Ah, this is the Michigan spring weather I know and love! Okay, "love" might be too strong a term. We've had a LOT of rain in Shelbyville since I saw you all last and it sounds like it's going to continue over the next couple of days. I'm hoping that by Wednesday afternoon, we'll have at least one garden bed that is dry enough to plant, since I've been holding back the kale, chard, and spinach seedlings for you to plant this week. I did go ahead and put some of the pac choi and lettuce that you started in soil blocks in the ground last week, along with arugula and mustard greens. They are doing pretty well and I'm sure are going to shoot up after this rain.
It's doubtful that the soil is going to be dry enough to work on Tuesday, which is fine, because we've got some non-soil related projects to attend to!
One thing we need to get done soon is to put together some new frames with beeswax foundation for our honeybees. One of the suggestions I've read about to help keep your honeybees healthy is to remove old darkened wax from the hive and replace it with new foundation, since the old wax can contain pesticide build-up that is harmful to the bees. I'm not sure how big of a problem that is here, since most of the fields around us don't have pesticides being actively applied to them, but it can't hurt. So I'll have you help me clean up some of the old frames and put together new ones.
I'm sure many of you have heard that honeybees are struggling these days. Actually, it's not just honeybees (which aren't native to North America); our native bees (and other pollinators) are having difficulty thriving as well. There's been a lot of research and speculation about Colony Collapse Disorder, but this TED talk by Marla Spivak sums up most clearly my understanding of what it is we're doing that's harming the bees (and ourselves too): http://www.ted.com/talks/marla_spivak_why_bees_are_disappearing
And from PBS's "Nature", a 2 1/2 minute clip on the symbolic "dance-language" of bees: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE-8QuBDkkw
Pretty cool, huh? The honeybee gets a lot of the publicity because of its sexy habit of making candy for us out of flower-water, but as I mentioned above, there are lots of cool native bee species in Michigan as well. This pdf from Michigan State University has photos, as well as tips for helping out our native bees: http://www.canr.msu.edu/nativeplants/uploads/files/E2985ConservingNativeBees.pdf.
Another job we've got on our agenda this week is inoculating mushroom logs. Besides the big maple that the power company took down this Spring, a dead ash tree in the woods behind my house took out part of another maple tree that looks just about perfect as a medium for growing mushrooms. So if the weather will break enough to let John get back to the woods with his chainsaw, we'll have you help us with plugging maple logs with shiitake spawn. We bought our mushroom spawn from Paul Stamets' company "Fungi Perfecti". Stamets is doing some super-interesting work with mushrooms, including studying how mushrooms might help bolster bee colony health: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAw_Zzge49c. (The connection with honeybees starts at 9:23. Even if you get bogged down in the science-y middle part of this talk, make sure you watch the last five minutes or so for some really gorgeous shots of mushroom growth and inspiring words.)
Early in his talk, Stamets talks about how networks of mycelium pass messages between plants that help them to survive. From the PBS honeybee video you can see that bees, also, have sophisticated languages. Near the end of his talk, Stamets says, "The task that we face today is to understand the language of Nature." I'd like to hear your thoughts in response to this idea that in order for our species to survive, we need to learn to communicate with the other species with whom we share this planet and to learn from them. Does this seem like a far-fetched idea to you or something that's within the realm of possibility? What experiences of communicating with non-human parts of this world have you had in your own life? How might you go about initiating or deepening such communication?
Pretty cool, huh? The honeybee gets a lot of the publicity because of its sexy habit of making candy for us out of flower-water, but as I mentioned above, there are lots of cool native bee species in Michigan as well. This pdf from Michigan State University has photos, as well as tips for helping out our native bees: http://www.canr.msu.edu/nativeplants/uploads/files/E2985ConservingNativeBees.pdf.
Another job we've got on our agenda this week is inoculating mushroom logs. Besides the big maple that the power company took down this Spring, a dead ash tree in the woods behind my house took out part of another maple tree that looks just about perfect as a medium for growing mushrooms. So if the weather will break enough to let John get back to the woods with his chainsaw, we'll have you help us with plugging maple logs with shiitake spawn. We bought our mushroom spawn from Paul Stamets' company "Fungi Perfecti". Stamets is doing some super-interesting work with mushrooms, including studying how mushrooms might help bolster bee colony health: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAw_Zzge49c. (The connection with honeybees starts at 9:23. Even if you get bogged down in the science-y middle part of this talk, make sure you watch the last five minutes or so for some really gorgeous shots of mushroom growth and inspiring words.)
Early in his talk, Stamets talks about how networks of mycelium pass messages between plants that help them to survive. From the PBS honeybee video you can see that bees, also, have sophisticated languages. Near the end of his talk, Stamets says, "The task that we face today is to understand the language of Nature." I'd like to hear your thoughts in response to this idea that in order for our species to survive, we need to learn to communicate with the other species with whom we share this planet and to learn from them. Does this seem like a far-fetched idea to you or something that's within the realm of possibility? What experiences of communicating with non-human parts of this world have you had in your own life? How might you go about initiating or deepening such communication?
I was super interested in Stamets’ talk! Although I do think that a fair amount of the science went over my head, I found his discussion of language fascinating. I absolutely do think that we need to learn to communicate with other species. Many of the problems that we are facing as a planet are a direct result of us choosing (and I do think it is a choice) to listen only to human voices. In order to create sustainable systems that are productive, healthy, and happy for all, we need to consider how our actions have impacts on not just us as human beings, but also on all the other lives, both plant and animal, that we share this space with.
ReplyDeleteWhen we talk about communicating with other species, I think that consideration of other animals is often what is most readily accessible to us. I grew up in a household that always had pets – we had a number of different cats growing up. When I was young, one of the cats that we had, Chum, was very sick and old. Some of my earliest memories are of my mother talking to me and my brother about how to “read” what he was saying to us. She talked about how his body language was him communicating with us about whether or not he felt like playing. We learned that when Chum was bristling or acting more distant, that we needed to give him his space and not bother him. He would sometimes bite (not particularly hard), not because he was aggressive or mean, but because he was very skittish and did not like it if we were too noisy around him. Because of these conversations, the idea of listening to animals was instilled on me from a young age. While Chum was obviously a domestic animal / pet, I think that these ideas apply to all animals that share our planet with us. I firmly believe that it is important for us to understand what animals’ are communicating with us, whether through direct contact with them or through observation from a difference.
Although it sometimes can be easier to think about communicating with animals, I think that the same holds true for plants as well. Your questions, Amy, are reminding me of the conversation we had a few weeks ago on the farm. You were showing us seedlings that had been placed in different locations, and asked us which ones were showing us that they were happier. From looking at the plants, we could see which ones seemed to be growing in stronger, and which ones were “reaching” to the side to try to get to the sunlight. To me, this is a clear indicator of how plants communicate with us. Although they do not “speak” in the same way that humans do, just looking at them visually can help indicate their needs and desires. Unfortunately, I think it can feel all too easy to ignore what plants are showing us. As I move forward, I think I need to be more conscious about what the world is telling me. Too often, it becomes easy to tune the world out.
I really appreciate the sentiment that Stamets is sharing in regards to humans needing to understand the language of Nature in order for us, and the planet, to survive. As with most things, this is a lot easier said than done, but I do think it is feasible. I think we need to redirect our efforts, minds, and energy into decoding and translating the language of other species that we share resources and habitats with. I have a lot of experience with communicating with non-human parts of this world, particularly with different animal species. I have three dogs at home, and at varying points my family has also had 7-10 chickens, two ducks, and 1-5 honeybee hives. I also have a horse who lives across the street from me at a barn with 12 other horses, two goats, and 3 cats. The summer after my sophomore year at K, I did a Discovery Externship in Florida at a chimpanzee sanctuary. Learning how to communicate with these various animals has been incredibly influential on my life and how I relate to other beings. Communication with chimpanzees specifically, as non-domesticated animals, is a whole different world, but also it is POSSIBLE, which is pretty mind-blowing. I would love to reconceptualize the way I communicate with plants in a more mutually respectful way, similar to how we offered corn to the wild ramps we foraged.
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ReplyDeleteThere is a species of incest called dragonfly. I barely see them in US, but in some part of hometown, they are quiet active during the warm seasons. People usually can’t find them, it is because s dragonflies like to fly very high in the sky, and they are small, so it is hard to observe them with human eyes. However, sometime people may find them fly very low, they are everywhere and surrounding you. Usually, when this happens, it implies the air pressure is low, and there is going to be raining. When I was a child, I like to play outside, and for me, finding many dragonflies around is a sign for me to go home. In addition, dragonflies are the predator of flies, larva dragonflies, which live in the water, hunt the larva flies in the water, and adult dragonflies hunt the adult flies in the sky. Even though dragon flies did not save my life, they kept me from get wet in the rain, and hunted flies that could pray harmful virus to humans. So they are indeed helping us. It became difficult to find dragonflies nowadays, and I don’t have any idea about initiating or deepening such communication. There could be no need to do so, because it could be a good sign if the reason is there are fewer flies in the area.
DeleteI don't think this idea of communicating with other parts of nature is far fetched at all. I don't know much about science, but I have learned some of the basics, and the basics have taught me that the world is made up of different ecosystems that all communicate to survive and function. If every other living thing on our planet is already communicating with those in its ecosystem then why shouldn't we? After watching those videos I am trying to go back and think about where in my life time I have communicated with the non-human part of our world, and its a hard question. The first thing that comes to mind is pets, but I don't know how applicable they are. I have had cats, dogs, horses, and a wide variety of small animals all my life, and as their "owner" I have feed them and taken care of them. I have known what they need to survive and I have provided it to them in exchange for cuddles, hug, and companionship from cute animals. However, I have also had several experiences with these animals that led towards deeper communication. In particular, I remember a time when I was in elementary school and my cat, who was normally family independent and did not like hugs, came home one night and was super affectionate. He laid down right in front of me and let me pet him for 10 minutes without leaving. At first I though he was being oddly affectionate, but then I saw blood on my hand and realized that he had a huge wound in his leg. He was being affectionate and close to me because he knew we, his humans, would take care of him and help him get better. I didn’t realize it then, but him coming to us when he was severely injured actually showed how much he trusted us to figure out what was wrong, listen to him, and take care of him. That is the best example I can think of when I “communicated” with a non-human part of our world.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed feelings about communicating with other species in order for our specifies to survive. On one hand, it seems like it be impossible in terms of what exactly we as humans can do. On the other hand, it sounds like a great idea to pursue. For the most part, it does seem far-fetched, but it seems like it is possible (I don’t believe in the impossible). Throughout my life, I have had fish, a bird, and dogs. For most of my life, I adopted and raised a Cockatiel named Eddie, who is about wight years old. He usually makes sounds and gestures when communicating to me. We both “talk” to each other, and for the most part, I understand what he wants and what he needs based on certain chirps and sounds that he makes. In addition, I can usually communicate to my dogs, who use gestures, expressions, and sounds to communicate with me. I know if they are sick, if they are happy, or if they are not happy. Throughout these communications with my pets, I have found that it is possible to communicate with non-human animals. There is an unspoken language that happens between pets and humans. I think there are a few ways to initiate or deepen communication between non-humans and other types of animals. One way is to implement ethical programs that allow humans to interact with non-human animals.I think that these implemented programs could all humans to be more open-minded to the idea of this communication. These programs could be implemented in schools, after school programs, summer camps, and within other organizations.
ReplyDeleteModem society is lucky to have the tools to study communication styles of non-animals and that scientists are open to listen to them. Trees create communication webs through fungi in the soil. Nutrients are sent between trees. When a tree is sick, other trees around it will send more nutrients to it and less nutrients to themselves. Looking at this altruistic act of trees can exemplify benefits to being apart of a community and caring about others.
ReplyDeleteI have an aloe plant in my room that I take care of, sometimes with great love and other times with negligence. I have always enjoyed simply being present in the woods. I have explored different parks around the world. However, my interactions with the livelihood of plants have been limited. That is why I feel so grateful taking this course, knowledge and experiential learning have been able to expand my experience, knowledge, and deepen my connection.
We have so much technology at our disposal that I think it could be used towards learning and observing other species to help them. We all live on this one planet so I think it would benefit every living creature if we find better ways to coexist. If we think about it we have already learned to communicate with pets and understand what they need or what they might be thinking. I absolutely love dogs and I believe that they can also understand us to some extent. Call me crazy but I will have full conversation with my aunt's dog and he seems to respond in his own way. So I do not think it's far fetch for use to communicate with other species. I think it will take a lot of time and patients. You can learn a lot about something by just watching and seeing trends and patterns.
ReplyDeleteAs a child, I was fascinated with the idea of communicating with other non-human organisms. However, the form of communication that Paul Statmets is referring to is a bit more conventional than what I thought about as a child. I believe that to an extent it is possible to communicate with non-human organism. Communication between humans is even flawed as our language is imperfect. I believe that it is important that we push this concept of communicating with non-human organisms. I have had a couple of dogs as pets growing up. I was able to communicate with them to some extent. I could tell when something was bothering them (hunger, thirsty, tire). Maybe if I spent more time and energy on improving our communication and my interpretation of their signals could I have better read their signs. The same went for my dog interpreting my body signs and the tone of my voice.
ReplyDeleteI believe the interspecies communication is one of the most crucial concepts that is lacking in our culture. There are instances of communication between us and other species, but most of them are dominant-subservient relationships. An example of this would be the use of plants and fungi for medicinal purposes; I believe that this is a form of communication wherein the plants are using their "knowledge" of fighting diseases and ailments in order to help us. The problem lies in the fact that, though we listen to some of the advice that the plants emanate, we don't listen to our recognize the whole organism. In other words, we don't fully respect the organism and think about ways that we can aid it, which would make the relationship mutually beneficial. Just as in communication between people, both sides need to fully listen and talk. Some may think that this has a stench of pseudoscience, but that is only on the surface. I am not speaking of conversation or speech as we know it, but about different types of communication--types that are often devalued in our society.
ReplyDeleteIn my own life, I have mostly forgotten about interspecies communication, but when I was younger, that was a different story. I used to spend hours every day of the summer catching turtles. Or rather, I would spend about a minute catching them and the rest of the time waiting. From these shy, shelled creatures, I learned about patience and caution. I learned patience from the times I would prematurely swing down my net and have to watch them swim away, and caution from their own tendency to adapt their behavior in order to avoid being caught. I would release these turtles soon after I caught them, but we would both take away lessons from our interactions. I learned that sometimes I need to wait, and they learned that they should avoid humans. Though this interaction was one of predator/prey, it was not one of total domination and subservience, a type of relationship that is too common nowadays. I understood that I could never fully posses these turtles, so I didn't attempt to. This is something that should be taught in biology lessons in schools: one should not try to control nature, but to work within it.
I like the words “language” and “communicate” because they give individuality and sovereignty to Nature, as we should. It recognizes that there is the “other” side - not in an opposing manner, but that whoever we are talking to, we also need to listen to. It’s such a simple concept, and I feel like I am echoing everyone else in this blog thread, but I think it’s so integral. I remember a French Sci-Fi series called “The Empire of Ants”, where one of the character saids (something along the lines of) “If we cannot communicate to the ants, how can we be expected to communicate to aliens.” (In the book ants have a way to communicate in case you are wondering). It goes back to how some people say “Oh it would be cool if we had fantastical species, like elves and and dwarves, in real life - that would be cool.” And other people’s response is “Dude we can’t even handle a human race as a whole because of skin color.”
ReplyDeleteOnce we establish Nature’s sovereignty, we can start thinking about the “language” - English is a language, but it isn’t the only language. As we all know, the languages that we use are random grunts and audible noise within our hearing range that convey a meaning. However, if were can extend that definition to dance of bees, body language of animals, and chemical signal of mushrooms, then we have a different and more exclusive basis for communication - after all, the primary goal of conversation is exchange of information (not necessarily audible). we already do that with our pets. I’ve learned to communicate with my dog, that if she scratches her ears in a particular way, that means she wants me to rub her tummy. It took years of observation and eh trial and error, but it works. Another example is flowering trees - now i can roughly guess when they will flower because I’ve observed them. More famous example would be Jane Goodall, who spent a whole year simply observing the chimpanzees. As long as we are willing to be patient and observant, while understanding that what we observe might not line up with a previous knowledge, I think we can learn to “communicate”.
I think about this topic a lot so please excuse me if I just end up rambling.
ReplyDeleteI view ecology and a lot of proto-science (observation lacking reductionist statistics) as the way to ”listen” to the nature. Through this we discover the patterns of the nature, and the cycles of nature that we may have forgotten (through displacement of indigenous population and loss of even more recent cultures) or have never learned. Unfortunately, I think we have lost most of this culturally-transmitted knowledge through the years and sometimes willfully destroyed them – as Wendell Berry would say, “we (white settlers) came here with vision, but without sight.”
Then comes the speaking part. We speak through our interaction with the nature. When we decide what trees to cut down to build our shelters, and what plants to harvest to eat, and what seeds get planted where, we are casting some kind of statement to the nature, to see if it would be accepted or rejected by the nature.
Farming, I believe is both- It is activity that revolves around listening to nature and truly seeing the rhythm of the nature, then inserting our own melody in the mix, hoping cause consonance, not dissonance.
To go on tangent, I think this is why place-based education is such an important, yet neglected topic. We must grow up knowing the natural world that immediately surrounds us and be comfortable exploring the patterns of nature. While certain scientific (reductionist) “truths” are important in understanding general theme of nature, we must treat each patch of habitat differently by sincerely listening to them.
I definitely agree with Stamets idea that communication with nature is crucial to our own survival. My entire future career goal is oriented around communication between humans and animals. I'm taking the next year off but for the following year I am avidly pursuing admission into Purdue's PhD program for the Human-Animal Interaction. Studying with that program is the ideal next step for me to pursue a career conducting research on animal-assisted therapy (another large component of the program at Purdue). The success of animal-assisted therapy programs, such as Purdue's current research analyzing facility dogs in pediatric hospitals and service dogs for veterans with PTSD, is entirely dependent on effective communication between the people and animals involved.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am a huge proponent for this type of work learning how to communicate with animals, I had never really thought about how this same mindset could be used to learn how to communicate with nature as well. After listening to Stamets' talk however, it makes perfect sense to me that we as humans could learn a great deal by paying closer attention to the organisms around us and learning how to better observe the languages that they use. By learning to communicate with all types of organisms big and small, plant and animal, we could gain a much better understanding of how to improve the Earth's environmental condition and the conditions of many organisms that share the planet with us.
On a personal level, one way that I would like to deepen my own communication skills with non-human organisms is to apply what I know about communicating with dogs to communicating with plants. I would like to learn how to better observe what my plants at home need and how I can change my ways to give them what they need.