ON THE FARM

New this week, in addition to garlic scapes, we’re offering starts of Cardinal Basil, Bolloso Napolitano Basil, Mrs. Burns Lemon Basil and Long Island Mammoth Dill.

LOCAL

On June 11 we’ll be at Heritage University to table during the Central Washington Conference for the Greater Good. Our sign will say “Ask us about Permaculture & Human Rights!” We’ll have copies of the UDHR, lots of permaculture and human rights resources, and we’ll be eager to chat about activism, advocacy, learning, shared goals, and how we can elevate and amplify one another by focusing on existing solutions and values based conversations.
If you’re there, do come on by and say hi!
If you want to specifically support our education and outreach efforts,
you can donate to the cause here.
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New Cafe In Union Gap Brings Comfort To Local Seniors
“This is a Meals on Wheels Cafe so it’s meant for senior citizens, but that doesn’t mean you can’t accompany your family, though if you’re not 60+ years old you’ll have to pay for your own meal at a price of $10. Still, not bad.
If you are 60+ years old, you meal is part of the Meals on Wheels program with People for People. However, they do suggest a $3 donation.”
(Source: 929 The Bull, May 26)
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‘It’s Not Built Yet’: Yakama Nation Fights $3.3B Energy Project and Data Center Development on Sacred Site
“We’re not going green for Washington and Oregon state mandates. We’re going green for data centers. And it’s putting pressure on our sacred areas, our food gathering.” — Elaine Harvey, conservation scientist and member of the Yakama’s Ḱamíłpa Band.
(Source: Street Roots, May 20)

WA STATE

Measuring Goodwill: Why University of Washington Researchers Are Watching Little Free Pantries
“It’s not exactly known who is using the micropantries. Dalla Chiara said they have done surveys and found that ‘70% of the respondents are female with kids. And we were quite amazed by that.’ He adds that micropantries are likely acting as complimentary services to food banks, which have seen a surge in demand in recent months.
‘We’re trying to measure and quantify goodwill. Behind each little free pantry there is a whole system of behaviors — people trying to help one another. If we can understand that system better, we can support it better.‘”
(Source: OPB, May 19)
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Why a Decades-old Forest Planting Practice from Japan is Gaining Traction In The U.S.
“ This is the first time I’ve seen real hope, where I see, like, we’re actually making a difference out here now.” –Wendy Clapp
(Source: NPR, May 21)
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Protect Your Rights With AG’s ‘Know Your Rights’ Hub
“Washington law has some of the strongest protections in the country when it comes to civil rights, workers’ rights, reproductive rights, and other fundamental rights. As the federal government tries to trample our rights, people should know that our state protections haven’t changed.” –Washington State Attorney Nick Brown
(Source: WA State Office of the Attorney General, May 20)

NATIONAL & BEYOND

How One Oregon City Has Raised a Billion Dollars for Climate Change
“Since 2021, the fund has distributed four rounds of community-based nonprofit grants totaling about $262 million. Grants range from about $8,000 to as high as $10.3 million —and many projects are also helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
(Source: NPR, May 20)
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Despite US Sabotage Efforts, UN Passes Historic Climate Crisis Resolution
“From the Pacific to the world, this vote is a recognition that those who did the least to fuel this crisis should not be left to carry its heaviest burdens. For generations, Pacific peoples have protected our oceans, our lands, and our cultures while facing rising seas, loss, and displacement caused by others. Today, the international community has affirmed that climate justice is not charity but is anchored in accountability. Accountability to frontline communities, to future generations, and to the shared responsibility we hold to protect life, dignity, the environment, and our collective future. This moment belongs to every community that refused to let their future be written off.” –Dr. Rufino Varea
(Source: Common Dreams, May 21)
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21 MIN LISTEN: Re-wilding: From Over-farmed and Uneconomic… to Thriving
“Jim Tan is CEO of Kuzuko Private Game Reserve, which has connected and rewilded 35,000 acres of un-economic and over-farmed areas in the Eastern Cape of South Africa since 2001.

In this episode you’ll hear how Kuzuko is now a thriving wildlife reserve home to elephants, buffalos, lions and three of South Africas 9 biomes. Kuzuko has enabled local flora and fauna to re-populate huge swathes of land whilst providing a significant boost to the economy of the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The project is also sequestering 1.5 million tonnes of carbon each year through the planting of 26 million cuttings of spekboom.”
(Source: Planet Possible Podcast, May 14)
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58 MIN LISTEN: TINY GARDENS EVERYWHERE, with MIT’S KATE BROWN
“Kate Brown is an MIT Distinguished Professor in the History of Science. Across her career, her research has sometimes inadvertently documented the impact of urban, often small and under resourced gardens and gardeners, in our world. Her new book, ‘Tiny Gardens Everywhere: The Past, Present, and Future of the Self-Provisioning City,’ compiles this research and her own lived experience of its truth and potentially beneficial consequences. She makes a case for the importance of tending to plants in our places as history, as science, and as a game changer for our futures.”
(Source: Cultivating Place Podcast, May 14)
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From Pilots to Practice: A New Bid to Scale Regenerative Agriculture
“The framework isn’t prescriptive. ‘It’s for the farmer to decide what they want to do and what they think is best for their land, from their own observations, from their own experience.’”
–Brigid ​McAleer
(Source: Reuters, May 18)
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59 MIN LISTEN: From Waste To Wealth: Closing Loops on the Farm
“How farms can turn organic waste streams into sources of fertility and value, and what it takes to close loops in practice to build more resilient and regenerative systems.”
(Source: Regenerative Skills Podcast, April 2)
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Next up, strawberries.
Which also means it’s snake season.
Don’t forget to put your boots on!

Maria