've ever seen. I wasn't sad to have been in the car at that moment.

In Charleston that night we crashed at a place called the "notso hostel". I'm not going to validate that name ... I was unimpressed. That said, we got some delicious vegetarian food and the server hooked us up with some burn gel to soothe our sunburns since there wasn't a drug store in the neighborhood. So sweet. We sweat through a third night and headed to Asheville early the next morning. Oh, but not before we got our first good cup of coffee in days and this ridiculously delicious biscuity-scone-shaped breakfast bite stuffed with sundried tomatoes and pesto. I want more.

In Asheville we found an amazing co-op grocery store where we stocked up on food and sat down for lunch in some shade. It wasn't hot as hell in Asheville! Hurray for mountains. Our destination was not the city, though. After lunch we dashed another 30 minutes northwest of the city to Long Branch Environmental Education Center, where we stayed the night. A few months ago I was in touch with Paul, who runs Long Branch, about doing an internship there. I'm still interested so we wanted to see the place in person. Blake and I took a self guided tour through the planted areas, the trout pond, the camping platforms, and a long hike up to Chestnut Gap. It's a beautiful place. We picked blueberries galore and helped weed the plants as Paul quizzed me about particular weeds. That's one of my favorite games (Name That Plant) so I was in heaven. We finally got a cool night's sleep too!

Now I'm back in North Georgia at my parent's place, tending elderly animals, applying for jobs and volunteer stuff in the Gulf, and wondering if I should ever go back to San Francisco. For now I have my sights set on Mobile.

Family Time

2010-07-26T16:01:00.000-07:00

Blake and I got to Georgia on Wednesday night after a few days on Amtrak. I like Amtrak so much better than flying. So much.
Now I'm chilling in north Georgia at my parents' house. Well, chilling is probably an overstatement, though after Phoenix, Georgia is a relief. The frequent thunderstorms have cooled the air and provided some stellar clouds. So welcome after too many months with San Francisco's monotonous blanket of grey or blue, not much in between.

I've been on the phone/email all morning, still trying to find a way to volunteer in the Gulf. I'm not having much luck as of yet. I understand why organizations are reluctant to engage volunteers from out of town. I still hope that my skills and month-long, full time availability will make it worthwhile for some group.

Tomorrow Blake and I are heading to Savannah to do some camping on Cumberland Island. Coast to coast!

Until then, here are some pictures from Georgia. I've been doing a survey of butterflies, birds, and plants on my parent's place, which is 5 acres in northwest Georgia. My dad and I also went for a hike at his hunting club in Pickens County, which is northeast of our place in Bartow. Enjoy.

We've been hosing down the horses (Pepsi the grey, Sam the chestnut) at the hottest part of the day. They always take a good roll after.

Pepsi likes a good belly scratch when he rolls.

Little Brother finishing a good roll.

I believe this is a common fritillary in front of my parents' house.

I think this on is a pipevine swallowtail out the back of my parents' house.

Gregarious rabbit at Rocky Road hunting club in Pickens County, Georgia.

Amtrak and New Orleans

2010-07-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Amtrak in Texas and today in New Orleans, where we're stopped for the night.

Juarez, Mexico from Amtrak in El Paso, Texas.

Pecos River, Texas

Bench in New Orleans Garden District.

Hot Summer

2010-07-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

We did it. We moved. So glad it's over.
Now Blake and I are in Phoenix ... the summertime epicenter of unsustainable development. But wait, it's too hot to talk about how hot it is here. So I'll back up.

We got rid of a ton of stuff before we moved, mostly thanks to Freecycle. We moved my remaining stuff to a friend's garage and packed Blake's up for a long drive. After a not-so-final show down with our landlord, his wife, the property manager + assistant, we left SF in a giant truck around 10:30 am on Thursday.

Phoenix is too far for us to do in a day so we were bound for Joshua Tree instead. I love it there. It's incredible and restorative. It's also beyond the smog belt that molests everything east of LA to the Sierra. We got there well after dark, pulling into the south entrance to grab a spot at Cottonwood Springs for the night. After so much city living, the stars were a welcome change. Yeah, it was hot, but Joshua Tree is high enough to be cool at night, so we slept with the tent flaps open until the sun started peaking over the boulders at 6AM the next morning.

I woke up first, eager for a hike before the sun became oppressive. Blake surprised me by getting up with me, if a bit more slowly. I think after days of moving and driving we had lost a few brain cells. We couldn't decide on a trail head. I was staring off at a sign as we meandered across a freshly paved road, pitch black and reflecting morning heat back up at us. Thankfully paying attention, Blake grabbed my arm as I was about two paces from the face of a sizable snake (perhaps 80cm) who was crossing the road, head raised. I backed up, and kept backing, the old snake phobia taking over. We later decided the snake was likely a California Lyre, which was colored darkly grey with a dark head and patterned dorsal.

In San Francisco I've learned that I can use a camera to calm my fear of snakes by turning the encounter into an inquiry. So I headed back to the truck to get my camera. Unfortunately the damn thing was not working ... "zoom error". Without a camera, I suggested a different trailhead for the hike, trying to shake my fear. So we went to the Cottonwood Springs trailhead to do the Mastadon Loop. About 10 minutes into the hike we saw a small Rosy Boa (30 cm) crossing the trail, this time from a comfortable distance of about 3 meters.

We also saw desert hares, chipmunks, at least 5 species of lizard, quail, and other birds along the trail. The sun was climbing higher, our water was reaching the halfway point and we began our return trip with determined strides. Trudging through a sandy wash with about 25 minutes to go, we came to a narrow, shrub-lined pass. It didn't look inviting but there were rocks lined to the right, indicating that the trail (something easily lost in desert landscapes) did indeed proceed into that narrow line. I lead us briskly toward the vegetation where a rattlesnake lurched away to my left, shaking his creepy, aggressive warning as he coiled defensively. As soon as I saw the movement I backed well past Blake, who stayed more calm even during the prolonged rattling.

I needed another way through the trail, though Blake thought we could pass since we could hear the snake rattling and knew its position. No way. Not me. Luckily, we found a sparsely vegetation route around a set of boulders to get beyond the snake and back to the trail quickly. We stopped in the first shade because I really thought I might puke. Adrenaline is a funny thing. I couldn't really afford to get sick or dwell, it was getting hot out there. So we chilled out, and kept going, now with Blake in front and me frequently startling at the abundant trailside lizards.

I went into loud hiker mode, announcing our steps to wildlife with cheery phrases like: "We're coming and we love lizards." "Birds are amazing." "We like your home and we don't litter". Back at the camp I washed my face and arms with already hot water from a pump. Though the visitor's center offered no cold beverages, I found some relief in looking through the ranger's books to identify the snakes, which is how we came up with the Black Lyre, Rosy Boa, and possibly a Southwestern Speckeled Rattlesnake. Blake got a better look at the rattler and thought that one fit best. After looking up their ranges and habitat preferences in Joshua Tree, I think it's just as likely to have been a Western Diamondback, whichi likes thick vegetation and is common in the southern section of the park. Whatever, it was a Crotalus of some sort, made clear by that creepy rattle.

I wish I had pictures to share, but the camera was useless until yesterday. In Phoenix we went to a camera shop where I was told it would cost as much to fix the lens as to get a new point and shoot. I looked at a new, better camera, something I've wanted for a while. I couldn't bring myself to buy it though, so was we waited for a bus I tried my own version of camera repair. Certain that the lens was just out of place, I softly banged the little camera on the bus kiosk until the 'zoom error' was resolved. That's right, I fixed my camera by hitting it. I don't recommend you try it but in this case it worked. The little, internal periscope is working again and I have my point and shoot again!

I still haven't taken any pictures because Phoenix isn't all that photogenic. So far it seems like one massive strip mall/surface street parking lot after another. The best part of yesterday was a break Blake and I took from our long walk to the camerashop. We saw a ridiculous fountains tossing 3 streams of precious water into the baking air above a shallow pool. This was at a seemingly empty apartment complex so we took off our shoes and lounged with our feet in the fountain, trying to recover from obnoxious hangovers. Hangovers in the desert are so much worse.

We're leaving Phoenix tonight on Amtrak bound for New Orleans. We've got to sleep on the train for the next two nights, which won't be fun. Nonetheless I'm looking forward to the journey. We'll spend the entire day tomorrow crossing the east-west breadth of Texas. We've got some movies to watch. We've got a need to catch up on lost sleep. I anticipate lethargy. I'll take it over another mind numbing walk through desolate Phoenix parking lots. NOLA here we come.

Moving

2010-07-07T09:10:00.000-07:00

My best friend and I are moving out of our place, where we've (mostly) lived for the last 6+ years. Since I left for London in summer of 2008, this will be my 3rd move in two years. But it's the last one in or out of this mold hole in the Excelsior of San Francisco. I love my mold hole but it makes my asthma crazy and my landlord is the king of slumlords so it's time to go.

When I moved to London I left all housey things behind ... in the house where I sublet my room. Now Blake and I have to figure out what to do with so much house stuff. Table, chairs, couch, bookshelves ... the fact is these items weren't stellar when we got them used. Now they're much more used than before, with a nice infusion of kitty dander to make them all a bit less give-away-able. But we're trying.

Personally, I'm not keeping much from this house. I'm moving my stuff into a friend's garage and then heading to the South for the rest of the summer. I'm hoping to find some GIS or GPS (mapping) work or volunteer work around Mobile or another part of the Gulf. I'd love to work on that amazing NOAA map! I just finished a massive GIS/GPS contract so I'm hopeful that I can apply my skills toward the oil spill containment/ clean up efforts. Well, not too hopeful since it seems like a lock out down there in terms of jobs and volunteer work. It's surprising how little opportunity there is.

I'm going to try anyway. Blake and I are Amtraking to Georgia as of next Thursday. I'll be taking loads of pictures along the way ... another way to fill the time! If I can't actually help in the Gulf, then I'll at least spend a few days writing and posting images from there, maybe tinkering with online maps too. So expect some posts live from the Gulf of Mexico starting around July 26th.

Thanks Science

2010-06-21T16:42:00.000-07:00

Science has a good cluster of coverage on the oil disaster on it's website. Check it out here: http://news.sciencemag.org/oilspill/.

There's a ticker at the top called "By the Numbers". The number that sticks with me is the one stating that as of June 18th there were 120 EPA scientists, engineers, and contractors sampling air, water and sediment.

Anyone else underwhelmed?

Oil Spill Map

2010-06-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

If you're trying to follow the oil spill in the Gulf and are having a hard time dealing with the news coverage, I recommend this mapping tool provided by NOAA. As a geographer and GIS consultant, I'm happy to see a publicly accessible GIS for the oil spill. I've only spent a little time using it but I found it robust in terms of the breadth of the data and their interpretability. Gaps and limitations are noticeable but for such a large scale, I'm impressed.

One thing that struck me was how we have areas of heavily oiled marsh or beach, but somehow the National Marine Fisheries Service's Emergency Fishery Closure line is well outside those areas. Noticing that the line stays about the same distance from land, I'm guessing that the agency's jurisdiction begins at X nautical miles, before which some other agency (state?) is responsible. Does that seem plausible?

I don't eat animals, so I'm less interested in the "seafood" side of the oil spill. My interest is piqued though, especially since my best friend (also vegetarian) works at a local restaurant that serves shrimp flown in daily from the Gulf of Mexico. Ignoring that their sourcing is the epitome of unsustainable, it's worrisome to think that these shrimp come from the coast of west Louisiana, where the vendor says there has been no oil. But I look at this map and can see that there has been oil in the area. I can't see any indication of the dispersant's reach, but I imagine that if there are dead dolphins and sea turtles washing up on those west Louisiana beaches, that the shrimp aren't particularly safe.

On the one hand, we're worried about the economy the region, so we want to support any fishers who might be able to continue. On the other hand, a dead fishery is a dead fishery: Perhaps we should leave surviving critters alone. Perhaps not as there are reports that sea animals are crowding together, thus depleting oxygen in the water. Regardless, I can't imagine eating the critters from the area, at least not at the moment. Science Magazine reports that it currently takes 7 -10 days to determine levels of deadly oil derived compounds in seafood. Are we to assume that shrimpers are holding their stock while these tests are being done? Given that the restaurant in question flies the shrimp in daily, I'll guess that they are not tested.

Instead we're relying on experts to declare areas safe for fishing. I'd like to think that this is being done cautiously, but pressure to keep the regional economy going is evident. I guess I'm glad I don't have to wonder if my own food is dangerous because I don't eat animals, and even if I did, I wouldn't eat them from so far away. Perhaps the $20 billion escrow fund for affected parties will encourage fishers to test their stock to see if they can get compensation rather than continue fishing. Here's hoping.

Nature's Acres This Sunday!

2010-06-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

If you're in the Bay Area you should check out Nature's Acres for you plant needs! They don't have regular business hours at the moment, so this weekend's open house is a great opportunity. Otherwise, give them a ring to see when they're open. Great deals on native plants!

Nature’s Acres Nursery Sneak Peak Open House and Two for one native plant sale.

Free Birding and Nature Walks, Nursery Tour and Activities

When: Sunday June 13, 2010 10 am-5pm
Where 450 Sexton Road, Sebastapol, California (Directions below)

Join us as Nature’s Acres native plant nursery opens its doors to the public for the first time. In operation for just over two years, after much work our quarter acre lot is now bursting at the seams with robust native plants! We have to move lots of plants to make way for new inventory and are eager to have nature-loving visitors. Come on out for a day in the country and experience peak spring Nature’s Acres style.

The nursery grounds and surrounding property are bursting with a diversity plant with animal life. The area features good birding and nature observation. The property has a creek with a diverse riparian strip, overgrown orchards and patches of oak woodland. Josiah Clark and other SF naturalists will lead periodic excursions around the property throughout the day seeking out birds, butterflies reptiles, amphibians and of course plants too.
Among dozens of other songbirds present Tree and Violate Green Swallows, Western Bluebird and Ash-throated Flycatcher have all just fledged young from our nesting boxes and some are already re-nesting.
Our small pond is alive with tadpoles and newly morphed out Pacific –chorus froglets. Three species of snakes and two species of lizard are also a common find.
The pollinator beds are full of flowers and a great place to study and photograph native bees, butterflies and rarely seen insects.
In creek news, we just today recorded the first record of a salmon fingerling and a rare native freshwater shrimp!

More about Nature’s Acres
Started on an old organic apple orchard in 2008 by three childhood friends, Nature’s Acres intends to help fill the deficit of locally native plants in San Francisco and surrounding areas.
Creating wildlife habitat and breathing life into the urban landscape is at the heart of Nature’s Acres mission. We make special efforts to produce the native larval food plants for native butterflies and other pollinator species including the Coastal Greenhairstreak and Field Crescent.
Located in a commercial nursery hotspot, our operation is positioned to pump out large quantities of native plants at competitive prices.Nature’s Acres provides a wide range of native plants for the gardener, landscaper and habitat stewards alike.
Our collection areas range from Santa Cruz to Mendocino, though most of our stock is from San Francisco, the peninsula and Marin. Most San Francisco genetics have been collected from private gardens and vacant lots, and our operation prides itself on providing responsibly collected genetics from declining and locally important populations.
The nursery grounds are maintained as an experimental ecology life lab. We encourage and protect all native fauna on the nursery grounds. Through careful observations and with strong backs, we strive to be good stewards of the land increasing the habitat potential and carrying capacity of our acres and beyond.

Directions:
From 101 North take 116 West to the town of Sebastapol.
From downtown Sebastapol, follow the Bodega Hwy or 12 West about 10 mins.
Look for Sexton Road and take a left.
Drive about 500 yards and take the driveway at the mailbox 460 Sexton Road on your right. (The actual address is 460 though)
***Drive very slowly down driveway and across small creek. Park in or just outside nursery or inquire for parking options if necessary.
***The area is surrounded by private property so please respect our neighbors!***

Nearby Attractions and activities:
-Sebastapol Farmers Market,
-Luther Burbank Farm,
-scenic route home along Hwy 1 through Bodega Bay.
- Mellow biking and along nearby farm roads

Oil spill article gets tough on driving

2010-05-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

Check out this article on automobility and oil by Jason Henderson, a geography professor at San Francisco State University. Though I never took his classes, I know Jason from SFSU Geography and the cycling community. Once I decided to share my vegan gumbo with Jason, who's from New Orleans. When I asked what he thought of my effort he basically said that sausage and shrimp give gumbo flavor. Read his article for a similarly direct take on our driving habits.

Spill Massive Spill

2010-04-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

The BP oil spill off the Louisiana coast is absolutely devastating. I hope McCain, Palin, Chuck Norris et al are feeling the searing pain of shame for their unforgivably ignorant 'drill baby drill' campaign. It sounds like Obama might have felt some shame for lifting the moratorium on new offshore wells. He decided this morning to put it back in place - for now.

That summer 2008 campaign for offshore drilling - which never ended - included lies such as the assertion that there were no oil spills in the Gulf during Hurricane Katrina. Bullshit. Anyone with a search engine can debunk this lie. We hear endless cooing about the safety and technology of offshore drilling. We're told that oil spills are rare events. The meteor that took out the dinosaurs was rare too, so I'm thinking the endangered species of the Gulf Coast would prefer that we don't chance their lives in these unavoidable ways. I'm sure that the people working to conserve the wetlands of the Gulf are equally devastated and scared.

Though shrimping is very destructive business, I was thrilled to hear that 2 lawsuits have been filed on behalf of Gulf shrimpers. That is a cultural tradition in the area. Family businesses are likely to be ruined. I'm not concerned about the losses of big trawlers who operate on the same short sighted timescale as BP. Their unsustainable trawling would eventually kill the shrimp, other sea life, and the future of shrimping.

Trawlers shouldn't make money by destroying ecosystems and rare species like the Kemp ridley sea turtle. However, their economic influence is locally important and should be considered when weighing the risks of other capitalist crap shoots like off-shore drilling. As should the viability of small businesses dependent on the Mississippi River for shipping. The impacts of this spill will reach significantly farther than the Gulf Coast.

The argument for more oil is always economic, but these 'rare' events are not fucking worth the risk! We will never account for the losses in biodiversity. How will we monitor and financially account for wetland loss or delays in wetland restoration as relates to future storm buffering?

My family is planning a vacation in to weeks on Dauphin Island, which is 3 hours east of New Orleans in Alabama. I've been waiting to hear back about a really great job so my plans aren't firm. Oddly, I'm even more keen to go now that there might be a need for volunteers. I just signed up to get on the volunteer list with the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program. If you're in the area and know of good organizations to work with, or those which have upcoming trainings, please pass that info along.

What's in Your Garden?

2010-04-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

For many parts of the temperate world, it's time to plant a garden. Here in San Francisco, it's time to plant new things in our year round gardens. Last year my house mate planted corn, peppers, and brussel sprouts before I came back from London. Our summers are cold, so you need luck and heat to get corn and peppers. We had some scary looking mutant corn and no peppers or brussel sprouts.

Our garden failure was pretty interesting, and quite in line with our experimental approach to our patch of (rented) land. Corn is so adept at sucking up nutrients that it's used in restoration to address nutrient loaded soil after invasions of nitrogen fixing plants (ie, the brooms in California). I was learning that information last summer as I studied invasive French broom while clearly pointless corn languished in my dirt. Blake wanted to give it a chance so I only ripped out individual plants when it was obviously finished.

Given that we've been working that area of our garden (< 1mx3m) for about 4 years with no input to the sandy soil, I'm guessing the corn was also stressed by a lack of nutrients. After the corn, our soil looked pathetic. We chose to rest all of our vegetable areas over the winter, though we could have grown greens. Instead we opted to pick up some "organic compost" from the San Francisco's Public Utility Commission at a free event last fall. I applied about 20 gallons to about 5 square meters. I used it as a thick topical mulch to slow the emergence of weeds in the former corn patch (<3msq). I integrated the compost in the remaining area (>2msq) and sowed San Francisco natives from local seed that I collected from my own plants and samples from my field work.

I've kept weeds down by mowing this year rather than full removal to reduce disturbance. I've been leaving the herbaceous material behind as a further mulch as long as it's not in seed. The land turned out about 60 young natives and have already given away the 15 I grew in containers. I'm letting the rest get big, maybe even through next year so they can be planted during the rainy season. I've got about 20 Phacelia, 15 Horkelia, 8 Achillea (yarrow), 8 Juncus, 5 Eschscholzia (poppies), and more.

So all seems good in the garden ... until I heard that the "organic compost" might contain toxins. Turns out that the SFPUC sourced their compost inputs from 8 different counties, none of which use the same standards for their processing. In other words, standards in some counties do not remove heavy metals or icky shit (literally) like E. coli.
Ok, I'm not the most reactive person when it comes to toxins. I'm an asthmatic living in a city chock-full of car exhaust. I eat food that comes from the Valley, which I know was irrigated with water that is notoriously full of toxins (as in: If you fall in the canal you need a chemical shower ASAP). I forage in the city and along roadsides. I frequent dumpsters in search of food.

But I have yet to plant in the possibly toxic compost. My hella smart gardening friends, also of the non-reactive variety, suggest I plant something I can cook. I think they're right so I'm thinking beans and peas, nothing leafy. I guess the benefit is that these crops will fix even more nutrients ... though I'd kinda like to see some of the less than nutritious nutrients (the gross shit) taken up instead of fixed into the soil. I dunno.

Anyone have thoughts? I've also thought of just incorporating the weeds as they come up this year and leaving the land open. It seems like a waste though. And I have to hand mow the weeds every couple of weeks lest they go to seed at the moment. That will slow down when the rain stops. Any other suggestions? It's our sunniest spot so it's hard to watch it sit for what will end up being a full year if we plant nothing. And that will be two years of no yield since last year produced only mutant corn. What would you do? Keep in mind that one or both of us might move out of this place permanently in a few months so we need crops that fruit quickly.

Snake Season!

2010-04-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

Today I took a walk in Glen Canyon with my friend, Mira to look at wildflowers and wildlife. I was supposed to be in a meeting about GIS this afternoon but a last minute cancellation allowed me to take advantage of today's perfect weather. Ok, the fog's rolling in now but it was entirely gorgeous midday.

As soon as I got into the canyon I ran into another friend - Wait, she's the jogger so I guess she ran into me. I kept walking after our chat and saw some folks staring into a eucalyptus. I've seen that stare so I guessed owl and they confirmed. I had binoculars and still never saw it. Apparently it's in a nest so I'll have to try again.

Though we never saw the owl, Mira and I did see many beautiful flowers, birds, damselflies, and FIVE garter snakes. Holy cow it's snake season! I got pictures of two of them. Enjoy!

Number 4, edge of grassland adjacent to willow scrub

Also Number 4

Number 5, edge of willow scrub

Rain Date: Wildflower Walk This Saturday, 11AM

2010-04-12T16:13:00.000-07:00

The rain date for the walk is going to be this Saturday, April 17th at 11AM.
Meet at the water fountain by the South Gate. For more details, scroll down!

hope to see you there!

Wildflower Walk Saturday, April 17th at 11am on Bernal Hill

2010-04-06T18:03:00.000-07:00

Raindate: Saturday April 17th, 11 AM

If you're in the Bay Area you should join me this Sunday for a nature walk on Bernal Hill. I'll be walking and talking about flowers and landscapes. A few flower species have already gone from Bernal (star lily and most shooting stars) but there is plenty yet to see. We'll be looking at lupines, blue eyed grass, blue dicks, early yarrow, poppies, doug iris, tom cat clover and more.

Kids are welcome and I'll try to keep the first part of the walk on stroller friendly turf. Dogs on leash welcome.

We'll meet at the water fountain by the South Gate. If you're wondering where that's at, check out this map.

I'm doing this walk in collaboration with the flora friendly folk of Succulence, a new plant shop in Bernal. They'll be providing snacks in their amazing garden afterward so plan to stop in there if you can. Succulence is at 402 Cortland, behind my favorite video store, 4Star. They've got some CUTE plants and are getting equipped with canning supplies, seeds, and jams.

We'll be looking for birds too. I suddenly find I'm a bird nerd ... I used to be so confused by bird freaks but then I met a couple of rad twitchers on my master's course. I don't know how it happened but I am suddenly obsessed with birds, leading me to purchase two bird guides from a used bookstore by the Oakland courthouse yesterday. These days I carry my crappy binocs when I'm dog walking. Bernal's fantastic for red tailed hawks and kestrels. I also see a lot of hummingbirds on the northeast side.

Here are a few enticing pics I took at Bernal today.

Alligator lizard (Elgaria coerula) Thanks for the confirmation, Karin!

Cal buttercup (Ranunculus californica) with unknown larva, possibly a cabbage white per Karin (thanks!).

Checkerbloom (Sidalcea malvaeflora)

Italian rye grass (Lolium multiflorum) Not native but you can see here that it's flowering. You cannot discern the tiny purple flowers but we'll take a look on the walk. I dig grass.

?? Cal Brome (Bromus carinatus ssp. carinatus) I think. Also flowering. Brilliant yellow florets are striking agains this red grass. I love it.

Goldfields (Lasthenia californica) and yellow bush lupine (Lupinus arboreus)

Let's Talk about Amtrak

2010-03-31T21:55:00.000-07:00

I do my best to avoid air travel. I flew a lot for my master's: first from Atlanta to London, then round trip between London and Tenerife for a field study, then from London to San Francisco. These were the first flights I'd taken in two years, since I went to London and the Middle East in 2006. Those flights in 2006, the first year of the Compact, more than trashed all of my efforts to reduce my carbon footprint through reduced consumption and my regular cycling transit. I used more transit carbon than an average American that year just because I flew.

One factor not considered in those calculations is that I'm vegetarian. Meat accounts for far more carbon release than does transportation. I still don't want to fly. I'm not a big fan of the licensing effect that one step toward sustainability (such as cycling or eating veg) often produces. And I hate flying. Hate, hate, hate. Sometimes I'm the silently crying lady on the plane, who pries her hands from the arm rest to take more sedatives but is still somehow awake. Thank you, Fear.

So I try to use Amtrak. I loved parts of my journey to the Sierra last fall using Amtrak. So when my folks started planning a family vacation on the Gulf Coast in Alabama to celebrate their 35th anniversary, I started looking at Amtrak options. I don't get very far before I close my laptop in frustration.

I have many issues with Amtrak but here's a precise.
1. Its slow, average speed ~ 25mph.
2. Its not cheap, but it's slow!
3. Its website is full of stupid wizards. I love smart wizards, but stupid ones that can't figure out that if I want to leave from San Francisco I might also consider Oakland are unforgivable.
4. All points lead to Chicago but my life does not, ever. (IOW, the routes are insufficient)
5. The Sunset Limited is only 3 days per week!!! (IOW, the schedule is insufficient)
6. Local transit rarely connects Amtrak to National Parks. (Not really Amtrak's fault, I know.)
7. The pricing schemes are absurd given that the system is underutilized and otherwise deficient.

Grrrrrr! I miss UK travel options, but I'm working with a 25 mph train that rarely runs to effing nowhere. I don't just want to use Amtrak because flying is stupid and scary, I also think that Amtrak should work, and I'd enjoy seeing the landscape from the train.

If I have to fly, then I'm not going to Alabama for family vacation. No one else in my family takes issue with flying for carbon reasons. My mom hates traveling period, hence a trip fairly close to her Georgia home. Regional vacation is so reasonable! Too bad our family is half in SF, half in Georgia. My dad doesn't fly a ton, but that's not because of carbon. My sister and bro-in-law fly a lot and will fly for this trip, which adds some self-imposed pressure for me to make it. My family doesn't openly lament my unwillingness to fly, but it feels crappy to diss this trip. My dad even offered to help pay to get me there, which is another concern altogether. My sis' and bro in law will drive from NOLA so I'm hoping I can ride with them to 'Bama, but it's far from certain.

Today I called Amtrak because the stupid web wizards made me want to smash my computer. I had determined some dates, including a 2 night stop in Texas to visit Big Bend National Park (cuz the effing train only runs every 2 or 3 days). My back is still not happy after a dog walking injury in December, so sitting for 72 hours on a train will mean I can't walk during vacay. I gotta have a break so when I saw "Alpine, TX (Big Bend Nat’l Park)" on the Sunset Limited schedule dead in the middle of my journey, I though Amtrak was finally serving me well.

I recommend calling Amtrak if you really want to use it. (1800 USA RAIL) The phone operators are much more intuitive than the website and I didn't have to wait long. Soon after reaching a human I was convinced to reserve tickets that included my stop in Texas. You don't have to pay for 7 days, which is pretty cool. I'm really glad for this feature. If I'd bought the tickets during that call, then I'd have been even more annoyed when I discovered on the Big Bend website that Amtrak's quite far from the park and there's no transit to the park. It's like last fall's nightmare attempt to get into Sequoia Kings all over again.

Anyone live near the park and want to give me a lift? Or know if it's easy to hitch in and out from Amtrak? Or have a recommendation for another camping spot along the Texas portion of the Sunset Limited? Any other Amtrak advice? I'm so annoyed I'm (momentarily?) determined to make it work. Time to enjoy my under-employment with a little family vacation!

Wildflower Soul

2010-03-18T22:05:00.000-07:00

Today was something like my ideal day. I biked to the Bay to map sensitive plants, hit two other parks, and spent the rest of the afternoon tending my garden with my cats. If you don't live in the Bay Area, then maybe you're not having painfully beautiful weather. Today it was 70 degrees, sunny, and surprisingly still for March. It's been like this for days, and though I wear a hat, I'm sunburned.

I finished the invasive species mapping just in time to help with sensitive plant monitoring. It's a nice transition after months of tracking the diversity-destroying success of SF's worst weeds. I met Randy and Licia at India Basin, a shoreline park in southeast SF. We were looking for Sueda californica, a saltmarsh shrub that I've never met. We didn't find the darn thing at India Basin so I've still never seen it.

I'm definitely a plant freak but like most nature nerds I've also got a bit of a vernal high, which is potentitiated by stellar weather. Vernal high makes every flower exciting. Even tiny, less-than-showy flowers, like Saxifraga californica, our afternoon species. We found this little Saxifrage at Palou-Phelps and Billy Goat Hill, where we counted any inflorescence and took GPS points. I shared my familiarity with the GPS and Licia and Randy shared their bountiful knowledge of the flora. I love the details that Licia points out, which led me to search for S. californica pictures online so I could see how many stamens the flower has. I found an amazing Flickr page for flora pictures. Check out Saxifraga and others here.

Though I take crappy plant pictures, here's a sampling of wildflowers you can see in SF and on Angel Island, with locations. Click the pix for larger view. If you use GoogleEarth, I can email you a KML with placemarks of flower details for several SF parks (Bernal, Bayview, Twin Peaks, Glen Canyon, etc). Or follow this link to Google Maps. A real wildflower walk is better than a virtual wildflower walk. So go outside.

Shooting Star (Dodecatheon clevelandii, purple) and desert parsely (Lomatium caruifolium)
Photo at Bernal Hill, northwest slope, middle path. Bounty of shooting stars at Bernal right now!!!
Lomatium flowering in most grassland parks, particularly in wetter areas or on slopes.

Checkerbloom (Sidalcea malvaeflora) at Bernal.
Flowering in grassland parks. Prettiest at Twin Peaks where the shades of pink can get very dark.
Also nicely showing at Mount Davidson and Bayview.

Star Lily (Zigadenus fremontii) at Angel Island. Were also on Bernal but have already gone there.
Amazing show at Angel Island two springs post fire.

Mission Bells (Fritillaria affinis) at Angel Island.
Also looking lovely at Bayview Hill, north slope above the Mesa.

Douglas Iris (Iris douglasii) at Angel Island.
Also starting at Bernal (East Quarry), Twin Peaks (north stairs of north peak), Bayview (just east of radio tower)

?Varied color? Lupine (Lupinus variicolor) Definitely a lupine, though I'm not positive it's variicolor.
Photo at Bernal. Also up at Bayview, Twin Peaks, Glen Canyon, most other grasslands.

Footsteps of Spring (Sanicula arctopoides). First native wildflower to bloom. Going fast.
Pic at Bernal, also up at Bayview and Glen Canyon. Note the annual lupine (Lupinus nanus?) growing between the Footsteps' leaves!

Tomcat clover (Trifolium willdenovi) at Bernal. Cropping up in other grasslands slowly.

Goldfields (Lasthenia californica) Top is close up of the yellow flowers in bottom pic. Also Cal poppies in bottom.
Goldfields are in wetter areas of grasslands. Hard to miss if they're around. Bayview has the best assortment inside the radio tower.

Johnny Jump Up or Cal Golden Viola (Viola pedunculata) Larval food plant of the endangered Callipe Silverspot butterfly!
At Bernal, northwest slope. Bayview on south slope or rock outcrop on west grassland. Glen Canyon grassland. Castro Duncan Natural Area, too

Shooting star (Dodecatheon clevelandii) and Johnny Jump Up behind. Note the fruit of the shooting stars in the foreground: This one will be gone soon so see it asap. Bernal Hill. Small population at Billy Goat Hill. Already gone at Bayview.

How cool is this peachy colored Cal poppy (Eschscholzia californica)? Individual is about 20 meters up from Folsom entrance of Bernal on the north slope.

Cal Poppy (Escholzia californica) You can't miss them. Accented by Nasella pulchra, purple needle grass.

I believe this is also Nasella pulchra. I love flowering grasses! Wind pollination is so cool!

Blue Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum) Cal buttercup (Ranunculus californica) and checkerbloom (Sidalcea malvaeflora) on Bernal. You can catch most of these around the city at the mo'. Buttercups on their way out.

Blue Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum) on Bernal by Ellsworth steps. Nice spot for bunch grasses and wildflowers.

"Eating Animals" a Must Read

2010-02-22T17:14:00.000-08:00

If you haven't read Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer, you really should check it out. I've been vegetarian for about ten years, with periods of veganism or near veganism during that time. As a lover of non-human animals, I'd say I became vegetarian for animal rights reasons. I stay vegetarian because I love animals, but also because eating meat American-style makes zero ecological sense. This book, Eating Animals, really drove this point home for me, and also brought into focus issues of public health that I never truly understood.

My relationships with animals, farms, and meat have been diverse. I come from a family of hunters and have eaten fish and game such as deer, frog, rabbit, and turkey. I hunted and fished with my dad as a kid. Those experiences were instrumental in my development of a holistic land ethic. My grandpa raised about 350 head of cattle in Missouri on about 400 acres of pasture, which defined a lot of my mom's childhood and attitude toward food. He died in 1992, right around the time when my uncles on my dad's side started losing their hog and dairy farms to corporate agriculture. Guess who grows soy for hogs and cows these days. My parents met as workers at a restaurant corporation for which my dad still works. My older sister worked there. My five plus years working there as a teen surprisingly turned me into an anti-capitalist but not a solid vegetarian.

That came at eighteen or nineteen, depending on whether you mark time by attempts or purity. As I wasn't trying for asceticism, I usually say eighteen. I read The Jungle as a teen, Animal Liberation at twenty. I went to PETA conferences on veganism. I stickered supermarket turkeys with scary images and startling statements on Thanksgiving. I read Fast Food Nation, remembering that my entire family was wrapped up in this crazy drama of the American diet. I remembered my uncle Hank's nursing sows on their sides and trying to cuddle a runt that shit all over me. I remembered the distended udders of Holsteins at my aunt Gail's place, where I would later solidify my extremes for animals by using her sewing scissors to cut matts off of a border collie. (Not so cool with Aunt Gail, who is an amazing quilter.) I owned my relationships to meat for years, occasionally pissing people off at dinner or holidays, but always feeling honest.

Then I kinda became one of those vegetarians who tells herself she doesn't have to think about meat consumption because she's not part of it. My friends and family were probably stoked, and it was certainly easier. I allowed myself what Foer refers to as "forgetting". I let myself be as divorced from the impacts of American-style meat as a typical American. I felt a little less pain than I did in the days of my early twenties when I routinely stated that I didn't "eat carcass". I didn't watch films like Food Inc and I never read Omnivore's Delimma because, for me at least, there is no dilemma. I knew where I stood.

I hate being bombarded with the horrors of factory farming. I'm very sympathetic toward animals, as anyone who knows me would verify. I had many companion animals as a kid, and my dad always protected my sensitivity when we had to euthanize a beloved family animal. That was the right thing to do, and though I've matured, I can't really digest the horrors of factory farming. I regurgitate in tears and sobs that might make you consider whether I'm a reasonable advocate for a sensible diet or just an animal rights extremist. So I don't watch movies about food. I don't read articles or books exposing factory farming. A lot of it feels like disaster porn. I don't really empathize with a director who tells me to give a shit about individual animals while displaying the horrors of their treatment, the indignity of their individual lives. I say that knowing that some people really need to see that shit. People in denial need to own the violence of their food. But I'll say that I can be an advocate without those images, so I don't watch films on food.

But a few months ago I started seeing reviews of Eating Animals that piqued my interest. There were enough articles to convince me to request the book from the SF Public Library, where the hold list was about 50 people long. I finally got the book 3 weeks ago, which turned out to be right around the time I'd convinced myself that I was ready to read it with an open mind. And I'm really glad I did. I read it slowly over my three week loan period, in part because bits were painful, and in part because bits were too beautiful not to savor.

I don't really know what to tell you to compel you to read the book, except that it reminded me to be honest about food. Foer wrote openly about factory farming without relying on the cheap horrors of the industry to engage his readers. Instead he emphasized reason and intention, which resonate much more deeply with me. He drew an honest picture of modern "farming", one that discredits our fanciful images of farms like my grandfather's, which are not the ones that feed us today. Foer drew a global, holistic picture of farming, emphasizing ecology but also raising issues of equity, worker's rights, and public health.

Frankly, Eating Animals, is the best book I've read in years. I can't wait until I can find it used so I can have a copy in my personal library. I resisted my inclination to underline or annotate the SF Public Library's copy, but will enjoy doing so when I can read my own copy some day.

Finding Flowers and Mapping Weeds

2010-02-12T00:07:00.000-08:00

I took a bit of a winter break from the posting but am finding renewed energy as the days get a bit longer. I couldn't bring myself to write another piece on the woes of Christmas consumerism .... It happened. I saw it. I didn't engage so why should I have to talk about it?

In lieu of shopping I've been out in the parks as always. It's been very exciting to see the first native wildflowers germinate, bud, and bloom.

This is a Johnny Jump-Up (Viola pedunculata) on Bayview Hill on Jan 10 2010. It's the first one I've seen anywhere in the city.
This is a partial list from Bernal Hill, where I walk dogs. I spend enough time there to see phenology at work. In order of their appearance:

Footsteps of Spring (Sanicula arctopoides)
First flower: Jan 5 2010
Full Bloom: Jan 30 2010

Lomatium caruifolium
First Flower: ~ Jan 12 2010
Full Bloom: Feb 5 2010

California Buttercup (Ranunculus californica)
First Flower: ~ Jan 18 2010
Full Bloom: ???

Star lily (Zigadenus fremontii)
First Flower: Feb 9 2010

Shooting Star (Dodecatheon clevelandii)
First Flower: Feb 9 2010

Also blooming are the more subtle Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia) and a weedy native, Cardamine oligosperma. Some other plants have germinated but are waiting to flower.

I collected a bunch of seed off of my plants and any samples I took in the field over the summer. I planted those a couple of months ago in my backyard and in containers. I've got about 15 lomatiums, 12 lupines, 2 columbines, 25 phacelia, and hopefully some yarrow and grindelia yet to come. I had more but a massive snail attack decimated my stock. That's what I get for moving the nursery into the garden to shelter through a storm! I'm giving them away so if you're in SF and need some outdoor plants, lemme know.

Lots of invasives are coming in as well. This puts my mapping contract back in high gear as I plot Oxalis pes caprae on a nifty handheld GPS in 3 parks across SF. I've seen my friend the Twin Peaks brush rabbit twice in the past week, bringing my total sightings to 3 in 7 months, which is pretty stellar considering folks thought they'd been extirpated.

When I'm not mapping weeds I'm eating them. Don't forget the invasive species diet! I saw "dandelion greens" for sale at the grocery store today and laughed outloud. I just pick them myself and add them to salad. Toss radish flowers on top and it looks quite pretty. I don't pick the Miner's Lettuce b/c it's native. But I do eat a lot of the mustard greens that are quite tender and tasty at the moment. Oxalis is also called sour grass, very yummy! I find that eating invasives gives me a chance to enjoy them, unlike when I map them with plain resentment and muddled anxiety.

In addition to eating invasives, I've been exploring a bit of herbalism. Mostly I've been reading about controlling my asthma, which kicked off hardcore about a month ago. My flat got a bit moldy when the rains came. I've never had asthma like this but I'm happy to say I'm finally getting some relief with a combination of herbs and western meds.

As it happens, my incredibly vivacious grindelia plant will come to new use this year as I dry the gummy buds for lung healing tinctures. A good friend told me to try it, which I did after about a week of ho humming about how I'd wait until I could make my own. Alas, this one is a very late bloomer so I bought a tincture. While I was at Rainbow I grabbed some Osha on the same friend's recommendation. As I've heard it, Osha translates to "bear root" in a local/regional indigenous language. Bears would eat it when they came out of hibernation to help expel their mucus. Lemme tell you, bears are hardcore. That shit inspires severe fit of coughing, but productive coughing. I'm using invasives for my asthma too. I snag eucalyptus leaves to boil so I can breathe the fumes and drink a bit of the oil. If you're thinking, "yuck" you're right.

I'll Let George Monbiot Say It for Me

2009-12-18T22:15:00.000-08:00

I've been following COP15, though I cynically put very little faith in the process. I guess I can't be too disappointed then with the current state of things.
This piece by George Monbiot captures the gist of it.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/12/18-11

Climate Justice Actions on November 30th

2009-11-08T11:33:00.000-08:00

Save the date: There will be climate justice actions on Monday, November 30th across the US to apply some pre-Copenhagen pressure. In San Francisco we'll meet at 11:30 at Justin Herman Plaza. The actions will move to other locations in the financial district, targeting financial and energy corporations lobbying at Copenhagen (COP15). We've researched the players and a local list is forthcoming, emphasizing COP15 players engaged in carbon trading and carbon intensive capitalism. In other words, the banks and energy companies that are making money off of changing the climate.

One of the messages of these actions is "Our climate is not your business". We want to let these companies know that profiting off of climate change (by selling carbon futures or dirty energy sources) is abhorrent. We want to make people aware of the dangerous actions of these corporations, and their efforts to lobby at COP15.

If you know anything about the Compact then you know that I do think that personal lifestyles matter in conservation and sustainability. There's a lot of debate about whether our municipal consumption is relevant when we know that agriculture uses most water and industry most energy. I say they both matter. I spend a lot of time tweaking my personal consumption because I recognize my own power to either accept the gluttonous lifestyles pushed by corporate capitalism or to participate in solutions. But I also want to apply direct pressure to the corporations and institutions profiting from these lifestyles.

Sure, we can make sustainable choices in some areas of our lives. But can you choose to hook up to a wind powered grid over a coal powered grid? Can everyone afford sustainable choices? Hell no. If you've ever bought organic produce or recycled toilet paper then you know what I'm talking about. Not everyone can make these choices, and even if we did, it our personal options won't solve all of our problems.

So I hope you can find an action near you. I'll post more about the SF actions when we have details. Join us on your lunch break if you can't take the whole day off. And be in touch if you want to help with organizing or outreach.

Climate Actions This Saturday, October 24th

2009-10-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

You've probably heard about the global day of climate actions taking place this Saturday, October 24th. Organizers are pushing the 350 ppm theme. 350 refers to the amount of carbon dioxide we can afford to have in the atmosphere. We're around 390 and desperately need to reduce that level to 350 in a very short time period. We can absolutely do this, given there is political will. Ahead of December talks in Copenhagen, we need to push the powerful into accepting this reality.

As one who often feels discouraged by a lack of action on this issue in the US, I'm eager to see how this mobilization plays out. In SF I'll be joining a bike ride tracing future sea level. There are several other events here, including a walk for farm animals and your typical rally. There are actions all over, some of which are coordinated through this website. There might be others that are not affiliated with this group. Find one near you.

Also worth noting is the Great Climate Swoop that took place this week at the Ratcliffe coal fired power station in the UK Midlands. Props to that energetic and clever crew. I definitely miss that dedicated attention to climate change.

Into Sequoia

2009-10-19T11:22:00.000-07:00

After the fieldtrips I got into Sequoia National Park with some new found friends. We camped at Potwisha, highly recommended by locals we met at the conference. Conveniently, a star gazing talk started right next to our site! Presented by a park staff member with the fanciest laser pointer ever, this talk was a great reminder of another way to love nature. Flood lights at the KOA had obscured any stars peeking through the cluttered atmosphere in Visalia, but the dark in Sequoia gave the stars ample opportunity to shine, twinkle, and even shoot. We had ascended above the smog, which we learned had been accentuated by a 300-ish acre fire in Sequoia NP. We saw constellations, Jupiter, and the Milky Way, talked of myths and legends, and breathed a little deeper. Crossing the road later for more open sky, my posse saw a fairly massive mule deer before we lay back on the ground for more star gazing with water rushing below and critters noisily creeping in the woods.

Nature is restorative ... for me and many others. I slept well and awoke feeling fresh and smiley. One friend took off that morning, leaving 4 of us to explore the park. We drove through the Great Forest, admiring the massive Sequoia's, which adeptly shade the forest beyond the capacity of my point and shoot camera. At the Lodgepole visitor's center park staff confirmed that the Lakes Trail is a great choice, calling it "the best trail in the park". It's worth mentioning that park staff and locals in the Southern Sierra/Tulare County always steered us right on this trip. We were pressed for time and got the best advice!

We drove on up to 7,000 feet to park at Wolverton. After a snack we set out to see as many of the lakes as we could manage in a day hike. I've never hiked at such high elevation and was immediately getting my ass kicked. At times the dry trail required us to walk fairly far apart lest we inhale loads of dust. With an experienced marathoner leading the way, I felt less than fit but was truly enjoying the area. We couldn't have been going for more than 20 minutes when we saw a black bear, the first wild bear I've ever seen.

He hung about for ages, gnawing on sugar pine cones downslope. We took loads of pictures and gawked as he climbed the slope in our direction, crossed the trail and sniffed for more food. As resolute lovers of wildlife, we stood still and quiet as he started to walk toward us, perhaps curiously. Eventually, when he was about 30 feet from us, Price wisely, loudly said, "That's enough". Relief and disappointment mixed with persistent wonder and eagerness.

Seeing the bear so early in the hike made the shallow, dust-laden breaths worthwhile. Besides charismatic megafauna, there were hawks and other birds overhead, swift chipmunks, and the occasional lizard. Lichens, mosses, downed trees and fungus brought amazing color to the forest. Bits of melting snow remained in evidence of the elevation. Again, my camera, particularly when combined with my skills, doesn't do the scene justice.

We climbed beyond the dusty trails of the denser forest into an area dominated by granite outcrops and boulders. Boldly colored lichens grasped the granite and sparse conifers made the trail evident ... until we reached a spot that was just rock. We hiked to a terminus over-looking a long valley. I sat on the firmest looking boulder I could find and waited while my new friends looked for the trail. Much to my relief, we had missed a turn on the way to the Watchtower, which we reached soon thereafter.
Without trees to abbreviate the horizon, I had a bit of vertigo hiking along this overlook. Luckily the hike leveled out a bit along this rocky section of trail. I'm not great with heights but I got through this pretty well, maybe because I had no spare oxygen for anxiety. The views were expansive, stunning. Trees in the valley below looked so small and lichens colored the granite.

Field Trip to Atwell Island and Kaweah Oaks Preserve

2009-10-17T11:36:00.000-07:00

As part of the California Invasive Plant Council Symposium I went on a field trip to Atwell Island, owned by the Bureau of Land Management, and the Kaweah Oaks Preserve, owned by the Sequoia Riverlands Trust. Both of these sites are in Tulare County, west of the Sierra between Fresno and Bakersfield in the Valley.

Given that Atwell Island is in a very dry area, even for the Valley, you might wonder how it got its name. The site was once part of Tulare Lake, an important wetland for birds, fish, and other wildlife. As part of the Pacific Flyway, Tulare Lake offered migrating birds a needed respite on their journey over the Valley. Management today aims to restore critical habitat for the San Joaquin kit fox, the Tipton kangaroo rat, the blunt-nosed leopard lizard, and one other lizard that I can't remember.

The area has changed dramatically since the reign of Tulare Lake, which was drained for agricultural use like many wetlands. Water diversions are used for irrigation, timing and directing the release of water to suit water-sucking crops such as cotton and alfalfa. Deep wells have also been sunk to extract groundwater, causing subsidence as well as ensuring that there is no water lingering at the surface in this former wetland. Irrigation methods leave much of the soil laden with salt, eventually driving them out of productivity.

The Atwell Island project reclaims retired farmland for restoration of critical habitat. Our tour of the site was amazingly instructive, particularly if you are interested in the intersection of agriculture and conservation. The land managers cannot convert all of the site at once, in part because they don't have enough seed to propagate native plants on all 7,000 acres at once. So they move slowly, converting about 400 acres per year at the moment. So there are still many fields with crops, such as alfalfa. They also used timed grazing to keep shrub density at a level that is suitable for the small focal species, which need a fair bit of bare ground (a common feature of desert habitat).

One of the coolest things about exploring the shrubs was finding a correlation between their genera and those found in salt marsh. Though the Atwell Island shrubs are in a very dry environment, they share with salt marsh plants a high tolerance of salt. I met these genera (Sueda, Atriplex) last fall in salt marshes in the Norfolk Broads. Seeing new species of them in a completely different environment was incredibly cool (despite the hot, dusty day).

I was really impressed by the whole project, especially when I heard about the efforts to reach out to the local community. The project has resulted in the hiring of a teacher through the summer months to work with local kids on science and environmental education. The use of grazing retains a culturally relevant use of the land, often important in generating local support. The development of a wetland site will create an amazing opportunity for local people to enjoy local and migratory wildlife, as well as a spot that isn't perpetually dry and dusty. I can't wait to go back when they have more of that element in place.

The Kaweah Oaks Preserve is a 320 acre gem of oak woodland, open pasture, and riparian habitat. In contrast to Atwell, a non-profit owns and manages the preserve, employing grazing and fire to maintain habitat values. Here the bedrock is much closer to the surface, keeping the water table higher. This has allowed the persistence of the oaks and riparian plant-life. The rarity of this habitat in the area makes it all the more important to the local wildlife.

Our tour explored the use of herbicide and biocontrol to manage invasive plant species. I felt like I learned a great deal about biocontrol, though I'm still not an advocate. I was stoked to hear that most efforts employed prescribed burns and timed grazing. Again the management kept a culturally relevant activity on the land, and the manager clearly had a great relationship with the farmer.

We saw some really amazing grasses, including clonal perennials and saltgrass. The latter has visible salt crystals on the blades, enticing grazers and eliminating the need for a manufactured salt lick. The shade of the oak groves gave us a fantastic break from the sun and dust as well as a chance to hear some really loud, persistent birds. We saw a migration of turkey vultures overhead, at least 25 of them soaring on thermal gusts very high in the sky. In the mix was a red-tail hawk according to the clever birders carrying binoculars.

This preserve is open to the public and I recommend it if you're in the area. Check the website for details. The land manager was really helpful after the tour when we asked him about getting into Sequoia National Park. He recommended the Lakes Trail, which we hiked on Sunday. It was a great call, backed up by park staff at the visitors center, who called it "the best trail in the park". I'll put pix up from that hike in a day or so.

Dispatch from the ... Rain?

2009-10-13T16:51:00.000-07:00

Oddly, it's pouring today in San Francisco and many other areas of California. After spending several dusty days in the San Joaquin Valley and the Sierra, I'm pretty stoked to see this early season rain outside my window. I can't help but analyze it from the weed worker's perspective, hoping it's a solitary event that will be followed by several warm, dry weeks. That might crash some of the invasive annuals that will sprout in the coming days. However, as this is a heavy rain and we had a small one in September, they might be getting a boost.

Returning to the dust, things got better in Visalia about 2 hours after I wrote the last post so I'm going to back way up and spend a couple of days writing about this trip. I'll start with traveling from the Bay to Tulare County and get to Sequoia in a few days. Stay tuned for some pretty pix of the trees, lichens, lakes, and even bears.

I caught Amtrak in Oakland around 10AM on Wednesday with my bike and camping gear. The ride north along the east side of the bay offered fantastic views from the seats upstairs. I saw a coyote, squirrels, and waterfowl as we chugged past open water and salt marsh. Between fragments of beautiful bay habitat were large factories poised to take advantage of the harbor and railroad. Though most appeared purposefully nameless, I recognized the ever-polluting Chevron refinery and a PGE power station. Only a sugar factory had the temerity to associate its name and logo with its old industrial building and accompanying emissions.

When the train entered the valley the scenery became less enchanting. Agriculture replaced wetlands. Smog blurred the horizon in all directions, erasing topographical features in its apocalyptic haze.

I got off the train in Hanford to ride 15 miles to a KOA camp in Goshen. Large trucks losing dusty silage roared past in the opposite direction, washing me with debris and dangerous gusts. The flatness of the road hardly compensated for the fast traffic, dirty air, and rough shoulder. At least it wasn't hot!

Arriving at the KOA camp nearly 2 hours later was a relief. As I propped up my bike to go into the office a woman on a bike with cheerful purple and white streamers rolled up. We started talking and by the time I had registered we realized that we were both going to the Cal IPC conference. I deposited all of my gear in Beth's car and we rode toward Visalia to get some dinner and what turned out to be margaritas the size of a baby's head. I was so lucky to meet Beth at the campground. We were able to cycle back from the conference together each night, which made the dark, 8 mile journey a lot easier to travel. Especially when you add in all 3 flat tires between the 2 of us. I'd point out that both of Beth's were caused by puncture vine, as though the invasive plant knew we were in town to discuss the eradication of pesky plants. Seriously, how crazy is that?

Dispatch from the Smog

2009-10-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

I'm in the valley. I'm really close to the Sierra, but cannot see it. The horizon is smog in all directions. It's gross. I've almost given up on going to Sequoia, as the air quality really makes cycling more difficult here. It's flat as a pancake in Visalia but my throat and lungs are not stoked. It's also easier to give up on going to the mountains when you can't see them. Maybe they're not there.

I presented my paper yesterday, and was a little off my game. Oh well. I've actually never been that nervous before a presentation. I'm usually quite comfortable with public speaking. Again, oh well. Frankly, I don't think folks are super interested in my research if their attraction to my fabulously beautiful poster is any indication. Most of the symposium is based in biology, which I find really instructive as my work really isn't biology. And nearly everyone is working on big big sites, projects, parks, etc. So my urban research is a bit niche. All the more reason to share though, I think. The student chapter of Cal IPC is pretty rad, too. Definitely the most useful bits for me have come from their end.

Still, I got some nice feedback and have learned new things. Unfortunately I missed the climate change session this morning. Oh, Murphy's Law. I hit something on the bike path last night, which meant that I had a flat when I woke up. I loaned out my hand pump recently and the person who borrowed it happened to break it. So try as I might, I could not get enough air in to my tire. So I had to walk my bike 8 mile from the KAO camp to a bike shop in Visalia. Amazingly no fewer than NINE cyclists passed me on the path, none of whom offered assistance. One who I encountered at a light, actually would not let me use the pump that was clearly attached to his frame. Needless to say, I do not love Visalia.

However, as I walked through town, a friendly cyclist saw me and stopped. I was only a couple of blocks from a shop at this point so I walked on with his directions. Although the mechanic was not in at Wilson's Cyclery, I liked the place. I had to go to Sierra Bicycle Werks eventually. I needed a mechanic because the wheel was clearly damaged when I hit this weird protrusion on the bike path. I would have seen a mechanic today whether I could have pumped the tire or not, basically. The service was fast, friendly enough, and affordable. I'd recommend either spot if you need bike help in Visalia.

On that note, while I do not like Visalia, I do like the KOA. The owners are very nice folks! So if you're passing through, it's friendly, safe, and clean. Except the air, but you can't blame Linda and her husband for that.

Off to Visalia and Sequoia NP!

2009-10-07T07:19:00.000-07:00

I'm about to head to BART with my bike for my trip to the California Invasive Plant Council Symposium in Visalia. I'll go to Oakland to catch Amtrak. I'm taking that to Hanford, where I'll get off to ride 15 miles to a KOA camp in west Visalia. That's about 8 miles from the conference, so I'll have to do that distance each morning and afternoon.

When I finish with the conference on Saturday, I'll prob couch surf in Visalia for a night before I bike 30-40 miles into Sequoia National Park. It's foothills so that ride is going to kick my ass. But I should get a couple of nice days in there before I have to head back out, crash in Visalia/or Koa, then ride the final 15 miles back to Hanford for another train.

It may sound convoluted, but it's the only way I could work out to get into the park on my own steam. Hitching might be an option, but I was worried about getting back out. Now I know I can make my own way.

My panniers are loaded with the weirdest stuff. For example I have pinstripe pants for the conference, which I'll wear with my hiking boots b/c there's no room for fancy shoes. Best bit is definitely the meter long poster tube that I have to secure somehow. I'm hoping to find a rideshare back to the Bay Area for my poster! I'll try to get some pix of my bike to share. And I'll definitely get some of Sequoia.

Round-Up

2009-10-03T08:32:00.000-07:00

By Round-Up I mean a gathering of loose ends, thoughts. Not the herbicide, but I'll start with weeds anyway.

I'm heading to a conference in Visalia, Ca next week to present my research on the recovery of urban habitat fragments following removal of two very aggressive weeds. I'm going to be just 30ish miles from Sequoia National Park. However, there's no mass transportation to the park from anywhere nearby unless you're there during peak season, when a shuttle has some limited stops. I'm going to have to hitch, which is less worrying going from Visalia. But when I think of trying to return to Visalia to catch the coach to get to Amtrak (seriously, it's that convoluted), I get a little worried. Is anyone going to be in there on a Thursday in the middle of October to take me back to mass transit?

I just can't imagine getting so close to this amazing place, to which I've never been, and missing it. Not to mention, I need the feedback from nature. I took a few weeks to celebrate, then got right back in to tweaking the presentation of my research for this conference, producing slides, a talk, a paper of that talk, and a poster. These are all good steps given that I want to publish this work.

But I want to go to Sequoia NP for a break! I want to access "America's Best Idea". Anyone else watching the new PBS special, "National Parks: America's Best Idea"? You can watch them at that link right now, which is how I'm seeing them since I don't have a TV.

If you noticed the paper I posted from my course, in which I critique the protected area (park, national park, reserve) approach to conservation, then you know that I was looking forward to this series. It's as personally divisive for me as I anticipated. The scenery is beautiful, when they're not zooming in and out of an historic photograph of some colonialist character (note that I've only seen the first two episodes). And the history is interesting, even when I'm disappointed in its portrayal.

So far this series tries to acknowledge the complete injustices of white European settlement across the continent. It presents diverse perspectives from people alive today while trying to tell an old story which is obviously biased in the historical representation by information that largely comes from that colonialist class. Ok, they try. But how they can say in one breath that tribes were pushed out of this park, then that park ... then resolutely switch back to celebrating the parks with nationalist fervor is beyond me.

I'll get more into that after I've seen them all. For now, I'm looking forward to watching the rest, especially as I try to access a National Park, which is purportedly open to everyone. How do urban people, particularly those of us who cannot afford cars (not that we all want them), get to these places? We may love them, need them, pay for them, but do we get to use them?

One more thing! I read a great piece about consumption and population by George Monbiot on Alternet. Check it out.

I'm so excited!

2009-09-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

I finished my conservation degree about a week ago! I'm determined to celebrate for as long as possible. As I'm barely employed, I'm finding this entirely doable. Celebrating involves being available to hang out with friends. I've been really unavailable for the past year, so this is a welcome change. Though perhaps some of my friends will be a bit overwhelmed by my repetitive proclamations: "I'm so excited!".

I'm slowly coming back from the dissertation abyss. I wrote every intelligent thought I've had over the past 4 months in that document. I printed two copies and mailed my intelligence to London. I feel like it's casually making its way back to me in new forms. I'm reading about topics that do not include weeds or urban habitat fragments. It's weird, but terribly pleasurable.

Since this is seemingly going to be a slow process, I'm going to refer you to Deia de Brito's article on graywater for the Bay Area Monitor. I love graywater. Although my "system" (meaning bucket and pitcher carried to the garden) is very low tech, we've managed to get through the summer w/o ever using the hose on our vegetables. Enjoy the piece and I'll get back soon. Perhaps with a Compact update as several of the founding group are going up to Cazadero for some weekend fun. I'm so excited!

Conservation Everywhere, or Just over There?

2009-08-19T12:22:00.000-07:00

I posted this paper on the advantages and disadvantages of protected area and landscape scale approaches to conservation in August. I originally posted it in installments as I completed my thesis. Here I've put the darn thing together in one post to make it easier to read. The PBS special "The National Parks: America's Best Idea", encouraged me to post this critique of protected area approaches to conservation. It might be a bit academic, but I find the topic stimulating. Hope you do, too.

Conservation Everywhere, or Just Over There?

As nature conservation organizations and ambitions have spread across the globe, so has a reliance on protected areas for the conservation of biodiversity. The establishment of protected areas often includes the designation of a piece of land for natural or biological conservation purposes. This progression has created a paradigm in which many people perceive nature and conservation to exist within finite areas. Species depend upon processes that extend beyond the boundaries of protected areas, leading conservationists to consider land/sea-scape approaches. Landscape scale conservation seeks to protect biotic and abiotic features of large, contiguous swaths of landscapes or ecosystems, as well as the processes contained within them.

New valuations of nature, in terms of ecosystem services for example, increase interest in landscape conservation. The impending threat of climate change underscores a need for ecosystem resiliency to maintain broad-scale ecological functions. These conservation goals have proven elusive under the protected areas paradigm as evidenced by continued habitat loss despite an increase in area designated for protection (Adams, 1996). Because protected areas cannot fully encapsulate ecosystem function, conservation must extend to the land/sea-scape scale. Given the considerable challenges to such broad scale conservation, protected areas will remain important nodes of conservation, with efforts radiating outward from core habitat areas, such as national parks. The spread of conservation efforts to the wider landscape allows for the maintenance of ecosystem function within a greater land area. Furthermore, broad-scale conservation extends the value of nature and wildness beyond traditional parks by allowing for the holistic interpretation of nature’s existence in the very landscapes in which people live.

Background

Modern protected areas, partially defined by state control and active management, often follow the example of U.S. national parks (Phillips, 2003). Areas of land deemed worthy of conservation for reasons biological, aesthetic, or cultural are placed under legal protection to ensure the persistence of such resources. Threats to charismatic landscapes and fauna, such as over-hunting of important game animals, have often lead to such designations, creating a somewhat reactive process of land protection (Wright and Mattson, 1996). This state initiated, often nationalistic, process has spread widely, producing protected areas on every continent. The designation of seascapes and freshwater bodies for conservation purposes has lagged behind terrestrial efforts.

Along with the proliferation of reserves and national park systems has come the development of related organizations and agencies. These players influence the definitions of terms relevant to this discussion (Table 1). Bodies such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and the World National Parks Congress lead debates on land management in protected areas (Phillips, 2003). Non-governmental organizations also engage in protected area development by influencing regulation and acquiring land for conservation. This system has resulted in the designation of land in wealthy, western countries as well as those lacking the financial resources for solely state sponsored conservation (Brockington et al., 2008). These trends raise issues of equity and resource distribution in an era when the services provided by nature have tangible global implications.

Table 1. Definitions relevant to protected area and landscape scale approaches to conservation.

Term	Definition	Reference
Protected Area	Physical land area with legal protection for conservation that allows for the management of resources	Phillips, 2003
Landscape Scale Approach	Conservation strategy that seeks to protect biodiversity and ecosystem processes on a broad scale. Includes traditional protected areas but also extends to the wider landscape. Also referred to as ecosystem or broad scale conservation.	Weeks, 1997
Ecosystem	Includes biotic and abiotic features as well as processes within. ‘large, somehow coherent pieces of the land and waterscape’	Weeks, 1997: 33
Ecosystem Function	The interactions of biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem. These processes yield ecosystem services.	Dickinson and Murphy, 2007
Single Species Approach	Conservation Strategy that focuses on the protection of a single species. Usually rare or threatened, though perhaps also used as a proxy for the protection of other resources within a given area.	Weeks, 1997
Keystone Species	Species with a high impact on ecosystem function relative to its population size.	Noss and Soule, 1998

Even as shortcomings of protected areas have surfaced, theories on the advancement of conservation goals emphasize the importance of core conservation areas in which human activity is limited (Franklin, 1993; Holdgate and Phillips, 1999; Boyd et al., 2008). The landscape scale approach frequently acknowledges that protected areas will continue to play a crucial role in themaintenance of biodiversity. Organizations such as the Wildlands Network advocate defragmenting and rewilding at a continental scale, building on existing core reserves (Taylor, 2005). According to proponents of landscape scale conservation, reserves fail to fully protect the ecosystem processes and functions (Table 2) that give rise to biodiversity (Adams, 1996; Trombulak, 2003). The currency of ecosystem processes and services in conservation has gained strength, particularly following the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2006). Climate change scenarios further illustrate the need for resilient, fully functional ecosystems for the perpetuation of biodiversity and human lifestyles.

Table 2. Examples of ecosystem processes protected by a landscape scale approach to conservation. Adapted from Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2006.

Ecosystem Process	Example of Resulting Services
Water Cycling	Water purification, water storage, flood retention
Nutrient Cycling	Maintenance of productive soils
Energy Cycling	Contribution of oceanic currents to terrestrial temperatures, photosynthesis
Community Interactions	Pollination, air purification, photosynthesis

Influential Paradigms and Theory

While people prize parks and reserves, the defining of areas for conservation somewhat trivializes the wider landscape in terms of natural value. Epitomized by the American wilderness ethic, the romanticizing of parks disregards the persistence of the wild, of natural processes and biodiversity, in even urban areas (Cronon, 1995). Hinchliffe (2007: 53) argues that ‘so-called wild and domestic settings … are not in themselves wild or domestic. They are hybrid forms’. The view of the landscape as a hybrid offers a more holistic, human inclusive interpretation of nature than traditional protected area paradigms. Brockington et al. (2008: 10) describe the emergence of ‘mainstream conservation’ as a movement that ‘has allied with capitalism’ in its pursuit of protected areas and control of natural resources. Capitalist infiltration of nature conservation is also reflected in the top down, state based control of many protected areas. Alternative approaches to ecosystem management, such as those proposed in the Caracas Action Plan, include decentralized and bottom up efforts that allow for anthropogenic activity in various zones of use (Figgis, 2003). Efforts to include stakeholders in broad scale approaches have delivered various permutations of community based conservation -- a relatively new approach to conserving nature. These trends attempt to correct for some shortcomings of protected areas, while acknowledging their importance in terms of conservation goals.

Along with these societal paradigms, scientific theories influence protected area and landscape approaches to conservation. Researchers have used island biogeography and the species area relationship to critique the efficacy of protected areas in the maintenance of species diversity (MacArthur and Wilson, 1967). Descriptions of reserves as islands of habitat have led to calls for corridors and stepping stones between these fragments to increase connectivity. Holistic conceptualizations of the landscape have delivered theories such as bioregionalism and watershed or ecoregional conservation planning (Phillips, 2003). Species targeted approaches to biodiversity conservation also plays an important role in the development of protected areas. Umbrella and keystone species concepts are recommended as foundations for the furtherance of broad scale conservation (Noss and Soule, 1998). Building on all of these theories, optimistic visions of the possibilities for conservation include rewilding, which recommends the reintroduction of large ungulates and top tier predators to systems such as the intermontane West in the U.S. (Noss and Soule, 1998). New research on this range of theories continues to inform protected area management and inspire the push for landscape scale conservation.

Protected Area Advantages

By exploiting the charisma of a place or particular species, conservationists have ensured the legal protection of pieces of land, such as Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. (Wright, 1996). Legal status for parks may preclude economic exploitation of an area or include planning restrictions that limit the development of roads and buildings (Table 3). Such measures hinder private exploitation of market-valued natural resources, including timber and wildlife, within the boundaries of parks (Brockington et al., 2008). Active management of protected areas allows for the identification and mitigation of threats and impacts. As opposed to private land holdings, public ownership or administration of protected areas delivers a system in which land use and management are more easily or cohesively bent to the aims of nature conservation. In countries where private property regimes dominate, this paradigm for protected areas also increases the potential for public access to ecologically diverse landscapes, enhancing opportunities for nature education and outreach.

Furthermore, covering more than 19.6 million square kilometers of land and sea, protected areas deliver some biodiversity conservation objectives (Gaston et al., 2008). Boyd et al. (2008) find that protected areas provide some protection to most threatened tetrapods, indicating that protected areas have an important role to play in the conservation of biodiversity. Ballantine and Langlois (2008: 38) find that ‘protection from human disturbance’ can foster

Table 3. Examples of legal measures for protected areas.

Regulation	Desired Effect
Fishing Regulation	Prevent over-fishing within marine and freshwater ecosystems. Assists in the maintenance of trophic balance.
Hunting Regulation	Prevent over-hunting or poaching of species. Benefits the conservation of threatened species as well as community interactions within ecosystems.
Roadless Rules	Prevent further habitat fragmentation in protected areas. Also prevents increase in tourist pressure by limiting access to sensitive areas.
Limits on Resource Extraction	Prevent removal of resources (timber, minerals, etc) within protected areas. Prevent disturbances associated with such extraction including pollution, soil erosion, and road construction.
Agri-Environment Schemes	Reduce harmful land uses adjacent to protected areas.

‘multiple, complex and often ecologically important’ changes in marine reserves. Robust protected areas also provide necessary resilience to and refuge from climate change for many species of conservation interest (Watts and Davis, 2007). Core conservation areas have led to creative thinking about ways to link habitat remnants. Efforts to build on the successes of conservation have led to the merging of reserves such as Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park, which became the world’s first International Peace Park (Zinkan 1992). In considering the victories of protected areas, issues of temporal and spatial scale arise. Although much conservation research focuses on national parks, the contribution of urban and regional parks in the maintenance of biodiversity and open space for ecosystem processes should be considered in any holistic appraisal of protected areas (Savard et al., 2000). Smaller parks and reserves contribute to local quality of life and provide potential linkages for gene flow and wildlife movement.

Protected Area Disadvantages

While protected areas present many opportunities for nature conservation, disadvantages to this approach abound. The finite perimeters of reserves do not reflect the more fluid nature of the species and processes that protected areas seek to conserve. Reserve boundaries, like those of states, are frequently political constructs rather than natural divisions along environmental gradients (Adams, 2003). International and intra-national boundaries prevent the holistic protection of ecosystems as legal entities define parks within their respective territories. These ground facts confound land management by constraining data and resource sharing. Whereas the Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park stands as one example of international cooperation, the southern border of the U.S. demonstrates the complexity of natural resource conservation across international boundaries. Eight-five percent of the state of Arizona’s border with Mexico is federally protected, indicating that conservation resources abound in the region. Efforts to control the U.S.-Mexico border in terms of human immigration has led to massive disturbance in the form of road building, wall construction, and stadium lighting across a fragile desert ecosystem (Segee and Neeley, 2006). Border control efforts within these parks exemplify the way that political boundaries, including those placed around protected areas, fail to conserve nature from the local park level to continental scale conservation efforts.

Additionally, the selection of areas for protection has led to significant resource management challenges. Hansen and Rotella (2001) critique reserve selection criteria, noting that the process has not led to equal representation of all landscapes, but has rather proceeded with a bias toward climatically severe and high elevation environments. The utility of lower elevation land to human populations has precluded expansive acquisition of the ecosystems contained therein, thus indicating a need for alternative conservation strategies. While many parks contain sensitive species, the ecosystem functions that support them often extend beyond the reach of the park (Newmark, 1985). Therefore, pressures outside of the park can affect species and processes within a protected area, reducing its overall utility to nature conservation. For example, upstream contamination of a river will deliver pollutants to protected areas downstream. Similarly migratory species may suffer impacts when they leave reserves (Holdgate and Phillips, 1999). The Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands requires a significant range, and despite species driven legal protections, cannot be safeguarded by existing reserves (Povilitis et al., 2006).

Besides the political and ecological disadvantages of protected areas, reserves present social challenges. Reserve establishment has at times led to displacement of indigenous populations, altering lifestyles and increasing poverty levels by pushing people into market-based economies (Brockington et al., 2008). Displacement leads to pressures at the edges of protected areas, again limiting conservation utility as pressures beyond the legal framework of the reserve impact resources within. Government corruption can exacerbate the impacts of protected areas on indigenous communities, leading to resource allocation inequities as land tenure regimes shift to accommodate mainstream conservation objectives (Murombedzi, 2003). Recently, community based conservation programs have sought to ameliorate these impacts, in part by extending conservation to the wider landscape.

Landscape Scale Advantages

Because protected areas fail to fully protect species and ecosystem processes, the landscape scale approach became popular in the 1990’s. This approach attempts to incorporate biophysical gradients in land management strategies (Newmark, 1985; Weeks, 1997). Advocates of landscape conservation suggest connecting existing protected areas to create networks of contiguous habitat, facilitating the maintenance of ecosystem function. Terrestrially, this approach often requires less land purchase or acquisition, instead emphasizing cooperation with private land owners. Efforts to designate marine protected areas appear to assert the ecosystem approach with the Convention on Biological Diversity(2004) suggesting that reserves incorporate all ecological processes.

Conservation of ecosystem function is of growing concern as climate change scenarios solidify the need for robust landscapes in the provisioning of life giving ecosystem services such as clean water and air (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2006). The ability of species to adapt to climate change, through movement, will also depend on the existing connectivity of reserves and reserve networks (Hansen and Rotella, 2001; Araújo et al., 2004). Besides climate change resiliency, habitat defragmentation increases the potential for rewilding with large ungulates and top tier predators by overcoming the range and migration limitations of traditional protected areas (Noss and Soule, 1998). Where protected areas often suffer from arbitrary boundaries, broad scale conservation units are delimited by ecological gradients, such as watersheds (Clark, 1999). Ribbons and stepping stones within these units defragment existing islands of habitat, enhancing ecosystem processes. In theory, broad scale conservation holistically seeks to enhance ecosystem processes in all available land.

Furthermore, landscape conservation demands the inclusion of people as a part of nature. This social component encourages decentralized conservation efforts. By extending conservation objectives beyond the boundaries of protected areas, this approach optimistically assumes that ecologically valuable landscapes persist in areas where anthropocentric land uses exist and may even dominate (Phillips, 2003). Groups such as the Wildlands Network have developed continental scale visions for the establishment of wildlife linkages with corridors, buffers, and transition zones across a multiplicity of land uses (Noss, 2003). Such visions of conservation opportunities at all scales stands in contrast to traditional notions of national parks as signature areas for protection.

Landscape Scale Disadvantages

While the theory of landscape conservation rectifies many pitfalls of the protected areas approach, application proves challenging. A lack of scientific research at the ecosystem scale hinders conservation planning and land management decisions (Clark, 1999). The landscape scale approach assumes that the conservation of ecosystem processes will also protect the species found therein. However, perfect ecosystem function may not fully conserve biodiversity in the absence of single species management strategies (Chan et al., 2006). Selling ecosystem scale conservation as a means of maintaining ecosystem function for anthropogenic purposes may not deliver a public equally supportive of biodiversity conservation if such values become oppositional. If landscapes are monitored for processes, then species loss could occur without triggering changes in management. Land managers will invariably seek to retain species under the ecosystem approach, but species loss is one potential effect of planning ‘at a scale unfamiliar to most protected area managers’ (Phillips, 2003: 28). Identification of threats to sensitive features proves more difficult without management by a responsible agency. Lack of confidence in the science behind landscape scale conservation also affects funding of such schemes. The current economic climate exacerbates funding concerns, likely discouraging land managers from taking risks with constrained budgets.

Whereas scientists and land managers often seek holistic ecosystem conservation, transboundary conservation requires political will and resource sharing. Finding agreement among relevant agencies on the definition of ecosystem management has also slowed application of this approach (Simberloff, 1998). According to Weeks (1997), agencies have different mandates, often managing for a different result or product. This prevents the application of holistic ecosystem scale conservation, which should seek ‘the greatest natural integrity that can be achieved’ (Weeks, 1997: 34). Furthermore, demanding scientific rigor in decentralized conservation efforts may prove impossible. Adams (2003) describes a case study in which a conservation organization used improperly sourced seed for habitat re-creation. By attempting to include more stakeholders, the broad scale approach likely sacrifices a certain degree of purity in the application of science to land management. Furthermore, the time required for conservation planning will lengthen with the incorporation of more stakeholders.

Following the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2006), attempts to monetarily quantify ecosystem services have gained popularity within mainstream conservation. Through the emphasis of ecosystem services, landscape scale conservation may reinforce capitalism, a system that has historically thrived on the exploitation of natural resources and labor. Some conservationists have argued that monetary valuation of ecosystem services will create incentives to leave ecosystems in place (Balmford et al., 2002). Alternatively, placing a price on nature may also lead to exploitation by those who can afford to pay. Nelson et al. (2008) describe the potential for conflicts over maximizing one ecosystem service, carbon sequestration, to the detriment of another, biodiversity. In a paradigm where all ecosystem services have a monetary value, the results of such debates favor capitalist aims rather than nature conservation. However, alternative valuations of ecosystem services also exist, should mainstream conservation find alternative currency for their promotion. As ecosystem scale conservation urges integrated and equitable natural resource protection, perhaps it also serves as a vehicle for alternative, qualitative valuations of ecosystem services.

The Scientific Foundation for a Landscape Scale Approach

Given that protected areas and species driven legislation fail to fully protect biodiversity and ecosystem processes, new strategies are required. Mounting pressures on nature – human population, climate change, rampant development – demand aggressive, holistic attention. The landscape scale approach does not preclude the management of protected areas or single species, but rather builds on the lessons learned from these strategies. Under this rubric, integrated land management increases conservation potential.

As strategies have shifted toward the landscape approach, new tools and methodologies inform planning and land management Gering et al. (2003) recommend additive partitioning over the species area relationship in the assessment of beetle diversity at the landscape scale. Current research also integrates ecosystem dynamics, single species data, and anthropogenic impacts in models predicting the outcomes of conservation strategies. Rigorous models, such as those developed for marine ecosystem planning by Crowder et al., address the lack of science cited by early critics of landscape scale conservation (2008). Modeling of protected area performance under climate change stress both support the expansion of conservation to the landscape scale and indicate place and species specific management strategies to allow for translocation (Arajúo et al., 2004; Hannah et al., 2007). Temporal pressures of climate change necessitate swift action. That scientific understanding cannot fully capture the intricacies of ecosystem processes must not delay the implementation of management strategies that will increase resilience to climate change.

A Physical Vision for Landscape Conservation

How will the use of these new tools and methodologies for ecosystem scale conservation translate in terms of the physical landscape? Watershed scale conservation delimits planning boundaries by a dominant ecosystem process: water runoff patterns (Clark, 1999). Within this unit, reserves are bound together by ribbons and stepping stones of habitat, which cross multiple zones of land use. Alignment of management among protected areas within a watershed requires cooperation among relevant agencies. Moving into semi-natural habitats, integration of agricultural land into the management matrix offers opportunities to buffer reserves and defragment the countryside for many animal species (Dutton et al., 2008). Trombulak (2003), in an effort similar to that of the Man and Biosphere Program, describes three land use zones as ecological, stewardship, and intensive-use. Conservation dominates in ecological lands, which include reserves. Consecutive zones meld economic and cultural land uses with conservation objectives (Table 4). Beyond the watershed scale, plans such as the Yellowstone to Yukon linkage of the Rocky Mountains of North America contribute to continental scale visions of conservation (Phillips, 2003).

Table 4. Land use zones for landscape scale conservation as defined by Trombulak, 2003.

Trombulak Zone	Description	Potential Land Uses
Ecological Lands	Dominant use is nature conservation.	Parks and Reserves. Marine Protected Areas.
Stewardship Lands	Dominant uses include sustainable resource extraction.	Agricultural land. Forestry. Mining.
Intensive Use Lands	Dominant use is anthropocentric.	Urban areas. Fishing zones. Shipping harbors.

Activities within urban and suburban zones of ecosystems require creative strategies. Urban organizations, like Nature in the City (San Francisco, U.S.), utilize many principles of landscape conservation to protect sensitive biological resources. The Green Hairstreak project, built on monitoring of two isolated populations of Callyphors dumetorum, involves the restoration of streetscapes and backyards (Brastow, P., pers. comm., 24^th March 2009). Strategies include invasive species (Carpobrotus edulis) removal in core habitat areas of Hawk Hill and Rocky Outcrop (Figure 1). Installation of the larval food source, Eriogonum latifolium, and nectar source, Erigeron glaucus, aim to increase habitat between the two natural areas. The corridor reclaims unused land along streetscapes, largely owned by the city’s Department of Public Works (Brastow, P., pers. comm., 24th March 2009). The project also supports the removal of sidewalk cement for the installation of native plants. These measures increase land available to species and ecosystem processes such as water filtration and storage. This confined, urban project is a microcosm of efforts at larger landscape conservation. It also exemplifies the ends to which this approach seeks to restore natural processes in all available land.

Figure 1. Promotional image of the Green Hairstreak Project, including corridor map. Courtesy of Nature in the City.

A Social Vision for Landscape Conservation

Although the scientific and land management challenges to landscape scale conservation abound in the literature, considerable social hurdles also exist. The dominance of the protected area approach has rested in part on the purchase of land. Efforts to incorporate stakeholders in conservation do not always deliver increased protection for biodiversity or ecosystem function (Alagona and Pincetl, 2008). Many social models for stakeholder participation have emerged, including the Habitat Conservation Plan in the U.S. Despite the complications of stakeholder involvement, wider participation benefits some conservation goals, such as the protection of game with long migrations (Brockington et al., 2008). The potential to engage local people in conservation also offers enormous educational and recruitment opportunities. While funding inhibits the maximizing of this potential, efforts to include stakeholders range from agri-environment schemes to decentralized wildlife management (Table 5).

Table 5. Stakeholder inclusion opportunities for conservation planning and land management.

Opportunity	Goal
Agri-Environment Schemes	Incentivize sustainable farming (Dutton et al., 2008)
Conservation Easements	Reduce intensive uses of lands that have conservation value.
Carbon Sequestration Incentives	Encourage private land owners to mange land for carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change. (Nelson et al., 2008)
Biodiversity Incentives	Encourage private land owners to manage land for biodiversity conservation. (Nelson et al., 2008)
Decentralized Wildlife Management	Allow indigenous and local people to mange wildlife resources. (Brockington et al., 2008)
Public Comment/Process	Allow public input/participation on conservation planning.
Local Stewardship Initiatives	Encourage local participation in management of protected areas. Example: habitat restoration work groups
Wildlife Monitoring	Allow local contributions to monitoring of important wildlife.
Invasive Species Monitoring	Utilize local land users in the monitoring of invasive species colonization and spread.

In addition to greater popular involvement in conservation, the landscape scale approach requires new institutional engagement. Calls have emanated for scientists to engage in advocacy to further public understanding of science and the need for immediate conservation action (Noss, 2007). Articulating the vision of the ecosystem approach provides an opportunity to emphasize the compatibility of human society with nature, thereby redefining the landscape for much of the public. As landscape conservation relies heavily on existing protected areas, governments continue to play an important role in conservation planning and land management. Legal mechanisms, particularly planning legislation, must also shift to promote landscape conservation and sustainable development

Conclusion

While traditional protected areas achieve many objectives, the ambitions of conservation extend beyond the boundaries of such reserves. The successes of protected areas, such as the safeguarding of rich ecosystems from private exploitation, ensure their persistence as part of a larger conservation strategy. Building on these accomplishments and lessons learned, conservationists extend their remit beyond the preservation of biodiversity to include the maintenance of ecosystem function. Climate change, among other factors, impresses the need for such a paradigm within conservation and the wider population. Retention of ecosystem function ensures the possibility of life within the biophysical parameters that currently exist on Earth, thus protecting human populations as well as many other species. Because emphasis on ecosystem processes will not fully protect biodiversity, conservationists must also pursue the best strategies developed through the protected area and single species approaches.

An integrated approach to conservation has both a physical and social component. Conceptualizations of nature influence public and scientific perception of the ecosystem approach. Extending conservation to the wider landscape requires conservationists to acknowledge these views of nature as stakeholders engage in conservation planning and land management. Broader institutional support of conservation goals is needed to advance a landscape scale approach as the current movement lacks the social science foundation required to properly incorporate stakeholders. Further support, in the form of funding, is also required to extend conservation beyond the boundaries of protected areas.

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Bernal Piperia

2009-08-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd post a picture of this rein orchid on Bernal Hill. I first saw it a couple of weeks ago while walking dogs with my friend, Jennifer, who studies bats. If you like bats, check out her blog. I'm happy to say that this orchid was still kicking this Wednesday, despite being situated precariously close to a heavily used trail.

The rein orchid, Piperia michaelii, is on the Watch List of the California Native Plant Society. That list tracks plants of limited distribution, including this California endemic. I've also seen this species on Twin Peaks, while doing habitat restoration.

Me and Murphy's Law

2009-07-27T17:46:00.001-07:00

Maybe post vacation always sucks, I'm not sure, but the past week has been trying. Sometimes I think my science will only prove that my life is subject to Muphy's Law. Every time I sit down to work, something goes wrong. My computer freezes. I get a new one and it breaks. My cat has to go to the vet. Feeling better, my cat brings a dead mouse to my desk. Whatever could be disabling or distracting, it happens here!

I'm still technologically embattled, fussing with machines to use air photos and expensive software. Last Thursday I spent 7 long hours uploading one photo to my recently upgraded profile at UCL. I have to click the screen every 20 minutes or the remote server will log me out for security reasons. My 6 year old Powerbook has begun to falter, and my cracked copy of 0ffice is freaking out. So I bought last Tuesday I bought a new (used) MacBook Pro from an Apple Product Manager in North Beach. With over 2 years left on the AppleCare Warranty, I felt pretty secure about the purchase. The machine was a good price and already partioned for Windows, something I really need these days.

I didn't take a disk to test the optical drive, so I didn't realize that it was broken until 2 days later. When I took it in to the Apple Store, they told me that the hard drive had 4 faults and predicted imminent failure. So I had to drop it off yesterday for repair, twitching with $1300 worth of anxiety. Would they deem the problems "accidental" or "acts of God", neither of which is covered by the warranty. But I just got a call, only 24 hours later and my machine is ready! I must say, as a long time Mac user, the warranty makes it worthwhile to have a Mac. (That was my corporate cheerleading for the year. It's always the same company that gets my kudos. I admit that I'm a bit susceptible to their marketing, but I haven't bought a new Mac product in about 7 years.)

I've lost the Windows partion and I certainly didn't pay for 3 trips to the Apple Store. I also have to say that my confidence in buying another used machine of such expense and importance has been challenged. However, I could not have afforded a brand new machine, had I wanted one. I guess I'm fairly happy with my purchase, though quite disappointed in the deceptive Apple Product Manager, Di Lu, who sold me the machine. Of course he won't take my calls or return my emails at all. I'd be stoked if he'd simply re-partion the drive for me. I suck at such things. Then I'd have all the things I paid for, minus a day and some time. No worries.

But whatever. I'll have my computer back in an hour or so. I can't leave until my awesome neighbor finishes fixing my leaky sink. Max won't even let me pay him, which makes me feel bad since I'd just deduct it from my rent. After the laptop and the expense of taking my cats in to the vet twice in past week, I'm feeling stretched as rent approaches on Sunday. Ugh, I'll be glad when I'm available to work full time again. It's scary to not be bringing in as much as I'm spending. I don't shop and I skip about half of my food. But my rent is high (though not for SF standards) and somehow I have way more bills here than I did in London. Things like Renter's insurance though no health insurance.

I'm hoping to put together a piece about seeing the Reverend Billy Talen last week. But in the event that I slack: The reverend is running for NYC Mayor! Help him get on the ballot and then vote for him. No more billionaire mayors! If you don't know Billy Talen, you should check out his websites and possibly YouTube one of his performances. I adore him and his posse, the Church of Stop Shopping.

Accidental to Occidental

2009-07-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

(This is the final installation from my trip to the Russian River. The pictures enlarge if you click them, helpful for some of the smaller ones.)

I left the house at 10 AM this morning, intending to grab coffee in Duncan Mills and head to the coast for an hour or two. I expected to be back by 1pm to do some work. Eight hours later I’m enjoying a beer because trying to work in my sun frazzled state is pointless. I don’t even have the wherewithal to make food, despite the fact that I rode over 30 miles on coffee and and a pastry.

After this wholesome breakfast in Duncan Mills I said hi to the 2nd nest of ospreys and hit the PCH going south to get into the Sonoma Coast State Beach. Though sun poured through the inland trees, tendrils of fog lingered over the headlands, extending in from a solid bank off-shore. I consider the fog quite beautiful and most of my coastal experiences in Cali include it. This fits my image of the poorly named Pacific as cold and somewhat menacing. Softening my view of the sea today were my friends the cormorants, enjoying that silly, low flying game they play.

A flock of pelicans crossed my view, taking center stage before the coastal gray backdrop. Biking down to the beach I enjoyed the gems of the coastal prairie, one of my all time favorite habitats. What can compare to the prostrate shrubs and grey perennial grasses? Yeah, I’m actually asking that after describing the majestic redwoods that begin just east of this coast. I try not to be a habitat supremacist as my own beloved landscapes are often maligned. Think English conservation students AND professors using the term desert to mean wasteland. That’s not only habitat supremacy, but what I also call, green supremacy. I like the brown and grey stuff, too. And I try not to forget all the blue stuff out there.

I walked out onto some brown stuff today, namely sand. I wandered out to the harbor seal nursery, where the Russian River meets the sea in a calming nexus of salt and freshwater, a brief mediation of the ferocity of the Pacific. Crouching with my camera, I wished that I were not so optically challenged. I obeyed the signs, staying 50 yards away from the seals, or as far away as I needed to be judging by their raised heads or general interest in my slow movements. I like seals. They’re silly and hella lazy. Like water loving cats with no landward grace or appreciable ears.

I felt the cumulative effects of daily 20 mile bike rides as I pedaled upward, away from the beach toward 1. No worries, it’s all downhill or flat from here, I thought. On the way out to the State Beach, I saw a road east of 1 that I looked nice and quiet. Inspecting Willow Creek Road on the way back I thought, "Isn’t that the name of that road I took between Duncan Mills and Monte Rio?" So what if the sign paradoxically says “No Through Access to Occidental”. I didn’t want to go to Occidental anyway.

The ride down Willow Creek Road was joyous. My eyes got a little dewy as I surveyed the riparian habitat, noting a lovely warbler, possibly a Wilson’s, many many butterflies, and several turkey vultures. The lack of cars completely made up for the shitty pavement. I pedaled in the sun, fully expecting to pop out on a little road that I had ridden down 2 days earlier. When I arrived at a vehicle barrier, I proceeded past it on my two, non-motorized wheels, leaving the riparian zone, to climb gradually into a redwood forest. Hmmm, winding and slightly inclined, the road offered such beauty that I couldn’t really be dissuaded. Few cars had become zero. Few people had become absolutely none.

Thus I found myself winding my way up a mountain, convinced of the divineness of it all by the lack of cars and other humans. As the trees became manzanitas, ever so briefly, I realized that I was getting pretty high up there. Was that Willow Creek crossing the road, requiring those occasional culverts or water bars? Was I still on Willow Creek Road? I considered backtracking, but that’s not very fun, now is it? Stubbornness, and the luxury of not having any obligations to other humans or my favorite dogs, sent me right up a mountain despite hunger and a bit of tiredness. I also had myself convinced for a mile or so that I was trespassing, which stilled my resolve at a breaking point on the gravel ascent. I realized later that I was not trespassing, which at that point was a welcomed feedback, as I was so tired that the thought of arguing with some private property schmuck nearly inspired me to go 180 and let the brakes wide open.

A couple of hours later, as I crossed a patch of oak savanna, I caught a glimpse of the fog bank off the coast ... which was many miles away. Oh, boy. The Russian River Valley was definitely to my north (and left), and I was looking down into a different valley altogether. Another vehicle barrier and I was out on a paved road again. No more gravel. At least I could let up worrying about punctures. (Oh, yeah, I had a flat kit and pump, but no spanner for the front wheel should it blow.) It was pushing three o’clock and I had no idea where I was. However, as I could certainly find my way back, had I the willingness to backtrack, I was not lost.

I followed my gut and ended up in … well, Occidental. No through road for cars, but if you bike forever, you will end up in this bougie little wine country town. I took Coleman Valley Road down to Bohemian Highway. Straight across the road was a natural foods store that supplied me with a much needed sandwich and directions to Hwy 116. When the cashier asked if I wanted to go to Santa Rosa or Forestville on 116 I realized just how far away from Cazadero I had gone.

At 3:15 I left Occidental, headed toward Graton Road, which would take me to 116. I have seen every town in Sonoma County on this trip, I swear. I’ve driven from Sebastopol to Cazadero in a car several times so I knew that I was hella far and that there were winding hills in my future. I was fucking tired and evening traffic was kicking off. I was really questioning my car free adventure as massive trucks wooshed past me on blind curves. With poison oak, blackberry, or some spiteful invasive like French broom or pampas grass waiting to molest me on the right, menacing motor vehicles threatening to crush me on the left, I felt that familiar annoyance with myself. My mind drifted from the task at hand (propelling myself forward while not getting squished). Invasive mustard (Brassica nigra) and poison hemlock (Conium maclatum) overtaking plots in a graveyard inspired undue offense as I pedaled slowly past.

When I finally got back I flipped open a map and realized that the cashier sent me on a very circuitous route. Had I continued to follow my internal compass, I would have shaved off at least 5 miles. Oh well, the wild Mimulus cardinalis (Scarlett monkey flower), butterflies, and deer made it all worthwhile.

Russian River part 2

2009-07-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up around nine for coffee and an hour of reading under the cries, shrieks, and calls of so many nameless birds. Then I got in the pedals on my way to Armstrong Woods, a state park known for its redwood forest.

The ten mile ride took about 40 minutes: I never had to put my feet down! Ten miles in SF or London takes forever, unless it’s super late at night. Of course, in SF if you go ten miles you’ve definitely crossed a few contour lines and gone in some sort of circuitous route as the city is only 7x7. Anyway, fabulous ride. Drivers out here are pretty down with cyclists.

The Russian River is a very NorCal, open-minded-esque area. Guerneville might have more rainbow flags per square mile than in the Castro. Actually, that’s how I first got to know the area. I came through here in 2002 with some of the Q-Force crew (group of young queer volunteers doing service projects ... and trying to get to know each other), then again for a Q-Force retreat in 2004, during which I saw this albino redwood. Coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) are often “sisters”, linked by root systems, clustering in rings. Thus the albino, completely lacking chlorophyll, takes nutrients from her sisters, persisting in this stumpy form.

I hiked into Armstrong Woods thinking I’d do a lower circuit, just enjoy the trees. But it’s Saturday and I have a hella low threshold for tourists in such a setting. I know that sounds awful but I like a quiet hike at a good clip for maximum wildlife viewing. So pretty soon I’d given up on the lower elevation walk and hit the switchbacks. No pushchairs up there. I saw an average of 4 people per hour as I climbed out of redwoods into manzanitas into oak savanna back to manzanita back to redwoods.

I met two guys who stopped to ask me about my tank top from Glacier National Park. The first asked if I got it for volunteering because apparently I “look like a volunteer”. I like volunteering, and do in fact have what I call my uniform of volunteer t-shirts in which I generally work. I’m a walking advertisement for Pets Are Wonderful Support, AIDSWalk, and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. But no one’s ever said that I just look like a volunteer. Maybe that means I look too broke to have paid work.

We got to talkin’ about the park, Cali budget crisis, impending state park closures, property tax, Prop 13, growing weed, legalizing weed, taxing weed, getting rid of the governator, pride, and the lack of social engagement in “my generation”. I guess meeting a 28 yo who can rant about Prop 13 surprised them. By the time we hiked our separate ways, one of them was giving me his card, saying, “I don’t know what I could do for you, but if you ever need help, call me. I will help you”. I was quite touched. As I walked on I thought that he had helped me just then, restoring my confidence in the people’s interest in and support of conservation. Then I noticed that he works in real estate and allowed myself to daydream for the next mile or so about him giving me a property to manage for conservation. Vacation is a time for such daydreams.

I saw about 40 lizards, maybe ten of whom dropped their tails at my approach. One was as small as the tip of my thumb but as quick as a whip. I didn’t see any deer, surprisingly. And no snakes, though I was quite convinced, given the warm sun that today I would see my first wild rattlesnake and not scream or run. I shall have to steel my nerves another day.

Though the above guys thought I looked like a volunteer, they should have noticed that my dumb ass had no water, contrary to good practice. I thought I’d stay in Armstrong Woods for an hour at most, always in the shade. But I hiked beyond Armstrong, in and out of Austin Creek State Recreation Area, gaining about 700 feet of elevation over 5 miles on 3 cups of coffee and a cliff bar. By the time I made it back to my bike, I was getting a bit light headed and more than a bit annoyed with myself. But I had plenty of water on my bike so I made my way back into Guerneville for groceries. I shopped on an empty stomach, inspiring me to spend $50 on weird food like a can of Cajun beans and rice and a $7 jar of salsa despite the fact that I make kick ass salsa.

I rode back, stopping to photograph the ospreys on the way. I ate the fuck out of some chips and $7 salsa. And now I’m going to baptize myself in Austin Creek. 20 miles biking, 5 hiking, a few hours reading, and a little swimming: Perfect vacation.

In Town

2009-07-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

I came back from the Russian River yesterday afternoon after the best week I've had in ages. I rode my bike well over 100 miles, hiked many more, swam in cool creeks and rivers, and read about 60 articles on invasive species and urban habitat. I took public transit and my bike between SF and my friends' place in Sonoma County. It cost me $23 round trip and then there was food and beer, and $2 for two 15 minute internet interactions. As I have a future in debt (oh, education) this is about as much as I can afford to spend on traveling right now.

The next few posts here will be from writing I did while I was away.

Yesterday I left San Francisco on Golden Gate Transit, my bike bouncing on a rack on the front of the coach for 2+ hours. One transfer and a total of 3.5 hours later, I was in Guerneville, 60 miles from the city, picking up provisions before biking the final 8 miles to my friends’ vacant house on Austin Creek. Weighted down with an onerous rucksack – full of work – I pedaled happily above the Russian River, heading west through perfectly spaced patches of afternoon sun and redwood shade. Typical of river roads, Hwy 116 is winding but mostly flat. Pulling over in some shade to adjust the groceries strapped to my bike rack, I had the fortune to hear and see two ospreys (?) tending their nest atop a redwood across the road.

Arriving at my friends’ place, I began cataloguing diversity in that neurotic way that has progressed beyond hobby to veritable tick: “Native species: Sequoia sempervirens, Polystichum munitum, Toxicodendron diversilobum, Stachys ajugoides! Non-natives: Torilis nodosa <sigh>, Hedera helix <ugh>, Pennisetum clandestinum. ” I thought it might be a nice thank you to give my friends a species list for their place. So I stood on their deck, cataloguing plants in the yard that I can identify. I came up with 20 and am resisting the urge to include management recommendations for the weeds. Though I will have to mention control of the English ivy (Hedera helix) as it is poised to kill several of their trees, including 4 Sequoias.

After changing into river shoes I waded along Austin Creek, surprised to find runs of deep, clear water to enjoy. I’ve known this creek to swell during the rainy season, like April 2006, when Blake and I visited during torrential storms. Both sick as fuck, we drank tea from giant mugs and put together a puzzle with crossed fingers, hoping that the hill behind us wouldn’t collapse in a landslide and that the creek downslope would stop rising. I’ve also seen this channel de-watered by May, walked the entire length along the bed, only finding stagnant, green pools from which I restrained thirsty dogs. Such is California. Robust, iconic redwoods, coastal bluffs and the Sierra, but also delicate, variable grasslands,watercourses, and vernal pools, which may overwhelm one year but fail the next.

I read myself into dreams of wild creatures, again conjuring a scene of a banana slug driving a riding lawn mower. I can’t believe I’ve had that dream twice.

Partial Species List
Below is a partial species list for my friends' property. I left my flora at home so that I wouldn't spend my entire vacation puzzling over plant id, so I've only captured species that I already know. I hope to go back sometime for a complete survey ... and to control the Hedera helix. I made the list for my friends, so it's sorted for utility, not scientific publication. First by native or non-native, then plant type, then alphabetized by scientific name, though with the common name first as it's probably most useful to my friends.

Natives
Ferns:
Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina) - native.
Western Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum) – native.
Western Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum) - native.

Fern Allies:
Giant Horsetail (Equisetum telmateia) – native.

Trees:
Big leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) native.
Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) – native.

Scrub:
California blackberry (Rubus urnisus) - native.
Poison Oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum) – native.

Herbs:
Miner’s Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) – native.
Redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana) - native.
Rigid hedge nettle (Stachys ajugoides var. ajugoides) –native, endemic.

Grasses, Rushes, Sedges:
Tall Cyperus Sedge (Cyperus eragrostis) - native.

Non-Natives
Vines:
English Ivy (Hedera helix) – non-native, invasive.
Everlasting Pea (Lathyrus latifolius) – non-native, invasive.

Herbs:
Italian Thistle (Carduus pycnocephalus) – non-native, invasive.
Cut-leaf Geranium (Geranium dissectum) non-native.
Forget-me-not (Myosotis latifolia) non-native, potentially invasive.
Western Pellitory (Parietaria judaica) non-native.
English Plantain (Plantago lanceolata) non-native, invasive.
Hedge Parsley (Torilis nodosa) non-native, invasive.

Grasses, Rushes, Sedges:
Kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum) – non-native, invasive.
Annual Beardgrass (Polypogon monspeliensis) non-native.

Out of Town!

2009-07-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

I'm heading up to the Russian River, where fellow Compactors John and Rob have a place that I'm lucky to utilize. Going with me are my bike, computer, and some reading. I can't wait to get the hell out of the city for a few days. I'm going to visit 3 state parks: Armstrong Woods, Sonoma Coast State Beach, and the Austin Creek State Recreation Area. Redwoods, the Pacific, and hopefully some swimming, woohoo! I'll do some reading for my project as well. But not much else. No internet, no cell phone service, but more open space to enjoy.

How amazing

2009-07-05T16:09:00.000-07:00

is my new poster?

I got this today from a retiring teacher, who was having a garage sale on Guerrero St. The poster was part of a water conservation series created by East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) in 1976. The poster encourages the gardening of California native plants over other species because local flora are drought tolerant, requiring zero to very little water in the summer. On the back each species is listed. I wish I could hang up both sides at once.

Corporate agribusiness and the governator are resurrecting plans for the Peripheral Canal, which could be as wide and long as the Panama Canal! Given my new poster and these developments, it must be the 70's ... not that I was alive then. And yet, water history of California is clear: This is a dry state with rampant development. We've had the same water problems for decades. Right now, powerful agribusiness is gearing up for a huge fight over water. Cynically framing the debate as "fish vs people" these moneyed players have hired powerful PR firms, including one that has worked for AIG and Blackwater, as documented here.

My own cousin recently sent around a conservative rant against a bunch of things, including the use of water for fish in California. Given my study of California water resources and actual experiences with it, I felt it necessary to offer my Missouri cousin some resources on the issue. Missouri is humid with annual precipitation around 800mm. Until you spend a year plus in an arid or semi-arid climate, you probably can't imagine going 6-9 months without a single rain, but it happens here. Funnily, London, perceived as super wet, only gets about 580mm/year. Georgia ~ 1200mm/yr. Los Angeles County ~ 380mm of rain per year ... and 10 million people.

Three years of lower than average rainfall have renewed calls for the Peripheral Canal, new dams, and allowing fish to perish in the failing Bay-Delta. It's worth noting that rainfall estimates come in averages, whereas nature fluctuates in the distribution of its bounty. In other words, low rainfall should not be unexpected! We've developed the West based on poor estimates, literally alotting more water than exists. Take the Colorado River Compact, in which we declared that states in the Upper Basin (CO, UT, WY, NM) would receive 7.5 million acre-feet per year and states in the Lower Basin (CA, AZ, NV) would also get 7.5 million acre-feet. Oh, and according to an international treaty, Mexico will get 1.5 million acre feet. That's a total of 15.5 maf. But research shows that the Colorado River offers about 13 million acre-feet per year. Similarly, this canal is currently proposed as being bigger than the amount of water that can possibly be diverted from it!

Corporate agribusiness and our fanciful politicians need to turn off Second Life and rejoin the rest of us in this arid reality. Much of California is dry, very dry. Upping supply will only delay needed conservation measures. It's time to renegotiate antiquated water contracts. It's time to make it financially sensible for agribusiness to modernize irrigation systems rather than waste it, producing field fallowing salt in the process.

In some counties, individual houses pay more per gallon than agriculture for water. If we're going to subsidize water to the extent which we currently do in California, let's subsidize modernization of irrigation systems. Every sector of the economy is troubled at the moment. I'll worry about agriculture more than the rest when I can go into the Valley midday and not see spray head irrigation throwing our precious water into the parched air for evaporation. I'll feel sorry for agribusiness when I stop finding perfect food in skips. And I'll begin to forgive policy and profit makers when I'm damn sure that the SFBay Delta will not go the same way as the Aral Sea (image below) or the Colorado River Delta.

New Freeshop in London

2009-07-04T19:43:00.000-07:00

A building on (non) Commercial Road was recently squatted to provide a space for London Free School's weekend of classes on housing and practical squatting. The space has been retained for the purposes of providing a free shop. If you're in London, check it!

Here's the announcement from the crew.

"Non commercial House is a building that has been occupied originally for
the London FreeSchool Weekender on squatting, housing and gentrification
http://londonfreeschool.wordpress.com/

We kept the building, with the project of doing a Giant FreeShop!

The Grand opening of Non Commercial House will be taking place tomorrow,
the 5th July. The freeshop will open at midday and we will be having food
/ film from 5:30pm...

Bring items you no longer require that are clogging up your home. Take
stuff you need that someone else has abandoned. Come along to get help
fixing your bicycle or just for the food / film...

We live in a society of over consumption and waste. Non Commercial House
aims to offer an alternative based upon cooperation, mutual respect and
sustainable living. It is not only about objects but about sharing! We
hope to have various workshops and discussions taking place over the
coming weeks.

Children are very welcome within the space.. we are hoping to have a kids
section of the free shop with free toys / clothes and hold family friendly
events.

During the events, the space is drug-free, including alcohol and smoke.
There is a yard available for the smokers.

The ground floor is wheelchair accessible. However, the only toilet in the
building is on the top floor and not.

Items can be dropped off anytime; knock on the door or leave them out front.

This is a non-profit, non-hierarchical space open to all and your input is
valued so drop by some time to get involved and let us know what your
ideas / thoughts are.

We hope to see you soon!

Non Commercial House
161 Commercial Street, LONDON"

Lake Merced

2009-06-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

I finished up my vegetation sampling at Lake Merced on Wednesday. Perhaps I should say that I finished the fieldwork portion of the sampling: I still have some outstanding grasses from Twin Peaks to identify. I also have to go back to Bayview, Twin Peaks, and Glen Canyon to do some additional mapping with the dinosaur GPS. Again, I'm writing this post as my ArcGIS images load, however I hope to rectify that problem today by clipping the giant aerial photographs!

Of course it's gorgeously sunny out. Today is the Really Really Free Market in Dolores Park, where there will be thousands of people gathering for the Dyke March as well. I'm gonna have to go later.

Right now my mind is on Lake Merced, where I spent a week in the narrow margins between the roadway and the shoreline. If you look at the photo, you can see that roads hug the lake, leaving about 50 meters of dense scrub to the water edge in most spots. Larger areas are utilized for Harding Golf Course (obvious in the upper right part of the top image) and a shooting range on the west shore in the whitest area. It's difficult for me to say which of these exclusive, expensive visitor uses I despise more. The golf course takes up more space and required an 18 million dollar fiscal input a few years back, but the shooting range is an audible nusiance regardless of where you are on the lake. Both contribute toxins to the lake water and surrounding habitat, as if this heavily impacted refuge for birds needs more challenges after decades of manipulation and pollution.

I digress. There are lengths of narrow strips of habitat at Lake Merced, and some wider bits as well. The steep lake walls now support vegetation following drastic reductions in water levels. Like much of SF, the soil is sand, particularly on these dried out lake walls. Thus getting down to the willow stands often involved a lot of sliding. Getting back to the top, flat areas of the park can be like climbing sand dunes with slopes up to 38 degrees, dotted with poison oak in some locations. Most people don't go into these areas, which is great for the birds who call the lake home for all or part of the year. Dense stands of scrub, dominated by willow or coyote bush, provide excellent nesting habitat for scores of avian species.

I mentioned the cormorant rookery in a previous post, which is found not in the scrub but in a stand of invasive eucalyptus trees. It's an amazing sight to enjoy in a city. I counted 26 adult cormorants and two herons in this stand on Wednesday. In this pic you can see a heron flying away, several adult cormorants and their nests. The herons seemed a bit off, I don't understand why they were kicking it with the cormorants, often displaying their wings and generally distressing the cormorants. Maybe they eat baby birds or eggs. I dunno. Maybe I was misinterpreting the whole thing.

I was a bit surprised by the results of my research at Lake Merced. Overall floral diversity is low in willow scrub. I knew that. I saw that in Glen Canyon. But it's really low at Lake Merced. I suppose part of that is because the willows have moved so much with shifting lake levels. Very low floral diversity, but very high avian diversity. So many variables. Urban habitat is confounding. I'm worried about writing up this research. For now I'm going to tinker with some maps.

Notes on Skipping

2009-06-24T10:53:00.001-07:00

I've gotten some questions about skipping (the British term for dumpster diving) so I thought I'd put some thoughts out there.

Lots of people skip, many of them skip way more than I do. In London I really only skipped food and some materials to set up my room initially. My friends skipped furniture, wood for bonfires, household things for new squats, and food, of course. We had one friend who would leave at night with the bike trailer and return it full of fancy things from Wasterose. After holidays we'd have way too much ornamental chocolate.

Some people cringe when you say that you skip food. Some really freak out, which is really silly. There's a big difference between marketable and edible food. When you go into a grocery store, do you buy bruised apples? Of course not! There are 200 apples in front of you and you're paying for it, so you sort until you find a perfect apple. I do the same if I'm buying produce. A lot of what I skip is is entirely edible, but some blemish makes it unlikely to sell. A lot of the rest is stuff that seems to have accidentally fallen into the skip! Eventually you get used to seeing perfect food in bins and the exasperation fades. But I've had about 50 conversations, post skipping, that started with, "What is wrong with this potato?"

Ok, so that's produce. Then there's packaged food. Note that many items have 2 dates on them. One is sell by, the other is use by. I mostly stopped eating animal products when I returned to California because we have such great food. (Ok, I mess up sometimes, like Monday night when I blindly took a slice of frittata at a big dinner. Geeze). But I will eat skipped dairy. If I find yogurt that is being tossed on it's sell by date, then I'll take it home and enjoy it over the next two days. Whole eggs in bins make me really sad. Often a carton or flat is tossed because a few broke and got the container a bit gross, but the others are edible. Consider that a grocery store doesn't have extra cartons on hand to re-package the useable food.

For food, I have my preferences for skipping. In London I rounded up the stuff on the street after weekend vegetable markets. I cleaned up after produce stands during the week on my way home from uni or the Library House. In SF ... well, I like some nice produce spots that shall remain nameless. Some folks are way into grocery stores, of course. Slightly torn packages can land you with 5 lbs of rice, sugar, flour, or perfectly edible cookies. I hit a few grocery store skips every now and then but they're not my favorite. In SF I'm more likely to plow through green bins in search of vegetables.

Our culture of perfection has created a shitload of waste (and weird genetic modifications of food). Our culture of lawsuits and liabilities, and lack of common sense has delivered a lot of waste. In the spirit of the latter, I should say that skipping requires common sense. Grocery stores can be quite territorial about their trash, so be careful. Respect that other people are using these sources of food: Don't make a mess! Don't take more than you can use or distribute. Clean your food. If it needs to be cooked, then be thorough about that. I don't eat meat, ever.

If skipping seems too weird, maybe you can ask your local (as in small business) grocery store about their waste. My local shop used to let me go into the back and go through the produce that they were tossing. I still had to claw through the green bin, but it was inside and during the daytime, which might make some folks more comfortable. Local bread makers often give away their extras at the end of the day as well. Check around. Folks who love creating food or nourishing their communities don't like to see waste either. Often their hands are tied by bureacratic bullshit that prevents them from redistributing their goods en masse when they've moved past marketability. But on an individual basis I've found some shops quite reasonable.

A few weeks ago I was going through the green bins at a local shop when the manager, who I've known in the neighborhood for at least 5 years, came out. He said hello and went about his work. He probably had good faith that I wouldn't make a mess, and he knows that I still spend money in there, even if I look for free food as well.

Finally, don't let anyone make you feel like a criminal for skipping. The injustice is in the waste.

And in all the other crazy shit that feeds us:

Land Conversion
Water Diversion, Pollution, Theft
Habitat Loss
Animal Cruelty
Pesticides
Fucked Up Working Conditions and Wages
Oil
Distribution Inequalities
Worldwide Grain Prices
Genetic Modifications
Family Farm Destruction
Wasteful Subsidies

Crazy Crustacean

2009-06-20T21:28:00.001-07:00

Today I was flushed out of the willows on the south side of Lake Merced by this mad crustacean. It scared the crap out of me, which is slightly pathetic given its size. But it just kept coming like a zombie. I was banging into willows trying to get out of the stand before it ... I dunno, tried to pinch my giant boot or something.

Anyone know what this thing is? Seen on the edge of a freshwater lake in San Francisco, about 1/2 mile or so from the beach at 3pm. As you can see, it has a black body and red legs. (If you click the pic it will get bigger.) It's aggressive attitude may not be apparent but this critter is not shy.

I also saw hummingbirds, double crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), ducks, baby ducks, coots, damselflies, and marsh wrens. And pigeons and sea gulls. And lots of Salix (willow) and Rubus (blackberry). And mosquitos in droves.

Science and Wanting Again

2009-06-19T14:16:00.001-07:00

I'm writing this post as my Mac loads giant aerial photographs into a remotely run Windows machine that allows me access to ArcGIS software. Animals produce young faster than I produce maps. Every time I zoom in or out of the photos, it takes 5-20 minutes for the image to reload. Complicating matters is the fact that the giant air photo files are on my Mac, forcing the remote Windows machine to access my hard drive. Yeah, that's because I don't have enough profile space through my university to put these files onto the remote server.

Is this making your head explode? It's making my head explode. My endeavors with science are always adept at proving Murphy's Law, if nothing else.

I asked for a disk quota increase at my university. Well, my prof did. I think that request might have been blown of by the IT folk cuz I never heard back. So my prof suggested that I cut the air photos (which are actually 5 different files per photo). To do this, I require a PC. Or Windows on my Mac. I don't actually have enough space to partition my hard drive to run Windows. So I need a PC. Back to wanting! Do I really want to get a PC just to cut some air photos? No. Will I? Maybe. I don't have time to load these things otherwise.

I could ditch the air photos, I suppose, but they're amazing! Yesterday at the office I was able to rectify the errors of the dinosaur GPS by zooming in to a level at which I could distinguish the parking signs I'd used for annotation during the fiel mapping. (nb I don't recommend using parking signs for such descriptors: There are too many of them!) As much as I'd love to work from the office, there's only one computer with Arc, and the staff have pressing things to accomplish. In other words, I'm kinda in the way at times, though no one ever makes me feel that way. I was on a roll yesterday, but had to quit about 30 minutes from finishing. And frankly, I like to do computer work at night, not during sunny days when the fieldwork is calling me!

But processing these maps is required before I can sample. Lake Merced is a patchwork of sites that I can't keep straight without decent maps. Even with decent maps I keep screwing it up.

Ooh, my image has loaded. Time to export and print. Time to hit the north side of the lake, where I'm working under a double breasted cormorant rookery. There's so much guano there that you can see it in the air photos. From across the lake it looks like someone has spray painted the tule and willows white. Photos soon!

Closing California's State Parks, Part 2

2009-06-15T09:21:00.001-07:00

Last year the jet commuting "green" governator of California proposed closing 48 state parks. We fought that off, retaining beautiful examples of the state's ecological diversity.

The proposal has jumped this year to 80% of all of our state parks. That translates to 220 parks statewide, every single state park in Santa Cruz County. This is chilling because it is widely known that state parks only cost about 0.1% of our budget and that over 80 million people visit our parks each each year, adding tourist spending to local economies. Call your legislator and the govenor if you live in California or have ever enjoyed a book by a Beat writer. The California State Parks Foundation has contact info.

If you don't know how diverse California is, then consider that the list includes parks on beaches, bays, deserts, woodlands, redwoods, mountains, reservoirs, natural lakes, riparian corridors, and poppy valleys. Nearly every state park that I've enjoyed is on the list. Andrew Molera in Big Sur? Talk about killing a community, that town depends on the parks for tourist revenue. Morro Bay State Park and State Beach? Are you kidding? Mono Lake Tufa State Nature Reserve? Mount Tamalpais, Mount Diablo, Angel Island, and Candle Stick (all in or serving San Francisco)? Half Moon Bay?

We can't keep people out (not a solution anyway), so we'll just have people using trails and other facilities with no maintenance or conservation. No erosion control. No trail stabilization. No rangers to help prevent fires. Fire wardens to watch for fires? No fire mitigation conservation (like controlled burns or even clearing understory that has accumulated due to fire supression). Fire hazards alone make this proposal ridulously expensive.

I also don't think I'm paranoid when I say that once the parks become a liability to the state, they'll be demonized, deemed blighted by unsupervised use (think atvs, dumping, and whatever else). Once that happens, and as the state sinks deeper into "crisis", they'll be sold. I see Home Despot selling the Sequoias of Armstrong Woods IN the former Armstrong Woods State Park in my darkest nightmares. Other results may include the philanthropic purchasing of these parks by rich people/organizations who will privatize them.

Yes, California has huge decisions to make about its budget. But this one is just stupid. Perhaps we should start talking about the percent of the California budget spent on prisons. Or maybe we should talk about entitlements. How much money are we spending on well deserved healthcare for government employees because private insurers are driving up the costs for everyone? Or hell, how about the amount of money we spend on elections and their unrealistic results because of the obscenely misused initiative process.

We need to tackle the big problems. California has been dealing with the little, stop gap decisions since the dot com bust. We've been raising transit fairs while reducing service, raising tuition while packing classrooms, and backing off our conservation commitments for years. It hasn't worked.

Right now we can try to protect these lands by begging our government to reconsider. If we lose there, what will we do to ensure that they remain open space for biodiversity and essential environmental processes that enable us to breathe and drink clean water? Indigenous people in Peru are fighting the government and oil giants in defense of the Amazon that provides them with life and home, and all of us with oxygen. Similar struggles are taking place everywhere in defense of the last bits of wildness supporting all life on our planet. What will I, my community, my family do to ensure that we can all breathe, eat, drink, and be sheltered?

Mmmmm, Food

2009-06-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

It's lunchtime in San Francisco. I skipped breakfast to go skipping actually. I know most people say dumpster diving here, but skipping is a term I picked up in London that I'm keeping. It sounds nicer and is so much easier to say. Anyway, I'm feasting on stir fry with leeks, yellow and anaheim peppers, carrots, spinach, and fresh lemon juice. I added some chickpeas and put it over rice/quinoa. (Did you know that quinoa is in the same genus, chenopodium, as goosefoot?)

I've been training myself to like sweet peppers because you can always find them in skips. I still cut them in big pieces so I can pick them out when I've had enough. I love hot peppers, and thus have 5 types growing in the garden. Apparently earwigs love peppers too, cuz they're eating the hell out of ours. They're also going for the lettuce, Brussel sprouts, and my flowering currant, Ribes sanguineum.

I kinda wish they'd shoot for the plums. I know I should stop maligning the plums. They've been yummier this year than ever, and with the help of some nifty folks, the first tree was fully harvested. I did my usual deliveries, batches of bread, and 2 small jars of jam. Then I posted on Neighborhood Vegetables for folks to come get what they could . That worked perfectly! A family came to get plums as the youngest loves them. And some folks from the Free Farm Stand got the rest to distribute before they became over ripe.

For the first time we really didn't let any go to waste, granted, there is another tree ripening at the moment. Loquats are in right now. Lettuce is harvestable but I skipped 4 heads today so I'm letting the leaves keep growing (just because I like earwigs or something). I don't think the corn is going to make it, but I could be wrong. I'm the only one who's grateful for our foggy weather, but it's definitely inhibiting grown in the vegetable patch. (And now that I'm finished with all of my grassland plots, the sun can come on for all I care.)

My native patch isn't food for humans, but it is definitely food for invertebrates. The patches would be bigger but Blake unintentionally slaughtered two of my plants for lettuce space. I got misty over one of them, but I'm not going to go there. Instead, I'm happy with the current buffet for bees, moths, other bugs.

Here's a moth on Phacelia californica. (You can double click the pix to see them full size.)

And here's something stingy on yarrow flowers (Achillea millefolium).

The bigger patch with some grey water to go on at dusk. In the back is the Ribes sanguineum. The yellow flowers are Grindelia hirsutula or gum plant. To the right are some volunteer poppies that joined the patch, Eschscholzia californica. The ones sticking up to the right and front of the Ribes are Scrophularia californica (bee plant). And the white flowers are the yarrow.

Poppy, yarrow, and gum plant close up.

Cellphone Free (For the Moment)

2009-06-10T16:49:00.000-07:00

My ancient phone broke last week. I held onto it when I left for London last summer, brought it back out for use at the SF airport to call my housemate about getting in the flat. My sister gave me that phone. Sometimes I had to pull the antennae out with my teeth for an adjustment to get it to work. I was stoked that it still worked when I landed. Some numbers were outdated. For example, I gave two people the number for a mutual friend only to discover that, in fact, I was giving out the number to the Presidio YMCA. Oops.

Now the phone is officially dead. I briefly missed it as an alarm clock. Then I remembered that my handy dandy anonemeter (wind meter) also serves as a piercing wake up call. I can check the time on my GPS or the ipod that my clients gave me last year. The darn phone never did tell me interesting things like elevation, slope angle, or compass bearing like the rest of the gadgets weighing me down these days. One less thing in my pocket.

As I've taken my time telling people that I'm back in SF, I felt no rush to tell people that my phone broke. I thought I'd get another one off Craigslist pretty quickly. I have not. I went to my (evil) service provider's shop to see if they had refurbished phones. Nope. Only online if you sign up for a 2 year contract. Umm, no thank you. Wow do I miss the European cellphone systems, where pay as you go is affordable and you only pay if you're the one making the call.

Busy with the vegetation survey, I have little time to arrange to get a new, used phone. I'm pretty tired when I leave whatever park I'm working. And I might have gotten a bit too social for a second, so I'm really trying to focus right now. Thus phone free life is kinda nice.

Or it was. Until this morning when a man got weird with me on Twin Peaks. I felt a bit intimidated and wished I had a phone. Then I wished that I hadn't wished I had a phone. I wished that people were more optimistic and kind. Later I wished that when I told the man about my work, which he perceived as inconveniencing him, that he appreciated my love of the land and commitment to conserving its integrity. But in that (rare) moment when I felt intimidated by his exasperation, I wished for a phone.

But I'm not searching Craigslist tonight for a phone. I swear they're all new on CL these days. What's up with that, anyway? I'm content for the moment to not have a phone. Removed from the weirdness, I'm confident that the guy was ok. For sure he was reluctant to descend that 35 degree slope to reach me and only got within shouting distance.

Whatever. Besides being intimidated, the other rarity today was the sighting of a rabbit in San Francisco. Apparently we used to have plenty. Local naturalist and habitat restoration guru, Jake Sigg, told me that he used to see them in Golden Gate Park, but that they've become quite rare, with people occasionally seeing them on Twin Peaks. I saw a sweet little bunny while biking on the east side of the hills, just coming around the south peak around 9:30 AM. I thought fondly of Louis Rex, the rabbit that I lived with in London. Granted Louis is way bigger than this little brush rabbit, who I scared half to death. Damn I wanted a picture of that furry butt crawling into the coyote bush (Baccharis pilularis). But no dice. I'm so slow and poor with the photo taking. A nice (used, of course) camera may be something I invest in if my life as an outdoorsperson is to continue.

I'll write more about Twin Peaks soon, much in the same fashion as Bayview and Glen Canyon. 'Til then, enjoy these pictures from a sunny day up there.

California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) surviving under 100% French broom (Genista monspessulana) cover.

View to the bay on Burnett. This sharp slope evidences human intervention for a road cut. Researching the history of my four parks (Bayview, Glen Canyon, Twin Peaks, and Lake Merced), I'm learning a lot about road cuts and other excavations for home construction.
Farewell-to-Spring (Clarkia rubicunda) on the bottom of that same sharp slope, demonstrating that nature and beauty cling to that which we leave it.

Glen Canyon!

2009-06-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

In the past week I've spent most of my days in Glen Canyon, sampling areas where Cape ivy (Delairea odorata), seen here attempting to devour a willow (Salix lasiolepis), has affected habitat. The willow scrub along the riparian corridor is a completely different habitat than the grasslands of Bayview Hill. Delving into this canyon offers an experience quite separate from the hiking of San Francisco's undeveloped hilltops. Rather than summiting a slope to gaze over our pretty city, bay, and/or ocean, getting lost in this recessed park is like pretending you're not in the city at all for a second. Sometimes the birds even drown out speeding cars on O'Shaughnessy.

Glen Canyon has meant new plants, new animals, and new challenges in my project. Sometimes the new animals are the new challenges. I thought a pugnacious hummingbird was going to poke me with it's needle beak on Monday. As weirdly intimidating as that was, the real challenge has been not freaking out about the snakes. I've seen 8 snakes in as many days (7 garters, 1 ring neck). One morning I saw 4 in about 90 minutes.

In the past I have been known to bolt as a result of ophidiophobia (fear of snakes), even once in Glen Canyon. I'm pretty sure that if I ever saw that movie, Snakes on a Plane, that I'd have a heart attack as it would combine my two great fears. However, I've been ridiculously chill about my serpent friends in Glen Canyon. I'm thinking that I've learned to dig 'em because I've had to crawl on my belly to get through the willows a time or two. They also tend to piss off pretty quickly, enabling me to suppress the shudders and squeals with a bit of dignity. I did manage to catch some pictures of number 8, who I saw yesterday on the edge of the willows to the northwest of the canyon.

Besides snakes and hummingbirds, I've seen red tailed hawks, a woodpecker, robins, about 10 other birds that I'll never know the names of, two species of lizard (alligator and maybe a fence lizard), and about a zillion mosquitos, spiders, beetles, bees, yellow jackets, dragon fly like creatures, and other equally important, though largely innocuous, bugs.

In addition to all of these critters, I've met new plants and become re-aquainted with some old ones. Getting into my sample sites has proven quite difficult. It's just dandy to ask GIS to demarcate random plots for sampling, but finding them in willow cover with the GPS is devilish. If I manage to find my spot, or can line myself up on a parallel or meridian and estimate how far into the willows to delve, I inevitably find myself tunneling through vicious Himalayan blackberry (Rubus discolor) or my dear friend, poison oak (Toxicodendron diversilobum). It often feels like I'm playing Twister with plants and getting my less-than-agile ass kicked. Ah, poison oak, such a chameleon! It acts like a vine in the willows, climbing well over my head as in the picture below. It's hanging over me, to my left, to my right, under my shoe, right where I just stuck my hand! The day I took this picture I almost washed my nostrils with technu.

In addition to noxious and intimidating plants, I've fallen in love with a few pretty or clever species. Scarlet monkey flower is not only beautiful, but it has a delightful, minty smell and a furry, sticky texture. I love it's tightly stacked, opposite leaves and the pronounced teeth on their margins. Long petioles (flower stalks) shoot elegantly out of the oddest places with absolutely no subtlety but all sorts of grace. I was losing the game of Twister trying to get a nice picture of the actual flower, but here's an overhead shot of the equally entrancing leaves of Mimulus cardinalis growing along Islais Creek.
Getting into wetter areas has provided an opportunity to work with larger specimens than the prostrate plants of grasslands. I still have to stare for about 5 minutes before cataloguing percent cover of each species. In grasslands I stare at waving, brownish graminoids, trying to actually see variety. In Glen Canyon's wetlands I mostly stare at green vines, though I also spend a lot of time surveying the different height layers of each plot, hoping to suss out different species at each level.

Trees have brought welcomed shade and vertical diversity to the sampling process. Sometimes I can use them to cross the creek without causing turbidity. Trees often allow me to hang my bag or GPS out of the reach of poison oak. When backlit by the sun, I can quickly begin to sort willow species based on the presence or absence of tiny teeth on the leaf margins. This elderberry, Sambucus racemosa L. var. racemosa has become a definite favorite, not in least because it has proven so easy to identify!

Besides trees and flowers, Glen Canyon supports weird life like moss, lichen, fungus, ferns, and fern allies. These evolutionarily old organisms reveal varying levels of complexity in structure and strategy. They're also just freaky looking, enhancing the mystique of each shady, squishy patch. Willows may host several lichens and mosses, none of which can I identify. I tend to call them things like "lichen spp. eerie green", "lichen spp. wispy", or "lichen spp. orange puke". I don't have to identify the lichens, mosses, and fungi because they are not plants! Hallelujah.

However I must reckon with ferns and fern allies. Ferns trip me out. I swear they all look alike. It takes me forever to figure out what pattern I'm seeing. Staring at a lady fern (Athyrium filix-femina var. cyclosorum) the other day I wondered if I'd accidentally eaten something hallucinogenic (I safely sample a lot of plant matter in the field) 'cause the darn plant seemed to change every time I glanced from my floral key back to the specimen. I bring them home and have the same problems with ferns. They're very repetitive in structure, such that I can't figure out where the patterns start and end. But one of their allies, known as giant horsetail or Equisetum telmateia, is native, abundant, and very easy to identify. These things make me ridiculously happy. It's weird too. Check it here in a juvenile form.

Glen Canyon, where I first participated in habitat restoration, often feels like my favorite San Francisco park. Getting into it's deep recesses, exploring areas I'd never seen previously, has definitely renewed my love for the linear gem below Twin Peaks. Speaking of those hills, I mapped areas of French broom (Genista monspessulana) importance up there today. I'll be moving into said grasslands tomorrow as the drying graminoids demand my attention lest I miss their miniscule flowers.

If you're going nuts with the Latin names, be tolerant. I'm trying to get comfortable with them in preparation for writing a ridiculously long research paper in July and August. Plus the more I see the names, the faster I can find them on my 10 page data sheets!

Against Car Alarms

2009-05-31T22:56:00.000-07:00

I loathe car culture without apology. Returning to the US has forced me to interact with the private automobile more than I'd like. You're probably thinking that this is going to turn into some bicycle supremacy rant. Or that I'm going to lament the drastic cuts to public transit that take effect on SF Muni tomorrow (bad news!). But no, this is yet another post from the naturalist in me.

Last night I heard a bird mock a car alarm at 2 AM. Perhaps it was my overly empathetic ears, but he sounded as though he struggled to break the repetitions as the tones tilted and varied, perfectly replaying the cacophony meant to protect a person's property from other people. How about protecting the rest of us from noise pollution? How about protecting or simply respecting birds and wildlife that have to hear all of our racket?

In London, I would notice on my long rides home at night, particularly from Finsbury Park to Peckham, that birds sang at night. In fact, there are papers on these phenomena as birds sing at night because they cannot hear each other during the day. Another paper indicates that birds in urban areas have a lower motivation to sing in areas with anthropogenic noise pollution. So we have some evidence that birds are affected by all of our urban or industrial noise. They've come up with some strategies such as singing at night and using very high pitched calls.

Then there's the car alarm, a nuisance if ever one existed. As this recession hits harder, I expect that there will be more theft of everything. And yet anyone with a car alarm should disable it. This is our collective planet. You want a car. I want birds to sing they're own songs, not creepy renditions of an overly sensitive alarm at 2 AM. I'm betting the birds and most of your neighbors are with me. Democracy says destroy your alarm!

Really Really Free Market Saturday in Dolores Park!

2009-05-27T13:21:00.001-07:00

Saturday is the monthly Really Really Free Market in San Francisco from 1-5pm in Dolores Park near 19th St. I'll be there with some garden starts, plums, and some weird stuff that I left in my garage when I moved to London.

Yes, I said it, the plum trees are at it again. I finally had a chance to do some gardening yesterday, clearing the way for a successful plum harvest. I brought in about 2 gallons of nice plums. I swear, the more I lop that tree the more it produces. I made some plum bread, which I enjoyed with a friend who kindly painted my room yesterday (woohoo!). I guess i'll be canning a lot of it again this year. Plum jam anyone?

Focusing on Fragments

2009-05-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

I've always known that SF habitat is diverse and fragmented, a true mosaic landscape. Walk through a grassland that turns into scrub, round a corner onto a western slope with a bit of runoff and you might find some weirdly green vegetation. Every chunk is cleaved by trails, roads, and adjacent property lines.

Really getting into it with research goals in mind, I'm finding the pieces a bit overwhelming. Yesterday, with the help of Randy Zebell (a city land manager with mad skills), I began to map the previous extent of Cape ivy (Delairea odorata) invasions in Glen Canyon Park. It's a completely different scale than the French broom (Genista monspessulana) that I've been working on Bayview. Ok, I knew this. And I knew it would be difficult to map these little pieces, but it's really difficult. I'm not a natural at any of this so it takes a lot of repetition and review for me to understand what I've just accomplished.

I'm about to go over to the office of the Natural Areas Program to try to offload my GPS points onto a computer. I'll compare these line fragments to aerial photos and existing maps to complete the mapping of the way that Cape ivy has spread and been controlled in Glen Canyon. Randy led me around the park but we couldn't simply walk a line around our areas of interest. The terrain is steep in places. If not steep, it's impenetrably covered with willow, blackberry, and poison oak. Inside the willows, the GPS does not get a reading anyway, so we walked lines through to clear patches, waited for the beep (which indicates that the GPS is reading) and moved on.

Although I've loved Glen Canyon for years, and it's the first park in which I did habitat restoration, I went to places I'd never seen yesterday. We saw two garter snakes, a fancy hummingbird (I suck at birds), raptors, and dragonflies galore. I still have to go back to Bayview this weekend to wrap up some plots there, but by Sunday I'll be scratching my way through the vicious vegetation of Glen Canyon. I'm seeing a pattern in my work that's got little to do with nature: Fight with a computer to create maps, cling to steep, windy, poison oak ridden grasslands, fight with computer, claw through dense blackberry, fight with computer....

On Moving Back and Bayview

2009-05-19T17:06:00.000-07:00

It's so nice to be spending my days outside again! Well, I say that from the warm shelter of my bedroom after bitching bitterly into 20 mph winds for about 3 hours today. Estimating the percent cover of grasses becomes a bit more difficult in such wind, especially on 25 degree slopes. Still, I'm learning a lot about plants, which makes this geek very happy.

With respect to other plants, the backyard is booming with veggies and natives. Almost all of my natives survived my absence. The ones that didn't are annuals that might not have returned anyway. I'm a bit sad that my Viola pedunculata failed to return, but whatever. We're growing 5 types of hot peppers, corn, tomatoes, beans, snap peas, broccoli, lettuce and fruit trees! As always, we're only using grey water for the garden. This could incite a battle between myself and Blake as he's focused on the food but I'm intent on getting my Ribes sanguineum through the summer without a total brownout.

Speaking of watering, I went to McLaren to visit the oak (Quercus agrifolia) and it's doing fairly well, though kinda leany. I think I'll have to go stake in some supports. Maybe next Sunday during the concert for Soupstock, a celebration of 29 years of Food Not Bombs. I'm looking forward to taking an afternoon off for this one!

I'm hoping that by then I'll be finished with plots on Bayview, one of the most diverse but underutilized parks in SF. This hilltop park hosts over 226 plant species on just 44 acres. When I go there in the morning, the rest of SF is still covered in fog, but I'm in full sun. Sunday I nearly drank a litre of water and had to leave anyway because the second bottle got too hot to drink. I'm sure I got poison oak as I could not be bothered to put on sleeves. Yesterday I watched the fog swallow Twin Peaks, then most of the financial district, then McLaren, then Bernal and I was still in sun when I left at 6:30. And then today I nearly froze in the wind. SF hills and their microclimates, amazing.

In the end, I borrowed a newer GPS and clinometer from SFSU Geography. I ran into one of my favorite professors, who encouraged me to go to grad school. Everyone there is so mellow! No swipy cards to access the map library or anything else. I love geographers. That's why I became one. Seriously, I was well into other subjects in the humanities but SFSU geography has the raddest people and it always felt like a good fit. I'm stoked for the annual picnic next week, when I hope to catch up with some of these folks properly. Maybe I'll take the clinometer to have someone can verify that I'm using it correctly!

Borrowing is definitely the way to go. I don't need a GPS of my own. I just need access to one. I sure as hell don't need a personal clinometer. It's weird enough that I have an anonemeter, though I use it whenever possible. I've also borrowed several grass manuals, field guides, and wildflower books, as well as one title known as "How Grass Grows". It's stimulating, I swear.

Science Makes Me Want Things

2009-05-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

I'm back in SF to do my research on weed removal projects and recovery in urban habitat fragments this summer. Yes, I'm serious. And yes, I'm excited. Sure, some of my coursemates are in big wildernesses in Kenya, Brazil, or Ecuador, but I love my urban wildlands. And there is some pretty amazing stuff happening in SF. For example, the endangered Mission Blue Butterfly was recently re-introduced to one of the parks that I worked in last year. I pulled invasive French broom in Mission Blue habitat to ensure the persistence of native plants, such as the silver lupine (larval food plant for the Mission Blue). This year I'm mapping French broom and Cape ivy in several parks. It's all connected, I swear.

But to the point: Science makes me want things. I've had some minor disappointments on the equipment front in SF. And suddenly I want a very fancy GPS device. I'd like a clinometer. I'm keen to have a copy of Windows for Mac as well as ArcInfo. While I'm having this stuff fantasy, I'll toss in some new panniers and a hat. Oh, and paint for my room - wait, that's got nothing to do with science.

Yeah, I want fancy gadgets and kit. I can't afford that stuff, and I don't need them as an individual. But I want them. I've put in a request at San Francisco State (my alma mater) to see if I can borrow a GPS and clinometer. I have access to ArcView with the Natural Areas Program. But I need ArcInfo if I'm going to generate random plots so I'll be reverting to my UCL remote login for some functions. That's annoying and slow. Luckily I won't need it much.

It's unfortunate that conservation is so stinkin' costly. I'm moving into consultancy with my new skills and so getting some of this equipment or software is going to become necessary. I've got to find a way to do it affordably and responsibly. I started looking at GPS devices on Ebay and almost fell out of my chair when I read some of the prices. ArcInfo is so expensive that they won't even list the price online. You have to call to get it. Well, maybe it's because depending on your use of it the price changes. I don't know.

On the domestic front, I've moved back into my place. I want to paint my room so about 4 hours after I got home I went to the hardware store and bought a mixed paint reject. It was a deep red. I want a light color so I added white. How I didn't know that it would turn out to look like pepto bismal is beyond me. This reminds me that I have a Freecycle post to write. Someone painting a nursery is going to be stoked.

Leaving London

2009-05-11T01:13:00.000-07:00

My time in London is up! I'm sitting at Heathrow, ages early for my flight. I've gotten rid of the replaceable things like bedding and tupperware, but am going home with about a rucksack more of things than I came with. Most of that is clothing from the free shop at the Library House, books from my course, and WELLIES!

The past week has been great as I've said goodbye to the amazing friends I've made in London. I really love this place and am sorry to be leaving just as spring has set in and the days are forever long. We had a fabulous picnic at Myatt's Fields yesterday and a bonfire later at the Library House. My friends will return to court on Wednesday to fight the eviction there. Our garden is blooming with lettuce, peas, mustard, rocket, sage, etc. Spadella just put in a pond and really we've made it a wonderful place!

Though I'm sad to leave London, I'm excited to go back to SF. In 15 hours I get to see my cats and those beautiful hills overlooking the bay. I sense fog in my future.

Another Article

2009-04-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

I ran across this article , A Future Too Big to Fail: Ecological Ignorance and Economic Collapse,
by Chip Ward on CommonDreams. Two excerpts I particularly liked:

"Once you have driven off a cliff, it does you little good to realize that you are falling. The time to practice water conservation is before your well runs dry. Our culture's ability to deal with thresholds has proven only slightly better than my dog's ability to solve algebra problems."

"We got it wrong. A capitalist economy based on constant, unlimited growth is a reckless fantasy because ecosystems are not limitless -- there are just so many pollinators, so many aquifers, so much fertile soil. In nature, unchecked rapid growth is the ideology of the invasive species and the cancer cell. Growth as an end in itself is ultimately self-destructive."

Fabulous Article and Things to Take

2009-04-16T10:00:00.001-07:00

This article by Fred Pearce gives a comprehensive critique of the impacts of over-population versus over-consumption. It's very up to date on the specific levels of consumption and provides good analysis of the differences between population and consumption levels. One thing I found lacking was analysis of what will happen if the western lifestyle and economic system remains the goal for 'developing' nations. To be fair, Peace mentioned it but said it was an issue of consumption, not population. I found this article particularly stimulating after seeing photos of the tax day 'tea parties' with signs recommending Ayn the barely human Rand alongside racist and xenophobic slogans about immigration. I really think we in the US should leave tea to the English. Maybe we don't get it?

On another note:
After about 5 minutes of thinking, I've decided to only take home as much as I brought with me. That means some of my shit is going to be tossed (see holey clothing) and some is going to be given away (see bedding).

Ok a lot of it is going to end up in those two categories because I've acquired things that I actually like while here. Though I'm only taking the two bags and bike home, I think I might ship at least the bike rather than taking it on the plane. It's cheaper on the plane, but I can't figure out how to get to the airport with all that shit. I had help on both ends the last time (thanks Dad and Max!) but I think I'll be solo this time. Just me and a load of valium - oh how I wish I could just fall asleep and re-appear in SF.

In prepping to leave, things I'm taking back to SF have popped into my head. Most of them are plans. Plans for the shit I want to prioritize when I get back to my city.
I'm taking with me:
- a commitment to cook with Food Not Bombs at least twice a month.
- a desire to resume my study of Arabic or possibly Spanish - whichever I can do for free.
- a lot of joy for cycling!
- a groovy plan for a foraged dinner party with my friends.
- a lust for Rainbow grocery (and its skip).
- a stubborn unwillingness to make plans for this fall.
- and some objects that flew here with me, plus a few that did not, the latter mostly comprising of fliers, propaganda, and books. Oh, and wellies!

Rivers Dying in the US

2009-04-14T02:52:00.000-07:00

As a Californian, I write about water a lot, particularly after taking an illuminating course on water resources in my undergrad. I'm currently writing a paper on wetlands for my master's (or doing anything but writing about wetlands more precisely). Most Americans can live for weeks without food but only a day or two without water. It's a crucial element of life, like most of the services provided by our planet.

I just read this article about dying rivers in the States. Given rampant spray-head irrigation in the dry, hot Central Valley, I felt no surprise at the listing of the Sacto-San Joaquin system as number one. As California faces water rationing, I'm really hoping that changes are forced on agriculture, including the curtailing of land and water for irrigated pasture and alfalfa for beef production. We can force those changes with consumer choices. If you're in California or buying California agricultural products, remember that one serving of beef uses about 2,000 gallons of water to produce. You can acquire the same amount of protein and nutrition using far less water through other California crops. Eating lower on the food chain can help these rivers.

Right now, the San Francisco Chronicle has a 'game' on its website where you can 'choose who gets water'. But it's not quite true. You can adjust the percentages of water only to the current distribution levels! I thought that I would be able to lower the flow for agriculture and get some analysis of what we might lose, but it's not that sort of a 'game'.

While the destruction of California's rivers is no longer surprising, I wasn't expecting to see Flint River as number two on the list. I grew up just a couple of miles from the head of the Flint River. That Georgia is stupidly retracing California's steps in water supply mistakes by trying to dam is pathetically shortsighted and a stopgap destined to fail. Current research and global trends shows that the era of dams is over. It's time to decommission dams, not build them. Georgia wasn't prepared for the population explosion, allowing developers to carve up and subdivide my home state with impunity. Increasing supply will encourage more growth and waste. Instead, Receiving over 40 inches a year, Georgia needs to find a way to sustainably harvest some of it's rainwater.Increasing efficiency can also take up a lot of the slack in supply shortages, if not all. And again, agriculture accounts for over 55% of water use in Georgia.

We've seen these same problems in California. It's time for other states and government entities to learn from the water mistakes of the west. And though most water is dedicated to agriculture in the States, that doesn't relieve the individual from her responsibility. Many of our responsibilities now lie in our consumer choices and our willingness to step up and defend threatened resources. To learn more about water resources in Georgia, you might check out the Georgia Water Coalition. For California, I like to get my water info from the Department of Water Resources.

Assisted Downsizing ...

2009-04-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of holey, tattered, and stained clothing and shoes. Wait, that's a bit of a misstatement: A lot of my clothing is holey, tattered, and stained. I don't actually have a lot of clothing anymore. As my mom likes to say, I'm "hard on clothes". I like to think the rips and smudges are well earned, the product of an active, outdoorsy life with dogs, dirt, and bicycles. However there's no denying that several items of clothing, particularly my trousers, are holey as a result of my multiple malco moments (mal-coordinated). On my shirts and sweaters there's an obvious pattern of cat claw interaction. Always on the belly (hind paws) and shoulder (front paws).

Whatever. I'm ambivalent about the appearance of my clothes. It's just true. I think I tried to give a shit when I was 15 but found it tedious ... like makeup, jewelery, and hair products, it just never stuck. I don't care if you care about yours, but don't expect me to trip about the state of my shirt and shoes. I find London unnecessarily sharp as compared with San Francisco's tolerance of a dirtier, hippie element. That doesn't mean SF is better than London on the fashion front: Gimme sharp and proud over faux hipster poverty any day.

Many Compactors have rules about clothes to determine what to keep and what to thrift. If you don't wear it in a month it goes, or something like that. So much of my clothing is too tattered to thrift so I'm stuck wearing them until it's conscionable to turn them into rags or cat blankets or something.

But today I got some help in the downsizing from my housemate, who thought she'd help me out by drying my laundry. I can toss one of my sweaters, which had cat claw holes on the belly and shoulder, because it's the appropriate size for a 12 year old now. It was only the softest sweater I've ever had ... now it's definitely a cat blanket. It's funny 'cause I shrunk a similar yellow sweater to the point that it fit an 8 year old this time last year. Maybe I'm not meant to have yellow v neck sweaters or something.

Things to Leave, Things to Take

2009-04-09T03:24:00.000-07:00

As I consider my departure from London, I'm contemplating my stuff again. I was ever practical in coming here. I likely put too much emphasis on my dedication to the Compact, bringing really utilitarian things that I knew I'd need but wouldn't want to buy. I've used almost everything that came over in my allotted luggage, even the fancy shoes and trousers that my sister, Erica insisted that I bring.

Ok, so I've used everything. But I had no extra space coming over, and I've acquired some stuff since I've been here. The free shop at the Library House has stocked me with fun new used clothes. I've got two new used backpacks that are absolutely fabulous and definitely going along. I'll be damned if I'm leaving my wellies behind. And then there's all the books and notes and papers I've accumulated in my time at UCL. I've also got a ridiculous affection for a pillow I picked up on Freecycle and the sheets I got are better than anything I had at home...

I don't really buy souveniers. I'm a trinket lover but tend to find them rather than buy them, like the goofy bat toy that my coursemates and I found in a vent in the hostel in Norfolk. Perhaps I place too much emotional emphasis on practical objects because I don't really set out to purchase an object to preserve a memory. I'm surprised at how much shit I want to take home with me.

I got rid of nearly all of my frivolous stuff in SF last summer. My time away is short, but I saw it as a way of making it less important for me to come back. Those darn cats and all of my lovely friends have made that effort seem so ridiculous. It was never going to be the stuff drawing me home, not even the house I lived in for four years. I'm excited to tend my garden but it's the parks that make the city home. It's all the people and dogs and Quivus and Zalaazil that make it so easy to say yes to SF.

Is it a permanent yes? I dunno. So how much of this shit is worth carting home? I dunno.

April 1st Reportback

2009-04-06T04:49:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've written here. After my exam I had some writer's burnout. Then I was hella busy with the G20 demonstrations. A week of not writing at all has led to an outpouring of words and ideas, most of which don't relate to this blog. I'll try to spare you my critiques of activism and instead focus on the environmental themes behind some of the demonstrations. I was present at several demonstrations during G20, but I'll stick to the April 1st marches and climate camp to keep this relevant to your assumed interests. I say that, but want to acknowledge that there is no way to separate our ecological concerns from the social and political problems that we face.

I consider myself an environmental/ecological activist primarily. When I think about violence and war, I'm forced to consider how much of that is a result of the distribution of resources. When I think about homelessness or land tenure, I feel implicitly that our first 'home' is our planet. State borders frustrate me foremost because they're arbitrary on the land, political attempts to confine and define nature along anthropocentric lines. Regardless of what I'm working on politically, I'm always an earth activist at my core. But I understand the immediacy of other issues, and I think it's important for us to engage in the struggles that move us.

The economic 'crisis', not any environmental issues, brought the decision makers of 20 countries to London. This was not a holistic attempt to change course. It was a blind patching of a sinking ship that's struggling to stay the course of environmental destruction and top down distribution of resources. It was also an opportunity to bring our concerns to the media's attention, though they were much more content to focus on Michelle Obama's outfits.

The sudden need for this summit meant that these leaders couldn't hide out in a fortress like Gleneagle or Sardinia. Instead we got the rare opportunity to address those directing our lives in an urban, easily accessible environment. Few of us bothered approaching the ExCel Center, which is easily fortified against demonstrators. This fact was well known to those organizing the summit as well as to local demonstration organizers who have seen the Arms Fair come to ExCel several times. I might have made it down there on the 2nd if not for the raids, which took precedence that day.

Instead, demonstrations were organized across the London financial district, largely focusing on Bank, an area full of ... well, banks. On April 1st, four marches left from different locations around 11 AM toward the Bank of England. These themes were tied together by the people representing them at Bank. I've heard commentators in mainstream coverage decrying the lack of a coherent message, but I disagree. The message was a simple rejection of the ideologies that have brought us to environmental and economic collapse. A rejection of the systems that these 'leaders' were coming to prop up artificially against the will of many of their constituents. We presented not only an oppositional voice to business as usual, but also manifestations of the cooperation and creativity required to build the sorts of communities that we wish to develop. We demonstrated that although our motivations and tactics are diverse, we see a common opportunity to rid ourselves of the systems that degrade our planet, fuel war and violence, deprive people of homes, and allow the rich to rise above it all.

The organically developed streets of London offer several points of arrival at Bank. This proved quite helpful as the cops kettled (penned) the marches in at their points of origin. Though they eventually allowed the marches to proceed to Bank, it's always nice to make your own way, absent a police escort. And I did make my own way, with about 30 friends, who also got word that our march, the housing/tenancy/property march, which followed the black horse of the apocalypse, was kettled at Cannon Street. We arrived with many banners and costumes just before our police escorted march descended upon the crowded streets surrounding Bank, allowing us to welcome our own march with similarly themed banners (property is theft; G20: 1 Lie; Tea, Cookies, and Revolution; Bread!).

Marches addressing violence and war, climate and environment, and financial crimes joined us at Bank. Samba tunes, bagpipes, and chants rent the air around us. Masses of police twitched on all sides but made no moves against us at this early hour.

Planning to camp just a few blocks away, my friends and I were saddled with large bags as well as unwieldy banners, our intentions solidly displayed. We worried beforehand that we would be stopped from getting to the climate camp location, but found that we were allowed to move, so long as we were creative. A handy map produced by local organizers aided our travel to the campsite. Later that day I saw cops using the same map. I laughed quite a bit at this. It was damn useful though, and I kept a copy in my pocket for several days.

Friends and I made it to the camp location in time for 'the swoop', or the mass erection of tents on Bishopsgate, just a few hundred meters from Liverpool Street Station. We put up our tent, tossed some banners over ours and that of a neighbor, also our friend. Not knowing what would come next, we stayed alert to police movement at either end of the camp. Festivities began as infrastructure for the camp, including toilets and a kitchen, went up. Also inside the camp were several police vans. By 2:30 or so, I was exhausted, having slept about an hour the night before. A friend and I dared take a nap in this hectic environment. I was convinced that the kettle would come at nightfall, so I let the warm day lull me into a less than deep sleep.

I came out of the tent around 4:30 to see many workshops progressing. Soon people were hopping off the tube to join the camp. Folks who had not been at the demonstrations all day. Folks bringing in lots of beer. Folks perhaps less aware of the 200-300 cops at either end of the camp. The camp was crowded. The vibe seemed somewhat ignorant of the possibilities of an imminent kettle, though people slipping in from Bank or who had been around all day still had some realism about the situation.

I love a good street party. I love Reclaim the Streets and Critical Mass. I love the idea that we should be free on our streets, particularly in the absence of cars. I even wanted a beer at this street party, though in the end I didn't have one until I left. But I've also seen enough police brutality at demonstrations to fear it. And I guess part of my fear makes me less comfortable with drinking. Being hyper alert is tiring. Being anxious about the cops sucks. And though I was truly enjoying the camp, loving seeing so many of my friends united in a space that in that afternoon felt quite safe, I was nervous about diminishing my alertness. I walked out of the camp with two friends around 6:30. We had each been around all day. Two of us had had very little sleep over the previous days. We were a bit overwhelmed.

We got back to the camp and it had been kettled. I was terribly relieved to be on the outside. One friend really wanted to be on the inside because the festivities continued. I understand the sentiment, but we also had some great musicians outside the kettle, and I couldn't envy my friends stuck inside. I did, however, want to know first hand of their safety. And I was slightly resentful toward, though not surprised at the cops for taking away our street unity. We need those moments of unity and fruition.

We waited on the north side of the kettle for several hours. We had good communication with people inside. Rumors of beatings circulated outside the kettle, but confirmation came from within that spirits remained high. Eventually tension rose outside the kettle. The litter of empty beer cans began to fly as demonstrators got restless. I stood on the cop line for ages. Some of the folks engaging the cops were annoyingly drunk. It was slightly embarrassing. I didn't feel sorry for the cops, but I didn't feel inspired or proud either. I just stood there with legal observers, watching. Once we were pushed beyond the line of sight, we left. Friends inside were well connected to each other. They said we should go. None of my friends seemed surprised by the outcome. None complained of the results. I think they all knew what to expect.

No one excuses the police aggression that rose during the eviction of climate camp. It was completely unnecessary, particularly given joyful the nature of the action. They kept everyone kettled past the last tubes. People who thought they were just dipping into the camp for a peek were stuck very late without warm clothes. A lot of people didn't know what to expect. I assume this experience will be quite radicalizing for many of them, though I'm not entirely sure of that.

I've read so many accounts of the camp that attempt to separate that action from the one at Bank. I was at both and consider them part of the same movement. I reject the notion that climate camp suffered because of actions at Bank. The day progressed nearly exactly as I expected in terms of police aggression, kettles and the camp eviction. So to me it is unrealistic and unfair to blame Bank demonstrators for police violence at climate camp. Why would we expect the police to be reasonable at climate camp just because it was 'peaceful'? Almost all of the Bank demonstrators were 'peaceful'. Same with the Gaza demo's in January. Same with the demonstrations in San Francisco in solidarity with Tristan Anderson. Same with demonstrations against the wall in the West Bank. And yet there was brutality at each. Non-violent demonstrations are often attacked, exposing the brutality of the system, as is one aim of such actions.

I still see the actions on April 1st as part of one movement and encourage those that seek to divide them to think again. To look for cohesion because the bigger division is between us and the authorities, not one action and another. We set out with four themes toward a common space. We have recognized that our motivations are multiplicitous but that our goals are common. Our tactics are diverse, but our need for solidarity is broad. The organizing for G20 offered space for our differences in a way that allowed for some cohesion, some movement building that wasn't entirely predicated on the existence of an enemy. I hope we continue to occupy that space, though we've been evicted from the streets and the convergence center for now. Retaining that creative organizing space is equally important.

Fuck, I did a really bad job of keeping the discussion to the environment, away from activism. Whoops.

Compacting Music

2009-03-27T02:39:00.000-07:00

I made it through my exam fairly easily. In the end I'm happier with the paper than I anticipated, which feels nice.

I couldn't have gotten through the exam without good tunes. My music supply is limited here in London. I'm used to living with a mad collector of new, amazing music. Blake was my source of new music for about 10 years, and he mostly still is. Beth! also hooks me up with new tunes, though I haven't been able to listen to the playlists she sent me because I had to disconnect the cd drive on my computer at one point in its flakiness. I only have about 15 GB of music with me. No cds or anything like that. I run through this very often as I spend many many hours in front of this computer or on my bike (yeah, no lectures on how biking with headphones is wack).

But there's music just waiting to be harvest online. DJ /Rupture provided the adrenaline for a lot of my work this week. I should really thank him. I have his album, Uproot and have just been alerted to his weekly WFMU radio show. So now I'm listening to archives of that.

Other options I've played around with include Last FM, which is ok. It's less useful when you need to focus. Well maybe not if you're not as potentially distracted by music as I am. I need it but I also need it to be right. I download a bit from Emusic, but I can't afford to do it a lot. I prefer downloads directly from bands, which is how I got the newest Cloud Cult album.

I realize that it takes server space to keep these things available online. I know there are impacts, but it's better than cds and tapes and vinyl in terms of consumption. The Compact has always encouraged folks supporting the arts. It's an alternative, social consumption based around ideas rather than goods.

I still can't believe I haven't seen any live music, except street or demonstration music, since I've been in London. I just don't have my finger on that. But I've started looking into what shows are happening in SF over the summer, hell yeah. And by then I'll have access to Blake's dialed in musical awareness. It's hard to miss good shows with him around!

Proposals and other papers

2009-03-24T03:55:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned that my return to SF for the summer is official? I've written a proposal for a weed mapping project for the Natural Areas Program. I'm excited and intimidated by the thought of using ArcGIS again. I have another paper for this course that will require Arc so I have another chance to push my skills before I set out on my own. It's surprising that I chose a project that will inevitably involve many bouts of me yelling at a computer ...

Just thinking about it makes me want a new computer. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. My powerbook has been super flakey. You might remember that I bartered for this machine about 3 years ago, when I finished my undergrad. It's powerful, but at least 5 or 6 years old now. When I think about my future in conservation, I really want some new software too. In my dreams, I'd have a new (to me, but used) macbook with windows for mac, canoco, stella, ArcGIS, and the newest version of photoshop. In my dreams.

Most likely I'll stick with this machine a bit longer. The Natural Areas Program has ArcGIS, so I'll plan on working in their office or on WTS, which is this weird thing (I don't even know if it's software) that allows me to sign into UCL computers from my computer. WTS is annoying and slow, but it means I'll be able to work from home. And I like working from home.

In fact, I want to be able to set up a consultancy after the GIS project. That might require a new computer and some software. It sounds like there's no money in the City budget to hire someone like me. And since I know that Cali has flat out canceled 4,000 conservation projects, I'm prepared to go it alone, again. I've had 3 successful small businesses in SF. I'll be reviving at least one of those, but damn it would be nice to focus entirely on conservation, at least while I'm still paying for the degree! The idea of returning to my hectic, 3 job lifestyle is really not appealing. But I'm not the only one and I'm going to be lucky to have one job in this economy, really.

I'm still writing my exam, which is 4,000 words on protected areas versus landscape scale conservation. We've got a bit more flexibility in this essay than we've had in the other coursework. I've gotten a chance to write a teeny bit about theory and values for the first time. If I weren't so distracted by other life events, I'd probably rock this paper because it's kinda interesting. I've 'read' (meaning scanned) about 12 books and 30 papers on the topic and those things that I think are related - like theory on the existence of nature, capitalism in conservation, and sense of place. Right now I should be writing the boring part of the essay. The actual comparisons of landscape scale and protected areas conservation. Though I have some mildly inspiring language maps on my wall to drive my clever phrasing, the facts are boring! But I must get back to them.

Pollen and Procrastination

2009-03-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

London has provided a bounty of new experiences for me in the past six months. My newest adventures include allergies, apparently to tree pollen. I find this a bit exciting, but maybe that's just a poor interpretation of breathlessness. I had allergies when we moved from the Atlanta area to Bartow County when I was thirteen, but that's the only time. Now I have full on hayfever, which is really weird.

How can I possibly be allergic to trees? Is this nature giving me a hard time for those years that I drove a car? A solid 'fuck you, human' from mother earth? I doubt it. But it's fun to think about. Biologically speaking, I guess these pollens are new for me. As I bike, entirely emotionless tears flow down my cheeks, add in my perplexed grin and I bet I look like a freak and a half.

By dwelling hayfever I have found a new means of procrastination. The exam for my course is a 4,000 word essay, the question for which I received yesterday. It's due next Friday and I have done a lot of research but haven't started writing. It's too sunny to stay inside and write all day. Instead I've walked the schnauzers a whole lot. They're moving to Milano tomorrow so it's been a good excuse. I've sneezed a lot. I've made lots of food from skipped vegetables. I've written a draft proposal for my disseration (not due until April 28th, of course). I've stared out the window at the cats. And I've ridden my bike all over the place!

I have to imagine that if I did actually shop, that I'd have a whole new means of procrastination. Blowing off essays for a trip to the shops could feel so good if you didn't care about consumption, I'm thinking. Of course, the bill for procrastination of that sort might be haunting.

Soon I'm going to focus, put down 4,000 mediocre words on the advantages and disadvantages of landscape scale and protected area approaches to nature conservation. I'm going to weave in all those ethical tangents that I've been dying to express in this course. I'm going to critique capitalism in conservation while relying on ecosystem services to make my point about landscape scale conservation. How I'm going to make all of that relevant to the question ... not sure. I have some planning to do before I write. Luckily I think most of the heavy reading is complete!

Now it's me and loads of scrap paper from the UCL print stations for some brainstorming and outlining.
Here goes.

Student Debt in the States

2009-03-19T04:28:00.000-07:00

I just had to do 'exit counseling' online for my student loans. I worked my way through my undergrad so this is the first time I've ever had debt. It's scary. Lots of my friends in the UK don't get my trepidation, as there are some ways to circumvent the system here. However, my exit counseling has assured me that, though bankers will be bailed out in the US, my debt will not be forgiven, unless:

Stafford Exit Topic 5 of 6: Loan Cancellation

You are generally obligated to repay your student loan, regardless of what happens. In fact, federal student loans usually are not even discharged or cancelled due to bankruptcy. However, there are a few situations in which your loan may be cancelled:

You die
You are totally and permanently disabled (requires certification from a physician and is subject to a conditional period of three years)
Your school fails to pay a refund if you withdraw
You are unable to complete your program of study due to school closure
Your loan was falsely certified as a result of identity theft
Your school falsely certified or fraudulently completed a loan application in your name without your approval

Dissertation Decisions

2009-03-16T04:43:00.001-07:00

Post Tenerife I've had some time to think about what I want to do for my dissertation this summer. I'm going to talk to my prof in about an hour, but I'm feeling a little glowy about the idea of returning to San Francisco to map the distribution and management of invasive species. The city now has a weed management area and I like the idea of contributing to that larger goal. And I really miss my parks!

Having worked on those lands previously, I'm keen to touch that sandy, rocky soil. I've heard so much about the weird weather and I miss the coastal gusts. I want to see that oak tree in McLaren and those spots I weeded on Twin Peaks a year ago. What's happened to it now? Was my work effective? Am I really going to have the pleasure of mapping the former distribution of French broom in the Bowl (a spot on Twin Peaks)? Is there some opportunity for me to evaluate the way that our different eradication methods have worked? Some way to relate the removal of large monocultures to the resulting diversity or persistence of rarities or endangered species found in SF? You can bet I'll try.

This project reminds me a bit of Green DogWalks in that it requires evaluating the efficacy of our actions in natural areas. I know it's crucial to good management, but it can also be a bit overwhelming. Whatever, better to know than to not, right? After my initial foray into GIS, I'm surprised that I'm seeking this project, but it's such a fabulous tool. I'm sure my tech-drama will end when I get back to SF, where internet is reliable! (Yeah, I know that has nothing to do with my ability to use GIS).

What happened to my draw to the desert? Well, the limitations are vast, including financial. Ok that one's huge. But also, everything I want to study is going to be cured or dead over my study period. Means no field work though I might be able to use existing data. So I'd be spending my summer in air conditioning and riding in cars instead of on my bike mapping the land I love. No shit, I'm a little disappointed, but I'm not going to dwell on that. I'll go to the desert for work some day. I'll make it to the border to fight that wall with the Endangered Species Act, no doubt.

But for now, I'm feeling glowy about SF. (Ignore that last post that mentioned me remembering all the reasons I left. I'm planning on ignoring all of that crap when I get back.) I'm stoked about seeing my cats. When I told Blake that we have to get rid of everything gray because I'm sick of gray, he reminded me that our dear Quivus is gray. And she's pretty awesome! So true.

But I have to say, it's not gray here at all. It's sunny and blue. And I'm looking forward to walking my favorite gray dog, Pixel (and his brother, Raster) later in Brockwell Park.

Triumphs, Trips, and Tiredness

2009-03-13T02:57:00.000-07:00

I got back from the Tenerife field study at 6pm on Wednesday and went straight to the Library House for the weekly cafe, where we were showing films about globalization and poverty. I walked into a room full of friends offering hot food, smiles, and updates. After a draining day of fear and medication - I'm a terribly anxious flyer - I couldn't have asked for more. We watched "We", which is a bit of a visual essay to accompany a speech by Arundhati Roy. I fully recommend it if you haven't seen it.

In absolutely fabulous news, the next court date for the Library House is not until May 13th! We're stoked to have so much time to prepare our defense of the social centre. It's great to know we can stay in the space through the spring and possibly into the summer. The garden is being planted and the place is beginning to take on a whole new character as we emerge from a dark London winter. Another squatted social centre in London, RampART, nearly faced illegal eviction yesterday. But the space was secured from the inside and remains to organize for another day. (And hopefully for many more).

So yeah, I dropped out of the sky after a week of doing plant ID across a rural park (Anaga, if you're familiar with Tenerife) on a subtropical island. This morning I was supposed to head to Bristol for a fun gathering of activists, but when I woke up I was dragging, super tired. I spent £15 on a bus ticket but I'm going to have to miss this one.

Stepping back in space and time, the trip to Tenerife brought pleasure and some pain. I learned a lot, but not at all what I thought. I had no idea that I would spend four days doing 5m X 5m plots along road sides. I thought we might actually discuss the concept of managing nature, which is what the module is titled. But what we really did was drive around and get samples biased to roadside invaders for a data set that has no relevance other than to our projects. In general, I value obtaining my own data. I have loathed the projects where we're given some meaningless data set with which to tinker. So I truly appreciate the field work and the opportunity to create a data set. But it's not necessary to go so far to do that work.

Tenerife is beautiful once you get above the tourist line, away from the developments, away from the scars of progress. My perceptions of the coast are muddled by lines of nurdles resting on black sand, tracing the paths of warm Atlantic waves. Despite obvious pollution and debris, I swam under the full moon because it seems we're going to have to do it anyway if we want to enjoy the sea. Above the coast a tangle of roads fragment vegetation and communities to expedite tourist movement. Rising out of the urban areas, you might find yourself in the Corona Forestal, Teide, or Anaga Rural Park. These spots are amazingly beautiful. Snow greeted us on Teide, where we saw aridiphilic vegetation surrounded by white in the weirdest mishmash of elevation and precipitation that I've ever witnessed. Endemics abound, as do invasives. It's an interesting struggle among the vegetation in terms of competition for space. I wish we'd gotten the hell off the the roadside so that we could see what the realities are like within Anaga. Gradient, time, and copious cactae kept us largely along roadsides.

At least two of us wanted to hike a transect across the park, camping rather than driving back to a pretentious hotel every night. I can see how that's wholly impractical with 25 students as backcountry space for one tent is often difficult to find if you have any ethics about it. But perhaps this is just another reason to select somewhere other than Tenerife for this field trip.

But for now I'm in London, tired and thinking of all of the work I have to do. I still need to settle on a project for my dissertation. I heard from one USGS researcher last week saying that he didn't know what projects they would be putting forward because the federal budget hadn't been passed. I started romanticizing San Francisco again, but after a truly annoying email from a friend (about parks and mountain bikes), I suddenly remember why I left. And I'm not sure that I want to go back just yet. It's not a bad option, but probably not my favorite.

Whatever, I'll make the best of it wherever I end up this summer.

greetings from tenerife

2009-03-07T12:29:00.000-08:00

yes, i went. i´m here. it´s highly developed. not much to report, except that the same invasives that cover SF are all over this island. it´s made keying out the plants fairly easy for me, which is not common at all!

more when i can get my own laptop to work. 1 euro for 7 minutes makes for short blogging.

Round 1 a Success for the Library House

2009-02-25T05:49:00.000-08:00

We went to court this morning to defend our possession of the Library House. The outcome was positive overall, extending our possession until March 25th at least, which is when we'll return to court. We've had great council and lots of solidarity.

So again, Eco Fair at the Library House on Saturday! Including a Really Really Free Market.

Cafe Marie tonight (and every Wednesday), with films on the environmental issues associated with the G20 meeting that will take place in London on April 2nd.

Knitting on Sunday, March 1st.

Open day on Sunday, March 8th. Gardening meeting at noon. Tea at 5pm.

Coming soon: Weekly Theatre of the Oppressed workshops

Really Really Free Market Saturday at The Library House!

2009-02-23T08:17:00.001-08:00

If you're in London this Saturday, come down to the Library House for the eco-fair, and most especially for the Really Really Free Market.

London has a vibrant free stuff/sharing culture with free shops and free cycle and interesting 'swapshops', etc. The Really Really Free Market offers a gift economy for all. We all have something to give. You can give or take an object like clothing, books, tupperware, globes, laundry baskets, etc. I need a bedside lamp so ... you know.... Or you can give a song, a skillshare, a haircut, a poem, a reading from your favorite book.

We all have something to give.

I'm excited about bringing this project to London for so many reasons. I haven't been to RRFM since July, when I took all of my excess stuff to Dolores Park in prepartion for my departure from San Francisco. After a couple of years of attending RRFM each month, it was a nice way to leave my city.

And not to get heavy on you, but RRFM was an important part of my community in SF. One of my friends, and a key organizer of RRFM, Kirsten Brydum, was killed in September in New Orleans. As our community in SF attempts to heal and honor Kirsten's dedication to the gift economy, SF RRFM has grown. This month there were THREE RRFM events, including an expansion down into the Bayview. Actually, one of those events will take place this Saturday. So if you're in SF, head over to 2187 El Balazo/Sub Mission (18th and Mission street) between 1-5pm. Rock on, SF. I miss you.

Having RRFM in London is one way I can facillitate my own healing and ensure that I'm also contributing to our mutual aims of spreading alternative economies and ways of associating.

The eco-fair will be multifaceted as well. There will be free vegan food from Food Not Bombs and Reclaim Your Food. Expect art and a seed swap (spring is coming!). And there will be a bike power generation workshop from 3-7pm.

So come on down to the Library House. And if you have a spare bedside lamp...

The pics below are from RRFM in Dec 07 at ArtSF. Jeremy Dalmas had us all engaged in an interactive musical extravaganza. After that I was interviewed by Jeremy's tape player, which as you might be able to tell from the photo, brought a bit too much delight to my listening friends. That's what I get for trying to volunteer Blake (to the right in photo 2) for the game. Jeremy's awesome and I'm going to be graced with his company in a week! Oh, I have to do my homework so I can hang out with Jeremy while he's around!!!

Voluntary Association!

2009-02-19T10:50:00.000-08:00

My laptop's in the shop so I'm spending a lot of time at UCL, trying to get my coursework finished. I took a break with a friend because ArcGIS kept crashing, thwarting my efforts to map the potential for prescribed burns of pine forests on Tenerife. Conversing in the UCL union, we got to chattin' about how we make friends, how we associate with other humans.

Sometimes we're put into situations where we meet folks, like work, college, neighborhoods. And sometimes we create communities around ideas, dreams, and struggles. I've been lucky in London to find amazing people with which to share my own ideas, dreams, and struggles. I've found a community at the Library House where I organize in a collective of voluntarily associated people. The social centre offers a weekly cafe with free films from Cinema Libre and fresh vegan food. We have classes in Capoeira, yoga, and English. This weekend we're hosting a day of London Free School with workshops on internet security, knitting, flour and water, and Spanish. Next Saturday a Mini-Eco Fair is coming to the garden and building! We'll have Food Not Bombs with Reclaim Your Food cooking scrumptious nibbles. I'm pushing a Really Really Free Market and there will be art, as well as a bike power generation workshop. We're holding an open day on March 7th, which involves inviting neighbors over for tea and making plans for the community garden.

The Library House rocks. I love my collective and I love the space.

But I guess the Lambeth Council doesn't love us cuz we were served eviction papers on Tuesday. Yeah, the space is squatted. If you're reading from the US, take a breath, it's legal to squat here. Squatters have all sorts of rights and there's a formal procedure for getting our collective out of the space. We're going to court next week to make our case ... but it's pretty weak as you might imagine. Nonetheless, the Library House Collective is moving forward with events and organizing. Our voluntary association continues, despite the efforts of the council to disrupt and defray our power.

Our power is in our ability to come together and make a dump into a joyful, working and living space. Our power is extended when we lend ourselves to movements that are organizing in solidarity with our own ideals and dreams. These voluntary associations, laterally affiliated and extended freely, will continue even if we lose the space.

Walking and Urbanity

2009-02-16T05:35:00.000-08:00

I spent 8 years as a walker in San Francisco. A dog walker, a neighborhood walker, a park walker. I'd bike to walk. You get used to distances, to deciding whether to ride or walk. I love walking, even in cities. Cars are annoying and demoralizing but you learn routes and find ways to get around the cars. You find quiet spots like Kite Hill or Brooks Park.

Saturday night was pretty mild in London so after a few (or too many) pints, I wanted a walk. In SF if I had been drinking and wanted to be more sober, I'd walk home. I've walked from Zeitgeist to my flat in the Excelsior more than twice, once even detouring for a midnight visit to Bernal Hill with Blake. On Saturday my friend and I decided to dip out for a walk in the mellow London night.

Damn this town is dense. We walked around Finsbury Park. Literally around it because it's fenced off and it was closed. It isn't even pleasant to walk next to a fenced park, really, cars whooshing by on the other side. I was anticipating a feeling of open-ness, space. Darkness can allow that sometimes. You know, how sometimes you can't see all the urbanity around you because it's dark so you feel like you've escaped it for a second.

Being inside is like a retreat from urbanity, but not one that offers me much release. I find my release outside, in nature. But London winter isn't always so compliant with my needs. Short, cold, wet days. And I have a damn hard time getting my friends to be outside with me! I guess that was a similar situation in SF, but I had so many canine friends that it didn't really matter. And eventually I found my tomboys, dog walkers, and weedies to spend time with.

I really miss my restoration days, particularly Wedsnedays with the California Native Plant Society crew. I miss that exchange of knowledge and general means of socializing in a productive way. Here I'm more engaged in human centered activities like social center organizing. I love that stuff, but it's always been a secondary passion, with animals and plants and bicycles being more important to me. Yeah, that would make it my quaternary passion, but I'm lumping the first bit into 'outsideness' for simplicity.

I'm trying to learn from my time as an indoorswoman. I probably would have never chosen some of the projects that I'm working on right now if I weren't in London in the winter. Other things would intervene and I'd be outside instead. So in some ways, the limitations presented by short, cold, wet days are opportunities for someone like me.

But in fairness to my friends here, I wish I could be outside more than just my daily bike rides. I'm annoying when I'm underexercised. Just tells you how great my friends are here, they tolerate me anyway.

Losing and Breaking Everything!

2009-02-12T03:23:00.000-08:00

Wow, my time in London has been one long run of losing and breaking stuff. As if Compacting isn't enough of a challenge when you move 120 degrees of longitude with a suitcase, rucksack, and bicycle. I brought the essentials and I expected them to serve me well. But I've been going through weird spells of breakage and loss.

You may remember that I lost my phone in December. I lost my front bike light a few weeks ago in the same way, in nearly the same place as the phone. (That would be me riding with stuff in my pockets and having it fall out, hearing it, looking back at it, and thinking, "I don't have anything that looks like that" as I keep pedaling away.) I lost my hat on Monday. I've had that hat for years. It's small and sporty for sweaty cyclists. I want my hat back. I repaired my torn cycling gloves in November and lost one of them about a week later.

I replaced the cell phone with a used one. I replaced the front bike light with a new one (safety item that I couldn't find used in time to matter). I replaced the cycling gloves with new ones as well since I couldn't find used ones. My tendonitis demands gloves or my fingers go numb about 5 minutes into my ride.

Broken items also include the exceptionally expensive shoes that I bought when I got here. I've always taken walking shoes as a Compact exception as I'm a dog walker with a torn meniscus in my left knee. In fact, let's throw the knee in the broken category 'cause it hurts like a bitch since I've been relegating to hiking boots, flip flops, house slippers, or wellies having lost the walking shoes. I've returned these waterproof Merrells to Blacks for a refund but they shipped them off for replacement. Basically the left shoe just burst at the seam one day, in the rain. Stupid shoes. I'd like my money back, at the exchange rate that I paid.

My external keyboard broke when I spilled water on it. Without the space bar I was feeling pretty limited. I know I have the keyboard on the laptop but see tendonitis above for why I can't look down at the screen or raise my arms up to type the 1000's of words required by my course. (And add right elbow and neck to the list of broken items) I hit up Gumtree and EBay for a used one but the offers were all new or shipping from Hong Kong or California, which seemed insane. I took the keyboard to a shop and they said they wouldn't even try to repair it. I broke down and went to the Apple store for a new keyboard. It's shit. Why does the 3 key say it has a £ sign when I want to know that it has #? Everytime I hit return i get this: \ And the stupid usb ports are too weak to support my mouse. Evil piece of crap.

The salt for the snow ate the brakes on my bike. I thought I just needed to tighten them but realized I was metal to metal on the back. So I'm off to Bob's Bicycles after I finish whining about all the broken shit in my life. Breaks definitely qualify as a safety item, and were in fact one of the first things that came up when we started the Compact.

My beloved, bartered computer hates me. I'm having huge problems getting this powerbook to recognize and recieve power from a charger. I had one of those knock off chargers and Blake said his was doing the same thing. Thinking it was the charger, I replaced it with a way expensive Apple charger in my supreme frustration. That was not the problem. The blinking screen is going to give me a seizure one day. Right now I have the power lead pulled taught with a rubber band to get the right connection. Sometimes I have to hold these stupid charger in the right place and sometimes even that doesn't work. Once I get the rubberband secured I have to make sure I don't move the computer too much so it's been difficult to decide when to take the machine in for repair. Basically, it works right now so I don't want to move it! But I need IT help at college so I guess I'm taking it in today after the bike. And I miss the portability of having a LAPTOP, not a desktop computer.

I've hinted at the body issues, and if you know me personally, you know it's not a joke. If you know me personally, you might know that I have an evil tooth in the back of my head that has been an evil pain since September 2006. I broke it on Tofurky Jerky. Seriously. And crap crown number 2 fell out on Monday. Seriously! And if I can't get NHS to call me back about my knee, then I'm assuming that getting this crown put back on or better yet, just pulling that evil tooth, is going to be impossible. Health care is shit everywhere, don't romanticize the UK on that one. (And yeah, I'm acutely aware of how ridiculously awful health care is in the US)

I don't really have the money for all of this loss and breakage. All I can say is thank goodness the pound has crashed. Given that I'm still living on dollars saved over the past two years, I'm stoked. My tuition was about $3000 less this term than it was last term. Although that just means less debt in the end, it makes having to replace or repair my broken shit a bit less scary because I might make it to the end of my stay here on just my savings for living expenses. We'll see. A lot depends on the evil tooth I'm afraid.

Time: Nearly Southern

2009-02-07T08:02:00.000-08:00

I should be sitting in a rocking chair on a Georgia porch as I sew this patch onto my new jacket. The jacket is indeed new, but was a hand over to me from my clients. Joel gave it to me after I walked Pixel and Raster yesterday in Brixton. (Backstory: Pix and Raster are my clients from SF who moved here! How lucky am I?)

So yeah, I'm listening to Gillian Welch, trying to sew this pretty patch over the logo on this jacket so I can be comfortable wearing it. For a second my regressive accent could be heard singing along: 'Time's a revelator'. Funny, my accent, though repressed, is real. Gillian Welch is from SoCal!!! And yet she sounds more Georgian that I do most of the time.

Anyway, I was feeling all nostalgic and nearly Southern, sewing and listening to blue grass. Never mind the content of the patch, which totally fucks up this image of me as a southern belle mending a torn dress or something. Yeah, the feeling of faded quickly as I got frustrated with the thickness of this jacket and kept ruining the line of the patch. I should wait and use a machine. My foray into hand patching is over as the light's fading and I don't have an oil lamp to maintain this idyllic picture in my head. But as the sewing was as much an exercise in procrastination as anything else, I easily transition into writing about sewing as a means of staving off writing about GIS or remote sensing or lakes.

So, yeah, Time ... I can't keep up. There are a million things I want to be doing all the ... time. Next weekend there's Reclaim Love and Food Not Bombs is cooking for that event. Or I could be at a Gender, Race and Class day of workshops at SOAS. The next weekend is London Free School but my friends will be in town for a radical health conference. On the 28th we're doing an eco-fair at the Library House, which will include Reclaim Your Food and a Really Really Free Market. In between I've got people to date and dogs to walk.

But I have so much writing to do. And I don't mean writing here or that ever so satisifying pile of correspondence with my people around the world. I definitely mean GIS and remote sensing and lakes and wetlands. It's cool, for now I'm going to whip up some cornbread 'cause procrastination is more efficient if you just do it all at once.

Whoa, Snow!

2009-02-02T06:22:00.001-08:00

We've got some serious snow in London. I just went for a 2 hour walk with my housemates and the snow just keeps coming. I loved the walk and the view out my window is amazing. I don't see myself going to central London for lectures in the coming days if it stays like this. There are no trains! No buses down here in SE London. And I'm not taking my skinny-tired road bike out in this. I'm certain I'd crash. For now it's neighborhood walks and computer studies! And watching the frisky cats goof around in the snow. And watching Dash the dog accumulate snowballs on his fur. They look like high fashion tassels really. I'll try to get a good pic. These are goofy pooches from Peckham Rye Park.

No More Waffling

2009-02-01T04:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm in. I believe the hype: my conservation program is a door opening opportunity to do good shit for our planet. It's a done deal. I might even pay my fees sometime soon. (Having a seriously hard time signing the debt check.) I'm going to stop stalling on my coursework and just get through the boring bits.

Why am I suddenly feeling decisive? Well, I started pursuing my summer dissertation and have had a bunch of positive responses to my queries. I've started to see the light at the end of the academic tunnel and it's arid sunshine waiting to warm and test me. I'm not sure if I'm climbing out in SF or the Sonoran Desert, but I like the prospects of either.

I'm looking at several projects, leaning toward something with GIS and weed mapping. I like studying invasives, gets out my anti-colonialist aggression. I will not be doing anything with park use. It's been about 6 months since I wrapped up 2+ years of park use research and outreach. I'm spent on that. But knowing that the agency I worked for will take me back for more work is amazingly heartening and distractingly comforting. I'm broke as fuck. Going back to SF is probably my best financial bet. I could regroup my dog walking business and do my research and have a home to live in and a community to organize with. Oh SF, I do love you. Sorry for calling you a toxic womb. (but you kind of are)

If an opportunity in Arizona manifests, I'll likely go there to diversify my experience. It seems silly since my dream job is really with the SF Natural Areas Program. And I think my financial prospects are poor in Arizona. (If you'd like to help me absorb this financial hit for team earth, be in touch!) Can I bike for field work in the Sonoran summer sun? Maybe not, but I really do want to work near the border. I have a ridiculous affection for desert plants. Or maybe I'm just obsessed with them at the moment because it's snowing here and I'd rather be in Arizona. There are some amazing projects running with USGS that I'd lalala-love to be a part of. Phenology and invasive mapping and GAP analysis and predicitive modeling and cat scat collection and fire's effect on invasive grasses and dogs sniffing out endangered desert tortoises.

We'll see. The point here is that I'm sticking with the master's course. That I've discovered a new delima for fickle pondering should surprise no one. A perpetuation of my state of confusion seems a natural extension of this process. But a friend told me last week that I'd be happier if I made a choice about staying or going. He was right. And I do.

And I feel great about deciding to go West. I'm over the consideration of New Orleans wetlands and Atlanta parks. My immediate future is in the West. Somewhere between 105 and 125 degrees West and say 25 to 42 degrees north, with my two ideal spots being 37N, 122W or 31.7N, 109.9W. If you've never enjoyed the USGS Global Visualization Viewer, do check it out.

Flying and London Free-ness

2009-01-29T03:23:00.000-08:00

I haven't been writing as much lately. Not here, not elsewhere. What have I been doing? Listening to way too much Johnny Cash. GIS and remote sensing. Skipping lectures on lakes. Organizing at the Library House. And thinking about how to get out of flying to Tenerife with my conservation course.

I'm pretty serious about flying. (Some might say I'm pretty serious about everything but they just don't get me.) I drove from SF to Atlanta before flying to London because it's better in terms of carbon output. I avoided flying for about 2 years before my flight here in September after calculating my carbon footprint for the previous year. Even as a vegetarian cyclist who doesn't shop, I exceeded the average American output of carbon in 2006 because I flew several times. I'll remind you that if we all want to live like the average American we need 5 planet Earth's at this point. As we only have one, I thought I might need to curtail my personal emissions.

My last module on this course includes a trip to Tenerife, which is about 5 hours each way. We're staying for a 4 day field study of 3 habitats within a protected area. Our coursework will be to write a management plan for the protected area. I get the point in leaving the UK, leaving the temperate zone. I like the idea of the course, it sounds great! But I have major ethical issues with flying to Tenerife for 4 days for an exercise.

I spoke with one of my professors yesterday and he was really nice about it. I think we could come up with an alternative, but I'm sure it's going to suck. I might have to take the sucky alternative though, because I can't picture myself in Tenerife. I've got a major block on this and it's preventing me from moving forward on my current coursework. I flew here. I'm going to fly home to do my dissertation (still hunting for projects if you're a researcher in the West I'm interested in invasives, fire, restoration, and riparian habitats ... and way too much other stuff). Jan, my professor, thinks we can work it out so that I don't have to come back to London to do my analysis, which has always been my hope. But if that fell through, you can imagine that I'd have 6 long flights in less than a year if I go to Tenerife. Even 4 feels like too much.

It feels awkward to say we're ok to fly because it's for the greater good or whatever. That we're going to be more prepared to conserve things if we do this. I don't think we should be overly consumptive to learn how to protect other things. One of our exam topics is climate change in conservation... maybe we can just skip the flight and that would be a testament to our understanding of the subject?!

In other news, there's a Mini Eco-Fair in Camberwell this weekend at Funky Munky on Camberwell Church Road (number 25, upstairs). This is organized by the People's Republic of Southwark each month. February's will be at the Library House on Saturday the 28th. I'm going to help by organizing a Really Really Free Market. I'm looking forward to this as a way of extending the work of my friends and collectives in SF, particularly in memory of my friend, Kirsten Brydum, who was killed 4 months ago in New Orleans. Her birthday was last week so it feels positive to finally have a date and home for an RRFM in London. This Saturday there will be a Really Really Free Market in SF, per usual. Hit it up from 1-5pm at El Balazo/Sub Mission at 2187 Mission St @ 18th.

The Invasive Species Diet

2009-01-24T02:58:00.000-08:00

Diet is huge in ecology. Predators, prey, produce. Diet is huge in ecological lifestyles. Slow food, local food, organic food, vegetarian food. I like all these movements and count myself an adherent of each to some degree. I’m personally most committed to vegetarianism, which is as much a spiritual expression of my devotion to animals as an ecologically motivated lifestyle. Whatever moves you, right?

I have a wicked, smart friend who's largely motivated by ecological concerns. He loves all creatures but he likes to eat meat. Luke refers us to the ecological diet, which draws mostly from localism and slow food. Rez, another friend of mine, questioned the wisdom of his vegetarianism when living in Scandinavia, where he had to eat shipped, processed protein out of packages because you just cannot grow the grains and veggies to sustain yourself all year. Yeah, you’re not going to find me telling Norwegians that they should be vegan because that’s probably not sustainable on a mass scale. You also won’t find this snowophobe in Scandinavia or any other place that’s going to force me to choose sustainability or vegetarianism. I’d be in constant conflict with myself.

In California, vegetarianism is logical, and more sensible than wasting water on alfalfa and irrigated pasture. I think by the time I get back to the bounty of California, I’ll be well over apples and carrots, ready for some GRAPES. In other words, Cali's a great place to be a vegetarian locavore.

When I think of the conditions under which I’d eat meat, I always return to game. Like most southern tomboys, I’ve been deer hunting, squirrel hunting, frogging, and fishing. I’ve skinned, scaled, and gutted my dinner. Under the tutelage of my dad and grandpa, this was easy as a youth. I have no regrets. Those animals lived free and died under somewhat natural predator-prey interactions. We ate the meat. I don’t like the deer head on my daddy’s wall. I hate the hooves that hold his gun. Trophies are weird. But yeah, hunting for meat, particularly the invasive white-tailed deer in the South, well that’s ok with me.

Ok, this is a long, evasive pre-amble to a new dietary fad that I’m advocating. Take it with a grain of local salt and note the disclaimer below.

The invasive species diet is a new ecological diet for those who want to bioremediate at dinner. You can do this as a vegetarian or omnivore, depending on your tastes. Luke inspired this brainwave with all his chatter about the ecological diet. Hell, if you want to eat for the environment, I’m suggesting you really get into it.

Eat weeds.

Blake was munching on nasturtium on New Years Day and you should too (if you’re in SF). I also recommend radish seeds (above the dog urine line), and fennel for cooking. If you can devise a recipe for French broom, you’re my hero. I'd derive such satisfaction from chopping it up and eating it after wrenching those taproots out of the ground. Think kudzu could be integrated into traditional southern delicacies? Has it ever been fried? Ideas for Rhodedendron?

Ok, for sure, not all invasives are actually edible. I'd be warry of putting something as evil as ehrharta into my body. I’d steer clear of advising people to eat Cape Ivy since it’s so easy to spread and this diet is truly about being a responsible consumer. And don’t sample the hemlock in SF either. It’s definitely poisonous. In fact, do your own research into what’s edible. And don’t plant weeds to eat them. Harvest them responsibly where they already exist instead. For instance, I’d leave some of even the Himalayan blackberries for the birds of SF.

And yeah, there are weedy animals out there … I’m sure this is going to be popular. When I was a kid, we had the tail of a grey squirrel in the kitchen drawer. Trophies are weird, but the point is, those critters are edible, and highly invasive in the UK. I’m not sure how you’d kill one in London as shooting them is out of the question in such a densely populated area, but get creative and humane. They’re chunky over here too, much more meat than in the southeast of the US. And the pigeons here look like chickens, maybe they’re not too diseased to eat? Then there are the goats of Wales. White tailed deer in large swaths of the US. Zebra mussels anyone? Pigs on nearly any island.

I’m almost serious here. Eat for the environment. Eat locally. Eat wild meat. Eat for habitat.
Eat invasive.

***** Do your own research. These plants and animals may not be invasive in your region, in which case, you shouldn’t eat them. They may kill you. Don’t consume the specifics of this piece: it’s an idea, not a menu. *******

Happy Dr. King Day!

2009-01-18T06:43:00.000-08:00

Were he alive, Dr. King would be 80 years old today. We like to celebrate this day in Atlanta, as Dr. King’s legacy is visible on our very streets, in our very classrooms. I'm not sure what it'll be like here on MLK Day, so I made a flier for my friends. Most of the text is included here.

2009 was born of urgency and a desperation for change. We have limited time to alter our futures with respect to climate change and environmental scarcity (food and water). Our struggles for environmental and social justice demand a diversity of tactics, of which direct action must be one.

These quotes are taken from Letter from a Birmingham Jail, 1963.

“You may well ask: "Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?" You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored…. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with.”

“I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a ‘more convenient season.’”

“[T]hough I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label....
[T]he question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?:”

And also, from Van Jones, “Dr. King linked the solutions of civil rights, peace and economic opportunity. We must link the solutions of social justice, peace and ecological sanity. Our new dream must uplift the people -- and the planet, too. This is the calling of our time.”