Self-care During Coronavirus Lockdown
The coronavirus lockdown has made me aware of people without easy access to medical care. In these cases, self-care is especially important. Yet this type of challenge need not be a source of despair or undue anxiety. There are many products readily available that we can use to assist us meet the challenges of winter […]
International Day of Forests 2020
The theme for this year’s International Day of Forests is Forests and Biodiversity. Consider using the weekend of March 21st as days for educating yourself and your loved ones about forests. And for planting trees. Spekboom and Biodiversity Spekboom is the tree of the moment. This is where the money is headed…And the enthusiasm. It is a […]
COP25: Just Transitions
I came away from the National Climate Change Stakeholders Dialogue, held in preparation for the Santiago Climate Change Conference with the following questions: How many Green Economies are there? What is the relationship between the Green Economies and the Fourth Industrial Revolution? What role can Permaculture play in a just transition from a carbon dependent […]
Food Forests: Jackfruit seedlings
The first rains have arrived and I am delighted. I am pleased too that the small urban food forest I am creating is proceeding at a steady pace. My jackfruit seedlings are ready for planting out. Yet not here. After the concrete was removed a water pipe lying just below its surface was placed deeper into the […]
Food Forest: Site Preparation
When I initially into Orange Grove, I knew that I wanted to slow and sink water in a narrow passage that I saw as an urban food forest. My primary concern was with harvesting water and I had two possible sources: rain harvesting from the roof into containers or tanks and harvesting from rising water […]
BEYOND PSHB: Trees to plant
The best trees to plant are those that you know you will take care of. I have a friend who loves River Bushwillows and can’t stand the Karee. Needless to say, the bushwillows thrive under his care; the karees do not. I love both, the former for its majesty and the latter for its tree […]
BEYOND PSHB: Each one adopt one
Branching out on my walks around my suburb of Orange Grove I came to Orange Grove Park. Here I found heritage trees (trees older than sixty years): conifers, pin oaks, jacaranda and what a friend has told me might be a carob tree. Amongst the younger trees are palm trees and white stinkwood. It seems […]
PSHB: FUNGICIDE REGISTERED
PSHB Fungicide has been registered. What a relief! This changes the dynamics at play quite dramatically for many of the responses to PSHB Infestation have been based on the absence of a registered PSHB Fungicide. Now that it has been registered, how does this shift where I put my energy? From the beginning my focus […]
PSHB UPDATE: Best Practice Challenge
Under the guidance of JUFA, Johannesburg has been proactive in raising awareness about the reality of the PSHB beetle infesting some of our trees. Its work has inspired some individuals to share what they have learnt and what interventions they have used to deal with infested trees. I have not been one of them for […]
Beyond PSHB: Five fun ways to favourite trees
Asking yourself what trees you would like to plant is as important as finding out what trees we as local communities should prioritise in our urban reforestation efforts. Sometimes there is an overlap between the two. Yet I do not take this for granted. Nor do I consider it the only way in which to approach […]