Leopold's Land Ethic

When we moved to Wisconsin four years ago it was a chance for me to practice what I preach: I became a beginning Land Scout and started a field book to document the new land around me. Summer gave way to fall and fall slid into real winter. Then glorious spring and summer again. Several seasonal cycles later and I've just this month finished my first Wisconsin field book (shown at the end of this post).

I didn't know it when I made the Land Scouts, but much of what the group values and practices comes from American biologist Aldo Leopold. In particular, Leopold's "land ethic" is the root of modern environmental ethics and wildlife conservation. Much of his formative work took place in Wisconsin and he is a beloved adopted son of the state. Even today the Aldo Leopold Foundation carries on Leopold's work through robust programming and educational opportunities.

Testing out newly bound field books on campus.

Last week the Land Scouts came full circle when I got to partner with with middle schoolers at Aldo Leopold Community School in Green Bay as part of their Exploratory Week. How cool to get to work at a progressive public school named in honor of the man whose work left such an important legacy of land stewardship! A group of ten 4th - 8th graders and language arts teacher Jaime Danen joined me in binding field books, exploring, observing, noting, and reflecting. We also played some great games.

Warming up with balance games at Baird Creek Park

We got to explore some of the school grounds, two beautiful public parks, and, with the help of biologist Carrie Kissman, the nearby Fox River. It was a treat to work with these students. I was particularly excited discover and note the plants coming up in our area. Here's a list of some of the plants we saw:

I hope the students will complete their field books and turn them in for their Observation badges (now in their second edition of production). Thanks to Aldo Leopold Community School, Jaime Danen, Carrie Kissman, and the generations of Wisconsin environmentalists and conservationists whose work prepared the way for us. I hope we can work together again.

Semi-solo drawing in field books at Bay Shore County Park

Examining aquatic organisms pulled from the Fox River under the guidance of biologist Dr. Carrie Kissman

Observing at the creek in Bairds Creek Park

I do not recommend making a field book with so many pages. Takes to long to finish.

Go Wild Outside

I follow Fiona Bird on twitter where she’s often posting photos of seaweed, news about foraging, and generally interesting tidbits about land and plants. Bird tweeted about reviewing her book Let Your Kids Go Wild Outside (CICO Books), I contacted the publisher, received a copy in the mail, and have thoroughly enjoyed it.

This book is refreshing. The writing is bright, abundant, and inviting. It offers a lot of information and activities, but it doesn’t belabor the learning outcomes and educational values of the outdoor experience. Instead the emphasis is on discovery, play, and trusting the reader’s curiosity to guide her. Each chapter covers a different region: woods; meadows, hedgerows and hills; seashore; water and wetlands; and “my wild garden and kitchen.”

For each Bird gives information about the flora and fauna you’ll find, instructions for crafts to make with local plants and found materials, a little bit of natural history, and activities appropriate to the area. Almost all of the crafts and activities are free and made largely with biodegradable materials that can be returned to site when finished.  Although most of the activities are appropriate for younger children (some with supervision), older children and adults will find plenty to try. I’m especially excited to try making nettle cordage and artist’s charcoal from pussy willow branches! 

This book would be a helpful resource for outdoor educators or indoor educators wanting to get their students outside more. Likewise it would be a thoughtful gift for any young naturalist moving to (or vacationing in) new areas.  In fact I plan to getting a second copy for some young family friends.  My hat goes off to Bird for this thorough and accessible book. I look forward to returning to it as spring finally comes to Wisconsin.

Small Roots

It is warming up in East Tennessee and we are moving from the lush verdant beginning of summer to plants withering and drying. My plants in containers need daily waterings, our worm bins are almost entirely full, and the garden is buzzing with all manner of flying things.

Below are some photos from our team's work at the Bonnaroo Victory Garden. We held workshops and demonstrations related to small scale gardening and land stewardship. Many thanks and a warm hello to all the people who stopped by the garden. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves as much as we did. Please keep in touch with any gardening, vermicomposting, seedballing, or foraging you get into in the coming months.

Matt teaching about medicinal herbs on Thursday.

Beebalm in the garden.

Chatham watering while yoga goes on.

The middle plant with the hot pink blossom is a Celosia from Stanley's Greenhouse.

Sam and Katie making seed balls. 

These three men were a great help setting up and installing. 

Wall piece on perimeter.

Grundy County

While it is not especially urban, there are a great many people on the Cumberland Plateau who are clearly jedi-like land scouts. Like this woman, Jess Wilson.

I got to go last week with my family and some friends to visit Jess and family at In Town Organics. They are cultivating 3+ acres and running the newly established Cumberland Farmers' Market. The farm is small but dense with green things growing and the family's clever sustainable designs. In addition to produce, the family has turkeys, chickens, bees, rabbits, and two goats (one of whom is too sassy and will be moving on soon).  It was a lovely farm and an inspiring set up.

If you find yourself on the Cumberland Plateau this summer, please make a point of stopping by the market and buying some salad mixes, garlic, or herbs. This market is especially web-savvy: you can sign up ahead of time, place an order online, and pick it up at the market. They've got a beautiful list of products.

The evening after I returned from the Grundy County I ran into my friend Elam Blackman. He was talking about heartache and moving to Austin, TX and I blurted out that he should instead take a trip up to the Plateau. It'll cure what ails you, I promised. There's something about it. If you do go, I recommend a visit to the Dutch Maid Bakery for weird liccorice and to the Marugg Company to heft a beautiful old fashioned scythe (both businesses are in Tracy City).

Matt, Level 5

Matt stopped by the Carbon Shredding booth at Bonnaroo and joined our tribe of Urban Land Scouts. He followed up with these nice shots of his garden and claims he "can't wait to get out of the city." Welcome to Land Scouting, Matt.

More Evidence

Small set of photos from our Bonnaroo adventures is available here.

Post Roo

We signed up over 70 new Urban Land Scouts at Bonnaroo. We also saw great music, met wonderful people (including our Carbon Shredding booth-mates, the fine folks at Earth Givers), and were able to share ideas, experiences, and plants with some of the Bonnaroo patrons. For example, here's a lovely young scout forming seedbombs to rain down on medians and grass patches around her apartment.

Urban Land Scout Camp open to all Knox County students

Hello, hello. We've decided to open up our applicant pool for Urban Land Scout Camp to any students living in Knox County who are going into 5th, 6th, or 7th grade. We are also extending our sign-up deadline to June 16th (the same day as the Camp Open House at Beardsley Farm). Please help us spread the word!

You can download an application here to give to potential campers. You can also share that link with this shortened URL: tinyurl.com/ULScampApp .

In case you need a reminder here's a brief summary of the camp:

• Camp is available at no cost to campers and parents/guardians
• Open to students going into 5th, 6th, and 7th grade
• Camp will run for three one-week sessions, Monday through Friday, 7:30 am - 12:30 pm:
  
  Session I July 11th-15th    Session II July 18th-22nd    Session III July 25th-29th
• We will serve breakfast, lunch, and snack
• Parents/guardians must transport campers to and from Beardsley Farm (in Mechanicsville)
• We will be outdoors most of the time working on earning Urban Land Scout badges, helping with farm chores, and other fun activities

Parents and guardians with questions can be in touch with me (Katie) by phone (235-1730) or by email (passage @ urbanlandscouts . com). Thanks!

Bonnaroo and Beyond

Oh, Stadri Emblems, what that everyone had your attentive and kind customer service!

Wahoooooo y'all! Wahooooooooooooooo! New badges arrived today from Stadri Emblems, who I highly recommend, and I am thrilled to see them. They feel like currency. Looking forward to working with many Bonnaroo patrons and giving out many badges at the festival. 

Speaking of Bonnaroo, if you're going to be there, stop by and see us in the Victory Garden or the Carbon Shredders Booth. We'll be talking about basic gardening skills, companion planting, vermicompost, edible perennials, mushroom cultivation, and seed bombing. Additionally, we'll be working on site to expand the garden, trade seeds, and meet other growers and land stewards.

At the Carbon Shredders Booth you can sign up to be an Urban Land Scout, learn about reducing your carbon footprint, wash your clothes with some Seventh Generation detergent (mmmm...clean laundry), learn about some of the green businesses that support the Carbon Shredders booth, collect some Bonnaroo compost for your home garden, and a host of other small steps towards urban sustainability. You can also sit in the shade and take a break from the exuberant mania of the festival.

In other news, I believe we've almost met our financial goal for Urban Land Scout Camp at CAC Beardsley Community Farm. Now we need to find campers. If you know a rising 5th, 6th, or 7th grader at any of the schools listed below (UPDATE: We are opening camp to all 5th, 6th, and 7th graders living in Knox County) please download this application and put it in their hands.

Fundraising for Urban Land Scout Camp!

If you missed the earlier post on Urban Land Scout Camp, here's the skinny: We hope to host a free Urban Land Scout day camp at Beardsley Community Farm this summer. In order to make the camp free for our campers, we need to raise money now. That's where you come in.

We're hosting a fundraiser this Sunday, May 15th, from 6-9 pm at the Birdhouse, 800 N. 4th Ave. We're asking for a suggested donation of $5 - 10. We'll have beer, snacks, and music by Joseph Gillenwater and Emily Robinson. You can learn more about the camp, why it's a good project to support, and other ways you can get involved...all while enjoying cold beverages and fine company. Sadly, there is not yet a badge for drinking nice beer and eating snacks. Please help us spread the word. We don't want any beer left over.

If you can't make the fundraiser, you can always donate on line with with handy paypal button

...or send your tax deductible donation to:

Schools of Influence Education Foundation
Attn: Urban Land Scout Camp
201 Campus Ln.
Knoxville, TN 37918

Hope to see you all on Sunday!

Urban Land Scout Camp!

Great news! The Urban Land Scouts are partnering with Schools of Influence Education Foundation to present an exciting new project:

Urban Land Scout Camp 

at CAC Beardsley Community Farm

The camp will run Monday through Friday, from 7:30 am - 12:30 pm for three sessions (July 11th - 15th, July 18th - 22nd, and July 25th - 29th) and will be available at no cost to rising 5th, 6th, and 7th graders from the Knox County schools listed below (UPDATE: We are opening application to all 5th, 6th, and 7th grade students living in Knox County.)

Each day we will gather together for healthy meals, farm chores, art making, and earning a different Urban Land Scout badge. We hope to host twenty students each session. If you know a young person (or a parent of a young person) at any of the schools below who might enjoy Urban Land Scout Camp, please put them in touch with us or print out this application and give them a copy. Thanks for helping us spread the word. We will be accepting applications until June 16th. There will be a mandatory meeting and Open House at Beardsley Farm on June 16th for accepted campers and their parents.


Lastly and most importantly, this camp is made possible at no cost through the generous donations of local businesses as well as through the generosity of individuals in our community. This project is not yet fully funded and is contingent on having that funding before we can confirm with our campers. We need any and all financial support you can offer. If you’ve ever enjoyed summer camp or the great work at CAC Beardsley Community Farm, we hope you’ll consider making a donation today. All donations are tax deductible. You can join the ranks of the Tomato Head, Cruze Dairy Farm, and Community Television of Knoxville, to name a few of our sponsors.

You can click on the button below to make your tax-deductible donation (to Schools of Influence Education Foundation) in support of Urban Land Scout Camp. 

If making a donation online isn't your thing, mark your calendar to attend our camp fundraiser Sunday, May 15th, from 6-9 pm at the Birdhouse (800 N. 4th Ave.) A suggested donation of $5 -10 gets you in the door for fine beverages, nice snacks, and good company. 


Eligible Middle Schools:
Vine
Holston
Northwest
South Doyle
Whittle


Eligible Elementary Schools:
Beaumont
Belle Morris
Christenberry
Dogwood
East Knox Co
Greene
Inskip
Lonsdale
Maynard
Mooreland Heights
Norwood
Pond Gap
Sarah Moore Greene
South Knoxville
Springhill
Westview