Ecology
-
Build It And They Will Come
I’m so excited! It took less than 24 hours since the Tree Swallows first returned and I put up the nest boxes. There have been several pairs flying around the field and checking out each box. It’s really a very satisfying feeling to plan to provide a home for a specific thing, build what will… Continue reading
-
Tree Swallows and Anticipation
Lots going on and it’s a very busy time of year for us, in addition to seeding we have tens of thousands of transplants to go out. It’s a big three- week push and it gets our whole season underway. If that wasn’t enough for us we also have two major infrastructure projects on the… Continue reading
-
Farming Requires Empathy
An errand for some supplies. The product we usually get was sold out, or awaiting delivery. We were offered a similar product as a replacement. Upon closer inspection, this “similar product” included some odd trademarked “additives,” which were of mysterious patented origins. The package also included this very helpful note: WEAR GLOVES WHILE HANDLING THIS… Continue reading
-
Wetlands are Critical Agricultural Infrastructure
Like many other types of ecosystems, wetlands have had more-than-significant destruction and elimination over the past century. Where I live there was once a place called St Andrews Bog which covered some 116, 000 acres. It was nearly all drained, leaving only a small section of the south portion of Lake Winnipeg and, later, a… Continue reading
-
Spring, Nature’s Best Teacher
There’s a whole world out there. If we’re willing, patient, and we listen, we might learn something. It might be the sound of birds signing, or the smell of leaves on a forest floor. Moss growing on the shaded side of a tree. A flower poking out from a sea of grass. Everywhere we can… Continue reading
-
Garden Planning
We spend all winter here at the farm planning our season, thinking about what worked well last year, what we should change, and new things to explore that might benefit us. We also think a lot about things we can plant or grow that are not crops, but have ecological benefits, be it providing a… Continue reading
-
Brilliant Green
One of the more fascinating parts of science and science history (at least to me) is that the true nature of something can be ascertained by asking the right questions. There are many many many examples of science (or society) rejecting a correct assertion dozens or hundreds of years before it is accepted. And since… Continue reading
-
Intact Forests Within Cities
Sometimes when one expects to find a manicured park, one finds themselves in a dynamic forest. I stepped down from apartments and condos into a beautiful place and was amazed to find dead trees and tree trunks along with uneven ground, pooling water as the snow melts. On an island of just 3.8 square kilometres… Continue reading
-
Just Passing This On
Some of the most fascinating and important research being done in the area of forestry is happening right here in Canada by a Canadian scientist. Suzanne Simard’s work over the past decades in forest biology and tree communication has wide-reaching implications. There have been many who have stated in some form or another that all… Continue reading
-
52 Blueberries!
I set up this website with a simple goal: to write and publish one thing per week farming-related for one year. The first few months weren’t the easiest…often I scrambled to find something to write about, or felt like I wrote poorly. But I kept telling myself it was part of a process and that… Continue reading
About Graham
Graham is an ecologist-farmer from Canada working on educating about the wonders and beauty of the natural world, and how we can design biodiverse food production systems.
