Read the Wilderness Committee article about developing more sustainable waste management systems in Vancouver: Environmentalists Urge Minister Penner to Reject Incineration Due to Toxic Ash in Burns Bog Landfill.

About a month ago I sent in a message to Metro Vancouver after reading about the garbage issue on www.wildernesscommittee.org (great group working for the environment in BC). I just got an email with an update on the situation from Councillor Andrea Reimer and am posting it here in hopes that more folks will become aware of the situation.

Anyway here is the update from Andrea Reimer:

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It is very easy to make liquid soap from soapnuts. I use it for my dishes, the floor, cleaning the bathroom and washing delicate items. Very handy to have around the house. It also can be used as a shampoo.

• 100g soapnuts
• 3 quarts (litres) water

Method: Add the soapnuts to the water. Bring the water to a boil. Turn down the heat to a low simmer for at least 30 minutes.

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20+ Yarrow Stalk Garden Markers

Very simple, these yarrow stalks are so slender they won’t block any precious sunlight. Biodegradable with easily changed masking tape flags to label your seedlings.

I needed some markers for my seedlings and had these yarrow stalks on hand that I wild harvested from the pristine Catskills of New York, added a bit of masking tape and what do you know, very useful bio-degradable garden markers, excellent.

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The ultimate earth-friendly laundry detergent.

Soapnuts have been used for everything from removing lice to silver polish. They are actually helpful for sewer systems, and can be reused for several laundry loads.

The pouch is made from recycled tea towels (colors vary) and can be tossed in with a load of laundry and dried out to wait for the next washing. Soapnuts have no smell so you can add your own favorite essential oil such as rosemary, musk or amber.

More uses of soapnuts are discussed here.

This is a very important item we should all be using for the health of the earth.

Each pouch includes 5 soapnuts which can be used for at least 5 loads of laundry.

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Last year I started reading The Lost Language of Plants by Stephen Harrod Buhner right around this time of year. I enjoyed it so much that I had to save the rest of it for later, which ended up getting put of for a full year. So, now that I have finally finished it I am eager to start it all over again. This book allows our interaction with plants to become richer and deeper. The end of the book included essays by Carol McGrath, Sparrow, Rosemary Gladstar and John Seed.

I found this particular description in John Seed’s essay about The Bradley Method to be a beautiful and very helpful way to also develop your own inner flora while helping the Earth heal.

From I Call on the Spirit of Herbs by John Seed.

In Australia, two sisters by name of Bradley came up with an exciting technique by which we may slowly invite back the original biotic community from denuded and scarred landscapes.

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Some bedtime reading from my favorite inspiring Little Green Book…

I do not particularly like the word “work.” Human beings are the only animals who have to work, and I think this is the most ridiculous thing in the world. Other animals make their livings by living, but people work like crazy, thinking that they have to in order to stay alive. The bigger the job, the greater the challenge, the more wonderful they think it is. It would be good to give up that way of thinking and live an easy, comfortable life with plenty of free time.

p115 The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming (New York Review Books Classics) by Masanobu Fukuoka

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I’ve been using soapnuts for just about everything lately. They are especially handy for doing laundry. All you have to do is tie up 5 berries in a muslin or net bag and toss it in with your laundry. I like to add a few drops of musk oil, and a bit of hydrogen peroxide to remind me of the perfumed laundry soaps I have grown up with. One bag of five soapnuts will be able to wash about 5 loads of laundry, or more, just keep an eye on your soapnuts, and as they break down you can add some more.

I also found that you can make them into a liquid detergent which I have described and detailed in my Cradle to Cradle Dish-washing instructable. This liquid can also be used for washing out the fridge, cleaning tables, the floor or anything else that need cleaning. It can be used for shampoo and as a spray for house plants to help to protect them from insects or fungus.

I also have found that keeping a bag of soapnuts in the toilet tank will help to keep the toilet smelling fresh and keep it clean.

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After waiting for residency for more than a year, wondering how much longer I would be an illegitimate person was starting to wear on me. But, as they say, when the planets are in line everything falls into place. The full rose moon of June 7th, 2009 was such a day. I finally got my Canadian residency so that night I planted 13 Hidasta Shield Figure Pole beans (from The Cottage Gardener) to give my thanks to Vancouver, BC for welcoming and accepting us.

The previous year I had spent a lot of time walking the nearby streets admiring everyone’s fantastic gardens. I finally found the perfect spot on one of the Greenways of Vancouver. No one was using it, it got good sun and was just by a sky-train and rail-road tracks so it seemed a perfect spot. There is a lot more space available in this area, although much of it is under the tracks and wouldn’t get any rain.

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I am a long-time a convert to the soapnut craze. I first noticed these little fruits in Burma/Myanmar where they use them in their traditional shampoo. A couple years ago I discovered that their popularity has really grown in Western countries and now you can spend top dollar on powdered soapnut laundry soap and other commercial products. The best way to use these berries from all perspectives is to simply use them as is in your laundry, or to make them into laundry detergent (see below). Powdered soapnut berries are not really a viable product and anything that has things added to it to make the shelf life longer is a step in the wrong direction. Follow this link for more practical information about soapnuts, how to use them and links to various online stores in various countries.

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There are as many ways to guerrilla garden as there are stars in the sky, and that is the best thing about it. The best way to do it is your way and to just get started. Many people love to make seed bombs and drop them as a group, other people love sneaking privately about the city — planting plots. Some people like to be highly organized — others random and without a thought. The main thing that holds it all together is that we are people reclaiming the land around us, reaching out and getting involved, hanging around and making sure that it grows, and grows and is a pleasure for all who pass by.

I have recently started reading the book The One-Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka and his natural farming methods have astonished me and made me rethink what little I thought I knew about growing plants. I was already familiar with Rudolf Steiner’s methods of biodynamic farming, yet even so this book has been a real mind-opener.

Although I have been planting things in random places for a few years I haven’t had a chance to really take over a piece of land in an urban setting until this year. I spent much of last year walking the streets around my area checking out pieces of land. I didn’t want it to be too far from where we live in case it didn’t rain much and I had to haul water every day. I didn’t want it next to a main road to avoid the pollution from car exhaust, and I wanted it to get plenty of sun and rain. I finally found a good spot on the Greenway under the skytrain and next to the train tracks not too far from our apartment.

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