Earthkeepers Handbook

s r e H p and e e k b h t

k oo

Ea r

ecoartspace

heal the man heal the land •

Reviewed by Kim Abeles and WhiteFeather Hunter Introduction by Patricia Watts An ecoartspace publication

Reviewers: Kim Abeles WhiteFeather Hunter Introduction: Patricia Watts, Founder, ecoartspace Design/Layout: Jane Crayton aka Jane daPain • iSTEMart.org Front Cover & left Image: Susan Hoenig, “On Lenape Land,” 2022, black walnut on paper; awarded Indigenuity Prize by the Museum of Native American History, Bentonville, Arkansas, December 2022. Back Cover Image: Mierle Laderman Ukeles Washing / Tracks / Maintenance: Outside, 1973 Part of Maintenance Art performance series, 1973-1974 Performance at Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT © Mierle Laderman Ukeles Courtesy the artist and Ronald Feldman Gallery, New York O Brother font designed by Graeme Walker. www.graemewalker.art/design Second Edition, 50 copies First Edition, 220 copies Printed by Greenerprinter, USA 100% recycled paper, lay-flat binding ISBN: 979-8-9884004-0-0 ecoartspace PO Box 5211 Santa Fe, New Mexico 87502 ecoartspace.org issuu.com/ecoartspace Copyright ©2023 ecoartspace publications All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form, without permission from the publisher and artists.

Dedication

Dedicated to Mierle Laderman Ukeles This handbook is dedicated to Mierle Laderman Ukeles whose early feminist work represents the kind of thoughtful actions that ecological artists can take to make the world a better place. Her “CARE” manifesto published in 1969 and subsequent Maintenance Art performances are ephemeral monuments giving power to gestures for healing ourselves and the planet.

Mierle Laderman Ukeles Washing / Tracks / Maintenance: Outside, 1973 Part of Maintenance Art performance series, 1973-1974 Performance at Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, CT © Mierle Laderman Ukeles Courtesy the artist and Ronald Feldman Gallery, New York

Dedication

Kim Abeles

Photo: Tony Pinto Kim Abeles explores society, science literacy, feminism, and the environment, creating projects with science and natural history museums, health departments, air pollution control agencies, and National Park Service. NEA-funded projects involved a residency at the Institute of Forest Genetics; and Valises for Camp Ground in collaboration with Camp 13, a group of female prison inmates who fight wildfires. Permanent outdoor works include sculptural Citizen Seeds along the Park to Playa Trail in Los Angeles, and Walk a Mile in My Shoes, based on the shoes of the Civil Rights marchers and local activists. Abeles has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, J. Paul Getty Trust Fund, and her process documents are archived at the Center for Art + Environment. Her work is in public collections including MOCA, LACMA, CAAM, Berkeley Art Museum, and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. “Kim Abeles: Smog Collectors, 1987-2020” is a survey exhibition of the environmental series, presented at CSU Fullerton (2022) and CSU Sacramento (2023). Recent publications about her projects include New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the book, Social Practice: Technologies for Change, Routledge Press (2022). www.kimabeles.com

Reviewer

WhiteFeather Hunter WhiteFeather Hunter is a multiple award-winning Canadian artist and scholar, holding an MFA in Fibres and Material Practices from Concordia University. She is currently a PhD candidate in Biological Arts at the University of Western Australia, supported by a SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship, Australian Government International Scholarship and University of Western Australia International Postgraduate Scholarship. Before commencing her PhD, WhiteFeather was founding member and Principal Investigator of the Speculative Life BioLab at the Milieux Institute for Arts, Culture and Technology at Concordia University (Montreal) from 20162019. Her biotechnological art practice intersects technofeminism, witchcraft, micro and cellular biology with performance, new media and craft. Recent presentations include at Ars Electronica, Art Laboratory Berlin, University of Applied Arts Vienna, Royal College of Art London, Innovation Centre Iceland, and numerous North American institutions. WhiteFeather’s recent doctoral research into developing a novel menstrual serum for tissue engineering experiments was spotlighted by Merck/ SigmaAldrich for International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2021 as part of their #nextgreatimpossible campaign. www.whitefeatherhunter.ca

Reviewer

Introduction ecoartspace Founder Patricia Watts

During the zeitgeist of the new environmental laws that were passed in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mierle Ukeles wrote her radical ecofeminist proposition Manifesto! Maintenance Art in 1969, which was a proposal for an exhibition titled CARE. She later performed her Maintenance Art, or unseen labor, titled Hartford Wash: Washing, Tracks, Maintenance, in 1973, washing and scrubbing the museum stairways by hand, both inside and outside the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, Connecticut.

The performance was part of Lucy Lippard’s multi-venue show called c. 7,500. Three years later, Kim Abeles with Van Nostrand Reinhold published the homesteading handbook titled, Crafts, Cookery, and Country Living in handwritten text. Abeles’ how-to-directions and recipes for living a self-sustaining existence in a rural setting included instructions for braided rugs, patchwork, macramé, natural dyeing, edibles, and drinkables for gifts, to name just a few examples. These early ecofeminist works pointed to the simplicity and thoughtfulness that’s needed, especially today while addressing climate change, each born out of the environmental and feminist movements that began almost sixty years ago. The first word in the title of this book, Earthkeepers, was inspired by the Heresies Magazine Issue #13: Earthkeeping / Earthshaking: Feminism & Ecology (Volume 4, Number 1), 1981, which was co-edited by ecoartspace member, artist Janet Culbertson, along with several others including curator/writer Lucy Lippard and artist Ana Mendieta (1948-1985). The issue featured short essays including Culbertson’s text Ecotage!, the title being a word combining ecology and sabotage, which examined the use of guerrilla tactics to address environmental issues. Culbertson promoted that women should be ready to boycott or write letters, and to question any ecological exploitation with intelligent actions. The late Bonnie Ora Sherk (1945-2021) wrote about her then-current project Crossroads Community (the farm) in San Francisco as an “alternative to alternative spaces.” Other contributions and artworks featured were by Michelle Stuart, Christy Rupp, Mary Beth Edelson, and Patricia Johanson, among others. Heresies was an idea-oriented journal devoted to the examination of art and politics from a feminist perspective from 1977 to 1993. A more recent workbook created by Tattfoo Tan, only four years ago, titled Heal the Mankind in Order to Heal the Land, was also a precursor for this book. Having written an ecoartspace Action Guide with Tan in 2014, titled S.O.S., it became evident that artists addressing environmental issues should offer up their creativity and prob-

Introduction

simple how-to acts of love and kindness to consider. We invite our readers to find inspiration from this handbook, which presents the creative care of our members. This compilation is an ecoartspace manifesto with knowledge sharing at its core to help contribute to making the world a better place. I’d like to thank Kim Abeles and WhiteFeather Hunter who reviewed the member submissions for this Handbook. Hunter brought her witchy perspective to the book, as a doctoral artist/ researcher in biotech and the occult, and inventor of human menstrual growth serum by biohacking her menstrual blood. She challenges taboos around women’s bodies in science research, and questions how “witches” possessing body and nature-based knowledges were persecuted as part of the transition to patriarchal capitalism.

Tricia’s Toothpowder 3 tablespoons Sea Salt 1/4 cup Baking Soda 1/2 cup Arrowroot Powder Essential Oils (Spearmint) 5-10 drops

lem-solving skills for the greater good; that their social practice projects should be replicable, by anyone. Tan has written two other workbooks since and believes object-making is a problematic goal unless there is utilitarian value; that it’s really about self-improvement or community capacity building to get to where we need to be, to an ecoconsciousness. My former ecoartspace partner Amy Lipton (1956-2020) and I had discussed many times through the years that we wanted to publish an ecoartspace cookbook. Not even one year into the pandemic, Lipton passed away, and with the lockdown measures, we retreated into the kitchen for comfort. With this convergence, it seemed timely to create a handbook of recipes and remedies for healing ourselves and the places that we live. In a world turned upside down by a virus, created by the extractive practices of colonialism that has ravaged the planet for hundreds of years, the need to heal patriarchal violence is upon us. In the following over 200 pages of contributions by more than 100 artists / ecoartspace members, there are also manifestos, essays, and

Mix well and put in glass jar; dip wet toothbrush in power (not too wet) or you can find a bottle that you can pour it over your toothbrush. I’ve been making my own toothpowder for over twenty years. This recipe was included in a Native American herbal book I had, and includes Arrowroot powder, which got its name for healing arrow wounds. It’s a nice soft base for the baking soda and salt, which can be harsh on teeth. I truly believe that the salt has kept me from getting decay that otherwise would have turned into more fillings and dental work. Give it a try! Note regarding the title of this book: Heal the Man is a phrase that in this instance is more literal than in the Old English style. It is meant to refer to the active legacy of patriarchy and maleness/masculinity, which are intertwined with systemic racism and colonial extraction. These are deeply embedded systems or structures that have contributed to the demise of our interconnected relationship with the earth. As in Old English, Man means “person” or “human,” or men and women alike. Man, as it is used for this book focuses on the male aspects of being human, for all genders; the man inside us all, so we can begin the process of deconstructing what it means to be a man or manly in a world today facing epochal climate.

Introduction

Excerpt from “AN INTRICATE ENSEMBLE: THE ART-SCIENCE OF AN ECOLOGICAL IMAGINARY FOR THE ANTHROPOCENE EPOCH”

Alyce Santoro, 2019

At 5:30am on July 16, 1945, at the Alamogordo Bombing Range (a place that had been known by Spanish conquistadores as Jornada del Muerto, the route of the dead man) in the New Mexican desert, the Manhattan Project completed its Trinity Test, the detonation of an 18.6 kiloton plutonium bomb. As he watched the explosion, Dr. Robert J. Oppenheimer, director of the project, famously recalled a line from Hindu holy book the Bhagavad-Gita: “I am become death, the destroyer of worlds.” If it had not been widely apparent prior to this moment, it certainly became known immediately afterwards: Homo sapiens—“wise man”—had acquired the power, previously ascribed only to gods and other supreme forces, to annihilate itself. In addition to the nuclear threat, most of Earth’s human inhabitants now well understand that many other reckless activities engaged in by some threaten the existence of all. The entire biosphere is being catastrophically altered by a few hundred years’ worth of exploitative practices controlled by the wealthiest and most powerful, the majority of whom are now loathe to abandon the profit motive in favor of more egalitarian, less oppressive systems of social and economic organization. People around the world in all sectors of society are currently engaged in resistance to inhumane and ecocidal forces. The angst inherent in the Dadaist reaction to the senselessness of the post-World War I era seems all the more sensible in light of atrocities currently unfolding. In fact, the point made by the Romantic Naturalists and Surrealists—that an awareness of the “marvelous” aspects of existence serves a vital social function—remains highly

relevant to the times at hand: there is still much to be learned from those who never forgot existence is intra-active, and from those who refused, and continue to refuse, to submit to reductive thinking. For the oppressed, to cultivate and maintain an ability to imagine parallel or alternate possible presents remains a subversive act. René Ménil wrote: The land of the marvelous is the most stunning revenge we have…Man sees the intolerable limits of everyday life fall from him like so much tawdry finery. Everything really becomes possible for him. He can transgress his spatial boundaries: he transforms himself into a tree, an animal, a peaceful lake, so discovering precious secrets as in a game. He overcomes space by instantly crossing infinite distances. He holds past and future, space and time, life and death in his hands… In light of the current state of the world, Ménil’s words may seem almost excruciatingly optimistic. But giving all power to the imagination (l’imagination au pouvoir ) may remain among the most potent and accessible tactics available. As philosopher Herbert Marcuse stated (somewhat paradoxically), “Art cannot change the world, but it can contribute to changing the consciousness and drives of the men and women who could change the world.” To reiterate: this thesis is intended neither to assert that art can solve all problems, nor to claim modern science is inherently flawed. From a position of constructive critique, it has been my purpose, rather: 1. To establish creative practices as

Earthkeepers Handbook 2

essential forms of knowledge production in and of themselves. I am suggesting artistic techniques—ones that arouse the imagination, senses, and emotions—can be effectively applied in concert with science’s rigorous and dispassionate methods. Situations that tend to treat art as an embellishment capable only of serving in an illustrative or support capacity, or that otherwise use art to uncritically reinforce the authority of a science which fails to take humanitarian and ecological concerns foremost into account, are, I maintain, less constructive. 2. To invite science to critically examine a paradox inherent within itself. Science’s revered objective stance—undeniably useful as a mindset for the purposes of research— is neither a scientifically demonstrable condition of reality, nor is it necessarily constructive when applied in a non-scientific (social) context. I believe science, in its privileged position as humanity’s preeminent form of knowledge production, reinforces a “detached” attitude that runs the perilous risk of preventing the most destructive segment of humanity from understanding itself (ourselves) as interconnected with one another and the biosphere. 3. To suggest practices which expand the imagination are valuable not only to those in the arts, but to those in the sciences, and to assert that a sound understanding of science can be of great practical use to those in creative fields. Umberto Eco describes how “contemporary art can be seen as an epistemological metaphor”: What we find in art is less the expression of new scientific concepts than the negation of old assumptions. “While science, today, limits itself to suggesting a probable structure of things, art tries to give us a possible image of this new world, an image that our sensibility has not yet been able to formulate, since it always lags a few steps behind intelligence— indeed, so much so that we still say that the sun ‘rises’ when for three centuries we have known that it does not budge.” Ultimately, I am calling for authentic, critical engagement of the methods of science in tandem with those of the arts. By bringing Goethe’s delicate empiricism,

3 Earthkeepers Handbook

Schelling’s Naturephilosophie, Dadaist and Surrealist natural history, and the efforts of musical improvisors into dialog with the contemporary environmental humanities, I am pointing toward a mode of thought and action that engages the seemingly paradoxical yet complementary mindsets of art and science. I believe vacillating between—or the simultaneous holding of—states of objectivity and subjectivity, individuality and collectivity, prescription and improvisation can be of use to the collaborative formation of a constructive image of oikos, our shared home, regardless of one’s primary discipline. Alexander von Humboldt expressed similar sentiments when he stated reason and imagination must be considered equally: It would be a denial of the dignity of human nature and the relative importance of the faculties with which we are endowed, were we to condemn at one time austere reason engaged in investigating causes and their mutual connections, and at another that exercise of the imagination which prompts and excites discoveries by its creative powers.

As the Surrealists understood, such dialectical practices are only useful in relation to the revolutionary project: It is not enough…for man to become the instrument of his unconscious, for he should occupy himself with finding a concrete solution to the problems of existence. Surreality is not to be sought solely on ‘the other side,’ but should become integrated with the attributes of consciousness in order to recognize this harmony of being that will finally reconcile man to himself.” And the revolutionary project at hand is monumental—for life on Earth to continue to thrive, the Anthropocentric model of the universe must rapidly go the way of the geocentric one. What practices have the potential to aid humanity in coming to see itself as part of an intricate ensemble with one another and the biosphere? What might be the most effective and efficient methods of restoring a sense of the marvelous, and how can they be implemented? Can an avant-garde effort succeed now where similar past movementsfailed to take hold? I argue “success,” as a constantly moving target, is an unfounded concern; there is never a fixed point at which victory is declared and all struggles cease. Movements inspire and reinforce one another, reconfigure, reorganize, and re-emerge in new forms, as we have seen in the twenty-first century with the Arab Spring, Occupy, the Indignados, #BlackLivesMatter, Standing Rock, #MeToo, and many other social, environmental, and political uprisings around the world. According to a 1907 definition, avant-garde started out as a military term referring to the “advance guard” or the “vanguard”: The avant-garde générale, avant-garde stratégique, or avant-garde d’armée is a strong force (one, two, or three army corps) pushed out a day’s march to the front, immediately behind the cavalry screen. Its mission is, vigorously to engage the enemy wherever he is found, and, by binding him, to ensure liberty of action in time and space for the main army. Terms like “avant-garde,” “queer,” “utopian,” or “surreal,” by definition, refer to things that are out of the ordinary, ahead of their time, or are unexpected, rare, or uncommon in occurrence. “Queer” is defined as “strange,

peculiar, eccentric” and “utopia” literally means “no place”. But for those who select these terms, the subtext is that what’s considered normal is in need of adjustment. When it is widely taken for granted that quantum particles can leap from one place to another without having been anywhere in between, those particles will cease to be “queer,” and some other phenomenon may take their place in the pantheon of queerness. Barad poetically describes “queer” as: …itself a lively, mutating organism, a desiring radical openness, an edgy protean differentiating multiplicity, an agential dis/continuity, an enfolded reiteratively materializing promiscuously inventive spatiotemporality. Ishmael proclaims in the mid-nineteenth century novel Moby Dick, “Damn me, but all things are queer, come to think of ’em,” When everything is queer, nothing is. And then something is again. And so the cycle goes; avant-gardeness, queerness, and utopianism are never-ending becomings. It is my strong impression that the cultivation of an intricate ensemble—in any and every form this may take—is an appropriate and necessary avant-garde with which to confront the roaring (boiling, wailing, failing, flailing?) 2020s. Practices and frameworks that emphasize and enhance collaboration, spontaneity, and care—mad love —in defying convention, contain the potential to subvert it. Not acting (in-activism) is not an option. If [aesthetic vision] arouses us in any practical way, it is because it finds us ready, one way or another, to act. Not the works of art, therefore, but the [person themselves] who carries in [their] being the potential of rebellion and revolution. The impossible is realized every time a “perfect coalescence of feeling with image and image with feeling” occurs in an act of creativity; we can “know what the possible feels like because we know ourselves to be its creators.” This is a dynamic participatory occasion.

Alyce Santoro 4

5 Abigail Doan

Aline Mare 6

7 Earthkeepers Handbook

Alexis Williams 8

9 Earthkeepers Handbook

Alexa Kleinbard 10

Soilkin

Relational Exercises with Soils and Stones Alexandra Toland, 2020-2022 EXERCISE 1. STONE HEAT TRANSFER EVENT Take a hot stone from the fire and hold it close to the body. Pass it between hands and feet. Dissipate the heat. EXERCISE 2. OBSERVE A STONE Listen to a stone with whatever means and methods available. Push a stone through the sand until it pushes back. Take part in a geologic survey, or design your own. EXERCISE 3. BECOME A STONE OBSERVING ITSELF Inflate a boulder-shaped avatar of yourself as a stone and float it above the horizon. Send aerial photographs, weather data, and hover-selfies back to the surface. Send surface data back to your hovering stoneshaped self. Float like a stone in the pedon. EXERCISE 4. SOIL KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER EVENT VARIATION 1: Dig a body-sized hole in the soil and curl up in it. Listen to the music of capillary action and fall asleep counting roots.

11 Earthkeepers Handbook

VARIATION 2: Hug the surface of the soil with entire body. Make sand-angels lying face down. Smell the leaf litter. EXERCISE 5. OBSERVE A SOIL Observe a soil with whatever materials and methods available. Try a new sport. Go soil-judging. EXERCISE 6. GET TO KNOW NEIGHBORS Introduce a soil to its neighbors – place mirrors in adjacent soil pits so they can gaze at each other. EXERCISE 7. POSSIBLE FLUX PERFORMANCE FOR THE POST-ANTHROPOCENE Dance with soil for one minute. Dance with a stone for one millennium. EXERCISE 8. PRACTICING RECIPROCITY UNSEAL SEALED SURFACES. Replace concrete beds with mulch blankets. Compost as if your life depended on it. Give thanks.

EXERCISE 9. STRENGTH TRAINING

EXERCISE 11. MULTISPECIES MUDRAS

Move soil from one place to another using only hands, spades, and shovels. Try a new sport. Weight-lifting with stones.

Variation 1. Practice mudras with other soil creatures. Imitate the body-knots of slow worms.

EXERCISE 10. DOING THINGS ON THE GROUND

Variation 2. Enhance touch points with the foot mucus of a Roman snail. Let the weight of a snail move the direction of hands and fingers.

Variation 1. Read while squatting; eat while squatting; observe surroundings and own body while squatting, plan fieldwork while squatting Variation 2. Walk on all fours with eyes closed; take texture notes with your feet.

The Soilkin exercises were developed in the Biosphere Reservation Schorfheide Chorin in Brandenburg, Germany from 2020 to 2022 as part of a practice-led research project on soil ontology (pedontology) in the Anthropocene. The Soilkin project proposes a series of Fluxus-inspired relational exercises and re-enactments that invite reflection on the individual and collective agency of more-than mineral intimacies and the boundaries of what it means to be alive. The exercises are envisaged as embodied thought-experiments, to be tested and developed in different ecologies with different actors, seeking kinships across spheres, knowledge cultures, generations, and communities of practice. Methodologically speaking, the Soilkin exercises can be seen as a citational practice beyond footnotes, re-interpreting specific event scores penned by Fluxus artists Ken Friedman and Yoko Ono, among others, while thinking with later forms of artistic inquiry, from relational aesthetics to ecovention, speculative design, and ecosexual positioning. In reference to Ken Friedman, 1970, Heat Transfer Event. „Glasses: one filled with ice water, one with boiling tea, one or more empty glasses. Liquids are transferred from glass to glass until the tea is cooled to drinking temperature.

EXERCISE 12. MAKING PLAYGROUNDS Variations: Build temporary playgrounds for snails; make eggshell-onion-peel oatmeal cookies for earthworms; give a dung beetles hayrides to the nearby piles; design millipede shoes for the “Arthropocene”; build midden playgrounds for small creatures; build bird-and-tire proof amphibian crossings.

Milan Knizak, 1977. Ceremony. 5. breaking a stone (to find its soul); Yoko Ono, 1963. Stone Piece. Take the sound of the stone aging. 1963 in reference to Edwin Abbott (1884), Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. Satirical novella first published in 1884 by Seeley & Co. and Tomás Saraceno (2015). Aerocene Project. collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS), Braunschweig University of Technology - Institute of Architecture-related Art (IAK). in reference to Joel Tauber (2000), Seven Attempts To Make A Ritual. in reference to Ana Mendieta (1973–1980), Silueta Series, and Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens (2014), Dirty Wedding to the Soil, Krems, Austria, 2014, and documenta14, 2017. In reference to herman de vries (2015). Stones on plinths. Venice Biennale, Dutch Pavilion. in reference to Robert Smithson (1969). Yucatan Mirror Displacements 1–9. In reference to Luce Fierens (1987) Possible Flux Performances or Postfluxgames. „Ask a child to dance with you. 1 minute“ In reference to the instructions for the Honorable Harvest, retold by Robin Wall Kimmerer (2013) and Peter Frank’s Thank You Piece: „Thank you. (repeat 15 times) Politeness is no crime.“ reproduced in Friedman et al. 2002 Fluxus Performance Workbook. In reference to Francis Alÿs (2002) When Faith Moves Mountains, and Jana Korb (2019) #ablobodiesandstones. In reference to Tim Ingold (2004). Culture on the Ground: The World Perceived Through the Feet. Journal of Material Culture Vo, 9 Issue 3. In reference to Ela Spalding (2018). In Our Hands. In reference to Toland and Milicevic (2010). Wishgarden – Wild Urban Offshoots.

Alexandra Toland 12

13 Andra Ragusila

Amber Stucke 14

15 Anna Mein

Earthkeepers Handbook 16

17 Anna Mein

Anne Yoncha 18

19 Earthkeepers Handbook

Anne Yoncha 20

Landlooking Tenets, wip 1. Lean back 2. Practice protracted thoughtful observation* 3. Forest dwell 4. Be close to the source 5. Be thankful and giving 6. Slow, roam, meander, amble 7. Lead from the belly, from the heart, from the pelvis 8. Live by the moon 9. Wake with the sun 10. Listen to the dream seas 11. Feel the cosmos within 12. Let art be a meditation *Bill Mollison, Permaculture, 1990

21 Earthkeepers Handbook

Anne Beck 22

Beverly Naidus 24

DRAWING RECIPE FOR GROWING A GARDEN INSIDE Anna Chapman TOOLS:

Graphite pencils: 4B & 6B Drawing pad Ink + Brushes Scissors or xacto knife Tape PROCEDURE:

Find a place outside where your spirit calms and you feel a desire to stay put. Make yourself comfortable and get out your drawing pad and pencils, or paint brush. I like to use an easel and chair, but sitting on the ground will do just fine. Drawing from life can be hard, but it gets easier with practice. Don’t be afraid to mess up. Staying curious is the most important ingredient. Slowly and confidently begin to draw the plant leaves, stems, and roots before you. Maybe you spot some interesting insects or rocks to draw as well. I like to begin with whatever feels most fascinating in the moment. Drawing life size will help your body remember its spatial relationship to these plants, rocks, or roots when you bring the drawings back inside. When you run out of space on your paper, continue your drawing onto a new sheet. It can help to tape the old sheet to your new sheet so you know where to connect the lines. Let the plant dictate the space it wants to take up, however many pages that may be. Once you’ve finished drawing, bring your papers back inside and cut them out with a scissor or xacto knife. Then begin piecing and taping them together and hang them on your wall. Over time, your garden will grow and take up as much space as you let it. If you would like this garden to become a more permanent fixture in your space, consider wheat pasting it to the wall. Wheat paste recipes are easy to find online, all you need is flour and water.

25 & 26 Anna Chapman

Immerse yourself in nature. Be very still. Look. Listen.

Silence your inner dialogue whenever you notice it. Just be. Acknowledge your emotional responses as you connect with yourself and the life web - joy, gratefulness, fears, grief, or whatever emerges. And then, when it feels right, without using words, let it all flow out through improvised singing.

Bibo Keeley 28

Bill Gilbert 30

Bill Gilbert 32

BECOME CLIMATE CONSCIOUSNESS Ahní Rocheleau The juniper savannah, the forest gardens, the carved-out arroyo, the prairie moisture storehouses have been rained on for four consecutive days now. Ki is drenched, roots of the boscage absorbing while the dry wash releasing much bottom sand to rushing flows. The spectacle is not seen, nor experienced. The arroyo waits for us, sipping water, cleansing its own bed of branches, roots, four-winged saltbush, Apache plume/fallugia, and some of the native species of tumbleweed. The high-desert arroyo so rarely plied with the liquor of the cloud gods awaits, like any addict in need of company. Ki, Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerrer’s term1 and kin, now wet, awaits you to partake, to feel, to perceive an entirely forgotten world, to comprehend previously unavailable possibility, to move out of numbness. If experiences that create a leap in our trajectory can occur on an individual level, it is possible for leaps of consciousness to occur across large groups and across continents, to be transported -just as “mycelium pass messages between plants” (Leah Penniman Founding Co-Director of Soul Fire Farm). Steam rises, moisture could fill nostrils and hearts which had become so dry. Ahh, to be in a less dominating space, to be among the native medicinals, the grasses, the hyper-accumulating flora, and the endangered species refreshes priorities. The powerful pull of arroyo, the studio lab of the outdoors, reflects the immediacy of the climate emergency, plunging into economic aridity and social contortion as grandmother cleanses with water, cleanses with fire. Each and every one of us are cultural workers. How are we nourishing our core transmission center, allowing in stillness and inner knowing to construct its own thoughts, and what are we broadcasting into our immediate communities? Before us is a new and unfamiliar proposal to plunge ourselves into the climate emergency and the power of exuding our own individual magnetic power and visual poetry, in silence or in song, to generate collective energy. Kimmerrer, Dr. Robin, 08/31/2022 talk at the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico 1

33 Ahní Rocheleau

Pounded Yam! Ingredients • 3-5 pounds white yam

(African, Columbian, etc. type yams)

• Water Pounding tools: wooden mortar and pestle Directions: Peel the yam and boil in the water until fork tender. Move the yam into the mortar and pestle and pound until a smooth and firm dough. Note in a commune compound, it is pounded by 2-4 people in unison of up and down pounding. This is a meal that takes effort and sweat in making, but is so delicious. Serve with Okra stew or Spinach stew with goat meat and stock fish.

Adeola Davies-Aiyeloja 35 & 36

37 Cesar & Lois

Carol Padberg 38

Billy’s TREE PLANTING GUIDE A single tree can change the landscape. 1. Always Puncture the Earth with Reverence 2. Plant Seedlings (Green side up/roots down) 3. Stomp or Tamp the Wound Completely Closed Covering the Roots (Still, with Reverence) 4. Water If and When Possible 5. Plant More Trees, Lots More Trees

39 Billy X Curmano

Earthkeepers Handbook 40

41 Chris Costan

AN EROTIC ECOLOGY MANIFESTO Place hands in soil move toes in mosses thrum tender parts against grasses let breezes bloom deep in your belly like desire place hands against roots wiggle toes in clouds arches taut stroke nipples across mushroom gods’ fruited hats give guttural cries of savage laughter offerings of butter, bread, to broken and battered rocks let the fluids drift down and in, down and in, red, black, white, and yellow. Peace in chaos, oases in deserts encourage pleasure as death begets life, from her teats; black milk flows, seeds sprout, breathe in place hands in sol, move toes in grasses thrum tender parts against mosses, let breezes bloom deep in the belly like lust.

Candace Jensen 42

THE ALCHEMY OF GROWING WHEAT Chrissie Orr

Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a grain which is a world-wide staple. Order: Family: Genus: Species:

Poales Poaceae–grasses-graminées Triticum L. Triticum aestivum L.

Botanically the wheat kernel is a type of fruit called caryopsis. It is said to have been first cultivated in the Fertile Crescent around 9600 BCE. The Fertile Crescent is a crescent-shaped region in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, together with the southeastern region of

Turkey and the western portion of Iran. This area was home to the eight Neolithic founder crops: wild progenitors to emmer wheat, einkorn, barley, flax, chickpea, pea, lentil and bitter vetch. There are about 100,000 unique varieties of wheat derived from the six classes. They may be either winter or spring type. The winter wheat is sown in the Autumn and harvested around July depending on zone. And spring wheat is sown in the early spring and harvested late summer or early Autumn. • Hard Red Winter. • Hard Red Spring. • Soft Red Winter. • Durum. • Hard White Wheat. • Soft White Wheat. Turkey Red: is a hard red winter wheat. We planted 10 ounces in Autumn 2020 and harvested approximately 50 pounds of cleaned grain, July 2021. Sonoran White: is a soft white winter wheat. We planted 11 ounces in Autumn 2020 and harvested approximately 50 pounds of cleaned grain, July 2021 Egyptian Wheat: is mystery wheat. A friend who had just returned from Egypt presented us with a handful of grain. We planted 9 ounces in Autumn 2020 and harvested approximately 50 pounds of cleaned grain, July 2021 Pima Club: is a soft white spring wheat. We grew it out over the winter in New Mexico. and it did well. . We planted 10 ounces in Autumn 2020 and harvested approximately 50 pounds of cleaned grain, July 2021. All of this wheat started with a handful of grain and it has taken four years of growing out these seeds to now have enough to bake sourdough bread and to share. It’s a beautiful cycle from sowing, tending, hand

43 Chrissie Orr

harvesting with a sickle, foot threshing, wind winnowing, graining, baking, eating and sharing. Find some local seed. Prepare the soil: dig and rake. You can also grow in raised beds. Broadcast the seed in two directions. A tight planting is 25 plants per square foot. Rake to cover the seeds: winter wheat 2” of top soil, spring wheat 1”. Care for your seeds. Wheat loves sun, is tolerant of cold temperatures but growth will be slow. Water, but wheat has a low need for additional water once established. However, keep check; you will know when the wheat needs water. Harvest when seed heads begin to bend towards the earth. Test the grains by popping a few grains out of the head and put them in your mouth. Look for a hard, crunchy texture. Harvest by hand or a sickle. Dry in the sun. Thresh by placing the heads on a tarp. Invite friends over and dance on the wheat until the grains pop from the heads. Winnow the chaff from the grain with a box fan. Pour your wheat between two buckets allowing the fan to blow away the chaff. Or, use the wind. Store your grain in a dry, cool place. Grind and bake.

Save seeds for the following year and share these and their story with neighbors. Remember that each year you will learn more and your wheat will work with you to establish a beautiful reciprocal relationship. We recommend you give it a try!

Earthkeepers Handbook 44

No War on Plants Christopher Kennedy Glyphosate is one of the most common herbicides used across the US and world, first developed by chemist Henry Martin in the 1950s. It was not widely used until 1974 when Monsanto (acquired by Bayer in 2018) brought it to market under the brand name “Roundup”. Although celebrated for its ability to inhibit the growth of so-called “weeds”, it is classified as a category 2A probable carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, causes serious eye damage, is toxic to aquatic life, and more recently has be proven to increase the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma by 41 percent. Despite mounting evidence of its environmental and health effects, Roundup is still available across the US and globe, with only a few cities, states or countries restricting use. At my home in Austin, Texas I am woken up daily by the sounds of lawn mowers and ground crews spraying glyphosate on nearby lawns even though there is little vegetation left to manage in the wake of a multiyear drought. Fed up by the lack of “weedy resistance” in my own neighborhood, I created “No War on Plants” as an invitation to consider the possibility for multispecies kinship using a simple silkscreen method meant to be wheat-pasted on underused surfaces or facades. The work is also a direct commentary on the complexities of industrial agriculture and the petro-chemical companies that feed their continued growth, but also a means to bring awareness to the varied benefits and services naturally occurring plants such as dandelion provide. A description appears at the bottom of the print and reads:

45 Christopher Kennedy

Dandelion is a flowering plant in the Taraxacum genus introduced to the Americas during early European colonization, likely as a food crop. Dandelion can be eaten cooked or raw, an excellent source of vitamins A, C, K, E, folate as well as minerals, including iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium. Dandelion are full of potent antioxidants, and may be effective in reducing inflammation. The root can be made into a tea to aid in digestion. We only have an estimated 50-60 years of arable topsoil left, largely due to extractive monoculture systems and the cult of Euro-centric lawn maintenance regimes that have no place in a time of extinction. Next time you think about grabbing that bottle of weed killer, or see it at your local hardware store, take a moment to consider the agency of our more-than-human allies. Even those we consider unwanted or pests. Christopher Kennedy is the associate director at the Urban Systems Lab at The New School and lecturer in the Parsons School of Design. As an artist and scholar, Kennedy’s research explores the social-ecological benefits of urban plant communities, multispecies thinking, and community-based approaches to environmental stewardship and environmental art. Kennedy holds a BS in environmental engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an MA in Environmental Education from NYU, and a PhD in Cultural Studies from the University of North Carolina. To download a copy of the print visit: christopherleekennedy.com/nowaronplants

Earthkeepers Handbook 46

47 Christopher Lin

Hot Pepper No-Melt Suet Seed Bombs Christopher Lin This suet is great for songbirds from Winter through the end of Spring as it is a no-melt recipe that can withstand temperatures up to 110 F. Hot pepper can be added to prevent rodents such as squirrels and raccoons from feasting. Though mammals have a capsaicin receptor which is responsible for the sensation of heat from hot peppers, birds do not. This suet cake can be deployed as an avian dispersed seed bomb if local wild berries and other native seeds are added to the mix. Digestive acids from the stomach of the bird scarify the hard outer shell of the seeds allowing them to germinate after being spread greater distances through flight. This is a more effective and natural method for seed dispersal than planting individual seeds in the wilderness. Suet is a great feed choice for birds as it offers a rare source of fats during the winter which is essential for migratory and local birds in colder climates to pack on insulation.

Wet Ingredients: 1 cup lard 1 cup crunchy peanut butter

Dry Ingredients: 2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal 2 cups yellow cornmeal 1 cups all purpose flour 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup bird feed of choice (sunflower seeds, millet, cracked corn, peanuts, safflower seeds) 1/4 cup cayenne pepper powder (optional to prevent mammal consumption) 1/2 cup local berries or native seeds 1. Place lard and peanut butter into large bowl and mix until well blended. Begin adding dry ingredients a small amount at a time until combined. 2. Once all ingredients are combined begin pressing into sheet pan or mold and chill thoroughly in either fridge or freezer. 3. When the mixture is well chilled, remove from refrigerator and cut into size that will fit into your suet feeder. Hang feeder and replace suet weekly. This recipe was created during the 2022 Winter Workspace residency at Wave Hill Public Garden & Cultural Center. For Things That Live and Die, 2022, Local birds, suet, local berries and seeds, wireform mannequin, weather proof fabric, grommets, chain, carabiners, and stone.

Earthkeepers Handbook 48

49 Christy Hengst

Climate Change EmergencyCap

KEY: 1. Shield area for a climate change slogan [faces front of hat]; the shield would be where the Fire Station Engine# would be on a firefighters’ helmet. 2. Shield support brace [use hot-glue to be sturdy]. 3. Vertical areas between hat-seams for images, data & text. 4. Brim of Cap - perfect for small 3D objects glued securely to the hat; [faces the back-side of the cap].

A RECIPE FOR CHANGING... FROM CLIMATE DESPAIR TO EMPOWERMENT Form follows function in this simple formula for YOU to easily transform a baseball cap into an intriguing converstaion starter, a Climate Change EmergencyCap. Worn backwards and painted in OJ-Red background color, its form symbolizes a firefighter’s helmet for acknowledging our current emergency to put out the fire of global warming. Begin by following your curiosity online learning about the climate change issues that upsets you the most, collect images, data, and words/slogans to embed on your Cap in 2D and 3D formats. This is a fun project for the classroom, at home as an intergenerational family project or in your community. I have posted a free How-To Video on Vimeo, along with my climate hats.

BEINGA“MAKER”TO TAKEYOURFIRST“CLIMATE ACTION” ISEMPOWERING! Cynthia Pannucci 50

52 Cindy Stockton Moore

53 Dana Michele Hemes

INSTRUCTIONS FOR LETTING GO OF HUMANNESS TO MAKE SPACE FOR COLLECTIVE OTHERNESS: [INTRODUCTORY PRACTICE - SHARED SENSORY EXPERIENCES] 1. Find a living nonhuman to share a sensory experience with. Identify a common sensory perception capability (ex. Can you both perceive light? Sound? Smell?). If you can identify a shared sensory perception capability, skip to step 4. If not, proceed to step 3. 2. If you and the nonhuman cannot perceive the same type or level of sensory stimuli (input), you may need to use tools/devices to facilitate a shared sensory experience. 3. Use tools/devices to adapt or extend the sensory perception capabilities of the human, nonhuman, or both (ex. Use a magnification tool to amplify visual perception). 4. Use tools/devices to adapt or convert the sensory stimuli (input) to align with the perception capabilities of the human, nonhuman, or both (ex. Convert sound to surface vibration for species who hear through touch). Introduce the shared sensory stimuli (input) to the environment if it is not already present. 5. As the input enters your realm of perception, avoid any inclination to make meaning. Resist interpreting the stimuli through a human-centric lens. Instead, just receive the input and notice how it enters and affects you. You may fail at this at first – that’s okay. 6. Observe the nonhuman other. Allow the nonhuman to observe you as an other, if they wish. Observe the space, or lack of space, between you, the other, and the input. 7. Notice any responsive or reflexive behaviors. Perhaps try mimicking or withholding these actions. 8. Linger in the shared space of sensing and being with other… Repeat steps 5 - 7 as many times as possible. You may notice that your perception capabilities change as you spend more time with/as other. 9. Practice often, with many nonhumans.

Dana Michele Hemes 54

Deanna Pindell & Rhonda Janke 55 & 56

57 Deanna Pindell & Rhonda Janke

Jane Marsching 58

59 Eileen Ryan

Clarice Yuen 60

12 VIEWS OF LIVING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE Zea Morvitz A friend from the city visited me. She said, “I haven’t been in nature for a long time.” Once I tried to imagine myself as a sage living on a remote mountain, in a cabin by a waterfall. I wrote a list of 12 beautiful and poetic experiences you could have while living in the countryside. I thought: everyone would benefit by living in the countryside. Our world would start to heal. Many aspects of this idea are just plain wrong, but still I believe that living off the pavement, in a positive way— not forced by poverty to exploit what is left in the countryside — should be available to every human. 1. It is deeply refreshing to the spirit to live in the countryside. 2. At times it is lonely. 3. At times you envy friends prospering in the city. 4. Solitude is often pleasurable. 5. Friends visit. 6. Birds are always present. 7. Recognizing the gestures of trees. 8. Gathering and eating wild berries and mushrooms. 9. Welcoming the landscape into your mind. 10. Enjoying breathing in the scent of pine needles. 11. Living each season, continually learning from the forest. 12. It becomes harder and harder to leave the countryside. On the other hand: The countryside is an artifact. As soon as people stop hunting and gathering for a living, wilderness is turned into countryside. Fence builders create it: keepers of livestock, herders, farmers, tree fallers, miners, resource accumulators exploit it. Over thousands of years it has been a busy, hardworked landscape. It did not originate as a recreation or rest zone, except for wealthy nobles. Countryside presupposes city, but it is not the suburbs. We have inherited a planet with many countrysides and few and vanishing wildlands. Some people entertain the notion of rewilding, but a re-wilded planet would still be an artifact. And, it would seem that few humans, living in today’s massive urban societies, have the ability, the skills or the desire to live wild, or even to live full time —with enjoyment—in the countryside. Thus, the invention of Forest Bathing, a practice that accepts the nonexistence of true wildness and the inability of modern humans to be comfortable out of doors. But let’s not practice. Breathe deeply in a place with few air- or water-borne contaminants, if this is even possible now. How can people be re-introduced into “nature” in a way that benefits both person, society and our planetary ecosystem? Can we accept that much, if not all wilderness is gone, that rewilding is beyond achieving and instead, examine what we have outside of megalopolis: countryside —some of it hideously contaminated, some small portion still beautiful and poetic, but reserved for the privileged. Can we figure out a way of living in the countryside, accessible to everyone? Do not visit, live in the countryside even if for only a day, only an hour. Don’t try to see sights or have a special experience. Allow your surroundings to invite you. This doesn’t come easy. Now figure out how life in the countryside could be available for everyone. Figure out how to invite everyone to come outside …

61 Zea Morvitz

Earthkeepers Handbook 62

64 Elizabeth Kenneday

65 Earthkeepers Handbook

Evgenia Emets 66

RECIPE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION THROUGH THE ARTS

Felicia Young

A Recipe for Environmental Action through the Arts that conveys the spirit of the urban garden ceremonies that are part of Ecological City - Procession for Climate Solutions

67 Earthkeepers Handbook

Felicia Young 68

69 Earthkeepers Handbook

Fredericka Foster 70

71 Inês Ferreira-Norman

LifeInêsBurial (2022) Ferreira-Norman Prologue To be in-land. To be alive. To be the hills. To be lifeful. To be soil. Life Burial (singing) ‘Wey are life Wey are water Soil is alive Wey are soil Wey are clay (speaking) Wey reborn: The land wey are about to enter has been tilled, this means that the life chains have been broken, the fungi networks cut short, and no worms survived the blades. As conscious life givers wey are As bearers of energy, of wey own tectonic mantle As earth activists and activators Wey summon all macro and microbial life to the land wey are about to enter Wey humans need to give back to the land Wey humans need to give back to the land Today, wey give weyselves to the land The land gives wey back Wey receive wey medicine directly from wey minerals Wey are grateful for wey power of regeneration Wey give weyselves to connect with the earth’s life’ (Singing and chanting)

Epilogue ‘European languages often assign gender to nouns, but Potawatomi does not divide the world into masculine and feminine. Nouns and verbs both are animate and inanimate. (…) Pronouns, articles, plurals, demonstratives, verbs – all those syntactical bits I never could keep straight in high school English are all aligned in Potawatomi to provide different ways to speak of the living world and the lifeless one. Different verb forms, different plurals, different everything apply depending on whether what you are speaking of is alive.’

Wey mourn the loss of life Wey cherish all life Weyom weyom weyom’ Robin Wall Kimmerer in The Democracy of Species (2013), Green Ideas, London: Penguin Books

HOW TO PLANT A PLANET Jacklyn Brickman

Adapted from Virginia Department of Forestry, Planting Trees

73 Earthkeepers Handbook

An instructional video by The Department of Planetary Futures: Basic instructions for care, handling, and planting of planetesimals. Keep celestial bodies cool before planting. Ideally, planetlings should be kept refrigerated or packed in ice or snow. Where to Plant

Before planting has begun, be sure to Inspect the area with a compound lenticular tool to assess spectral suitability. Competition from weeds, grass, brush or other planetesimals is very detrimental to survival and growth of planetlings. Choose areas free from this competition or clear at least a three-foot square spot before planting.

Handling Planetlings

Planetlings are living things and must be handled carefully. For the highest survival rate, handle planetesimals tenderly and plant them immediately. If planting must be delayed a few days, keep the plantetlings in a cold, protected place with air circulation between them, out of the rain and wind.

When to Plant

Ideal planting days are calm and shady with little wind. If possible, avoid planting on gusty days. The soil should be moist. Care in planting is more important than speed. Make sure the craters are never allowed to become dry. Planetlings should be carried in a glass container with plenty of moist material packed around them to keep them damp. This is a collaborative effort. Your planetesimal knows what to do.

How to Plant

Open up the hole, making sure the space is deep enough for the craters to be fully extended. If craters dry out, they will not be able to take up water correctly, will often weaken and die due to poor crater structure. Be sure to situate the mother bulb near the planetlings. Leave the mother bulb 70% above soil, while planetlings should be almost nearly covered. Plant with bulges facing downward. Hold the planetling in place in the hole, making sure the craters are straight, fully extended and that the planetesimal is neither too shallow nor too deep in the hole. Fill the hole, allowing soil to fall in around the craters. Tamp with hands or with your heel. Fill with more soil, if necessary, and tamp. Tamping is important. If soil is not firmly packed around the craters, there will be air pockets that can dry out the craters, and the planetlings may be weakly anchored. While the addition of fertilizer and plant vitamins at the time of planting is not generally necessary, proper Avoid these planet planting errors: amounts of sun and moon light • Tangled craters is essential. Be sure to position • Planting too shallow moons accordingly. • Planting too deep

Water Regularly

• Air pockets • Turned up craters • Planting over rocks

Jacklyn Brickman 74

RECIPE FOR HOP SALT[pelletized or whole-cone] Johnny Plastini

ABOUT HOPS AND THEIR MEDICINAL QUALITIES: Most known for their bittering, flavor, and aroma contributions to countless beer recipes, hops are a member of the Cannabacea family of flowering plants, which includes marijuana as a sibling. Hops are a vigorous and pernicious weed that grow around the world in long

75 Earthkeepers Handbook

entwining bines that produce beautiful conelike structures when flowering. They come in a multitude of species and just like varieties of apples, each variety of hops have their own unique aroma, flavor and aesthetic characteristics. In addition to strong antimicrobial and organic preservative properties, the lupulone,

humulone, and other naturally present oleoresins in hop cones can act as calming agents to help with insomnia, anxiety, tension, and cramping. Hops are also recognized medicinally for their mild estrogenic effects in assisting the start of breast milk flow and improved urinary flow for post-partum women, and for reducing the severity of “hot flashes” in menopausal women who regularly supplement their diet with hops. This hop salt recipe below is a fantastic way to extract the health benefits of hops and supplement your diet regularly with small amounts of hop oleoresins. It is a very simple process that essentially involves making a hop tea in salted water to extract the essential oils, and then either allowing the water to evaporate naturally or dehydrating the mixture in your oven to produce a hop infused salt. Before getting started, it’s important to choose a variety of hops that sound most appealing to you. I personally grow whole cone organic cascade hops in my home garden, but there are myriad options to choose from if you decide to go the route of purchasing pulverized hop pellets from a local homebrew store or online retailer. A handful of my favorite varieties of hops for salt are: • Cascade [grapefruit zest aroma and flavor, mild fresh spruce, and citrusy orange marmalade] • Citra [lime zest aroma and flavor with strong tropical mango, pineapple, and apricot notes] • Willamette [very earthy and spicey characteristics with notes of alfalfa and black pepper] • Perle [mild fruity pear flavor and aroma mixed with herbaceous mint and thyme characteristics] • Sorachi Ace [lemongrass herbaceous flavor and aroma with undertones of earthy mushroom] • Chinook [very spicey with heavy clove, pine, juniper, and lush sage characteristics] • Nelson Sauvin [fruity and earthy with crushed white grape, gooseberry and hints of allspice]

INSTRUCTIONS AND INGREDIENTS FOR HOP SALT 1OZ HOP PELLETS OR 2OZ WHOLE CONE HOPS 8OZ FRESH WATER 2 CHEESECLOTHS DRIED PELLETIZED HOPS METHOD 1) Using a mortar and pestle, grind 1oz hop pellets and 3oz sea salt together to a fine powder [almost a flour consistency]. 2) Add this 4oz hop/salt mixture to 8oz fresh water, mix until thoroughly dissolved and boil for 5 minutes. Transfer to a glass bowl and let sit in a cool, dry, dark place lightly covered with a dry cheesecloth until all the water has evaporated and you are left with nothing but a green tinged salt at the bottom of the bowl [about 3 days]. Alternatively, a dehydrator or low heat on a conventional oven [about 150 degrees Fahrenheit] will work well to expedite the evaporation process. 3) Once completely dry, scrape salt from the bottom of the bowl with a spoon, then crush in a mortar and pestle to your desired coarseness and store in a wooden or stone salt cellar. 4) Enjoy! I prefer to make a very fine hop salt and use it as a finishing salt for grilled vegetables or on my air-popped popcorn, but a coarser salt for focaccia can be lovely as well. FRESH WHOLE-CONE METHOD 1) Add 2oz whole cone hops to 16oz fresh water. Boil for 10 minutes. 2) Pour mixture into a glass bowl ensuring to strain off the whole cone hops with a cheese cloth and squeeze remaining liquid from the hops into the bowl. 3) Let the glass bowl with your mixture sit in a cool, dry, dark place lightly covered with a dry cheesecloth until all the water has evaporated and you are left with nothing but a green tinged salt at the bottom of the bowl [about 3 days]. Alternatively, a dehydrator or low heat on a conventional oven [about 150 degrees Fahrenheit] will work well to expedite the evaporation process. 4) Follow steps 3-4 from ‘Dried Pelletized Hop Method’.

Johnny Plastini 76

James Griffith 78

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPOST: Circle around the pile, barefoot, three times. Stop at the west end and stare deeply into the chaos of silent transformation. Look around you. Look at what makes you. Look at what you make. Feel your body braided into permanent impermanence entangled with those billions of beings within. Slide your hands inside the hot body. Notice how the end of you and the beginning of them has no distinction. Accept it. Feed on grief like you feed on joy, a symphony of sameness embedded into alluvial veins, into beating blood, into sediments made of bones. Exchanging lifedeathlifedeath for fragile atmosphere, we rest without shame.

Kaitlin Bryson with the Submergence Collective 79 & 80

81 Earthkeepers Handbook

Julia Adzuki 82

Becoming Glacier ECO-HOUSEKEEPING IN THE MUCKRO-COSM Linda Weintraub l. On a warm day in spring. Remove your shoes. Step into a creek or stream that runs through woods. Feel the sensory receptors, that stagnated all winter within the confines of steady-state-climatecontrolled interior spaces, awaken. Linger. This immersion prepares you for delight, devotion, and discovery. 2. Standing ankle deep in creek water allows you to access the logic in eco-logic-al actions. This activity is remote from statistical studies, modeling strategies, regression analyses, and simulations, although these are the trusted tools of many environmentalists. Wading into the creek provides sure footing for choosing a judicious environmental course for launching your journey into the muckrocosm. 3. With your hands and fingers, dredge up the fertile muck that accumulated all fall and winter. Bend low. Reach out. Scoop up the accretions of stones and silt. While backhoes are designed to relieve such labor, using fingers to rake away the gravel is your pathway to the multiplicity of colors, temperatures, densities, weights, sounds, directions, tastes, and smells. Each sensation is enriched because it is traceable to a perceivable source, unlike water that flows predictably and anonymously from faucets. 4. Bending low also provides the ideal vantage point for observing the creek’s virtuoso performance. Placid waters oscillate with splashes, splatters, sprays, and bubbles. Surges, sedimentation, erosion, and accretion reshape the stream’s banks and reroute its course. As you clear away the surface drift, the newly released water tumbles, offering a profusion of topographical features that are as enduring as outcroppings of bedrock and massive tree roots, and as fickle as accumulations

83 Linda Weintraub

of leaf litter and fish nests. Enhance these qualities. Unclog the waterway. Watch clear water flow freely. Create space. Open time. Create a symphony of tumbling water. Restore your drainage to its post-glacial prime – refreshed and unobstructed. Act as a glacier. 5. Even such gentle interventions carry significant consequence. Once you remove the surface deposits from the streambed, you must decide where to place them. That is when watershed house-keeping merges with watershed horticulture. Offer the fertile muck to the young life sprouting along the banks. 5. Options abound. Your decision regarding where to relocate each handful of sediment will determine the fate of crawfish, toads, turtles, moss, and mushrooms. Which species receive new luxury habitats? Which are issued eviction notices? 6. Welcome the wildlife. Unbeckoned, it will conduct the ultimate act of sorting, distributing, claiming, and occupying the aquatic conditions you refurbished, and the terrestrial habitats you refurbished. As partners, you reinvigorate the seasonal and geologic cycles.

Kathryn Nusa Logan & Kathryn Moore 84

SIGNS OF DEATH 20% OF CARBON ENTERING THE ATMOSPHERE TODAY WILL STILL BE IN THE AIR 1,000 YEARS FROM NOW 85 Ken Rinaldo

SIGNS OF LIFE THERE ARE 50 BILLION MICROORGANISMS IN ONE TEASPOON OF SOIL Earthkeepers Handbook 86

87 Kim Garrison Means

Earthkeepers Handbook 88

89 Kim Tanzer

TOPO-GRAPH: DRAW A WALK Kim Tanzer September 2022 Decide where you want to walk, and why. Download a tracking app—I use GPS Tracks. Start your walk, and the app’s tracking feature. Walk. Seek special places or paths. Find desire lines. Linger when you find points of inspiration. Be aware, and thankful. Observe and detour around interruptions, like roads, fences, waterbodies, buildings. Listen to your body and to your spirit. Follow your feet. Complete the walk and stop the track. Save it and export it to yourself. Import your track into a drawing or mapping program, preferably with topography. I use GIS. Print it on paper or another support of your choice. Complete the drawing with your fingers. Seek an exchange between the line made by your feet, those made by your fingers, and the terrain revealed through the map data. You have made a topo-graph, revealing the interplay between the planet’s flows—gravity, water, sunshine, shade—and your own flows—your feet, your hand, your head, and your heart. What have you learned? Was your walk beautiful? Was it truncated or edited by regrettable intrusions, human-made or natural? Can you advocate for a more beautiful world, conducive to more beautiful walks?

Earthkeepers Handbook 90

91 L.C. Armstrong

Nichole Speciale 92

FORAGING FOR SAMBUCUS NIGRA CANADENSIS

(American Black Elderberry) to make Elderberry flower Syrup When foraging it is important to correctly identify your plant. Elderberry bushes have an almond shaped dark green leaf with saw tooth edges and grows on a separate stem from the flower. The flower grows in a spray of clusters on their own stem and are shaped like tiny white five petal stars.

Elderflower syrup Recipe • 10 elderflower umbels • 2 lemons, juiced • ½ quart water • 1-pound granulated sugar

To make a half a quart of Elderflower syrup, clip off 8-10 fresh flower stems newly opened (early July). Clip all stems and leaves and discard, rinse the flowers and shake dry. Set the florets aside in a bowl. * Heat water to a boil, add sugar over medium flame, stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Pour the hot syrup over the flowers in the bowl, add lemon juice and 4 slices of lemon. Cover the bowl and let infuse over 3-5 days at room temperature. The flowers will infuse a unique smell and taste of tropical and pear nuances. Strain into a jar allowing some flowers and the lemon slices to remain. Use syrup over fresh fruit, yoghurt or in seltzer for a refreshing drink. *Stems and leaves are toxic to eat, but a few stem parts left in the floret mixture will not harm you.

93 Pamela Casper

95 Linda Stillman

Earthkeepers Handbook 96

To Do Margot Lystra Sense, with your small self, the massive livingness of the world. Here are some ways you might begin. Lay down and sink your belly to the earth body. Relax and rest. Let boundless tranquil soil soak its gritty coolness into your skin. Press your nose to leaf litter under a tree. Slow-inhale the soft damp of woodland. Catch with your warm in-breath what’s there: wormy humus flavors, heat of decay. Tuck yourself close to a big rock (any kind will do). Know its weight as your bonethreaded softness meets its rough dense form. Belly to earth, nose to leaf, skin to rock: touching with attention and care. Being bodies alive and together. This is the point and the purpose. Does this give you something that words can’t grasp? If yes, then good. Share this with others. Do it more.

97 Margot Lystra

Lorraine Bubar 98

99 Peggy Cyphers

Michele Brody 100

Mara G. Haseltine 102

Recipe for the Ultimate Restoration of Urban Oyster Habitat by Mara G. Haseltine For the past 16 years I have been working on a book with Meredith Comi of the NY/NJ Baykeeper which will be a handbook on sustainable reef restoration methods. Our experiments and findings will be published along with a how-to illustrated guide. The recipe below is our initial guidelines for what the book will be about which could change slightly as we repeat some experiments and try others, but I thought you might enjoy seeing the initial chapter which we are creating in fairytale style! This recipe must be implemented in early spring when the water temperature gets warmer. Typically, oysters spawn in mass on the first full moon of the season. Find a spot with strong current from which oysters can receive the maximum amount of nutrients and oxygen possible. Keep the structure out of the general public’s way. One oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day. Since New York’s estuaries are polluted; oysters will be toxic for consumption for at least the next 40 years. The most crucial ingredient, calcium carbonate–the substance a shell is made of–is the basic building block for oyster reef. This recipe is designed for areas where reef no longer exists, so solutions must be made for naturally occurring shell. 1) Submerge metal in seawater. Add low volts of electricity. Any kind of renewable energy source will do. If grown slowly the calcium carbonate is three times the strength of concrete and is naturally self-repairing. 2) Collect shell. Shell must be from waters north of New York City as southern shell is riddled with disease. Do not use restaurant shell. 3) Coat hard fire ceramic such as porcelain with calcium carbonate or pure lime. Other forms of calcium carbonate may be used such as aragonite, chalk, or even crushed marble. 4) Mix calcium carbonate into molten glass to create textured foam. This can be cast in any shape. 5) Create netted forms with natural fibers such as hemp rope, the least water-soluble fiber. Fill the nets with young oysters attached to substrate. Oysters will grow to fill the net with reef. The net will naturally disintegrate over time leaving no toxic residue and a healthy reef. NOTE: This recipe does not use plastic or concrete. 103 Mara G. Haseltine

Annette Nykiel 104

Julie Anand 106

Field Notes on Geese: Observe and Protect When the noise of populated areas quieted during the pandemic, wildlife crept back to urban areas. We responded with many a delighted posting on social media. Can we harness that delight to slow down, observe and protect wildlife or will we turn our backs again on these gifts as we return to our urban lives? Guidelines for Building and Sustaining Connections with Other Creatures I turned off most of my science brain from spring to fall this year and simply observed, listened to, and photographed the ubiquitous and much maligned Canada geese in my neighbourhood. This slow, considered set of activities can help reinforce our connection with wildlife, increase its value and hence increase our investment in healing the earth.

1. Pick a species to observe- birds are good or trees. Something easy to find in your neighbourhood or somewhere you go often. 2. Watch, walk, listen, observe, record, photograph. I used my phone camera and voice recorder as I wandered along the bank of the steam near my condo to record what the geese were doing, where they were going, what they looked like, who was part of the group. 3. Observe the rhythm of their lives – where and when do they eat, sleep? do they have young? Where do they gather? How do they react to humans? How do they care for their young? 4. Delight in these observations, analysis is for another day as is Google which can spoil the surprises. 5. Think about how you feel now having observed your species. How would you feel if the species was no longer there? What surprised you? What was new to you? What would you tell someone else about the species? Do you want to learn more? 6. Make some art. Tell people your stories about the species – listen to theirs. Most people here have stories about close encounters with geese or geese crossing the roads or goose poop.

107 & 108 Sheila Thompson

To Sing One Another Free Navjeet Kaur the fruit to spill over in red and Cutting into pomegranates holds a pink stains on my white linen skirt, significant memory of love for me. As a child, I was always intrigued by the exploring where and how grief can sit way my father cut into the pomegranate, in the body. starting with a symmetrical round cut at top, then cutting it into a star and Not only where grief sits, but also finally tapping out the seeds gently where our memory, love, and power sits. A ritual requiring a pomegranate, into a bowl. As I got older, he would still cut pomegranates for me in this memory of the hands of an ancestor, a small bowl, cloth sewn by an elder, magical way. It became a way for us to a blade, and water that brings you connect, a ritual of love. connection to the land. This recipe reflects how rituals * To Sing One Another Free. Performance of love are passed down through Film Still Photos by Moon courtesy of containers in ceremony. Containers Lunar Haus in collaboration with Raven which can be literal, physical, or Shelman. through the non-physical body. As my father gently places the seeds into the coconut bowl, I cut my fruit into my white skirt in my lap. I allowed

As you cut into the fruit, recite these words to bring you back home: I found her through the rivers, mountains, turquoise skies, and the red earth that remind me of my baba’s hands. The hands that held on to mine to teach to walk to hold on to love. Does she remember that the water carries stories of her? The water, so delicate like mama’s hands that held on to mine to protect to dance to hold on to love. Speak the stories. Speak the stories, of her people into her. Of the land Of her medicine Of her song. Tell her she carries them and they carry her. Our interconnection is love.

That is how we remember. That is how we sing one another free. Remind her grief is not to be held. Grief is not all hers to carry. Grief is felt through our flesh, blood, and our bones to be released and set free as gifts to the future. Remind her that grief is praise, not a stain, not her sacrifice. Grief carries with it love. Love of what has been lost, Yet continues to live within our spirits. Tell her we hold and carry her through grief. When she is lost tell her. Tell her this story. That’s how we sing one another free. That’s how we come home. I found her. We found her.

Navjeet Kaur 110

Historic Ink from Wasp Nests Patricia Miranda

WHAT IS AN OAK GALL? Oak wasps are from the Cynipidae family of the order Hymenoptera and are classified with the Apocrita suborder of wasps in the superfamily Cynipoidea. The size of a sesame seed, they lay their eggs on oak tree leaves and branches. The eggs deposit a chemical that causes a reaction in the tree, making it form a gall around the eggs. The wasps gestate into larvae, and eat their way out of this gall (note the holes in the oak galls). There are many different species of oak trees and gall wasps, making many different kinds of galls. Oak galls are high in tannin and gallic acid. Mixing with Ferrous Sulfate causes a chemical reaction to create an iron-gallic ink. A BRIEF HISTORY OF OAK GALL INK Oak gall ink was one of the two most common inks used throughout history around the world,, known by the Romans and in common use into the 20th century. Iron-gallic ink is caustic, acidic in nature, and bites into the surface of parchment, paper or cloth. The word ink comes from the Latin encaustum, “to burn in, a reflection of the property of an iron-gallic dye. Countless historical documents were written using Oak Gall Ink including The Dead Sea Scrolls, all European illuminated manuscripts before the printing press, Constitution, Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, Lincoln’s letters, and Hebrew Torah — which still uses oak gall leink today. Palimpsests originate from the permanent “biting” nature of iron-gallic ink on animal skin parchment,. The ink on a manuscript page in which the original writing has been scraped away to make room for later writing leaves invisible traces in the skin The text is then revealed through x-ray, which allowed more ancient texts to be discovered. Gather oak gals in the fall or winter, once the wasps have finished with them and the leaves are gone. You will find them on the branches and sometimes the leaves of the trees. They will always be in groups - if you find one - there will be more to discover! Recipe: 3 parts crushed oak gall wasp nest 2 parts Ferrous Sulphate 1 part Gum Arabic Crush Grind oak galls into a powder in a marble mortar and pestle, or wrap them in cloth and carefully crush as fine as possible using a hammer. Pour 1/4 cup boiling water into a lidded jar. Add 3 parts ground oak galls and make a tea. After 15 minutes add 2 parts Ferrous Sulfate. Filter this through fine cheese cloth or a wet coffee filter. After filtering add 1 part powdered gum arabic. Stir, making sure to dissolve all lumps. You can optionally add ground eggshell to neutralize some of the acidity of the ink. Oak gall ink darkens in the jar and on the page. This ink works well on all writing surfaces, while being ideal on animal skin parchment due to its acidic nature.

111 Patricia Miranda

113 Niku Kashef

Earthkeepers Handbook 114

*At times, the value of reuse is the strongest message an object delivers (e.g. spectacularly faded leggings

submerged in the Ionion Sea become an enviable fashion item and conversation starter when worn by the Gleaner)

115 Earthkeepers Handbook

RECIPE FOR OCEAN GLEANING Pamela Longobardi 1. Scout beaches for vagrant plastic 2. Upon forensic eexamination, determine its use value vs. exchange value* 3. Decipher the message that ocean delivers you through the plastic drifter 4. Spread the word *At times, thhe value of reuse is the strongest message an object delivers (e.g. speectacularly faded leggings submerged in the loinon Sea beecome and envaible fashion item and conversation starter wheen worn by the Gleaner).

Pamela Longobardi 116

Rewilding the Prairie at Franconia Sculpture Park: How to connect people to a landscape ecosystem Rachel Frank In the summer of 2020 during the height of the pandemic, I was an artist-in-residence at Franconia Sculpture Park in Shafer, MN, where I made a large-scale ceramic offering vessel based on the cross-border relationships between pollinators and plants. I was drawn to the landscape of the sculpture park because of the prairie. Grasses and flowers here have been allowed to grow throughout the park with minimal mowing occurring only around the artists’ sculptures. In the middle of summer, the prairie is swarming with life: monarchs feeding on the explosions of flowering milkweed; goldfinches, song sparrows, and other migrating birds gathering seed and insects amongst the coneflower and echinacea; thirteen-lined ground-squirrels making their burrows; and on some mornings, sandhill cranes foraging in the grasses. I have family in Minnesota, but I realized that in all my trips out to the state there’d been few times I had really experienced a prairie ecosystem. Prairie grasslands historically covered onethird of North America. Prairies with their tall grass, forbs, and various flowering plants support numerous pollinating insect species, migrating birds, and browsing mammals. Their deep root system and an expanse of rhizomes beneath the surface of the soil allows them to survive the extremes of drought-prone summers, annual fires, deep winter snows, and the grazing of species like bison and elk. Today, prairie grasslands cover less than 4% of their original area making them one of the most endangered landscape ecosystems in the world. For the last ten years, I have worked on projects that explore rewilding—the environmental practice of reintroducing species back to areas where they had formerly thrived to help restore ecosystems. Concurrent with my rewilding projects, I have been developing a series of ceramic of hand-built ceramic works based on ancient Eurasian offering vessels. This series includes the rhyton vessel, an animal-shaped vessel that traditionally held wine or olive oil as offerings. Both projects seek to form a connection with the environment and the idea of offering, past to future. In August of 2022, I returned to Franconia to

117 Earthkeepers Handbook

stage a participatory performance Rewilding the Prairie for the 4Ground: Midwest Land Art Biennial. I sculpted several heavier ceramic animalshaped rhyton offering vessels. Participants were invited to select and use an offering vessel to symbolically rewild the prairie landscape with an offering of water. Some people took the opportunity to connect to very particular area of the prairie venturing far off into the park, while those participating with families tended to stay close by. This simple act both encouraged participants to feel that they had a more active role in the rewilding of the prairie while also inviting them to have a more intimate connection with the landscape itself. By entrusting visitors with a ceramic vessel—something breakable if dropped—I form a temporary intimate trust; likewise, when the participants carefully chose their place in the prairie to connect with, they also are encouraged to carefully see and experience the prairie in a more intimate manner forming a relationship with this endangered landscape. Creating your Own Ritual This Rewilding the Prairie performance found a way to connect people to a particular landscape ecosystem through the incorporation of ritual. In today’s busy urbanized world, both ritual and an intimate connection with the land are missing from many people’s lives. This participatory performance using sculpture was one such way of reforming this connection, but there are many ways people can encourage an intimacy and generate small actions that give back to the landscapes around us. Rather than submit an exact recipe for finding that connection and creatingthat ritual, I encourage one to find their own path that is specific as the diverse terrain, plants, and animals that create an ecosystem within a landscape. • Choose an environment you want to connect with • Create a ritual that engages with or gives back to this environment • Be Mindful • Repeat/Reflect

Rachel Frank 118

B A K C R M D I V ERS I T Y F A RM I N G * I N * T HE D C N E F U N C T I ONA L D A R K G R N O D I D B O A I M T A XO N OM I C N P O C E M F U NG I Y RH I ZOS PHE R E E A N M E T A G E NOM I C U I S P E C I ES O H UN I T T H E Y * H A VE A L L U N A ME S

119 Rhonda Janke

Ingredients -- For survival archaeoglobaceae euryarchaeota haloarculaceae natrialbaceae

hysteriaceae aliquandostipitaceae mycosphaerellaceae teratosphaeriaceae coniothyriaceae cucurbitariaceae dictyosporiaceae didymellaceae didymosphaeriaceae massariaceae morosphaeriaceae pleosporaceae sporormiaceae valsariaceae cyphellophoraceae herpotrichiellaceae coryneliaceae

gelatinodiscaceae helotiaceae hyaloscyphaceae mollisiaceae leotiomycetes orbiliaceae ascobolaceae ascodesmidaceae morchellaceae pezizaceae

aspergillaceae thermoascaceae trichocomaceae mycocaliciaceae gymnoascaceae onygenales cladoniaceae lecanoraceae psoraceae stereocaulaceae lecideaceae gyalectaceae

promicromonosporaceae ruaniaceae micromonosporaceae nocardioidaceae pseudonocardiaceae sporichthyaceae streptomycetaceae nocardiopsaceae streptosporangiaceae thermomonosporaceae eggerthellaceae euzebyaceae nitriliruptoraceae gaiellaceae rubrobacteraceae conexibacteraceae

ilumatobacteraceae microthrixaceae cryptosporangiaceae frankiaceae geodermatophilaceae jiangellaceae Earthkeepers Handbook 120

CREATING IN CIRCLES: a Recipe for Collaboration Rosalind Lowry (images) & Riva Weinstein (text)

1. Find a Recipe that touches your heart. 2. Create a thoughtful response with materials, ingredients and ideas of your own mind/body/spirit. 3. Go to an ancient wooded wilderness, or a special place in nature that speaks to you deeply. 4. Offer your artwork to the forest floor, amongst the trees, wherever it calls to be. Dance, sing, dream. Breathe. Be. 5. Document your experience and expression. 6. Share. Widely. Repeat. Often.

121 Rosalind Lowry & Riva Weinstein

Placed in a local ancient woods with native Irish trees these fragile paper porcelain circles by Rosalind Lowry are a gentle response to the recipe for Creating In Circles by Riva Weinstein. The land was owned by an old gentleman who returned home to China many years ago. It’s wilderness now. When the call for Earth Keepers came out, Rosalind Lowry responded to a post on the ecoartspace Facebook page seeking a collaborator to create images for a recipe by Riva Weinstein. Though Rosalind lives and works in Northern Ireland and Riva in New York’s Hudson River Valley, they connected easily across time zones.

GROWING IN CIRCLES: A Recipe for Weeding Out Invasive Species and Cultivating Natives Riva Weinstein 1. 2.

Convince your husband to leave large circles in the lawn, unmown. Spend the first summer and fall pulling out invasive stiltgrass and protecting sprouting native oaks. Transplant a native walnut sprouting too close to the garage. 3. In autumn, collect seeds of native species from friends and the wild. Cast them like proverbial seeds on the wind. 4. Spend the second summer pulling out stiltgrass and capturing jumping worms. 5. Collect native nuts through the autumn while marveling at the miracle of their design. 6. Winter sow milkweed and other native wildflowers. 7. Convince your husband to embrace No Mow May, and spend the spring explaining why it’s so important to leave the leaves and let the weeds and grass grow for pollinators and wildlife. Remind him that it hadn’t been a lawn since you put in the septic tank and all the grass died out. 8. Notice the tiniest of pine trees sprouting in pots by the back door where pine cones were dropped from above. 9. Attempt to dig out a native Hickory growing too close to the house. Give up. Its roots are already too deep. 10. In the third summer, notice that the stiltgrass is greatly diminished in the circles, while continuing to spread and thrive elsewhere and everywhere. 11. Notice more Norway maple seedlings than ever and pull them as you can. 12. Spend the summer trying to grow vegetables and flowers in a wild garden with native violets, plantain, and Daisy fleabane everywhere. 13. Enjoy a month or two of home grown lettuce. 14. Harvest a single zucchini. 15. Notice another non-native, Queen Anne’s Lace, sprouting in one of the circles. 16. Though your native plant-growing success was limited, continue to dream of sowing native species and planting them in the circles in the years to come. 17. Imagine a small forest of native white pine, catalpa, and dogwood. 18. Remind yourself it doesn’t matter what the neighbors think. Or what it looks like. It may never be what you imagine and may take more years than you have.

123 Riva Weinstein

HONORING THE ELEMENT OF FIRE presented as part of a Beltane Ritual Green Faith Boulder Let’s offer gratitude for fire, Gratitude for light, Gratitude for warmth, Gratitude for fire’s transformative power, from raw to cooked, sand and ash to glass, ore into object. Some say that human use of fire was a principal factor defining human evolution. Let me take you to the site of the NCAR fire. This spring I’ve sat there repeatedly. Spring--the time of rebirth. Spring and fire are not two words normally associated with each other. But yet, when it was spring only according to the calendar, fire raged, clearly out of season. In the periphery of the burned area, the fire has cleared the underbrush but left the trees largely unscathed. Moving inward, the fire burned hotter, singing the tree’s needles to a brittle brown. In one place, all life has been charred to blackness, revealing a steep rocky, boulder strewn hillside. Skeletons of trees, some upright, some arcing gracefully, are frozen into position. Clear sap, glistening jewels in the sun, dribbles like tears down many of the blackened trunks. For a moment, I invite all of us to imagine sitting in the midst of this devastation. Stay present to the wrath and destruction. Stay with the fear, the dismay, even horror. Stay present with an open heart. Let’s sense what fire has to teach us. The elements are out of balance. Wind howls on these hillsides like never before. There have been twice as many days of extreme fire danger in the first four months of this year than in any year previously. Unchecked by the elements, a huge conflagration is burning in the south. This past month, April, was one of the driest months on record.

The earth is parched, ashen. In the NCAR fire zone there are gaping holes in the ground

125 Ruth Wallen

around some of the trees, even those that are still green, where the fire has gouged their roots. Angry winds, withholding of moisture, shriveled soils—for a moment, let’s feel into the full wrath of the fire on the feverish earth. The earth’s fever is stoked by the passion of human desire. Always wanting more, of taking more, but seldom offering thanks or giving back. Refusing the regenerative power of fire. Freezing the forest into an unnatural image of lushness, of even-aged trees. However, even the darkness of the charnel ground of the NCAR fire offers an invitation to perceive with fresh eyes. There is beauty in the blackness, in the stark forms of the trees, although it is not possible to be fully comfortable sitting on the barren ground or hard jagged rocks. Even in the darkest areas, the jade blades of grass, unfolding from the ashes, hint at rebirth. In the distance, hillsides ravaged by the Marshall fire are a resplendent green, the fire having burnt all the dried grass that would normally compete for attention. A closer view reveals daffodils and tulips springing up from once carefully tended gardens. Sitting with the aftermath, it is clear that fire offers a purification or cleansing, after which life force energies reassert themselves. Let’s stay for a moment, feel into the fire, as best as we can. Offer praise to the remarkable forms of the trees revealed by the heat of the flames. Praise for the new green grass, lush wildflowers, or the mushrooms that grow only after fire. Praise for the fire, the light, the heat, that is straining to clear the ground. Praise for the fire that is demanding that we begin again, that we re-envision human ways of being and doing, while calling on traditional wisdoms, while calling on light, on love, on the tenderness of the human heart. That the warmth of fire may nurture the mutual thriving of all beings, of all that is striving to be born.

Earthkeepers Handbook 126

127 Earthkeepers Handbook

Salma Arastu 128

129 Skooby Laposky

Sarah Lewison 130

132 Stéfy McKnight

133 Susan Snipes

Fariba Bogzaran 134

This handwritten note from grandmother, Bertha V. Hays, encouraged me when I was in my twenties to bake, garden, sew, and otherwise create a life with my own hands. She was a font of inspiration!

135 Susan Suntree

Earthkeepers Handbook 136

137 Susan Snipes

Danielle Giudici Wallis 138

139 Ted Somogyi

wo Rld Pea ce pRojec t ...leaving nothing behind since 1973 Ted Somogyi

STATEMENT “The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.” - Rachel Carson INTRODUCTION Briefly, respect is based on appreciation. When the world - indeed the entire cosmos – is experienced with the same level of intimacy normally reserved for ourselves, we behold it. Then every encounter reveals a continuum of vibrating wholeness expressing itself through each finite point in the universe. We are passing the cultural phase where the fulfillment of aesthetic longing is provided solely by a unique work of art. It is now our responsibility to behold harmony first, then bestow it upon the real world. The World Peace Project envisions this by asking the viewer to share their sense of embodied wholeness with the cosmos, not await completeness from it. •rec·i·pe - noun: 1. a set of instructions for preparing a particular dish, including a list of the ingredients required. 2. something which is likely to lead to a particular outcome. RECIPE:

How the ORIGIN started: The World Peace Project started in response to a growing concern over art and culture as they converge into a single sphere where value is determined by the marketplace. As a clandestine engagement it uses cultural, corporate, and religious settings to reposit the store of what is being lost: Silence. INGREDIENTS:

What the PRACTICE is: The World Peace Project is a series of individual and group performances involving ancient rites used traditionally for enlivening life-supporting changes in the individual, communal, and natural environments. Procedures include oral recitation, group practice, and meditation. PREPARATION:

Reading the DESIGN: Nothing about the World Peace Project was ever documented. There are no photos, and no films; nothing to be otherwise enshrined. There is nothing for sale. With no formal value, it holds only the value given it by another. This project is an ongoing daily engagement that has been performed worldwide since 1973. San Francisco, CA 2023

Earthkeepers Handbook 140

DEMOCRATIZING MUSHROOM CULTIVATION Tosca Terán

Let’s get started! Stage 1: Cardboard Cultures 1. Cardboard, cut into small strips (Recycle those cardboard boxes!) 2. Fresh mushrooms (Blue oyster mushrooms work exceptionally well- even store-bought!) 3. Particulate mask & Nitrile (latex-free) gloves to protect the mycelium from contaminants! 4. 70% Isopropyl or Ethanol alcohol in a spray bottle 5. A set of tongs for dunking & removing cardboard from boiling water 6. Ziplock bag or non-porous-food safe container w/lid 7. Permanent marker to date your bags Cardboard Cultures • Dip cardboard into boiling water for approximately 30-40 sec and drain until it is no longer dripping. • Spray your work area with the 70% Iso/ Eto, then spray your gloved hands. Gently remove the top portion/cap of the mushroom and discard or save it for cooking! Peel the mushroom stem into small sections and scatter it over the damp cardboard. Roll carefully like a sushi roll and seal in your zip lock bag/ container. Add the date. • Store outside of sunlight at room temperature in a dark cupboard or drawer. • Check on fungi growth! After 4-7 days, you should notice mycelium fuzzies spreading throughout the cardboard. If you see any contamination (patches of green, yellow, or black), remove the contaminated sections and add the healthy myceliated section to fresh cardboard, repeating steps 1-2 Note: If contamination is terrible- it is best to start over!

141 Earthkeepers Handbook

Once you have a white, fluffy cardboard culture, it’s time to expand your mycelium into a larger container for material experimentation or mushroom cultivation! Stage 2: Container Cultures 1. A food-grade plastic bucket, Tupperware or glass container w/lid. A non-porous surface is necessary. 2. Cardboard (cut to fit sheets inside your bucket) If necessary, cut into several sections for layering. Expanding Cardboard Cultures Following Cardboard Cultures Step1&2- begin. Ensure your containers are clean & dry. Spray with 70% Iso/Eto, and spray your gloved hands. Layer the bottom of your bucket/container with a few sheets of now-boiled cardboard, and then add a small section of your Myceliated cardboard culture you started some weeks back. • Repeat- layering fresh cardboard and your cardboard culture until the container is full. Put the lid on, and make a filter window or holes - you can cover the window/holes with doubled-up coffee filters or purchase special adhesive filter tape- the holes allow the fungi to breathe. Store at room temperature for several weeks, checking every few days to ensure the cardboard doesn’t dry out. Note: I cover

my containers to keep the fungi in the dark! • If it does become dry, mist lightly inside the container with water. • Once all the cardboard is fully covered with fluffy white mycelium, remove the lid permanently and mist with water every few days. If looking to harvest to eat, you should see fresh mushrooms (pinning) within 10-14 days! Notes: You should see active mushroom growth for several weeks but once your mushrooms have finished fruiting, dig the spent bucket culture into your vegetable garden or compost pile as a nutrient boost you might even get the odd mushroom popping up! Myco-material explorations.

• Now that your cardboard is covered in mycelium try compressing the sheets/ mycelium by laying heavy boards or books on top (remember- whatever you use, make sure it is nonporous unless you want the mycelium to grow into the object! This is something to consider- allow the mycelium to explore materials such as wool knits, jersey, nylon, and canvas. Can you shape this new material? Work with it similarly to paper mâché? • In my fungal mycelium research, I have found it to be quite curious; it will explore glues and substrates and does not mind 70% isopropyl/ethanol sprayed surfaces! Never eat wild mushrooms without advice from an expert guide who can positively identify them.

Be safe and happy Mushrooming!

Tosca Terán 142

RECIPE FOR COMPOSTING AND PICKLING Susan Karhroody By using recycled plastic, metals, cans and more in my sculptures, also using kitchen and garden scrap in compost and using old veggies and fruits in pickling and jams I am trying to address environmental concerns and encouraging more people to do so. My recipe to help the environment: Composting is a great act saving the kitchen and garden scrap. We all can compost regardless of where we live. It’s easy to turn our old food and waste into the best soil. Compost reduces weed growth, nourishes our soil and decreases the amount of water for plants. Use a basket, chicken wire, a plastic can with some holes on it or wooden boxes we are able to have our own compost bins. Pickling and preserving old fruits and veggies will add flavor to our dish, the recipe is included.

How to Make Pickles

1 pound fresh vegetables, such as cucumbers, carrots, green beans, summer squash, or cherry tomatoes 2 sprigs fresh herbs, such as thyme, dill, or rosemary (optional) 1 to 2 teaspoons whole spices, such as black peppercorns, coriander, or mustard seeds (optional) 2 cloves garlic, smashed or sliced (optional) 1 cup vinegar, such as white, apple cider, or rice 1 cup water 1 tablespoon salt, or 2 teaspoons pickling salt 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (optional) These pickles are so easy to make! 1. Slice your fruits or veggies as desired. 2. Whisk together a basic brine made of water, vinegar, salt, sugar and seasonings. 3. Pack the fruits or veggies into a jar, add some dill, or thyme and garlic, and pour the brine over it all. 4. Refrigerate until the pickles taste sufficiently pickles.

Susan Karhroody 144

145 Earthkeepers Handbook

Perdita Phillips 146

147 Teresa Stern

Earthkeepers Handbook 148

MAKE SOIL AT HOME Amy M. Youngs Soil is an important living ecosystem that supports plant and animal life. Climate change, industrial farming, and urban sprawl are some of the many factors that are harming soils. It is considered a non-renewable resource because it takes around 500 years to create 1 inch of topsoil. Nevertheless, you can still participate in the creation of healthy, fertilized soil by teaming up with worms and their microbial friends. Why? 1. Reduce global warming by eliminating the methane gas produced by food and paper that rots in landfills.

149 Amy Youngs

2. Reduce energy use needed to transport food and paper waste to landfills. 3. Generate fertilized soil for your indoor plants or outdoor garden. 4. Cultivate healthy relationships with soil organisms. 5. Find out what is actually compostable without need for industrial processes. Ingredients 1.Red wiggler worms, or Eisenia Fetida. These are a type of worm ideally suited to our human domestic lifestyle. They thrive in the same temperature ranges as we do and they eat many things we consider waste. When provided with a dark, moist enclosure, they remain un-

seen, unheard, and undetected by smell. They eat the type of bacteria that causes unpleasant odors on food when it rots, so there is only the sweet smell of soil to enjoy. You can order red wiggler worms online, but please try to find them among your friend networks first. Worms are a renewable resource; repopulating to the size of their home, given proper feeding. If you live in Columbus, Ohio, I can share some with you, and once yours are established, you can share with others. 2. Worm bedding, is likely already present when you get worms from a friend who has shared them with you, but you might want to add in some extra coco coir, which is a byproduct of the coconut industry and often found for sale in gardening or hydroponics shops. You can instead use newspaper, egg cartons, or cardboard but it should be shredded, or at least torn into bits no bigger than a credit card. Whatever bedding you choose should be

soaked in water and then drained. It should be about as moist as a wet sponge but not dripping wet. 3. Worm food, is household waste and includes veggie peelings, wilted lettuce, carrot tops, coffee grounds, tea leaves, apple cores, banana peels, dead houseplant leaves and crushed egg shells. Spread about a 1” layer of this stuff on the top surface, then add another 1” layer of bedding. Bedding is also food that they transform into soil, so you need to continually add the newspaper, etc. described above. It is not necessary to soak it in water each time unless the material in the bin feels dryer than a moist sponge. In about 5 – 7 days, if the food is mostly eaten, then repeat. 4. Worm home, can be any container with a lid that is 6” to 12” deep, as long as it provides a dark, slightly ventilated environment that stays within the temperature range of most

Earthkeepers Handbook 150

Make Soil at Home Continued... homes: 55 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Best type is a clay or ceramic planter that is 6” to 12” deep. Try to get one that is wider than deep because the surface area is where most of the action happens. It needs to have a drainage hole and a tray or plate to prevent any liquid or soil from getting on your floor – just like with a potted plant.

6. Separate the worms from the finished compost when the bin gets full. This takes time, but it is relaxing to spend time with your worm friends. Make sure not to expose them to sunlight, because that is harmful to them.

5 Lid for the top of the planter. Make sure it is thick enough to block light, fits well enough to keep unwanted insects out, and allows a little airflow to pass. A stainless-steel pot lid will work great if you also glue a bit of fun fur around the edge to allow air to pass in the space between the lid and the pot.

7. Pro tip: let the worms separate from the finished compost by themselves. You can add a level to the bin by finding another planter that will fit on top of the original one. You will continue to feed this top part as usual. The planter must have a hole in the bottom, so the worms can migrate upwards to where the food is. You can even add a third

151 Amy Youngs

level, which will increase the time that the bottom level is allowed to compost; giving more time and space for the worms to self-separate into the upper 2 levels. 8. Once the top section is full, the bottom section will have nicely finished compost, ready for use. Empty it into your houseplant or garden soil, then use the empty container as the top section, which is where the food is placed for worms to migrate up to – and the process continues.

What not to do... 1. Do not overfeed; if the worms cannot keep up with the amount of food, the bacteria that causes rotting smells will take hold – and no one wants that. It makes a bad environment for worms and humans. If any unpleasant odors do begin to emerge, add more shredded bedding on top, but no more food until it settles. They are resilient, but within limits. 2. Do not feed worms meat, avocados, citrus, glossy paper, oily/greasy food or paper, or food

that is already very rotten. 3. Do not put your worm bin out in direct sun or outdoors in freezing weather, they will die. 4. Do not capture worms from outdoors and imprison them in your worm bin. Most types of worms are not suited for indoor settings and will escape or die trying. 5. Do not add soil from outside; it is unnecessary and can introduce unwanted guests.

Earthkeepers Handbook 152

CHARTING THE WAY PARTY Engage Your Community on the Green Map Platform Celebrate your community’s unique environment using Green Map’s new online interactive mapping platform - see it at new.opengreenmap.org. Mapmakers can invite everyone to add details, stories, photos and sound files during a mapmaking party. Cook up a gathering and connect local sustainable and green resources to broader climate, social justice and wellbeing movements around the world! Based on the GISCollective’s open source infrastructure, the new Platform makes Green Mapmaking easier and more inclusive than ever. A Green Map Party is a great way to explore your community, make friends, and create a useful engaging tool that activates participation in greener living. By the end of your event, you’ll have co-created a really useful Green Map that can be expanded over time. This guide will help you plan it all, step by step.

Before the Party! • Start by logging in at new. opengreenmap.org. Review the Quick Start Guide (docs.giscollective. com) and make sure you know how to use the Platform before the big event! There are videos and tutorials at About, too. • You’ll start by making a team (and it can be one person, add to your team and assign roles any time). • Pick a workable area to map - a town, a neighborhood, a single park or a campus. You can expand anytime. You can set the initial (default) view of the map to zone in on the party’s area temporarily by editing the map’s extent. • Who is this map for? Answering this question will help you focus on the area and theme. For example, a map aimed at visitors will include different sites than one aimed at families living in the community. • What to map? Is there a particularly

153 Wendy Brawer

interesting area in terms of innovation, preservation, wildlife, active transport city planning or pollution and environmental concerns? You can use the map to instill new habits, too. Your Green Map can be about: - community gardening, where people can learn about growing food and flowers - local options for getting around without owning a car - preservation of historical and popular places, as remembered by longtime residents - youth perspectives on ways to make their school campus more sustainable Need ideas? Visit GreenMap.org – see the Mapmakers’ Stories for inspiration – also check the Blog for news!

Party Planning: • Is this a day-long event, or a couple hours? Can participants cover the map area in the timeframe? Mapping a whole town might take a series of mapping parties, so try to keep the scale manageable. Or use the party to map a small area while teaching participants how to keep mapping afterwards. Make a list together of which areas are priorities and assign people to work on these following the event. • When? Weekend, holiday or after school? Will it be an Earth Day event or other celebration? • Try to pick an area that is sensitive to peoples’ needs such as wheelchair accessibility, or an area that can be reached by public transport. If accessibility is limited, make sure to let people know beforehand, and find a way they can contribute. The meeting place should be close to the mapping area, and convenient to reach. Check on Wifi and power for your laptop and participants’ phones, and other things you need like tables, chairs, restrooms, or shade? It can be indoors or out.

Are you providing refreshments or snacks or should everyone bring their own lunch? Contact local food co-ops, bakeries and farmers markets and ask if they donate. Mention them on your invitation, refreshments draw people in! #GreenMap #ClimateAction #CommunityMapping - tag your place and theme too, Do you need a couple of volunteers to help get the word out and to keep things running smoothly at the party? You can add them to your Map Team as leaders so they can help with editing as people add to the map, too. • Add a handful of featured sites to the map - they will become models for the party so do a good job as you describe them, add icons and photos, a link etc. Some maps create a specific format for this, will yours?

2-3 weeks ahead Time to promote your party! Send emails, create social media posts, and hang flyers in local bars, coffee shops, bookstores, etc. Get your friends involved, and spread the word to everyone in the map zone. You can send a special invitation to knowledgeable people to encourage their participation. When making your party invitation, include

the date, time, rain date (if any), whether you want people to RSVP, as well as directions to the meeting site. Make the invitation welcoming and fun; you can include Green Map Icons or photos to get people excited about the theme and area to be mapped. You can have a bilingual party, sign language etc. to include everyone.. • Tell people they will be using smartphones, please bring it charged (especially if you are sending people out around your party location to add features). You can arrange the party to fit your group. If you are working from one location, bring laptops. You can also collect all data on paper and transfer it to the Platform later. • Include a contact phone number or email for questions about the event. • Do you want to invite any press or friends to document the event? Sometimes, event photos are framed to hide identity, be sensitive to participants (especially children) and ask if photos are ok.

Prepare materials for the party. What materials do you need? Some suggestions: • Print a map of the area for reference. Print out a selection of Green Map Icons or use the poster bit.ly/GMiconposter (or whichever icon set you are using). • Computer with Internet access. You’ll be

Earthkeepers Handbook 154

publishing each featured site as it is suggested or sent in with a Campaign (More about this is on the Quick Start Guide or see Campaigns on the menu). A Campaign is a quick survey that engages many people in collecting sites, and you get to review, edit if desired and publish each one. You can make a QR Code or short link (bit.ly) so people can access the Campaign quickly (and save it to their home screen so it will appear like an app, if desired). • Test and make sure you can manage the technology, and are ready for the participants. • Send out the invitation again and build excitement a day or two ahead. You can use social media or your newsletter to invite suggestions from people who cannot come to the party.

At the Party • Introduce yourself, your project, and your map on the Green Map Platform website. Introduce everyone! Talk about why creating an Open Green Map of this area is important, perhaps show a couple of other maps to inspire people. • Ask participants what makes a particular site special, why does it belong on the Green Map? Expand upon your theme. Get people talking about what to add. • Explain how the Party is set up, so people know what to expect. Will you have an hour or two of exploration and mapping - refreshments and discussion, then on to next steps? • Participants can explore in groups, or by themselves. Make sure children have adult supervision, especially if they are posting online. • Be positive when it’s time to reconvene, assess each other’s findings, talk, and socialize. • Using either the Campaign or the Propose a Site from the menu, people can quickly chart their sites. • As you publish each site, you can watch the map build up! A projector makes that easy with a big group

Afterwards • Once the party is over, the map is a great

155 Wendy Brawer

resource for all. People may want to continue adding sites to it, and you can make them part of the team. You can give some people a Team Role and they can help edit. • Reach map users - promote it via social media, your newsletter, with another party, etc! One of Platform’s features is that anyone can add their own site suggestions anytime. You (or a teammate will be notified by email, so you can review and publish, continually building up the map! Green Maps bring new meaning and fresh perceptions to familiar places. Enjoy the process and celebrate your community’s progress while addressing its challenges together.

Examples! ● Encourage adults to grow veggies for food banks as the FEED Green Map: bit.ly/ FEEDmap ● Archive history in the form of a lighthouse map: bit.ly/ChanceLH ● Get kids involved in thinking green, like Hadera Israel did with 4th Graders: bit.ly/HaderaGM ● And yes, you can make a print map, such as this one we made to excite youth about reducing waste (see GreenMap.org/stories/ less-more-nyc/169 - explore more Green Maps at GreenMap.org too!

Teressa Valla 156

Earthkeepers Handbook

Forest Keegel 158

Lauren Bon 160

161 Lucas Ihlein

Earthkeepers Handbook 162

163 Lucas Ihlein

Earthkeepers Handbook 164

165 Priscilla Stadler

Earthkeepers Handbook 166

Using Earth-based Values By: Anne Mavor During this hibernation and reflection time I find myself asking, what are my art values? Can my artwork and process become more sustainable? Since 2020 when I started making and using plant pigments and then making botanical prints, I wanted to move towards a more sustainable art practice. Inspired by artist Beth Grossman and her WEAD (Women’s Eco Art Dialogues) presentation about creating an artist manifesto, I started by identifying a set of values. They would be a way of redirecting my practice to both choose sustainability and name what matters most to me. Here’s what I came up with. I made sure that I added values that feed me and keep me going. After all, I am part of nature, too. 1. Follow the plants. That means listening to and respecting the plants I collaborate with. 2. Reuse and source materials locally. This asks me to think deeply about materials and if possible, choose those that support rather than harm life on the planet. 3. Make spiritual connections. This keeps my work alive and inspiring to me. 4. Find beauty and magic. If I can’t do this, there’s no point in doing the artwork at all. 5. Be biodegradable. Avoid materials that do not break down, like plastic. It’s okay to create art that will disappear before it ends up in a landfill. 6. Be surprised. By the content, by the images, by the meaning of the work, by the process, and connections that happen. This keeps it exciting for me. 7. Share the work in a variety of ways and places. The hope is to reach many people and make connections. I don’t just do it for myself, I do it for the world. What are the values that guide you? Maybe you aren’t aware of them but they are there. I wish you a restorative and healthy winter.

167 Anne Mavor

I am desert springs. Swirling waters before human time created by Ice Age rain I come from deep time I birthed plants and animals migration and sacredness I have become the canary’ canary In shallow time I could be gone used up, dried up, lifeless what I say is become aware - wake up. wake up, wake up! Protect and conserve me if we all are to survive.

Bremner Benedict 168

169 John Sabraw

Earthkeepers Handbook 170

Recipes for the Spirit, the Earth & Transformation Recipe 1: “How to Become Whole: Reconnecting with Earth & Self” Gifted by the White Haired Woman, this recipe consists of easy to follow directions for the curious seeker who wishes to Become Whole. Ingredients: Self, a willing Tree and a pinch of Time Preparation Time: As long as it takes Servings: Enough for Everyone Preparation:

Open to Receive. Next Steps: Make time. When the tree invites you inside, allow yourself to be pulled into the roots. Sense the connection between tree, roots, Earth and you. Be. Be connected. Feel it now. Fill all parts of Self in Body, Heart, Mind & Spirit. Allow the earth energy to nestle in your heart To Serve: Feel the sensations of connection.

Find the Tree you sense is willing to serve as your teacher.

Fully digest.

Offer a gift of gratitude.

Live these sensations in all that you do, with all that you meet.

Listen for the Journey Invitation. Accept the Journey Invitation.

171 Earthkeepers Handbook

Awaken these sensations each day.

Recipe 2: “Reconnection: Earth, Self & All” Gifted by the White Haired Woman, this recipe consists of easy to follow directions for the curious seeker who wishes to leave Separation behind and experience Connection & Unity. Ingredients: Self, imagination and a pinch of Time Preparation Time: As long as it takes Servings: Enough for Everyone Preparation: Ponder a rock dropped into a pond. Next Steps: Make time. Move into your imaginative space. See a circular body of water. See the rippling effects of a rock dropped into the center. Notice the outward ripples. Consider this: Do the waters ever ripple inward? Question: Does the Earth love you? Even if you are unsure of the answer, imagine that the answer is ‘yes.’ Imagine that ripples are now coming toward you. The ripples are made of love, love from earth to you. Let your heart be filled. To Serve: -Practice receiving these ripples of love from Earth to you. -Now practice sending out ripples of love from you to All.

Beth Bando 172

173 Earthkeepers Handbook

Olivia Ann Brooke Hallstein Ripley 174

175 Earthkeepers Handbook

Rotation She heats oil Rolls puri Drops flat flour into bubbling oil You conquer enforce rules ban travel

Rotation She heats oil Rolls puri Drops flat flour into bubbling oil You conquer enforce rules ban travel

Rotation She heats oil Rolls puri Drops flat flour into bubbling oil You conquer enforce rules ban travel In another pan She pops coriander seeds Tosses sliced potatoes

In another pan She pops coriander seeds Tosses sliced potatoes You build walls deport passengers obstruct asylum-seekers She serves flaky puri With crisp potatoes —we devour together You demand documents collect fingerprints require face-identification

You build walls Our choice: eat, speak, wear deport passengers Practice as we please obstruct asylum-seekers Where we wish She serves flaky puri With crisp potatoes

You cannot hinder climbs prevent tide

In another pan She pops coriander seeds Tosses sliced potatoes You build walls deport passengers obstruct asylum-seekers She serves flaky puri With crisp potatoes —we devour together You demand documents collect fingerprints require face-identification Our choice: eat, speak, wear Practice as we please Where we wish You cannot hinder climbs prevent tide stop earth rotation Like waves we cross We fly We roar We stay or leave —our movement permanent.

Sehba Sarwar 176

177 Earthkeepers Handbook

Madelaine Corbin 178

179 Earthkeepers Handbook

Madelaine Corbin 180

181 Earthkeepers Handbook

Jane Crayton aka Jane daPain “Pollination Station” (2010) A Native Bee and Insect Wall Found and reclaimed objects Redline Gallery, Denver CO Artists’ Footprints Biennial of the Americas

Jane daPain 182

183 Stacy Levy

Earthkeepers Handbook 184

185 Stacy Levy

Earthkeepers Handbook 186

187 Stacy Levy

Earthkeepers Handbook 188

189 Stacy Levy

191 Toni Gentilli

AN INCANTATION TO MERGE WITH THE INFINITE Toni Gentilli I alchemize my body with the earth I acknowledge the soft edges of my self and practice reciprocity with the communities of beings who I live among, who live within me, who came before me, and who will come after me I am microbe, I am fungus, I am plant, I am animal, I am stardust, I am stone, I am chemical structure, I am chaos, I am particle, I am wave I humbly orient to the sacred directions I honor the enduring, everchanging wisdom of the elements and give thanks for their dynamic gifts I germinate, grow, flourish, fruit, ripen, disperse seeds, senesce, and rest with the rhythm of the seasons I am ecstatically enmeshed within the ouroboric transformation of matter and energy, emergence and decay, dissolution and regeneration I am the divine creativity of the universe expressing itself I am nothing I am everything I am infinite

Earthkeepers Handbook 192

193 Beth Johnston

Earthkeepers Handbook 194

An animist recipe for Goldenrod Ink Candace Jensen In a meadow abundant with goldenrods, where they keep their feet wet and their heads sunny, be aware of the beautiful hues of the sun simply waving at you from here on earth. Say hello to Solidago, ask yourself and them what it is you are asking, by witnessing and appreciating. And then make an offering. You must decide what you have to offer, because reciprocity and mutualism cannot be commanded. Let there be a dialogue. This is crucial. There is concern here to see the entities. Take time to see the entire ecology- indeed, the egregore. Goldenrod, a rhizome being, pronounced plentifully, many species of bee and fly, drunk and happy around their stalks. Let them feast. Give them time. Allow the goldenrod to offer them nourishment. To make whole. Now, if you feel welcome, bring your basket. Pinch a few strands of starshaped flowers from each plant— not the whole stalk, not the entire top. Be gentle and smell; the flowers, your fingers, the air. The most earthy and grounded of our sense, olfactory, frolicking in the æther. Leave evidence of your gathering, but no evidence of extraction. In August, in early September, the egg-yolk gold will still be humming with pollinators. The hue of yellow may be brilliant (in October, in early winter, the meadow shifts to ochre, russet gold, umber and pale gold white), but the chance to interrupt goldenrod’s relationships with others is also much more possible while summer wanes. Be aware of this! Bring your small basket and fill it slowly by meandering. Say thank you.

195 Candace Jensen

Then: 1. Dip the gathered flowers sweetly into a small saucepan, covering the flowers with just enough water (you want LOTS of flowers in every inch of water, so if you haven’t gathered a whole sauce pan full, go by your flower volume, not container volume). 2. Heat gently, bringing many small 2 inchlength pieces of paper with you. Dip the ends of the paper in frequently to see the golden hue that is releasing into the water, like a colored tea. At first, it’s pale like chamomile. Then it’s BRIGHT. Remove it from the heat as soon as you get that! 3. Strain the flowers. You can add them to a tea, for yourself or compost tea for the soil. You can slush them in with other fibers and flowers to make paper, to press little star shaped yellows and browns as pale eco-prints. Lake them. Dry them in their native sunshine and press them, then add to a salve mix of oils and wax (with a little lavender, yarrow and comfrey, if they desire to be contributed). There is no discard, if you look— let the flowers move into their next thing, as you move into yours. 4. The strained simmered golden colored tea is your ink- you risk overheating and losing the color if you attempt to reduce and concentrate it. Mix in some essential oil of clove, wintergreen or other helpful antimicrobial. Bottle it, or jar. Paint beautiful stripes of sunshine on paper, fabric. Give inks, and trade inks. Make art. Write with fingers or feathers or nibbed pens. 5. The color, applied to paper or fabric, does change over time- darkens slightly, browns a bit, much like the late-gathered goldenrod. In dyeing ways, there are methods to fix color more clearly in time, but I’ve always embraced the shift. Embrace the shift. Meander. 6. Let this process come for you each season. Let the dialogue continue. Be aware of the floral entities, the insect autonomies, your own agency— the egregore.

Earthkeepers Handbook 196

197 andrea haenggi

199 Earthkeepers Handbook

WhiteFeather Hunter 200

201 Earthkeepers Handbook

https://www.whitefeatherhunter.ca/bioartcoven

WhiteFeather Hunter 202

Bedford ecoartspace members Tamera Rapheal Begay Vaughn Bell index Tony Bellaver Raina Belleau Katrina Bello Lois Bender

(C) = Cover (D) = Dedication (I) = Introduction (L) = Layout (R) = Reviewer Kirsten Aaboe Mary Jo Aagerstoun Luciana Abait Tomoko Abe

Bremner Benedict

Kim Abeles

(R)

Julia Adzuki

81

Mary Abma Andrea Abrahamson Elizabeth Addison Miri Admoni Changwoo Ahn Laura Ahola-Young Elizabeth Albert Nadine Allan Jane Ingram Allen Ellen Alt Linda Alterwitz Inês Amado Shannon Amidon

Julie Anand

Marcia Annenberg Marthe Aponte

105

Salma Arastu

127

L.C. Armstrong

91

Anita Arliss

Ulrike Arnold Jean Arnold Nurit Avesar Nancy Azara May Babcock S.E. Bachinger Pat Badani Gracie Baer Krisanne Baker Jill R Baker Hilary Baker Brandon Ballengée

Beth Bando

Carrie Barcomb Jeannine Bardo Joan Baron Moira Bateman Mark Baugh-Sasaki David Paul Bayles

Anne Beck

Barbara Benish Lynn Benson Suzanne Benton Neil Berkowitz Barbara Bernard Andrea Bersaglieri Camila de Andrade Bianchi Lisa Blackburn Resa Blatman Lisa Bloom

21

168

Fariba Bogzaran

134

Lauren Bon

159

Wendy Brawer Jacklyn Brickman

153 73

Michele Brody

100

Barbara Boissevain Kellie Bornhoft Carol Bouyoucos Deborah Bowman Michelle Boyle Curtis Anthony Bozif Hilary Brace Fred Brashear Jr

Kathleen Brigidina Ron Broglio Walter Brown Leone Brown Barbara Brown Sukey Bryan

Kaitlin Bryson Lorraine Bubar

171

Asha Canalos Jennie Carlisle Kirsten Carlson Beth Carruthers Narelle Carter-Quinlan

Kim Buchheit Sherry Buckberrough Trine Bumiller Claire Burbridge Ruth Burke Diane Burko Maureen Burns-Bowie Rebecca Burrill Joyce Burstein Tyler Burton Louis Bury Keith Buswell Renata Buziak Pamela Callender Cynthia Camlin

Pamela Casper

93

Anna Chapman

25

David Cass Christine Cassano Paula Castillo Christina Catanese Jasmine Cederqvist Hannah Chalew Catherine Chalmers Matthew Chase-Daniel Yan Cheng Anne Cherubim Esha Chiocchio Belinda Chlouber Ava P Christl Erica Cirino Debra Claffey Julianne Clark Nova Clite Hannah Close Catherine Clover Tracey Cockrell Margaret Cogswell Fog Fire Collective

Cesar & Lois (Collective) 37 Brian Collier Elisabeth Condon Christina Conklin Barbara Cooper

Madelaine Corbin

177

Christine Costan

41

Billy X Curmano Peggy Cyphers

39 99

Xavier Cortada Svetlana Sequeira Costa

79 98

Mallory Craig Shirley Crow Janet Culbertson Teresa Cunniff Linda Cunningham

Jill D’Agnenica David D’Agostino Steven Daiber Betsy Damon

Jane daPain Robert Dash

181 (L)

Adeola Davies-Aiyeloja Cameron Davis

35

Quin de la Mer Amy Deal Marina La Palma deBellagente Renee DeCarlo Camille Dedenise John DeFaro Adrienne Defendi Katie DeGroot Dennis DeHart Krista DeNio Adam DeSorbo Lanny Frances DeVuono Nicole Dextras Cathy Diamond Bree Diaz Diana Shay Diehl Carolyn DiFiori-Hopkins Robin Dintiman

Abigail Doan

Kate Dodd Ruth Douzinas Tallmadge Doyle Jacqui Dreessens Leslie Drennan Rosalyn Driscoll Duskin Drum Jeanne Dunn Kelly Eckel Mary Edwards Kathryn Egnaczak Lauren Elder Helen Elizabeth Thomas Eller Marguerite Elliot

Evgenia Emets

Sara Ekholm Eriksson Alicia Escott Merion Estes Eliza Evans Nancy Evans Lara Evans Dorothy Ries Faison Mary Farmilant Nathalia Favaro Holly Fay Julia Feldman Gene Felice Janet Felsten Susan Felter Louisa Ferguson Ash Ferlito

Inês Ferreira-Norman Jimmy Fike Lorrie Fink Bruria Finkel

Lots of Fish Elaine Fisher Susan Hoffman Fishman Dr Cathy Fitzgerald PhD Gloria Florez Nancy Floyd Doug Fogelson Paul Ford

Fredericka Foster Rachel Frank

5

65

Lorrie Fredette Meredith Freeman Chris Fremantle Katherine Freygang Dana Fritz Myfanwy Frost-Jones Melinda Hurst Frye Monica Furmanski Christine Buth Furness Michel Gagnon Stephen Galloway Barbara Garber Maru Garcia Alice Garik Stephanie Garon Ian Garrett Linda Gass Bia Gayotto Suvan Geer Amara Geffen Tanja Geis Ana Geissler

69 117

191

Bill Gilbert

29

Sara Gevurtz

James Griffith

Bryan David Griffith Jamey Grimes David Groenfeldt Grace Grothaus Tracy Taylor Grubbs

andrea haenggi

197

Olivia Ann Hallstein

173

Mara G. Haseltine

101

Dana Michele Hemes Christy Hengst

53 49

Susan Hoenig

(C)

Deb Hall

Hollis Hammonds Jennifer Hand Erika Lynne Hanson Sharon Hardy Katie Hargrave Holli Harmon J.P. Harpignies Mags Harries Chris Harris Jan Harrison Juniper Harrower Sophia Hatzikos Sarah Haviland Sarah Hearn Alexander Heilner Harriet Hellman Anne Hemenway

Toni Gentilli

Lynne Gillan Lawrence Gipe Katerie Gladdys Helen Glazer Arlene Goldbard Jon Goldman Kim V. Goldsmith Isabella La Rocca González Jessica Goodall Annette Goodfriend Daniel Gottlieb Mimi Graminski Sarah Greene Stacie Greene

71

Tessa Grundon Michele Guieu Jennifer Gunlock Katy Gurin Marina Guzzo Karen Hackenberg

Dallas Herndon Marina Heron-Tsaplina Liz Hickok Gilah Yelin Hirsch Georgia Hodges Ann Ginsburgh Hofkin Christine Holtz Cynthia Hooper Allie Horick Lori Horowitz Lyn Horton Emilie Houssart Perri Howard Ercil Howard-Wroth

WhiteFeather Hunter 199 (R) Lois Hunter

Lucas Ihlein 77

Wormfarm Institute, Donna Neuwirth and Jay Salinas Basia Irland Ellie Irons Ron Isaacson Rachel Ivanyi Megan Jacobs

161

Lynne Jambor

Rhonda Janke Kirsi Jansa Leah Jay Adriene Jenik Jason Jenn

Candace Jensen Sergey Jivetin Hillary Johnson

55, 119

42 & 195

Beth Johnston

Kristin Jones Saskia Jorda Jeremiah Jossim Susan Joyce June Julian Toby Jurovics Brett Kallusky Sarah Kanouse

193

Skooby Laposky

Susan Karhroody Niku Kashef

143 113

Navjeet Kaur Forest Keegel Bibo Keeley

109 157 27

Virginia Katz

Susie Kelly Jenny Kendler

Elizabeth Kenneday

63

Christopher Kennedy

45

Deborah Kennedy

Heidi Kenyon Karey Kessler Sant Khalsa Natalya Khorover Valerie Yong Ock Kim Katie Kindle Sophy King Ben Kinsley Elise Kirk Shelley Kirkwood Lisa Kitchens

Alexa Kleinbard

Cindee Klement Leigh Klonsky Marie-Luise Klotz Erika Knerr Sarah Knobel Shane Koehler Miriam Koshy Jennifer Kotter Kimberlee Koym-Murteira Ellen Kozak Keith Kozloff Laura Krasnow Mayme Kratz

Anne Krinsky Garnier Kristen Megan Kromer Judith Kruger Andrea Krupp Nicole Kutz Leslie Labowitz-Starus Stephanie Lai Milja Laine Laurie Lambrecht Judith Selby Lang Shauna Lee Lange Rosina Lardieri Laura Larson Robin Lasser George Lea Kristin Leachman Kathy Leader Jill Lear Rita Leduc Dawn Lee Andrea Legge Kellie Lehr Mary Beth Leigh Marietta Patricia Leis Margaret LeJeune Bonnie Levinthal

129

Sarah Lewison

130

Christopher Lin

47

Jason Lindsey Nikki Lindt Sandy Litchfield Taina Litwak Qinqin Liu Emma Livingston Michael and Heather Llewellyn Deenah Loeb Laura Loescher

Kathryn Logan

84

Pam Longobardi

115

Rosalind Lowry

121

Elizabeth London Aleshia Lonsdale Hilary Lorenz Stevie Love Yvonne Love Jo-Ann Lowney

97

Aline Mare

6

Jane Marsching

58

Anne Mavor

167

Stéfy McKnight

132

Kim Garrison Means Anna Mein

87 15

Ana MacArthur Linda MacDonald Dugald MacGilp Nancy Macko Klara Maisch Lenore Malen Constance Mallinson Chris Manfield Angela Manno Kent Manske Nancy Manter

Karen Marston Monique Martin Lucille Martin Brent Mathison Mary Mattingly Emily Matyas

183

Ellen K. Levy Nerys Levy Howard Lewis Walter Lewis

Margot Lystra

Patricia Bárbara Côrtes Marins Michael Markham

Stacy Levy

Hings Lim

9

Alicja Lukasiak Colin Lyons

Dominique Mazeaud E.J. McAdams Laurie McCann Kathleen McCloud Siobhan McClure Claire Mcconaughy James McElhinney Liz McGowan Kiki McGrath Jennifer McGregor Kristan H. McKinsey Margot McMahon Lauren Rosenthal McManus Blue McRight

Derick Melander George Melrod Nigel Meredith Mary Meyer Sara Baker Michalak Emmy Mikelson Yevgeniya Mikhailik Belen Millan Rachel Miller Joanne Miller Lyn Swett Miller Laura Grae Miller

Nancy Milliken Carole Milon

Patricia Miranda

Agustina Mistretta Minal Mistry Maternal Mitochondria Ida Mitrani Judith Modrak Alice Momm Carolyn Monastra Loraine Monk Kalliopi Monoyios Norma Jean Moore

Kathryn Moore Day Moore

Cindy Stockton Moore Nancy Mooslin Fiona Morehouse Sarah Morejohn Seren Morey Janet Morgan Eve Morgenstern Jamie Morra

111

Perdita Phillips Deanna Pindell 84 51

61

Beverly Naidus

23

Annette Nykiel

104

Florence Neal Meredith Nemirov Carol Newborg Bebonkwe / Jude Norris Shani Nottingham Sionainne O’Neill Julia Oldham Lil Olive Patricia Olynyk Geraldine Ondrizek Gloria Orenstein

Chrissie Orr

43

Carol Padberg

38

Cynthia Pannucci

50

Erika Osborne Dara Oshin Kees Ouwens Melody Overstreet Renata Padovan Carol Paquet Caitlin Parker Greg Patch Pamela Pauline

Zach Pine Andrea Pinheiro Mary Pinto Rebecca Pipkin

145 55

Craig Roper Greg Rose Ann Rosenthal Katherine Steichen Rosing Jay Rounds Bridget Rountree Catherine Ruane Meridel Rubenstein Karen Rudd Lauren Ruiz Christy Rupp Kate Rusek Louise Russell Liza Ryan

Eileen Ryan

59

75

John Sabraw

169

Andra Ragusila

13

Alyce Santoro Sehba Sarwar

2 175

Ken Rinaldo

85

Ahní Rocheleau

33

Johnny Plastini Colleen Plumb Hugh Pocock Shachaf Polakow María-Elena Pombo Jill Price

Zea Morvitz

Patricia Moss-Vreeland Sandra Mueller Mia Mulvey Anais-karenin Murakami Katama Murray

Paula Pedrosa Jaanika Peerna Lainey Peltier Tracy Penn Joan Perlman Marguerite Perret Alan Petersen Snezana Saraswati Petrovic Steven White and Jill Pflugheber Ashton Phillips

Aviva Rahmani Tyler Rai Leah Raintree Laziza Rakhimova Bonnie Ralston Daniel Ranalli Kristin Reed Laura Reeder Christopher Reiger Lisa Reindorf Babs Reingold Walmeri Ribeiro Priscilla Rich Jennifer Rife Rebecca Riley Cindy Rinne Brooke Ripley Shana Robbins Kendra Roberts David Robertson Rita Robillard Mimi Robinson Michelle Robinson Aurora Robson

Enid Baxter Ryce

Jonathan Rodley Dawn Roe Cindy Roe Stuart Rome Gonzaga Gómez-Cortázar Romero

Alicia Vogl Saenz Ashley Saldana Cherie Sampson Patricia Sannit

Ann Savageau Edward Morris and Susannah Sayler Diana Scarborough Gregg Schlanger PlantBot Genetics aka Wendy DesChene + Jeff Schmuki Sarah Schneiderman Claude Schryer Nien Schwarz Olivia Sears Fern Shaffer Carla Shapiro Ann Shapiro JoAnna Mendl Shaw Carleen Sheehan Martina Shenal Rebecca Shepard Laurie Sheridan Yulia Shtern Suzan Shutan Steven Siegel Jenny Siegel Danielle Siembieda Lily Simonson Fiona Sinclair Shawn Skabelund Dimitra Skandali Samantha Slone Kerrie Smith Linda Smith Christine Badalamenti Smith Robi Smith

Callie Smith Polina Smith Shelly Smith Eleni Smolen Cirrelda Snider-Bryan

Susan Snipes

Leslie Sobel Jacqueline Solís

Donna Hamil Talman Tattfoo Tan

Kim Tanzer 133, 137

Ted Somogyi

139

Nichole Speciale

92

Priscilla Stadler

165

Susan Spaid

Anne-Katrin Spiess Daniel Sroka Regan Stacey Laura Stack Susan Stair Chrysanne Stathacos Virginia Stearns Karen Steen Heather Stehle Krista Leigh Steinke Gina E. Stepaniuk Patricia Stephens

147

Linda Stillman

95

Cindy Stockton-Moore

51

Don Stinson

Cindy Stokes Sheryl Stoodley Nancy Storrow Mary Ann Strandell Margaret Stratton Rainey Straus Kim Stringfellow Lauren Strohacker Suzanne Stryk

Sheila Thompson

107

Alexandra Toland

11

Laura Terry Megan Teutschel Karen Theisen Marie Thibeault Elizabeth Thompson

Cara Tomlinson Jess Tommeraasen Johanna Törnqvist Patti Trimble Chaney Trotter Jane Troup Elie Porter Trubert Lisa Tubach Pamela Turczyn R. Eugene Turner Natalie Tyler

Barry Underwood Amy Ungricht Jen Urso Jennifer Valenzuela

14

Susan Suntree

135

Suzy Sureck Naoe Suzuki Debra Swack Mary Swander Mary Virginia Swanson Fred Swanson Beth Ames Swartz Jane Szabo Ruth Tabancay Sandra Taggart

141

Riva Weinstein Linda Weintraub

121, 123 83

Alexis Williams

7

Paula (Tammy) West Kay Westhues Stephen Whisler Mary Bayard White Frances Whitehead Maria Whiteman Ripley Whiteside Mirabel Wigon Ashley Williams Laura Wills Leah Wilson Marion Wilson François Winants Eileen Wold Adam Wolpert Bart Woodstrup Kesler Woodward Andre Woodward Suze Woolf Mali Wu Nanette Wylde Lu Xia Chin Chih Yang Janise Yntema

Anne Yoncha Mierle Laderman Ukeles (C)(D) Felicia Young

Amber Stucke

Tim and Reiko Collins & Goto Studio Metabolic Studio

89

Tosca Terán

Janet Thomson Andie Thrams Sylvia Tidwell Monika Tobel

Teresa Stern Dawn Stetzel Lorna Stevens

Claudia Tavares Bethany Taylor Tessa Teixeira Gina Telcocci Brad Temkin Kate Temple Naomi Teppich

Tanja Andrejasic Wechsler Peggy Weil Tali Weinberg Sharon Weiner Carmi Weingrod

Teressa Valla

Marie Van Elder Ana Varas Cynthia Haveson Veloric, PhD Marissa Vidrio Veronica Vossen

Millicent Young

Ruth Wallen 125 Danielle Giudici Wallis 138 Susan Walsh Miriam Waltz Vanya Lambrecht Ward Terri Warpinski Deborah Wasserman Cass Waters

Patricia Watts

Amy Youngs

149

Clarice Yuen

60

Rebecca Youssef

156

18 67

Shai Zakai Toby Zallman Rachel Zebro Jenny Zeller Minoosh Zomorodinia Luba Zygarewicz For more information on the artists go to the ecoartspace members directory at:

https://ecoartspace.org/directory

(I)

ecoartspace encourages an ethos that challenges systemic racism and colonial extraction, which are at the core of ecocide. We place importance on the inclusion of indigenous and LGTBQ voices. This book represents our mission, which encourages non-hierarchal, open-source dissemination of creative and ecofeminist wisdom; exactly what’s lacking today in addressing human actions and interventions in the land that are causing the climate to change so quickly.

notes:

ecoartspace publications www.ecoartspace.org