Friday, August 29, 2014

Trees that heal Maple, Hawthorne and Elm

By Liliana Usvat

Blog 226-365


Maple – A leaf wound wash or poultice is used to relieve sore eyes and soreness of the breasts for nursing mothers and pregnant women. Bark tea is used to treat kidney infections, the common cold and bronchitis.




Most maples are trees growing to 10–45 m (33–148 ft) height. 


Hawthorne – Leaf tea is brewed as a “cardiac tonic” but extended use is known to cause a drop in blood pressure. It is recommended to use it for just two weeks and then take a week off before starting the treatment again.


Hawthorn is an excellent small tree with a widespreading plant form. It has 2-3" clusters of white flowers in spring. Fruit are a bright red, 3/4" pome. They are produced in masses and provide excellent color in late summer and early fall. Foliage is dark green and very glossy. Typical plants of the species have many sharp, 3" long thorns. The tree provides a distinct horizontal accent in the landscape

hawthorn fruit and flowers have medicinal properties useful as a treatment for chronic heart failure.  "Hawthorn extract may be used as an oral treatment for chronic heart failure" although the trials did not all measure the same outcomes and several did not designate what conventional treatments the patients also received. Data obtained for meta-analysis was found "suggestive" of a benefit from hawthorn extract when used in combination with conventional treatments.

Hawthorn wood is dense and rot-resistant, and was used for fenceposts and other applications where a moist environment would be encountered. Hawthorn trees are noted as having magical properties in many Neolithic and medieval cultures. Superstitious people today still cling to a belief in faeries and other supernatural beings said to live in close association with the genus

Elm – Bark salve and poultices are used to treat gunshot wounds, chilblain, and on the abdomen to draw out fever. Bark tea is very high in calcium and helps increase the healing of injured bones, heal sore throats, soothe urinary and bowel issues, and to thwart diarrhea.
Elms take many decades to grow to maturity, and as the introduction of these disease-resistant cultivars is relatively recent, their long-term performance and ultimate size and form cannot be predicted with certainty.

The Romans, and more recently the Italians, used to plant elms in vineyards as supports for vines. Lopped at three metres, the elms' quick growth, twiggy lateral branches, light shade and root-suckering made them ideal trees for this purpose.

Elm bark, cut into strips and boiled, sustained much of the rural population of Norway during the great famine of 1812. The seeds are particularly nutritious, comprising 45% crude protein, and less than 7% fibre by dry mass.

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Extreme Reforestation Spain

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 225-365

I started this Blog because of a trip in Spain. We drove for hours and the mountains had no vegetation. So I decided that If I can make a small difference with my opinions and research in reforestation it will be worth to try.

I figure it that massive logging was the cause of decline of Roman Empire. The land lost the soil that could maintain life. But there are 2000 years since the decline of the Roman Empire and something should have been done in all those years. The climate is so hot in Spain that last year we walk on 45 degree Celsius. And this is not normal and it can be prevented with minimum effort. But it should be some effort.

In meantime I found out about permaculture a new concept of food forest implemented and developed on different continents that I consider a blessing for the society if it is applied.

So let's see what is happening in the reforestation sector in Spain in these days.














It is so easy to destroy the environment and the forests let's see how hard is to replant in Spain.
This is so  countries such Canada Romania, Brazil, Madagascar to pay attention, what happens  when large amount of forests are destroyed.

Reforestation Projects Spain

  •  The Green Deserts trees planted February 2012 at Sant Boi de Llobregat Barcelona Spain
    
They have made terasses with a crane and planted in the solid rocks
They hope that within 5 years this area will be covered with trees without having used irrigation
Solid rocks challenge the trees
  • Los Desiertos Verdes trees that were planted in 2011 at Sant Boi de Llobregat Barcelona Spain
  • The Green Deserts trees that were planted in 2011 at San Mateo de Gallego Zaragossa Spain
  •  Los Desiertos Verdes trees that survived one year after using the Groasis Waterboxx at San Mateo de Gallego Zaragossa Spain

A combination of a Pine (Pinus nigra)  with a bush Kermes Oak (Quercus coccifera)












This is not a fertile soil but a bunch of small rocks and stones
  • Los Desiertos Verdes successful reforestation of a garbage dump at Fuensaldana Province of Valladolid Spain

Valladolid makes wasted land productive again without using energy for pumps and scarce water for irrigation

 
The water boxes produce their own water they never have to be filled after planting

  • Controlling the results of Riofriste de Aliste plantings in the North of Spain

Riofrio plants over 2000 productive trees. This area was completely burned several years ago no tree survived

Well growing Chestnut one month old on May 28 - 2012
  •  The Green Deserts successful reforestation of mine dumps from Grupo Cupa at Riofriste de Aliste Spain

Above the slate mines were growing trees the objective of Live+ Project is to restore this.
Every 5 minutes a giant truck passes loaded with rocks.
The saplings have to re-establish and re-cover the eroded area. What are the odds that this would happen.


The waterboxx planting any impossible to plant place - rocks - eroded or arid areas - without using energy for pumps and without spilling scarse water to irrigation
  • 1600 to 2000 meter high Ski Resort San Isidro Province of Leon Espana












 
 Without waterboxx the saplings are destroyed because of the meters of snow  on it, that move slowly downwards during winter
















A nice view of a box on approximately 1900 meters high

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Extreme Reforestation

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 224 -365

Mexico


Everything start with a person. In Mexico was  Sergio De Lara.
While living in Mexico’s third-largest city, Monterrey, Sergio De Lara noticed a distinct lack of urban forestry, most pointedly during the city’s 50-degree summers.
 












What began as a small grass-roots collective digging up previously-sealed sidewalk planters grew to a corporate-sponsored non-profit NGO (going by the name Reforestación Extrema) complete with volunteer teams re-foresting parks and city streets all over.

The city was lacking 8000 trees. The organization planned to plant every week end trees.

Peru

In the Andean region of Peru, families rely solely on agriculture for food security and income generation. However, climate-related impacts such as irregular rains, hailstorms, frosts and extremes of temperatures, have made growing crops and breeding animals increasingly difficult.

Lack of knowledge of sustainable land management has led to overgrazing the destruction of native forest vegetation on the Andean mountain slopes, and further diminished livelihoods. These factors combined have resulted in extreme poverty and malnutrition.



Project location

The project will take place in six communities in the district of Yanaoca – Kasani, Pongoña, Jilayhua, Ccolliry, Hanccoyo and Hampatura – near Cusco in the Southern Andes region of Peru.


The project aims to plant around 1.2 million trees across 1,000 hectares of degraded grazing lands to mitigate environmental degradation, increase household incomes, and to sequester carbon into the landscape. This will be achieved through the establishment of nurseries in each of the participating communities, producing a range of trees including exotic pines for timber production, native species to establish conservation areas and increase biodiversity, and fruit trees to help combat malnutrition and increase family incomes

Africa

Deforestation is frequently listed as one of the more serious threats facing human kind today. Between 100,000 and 200,000 square kilometers of forest area are lost annually, contributing to the extinction of at least 17,500 species each year. Furthermore, it is estimated that deforestation is responsible for almost 30% of total global carbon dioxide emissions (1). West Africa is experiencing some of the highest numbers of forest loss. In all, Africa loses nearly 10 million acres of forest each year (1), contributing to desertification and changes in rainfall patterns.

Causes

The causes of deforestation differ from country to country and involve social and economic factors. Trees are cut and land cleared to make way for agriculture and cattle. Rising populations within and near forested area have increased the pressure on the forests for building supplies, fuel, paper products, and land to grow food. In West Africa, and Togo specifically, much deforestation is the result of wood gathering and charcoal production for cooking. 

While it is difficult for individual organizations to halt large scale logging and mining without governmental or international programs, Alaffia organization believe there are options for smaller scale programs. First, providing alternative fuel options for individuals and families can stop a large part of deforestation caused by firewood and charcoal production.

Each year since 2006, Alaffia organization donated 1,000 fruit and forages trees to farmers in central Togo. Fruit and forage trees planted in and around farmer's fields have several impacts, including reducing soil erosion, improving soil quality, providing food, fuel, and habitat.






Here another story

In the early 1970s, Dave and Grace Deppner served as volunteers in the Philippines, where they witnessed the human tragedy brought on by illegal logging and unsustainable land management systems. Working with community leaders in nearby villages, the Deppners found a way to offer hope. They revitalized degraded lands by providing farmers with tree seed, technical training, and on-site planning assistance. People responded enthusiastically,  joining in to save their homes and way of life.

After returning from their overseas assignments they continued what they had started, communicating by mail with rural community leaders, providing information, seeds, and training materials. After many years of informal operations, Trees for the Future (‘TREES’) was incorporated as a 501 (c) (3) public charity in Maryland on August 14, 1989. Over the years TREES has assisted thousands of communities in planting millions of trees in 19 countries including Ghana, which have restored life to land that was previously degraded or abandoned.

Monday, August 18, 2014

Permaculture In Cambodia

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 223-365

Cambodia

A consortium of NGOs including Lom Orng and Ockenden is doing a post-flood livelihood and infrastructure regeneration project, in the country's northwest, which includes permaculture principles, and the establishment of a permaculture demonstration farm in Battambang Province which serves as a community farm and education site and includes a native tree nursery and biogas system providing clean cooking fuel and lighting.












All the food is sold to locals who come to the farm, Veung said, or is given away to the monks at nearby temples, who are particularly fond of ripe papaya

The banana corms are planted in recessed holes to allow for water collection.
 
The dragon-fruit-bearing pitaya cacti are propped up on wooden poles capped off with a bicycle tire. Every productive tree is extremely well mulched.










There are a number of citrus fruits on site, many of them grafted onto hardy rootstocks, a compress of soil is used to keep the grafting wound from being attacked by insects. 

Permaculture in Nepal

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 222-365

Nepal

The Himalayan Permaculture Centre (HPC) is a grass roots non-government organisation (NGO) set up by trained and motivated farmers from Surkhet district (Mid-Western Nepal) in 2010 to implement sustainable rural development programs in Nepal.

Before Permaculture

Farmers from the hills began moving to Chitwan Valley in the 1950s when the government sprayed DDT to eliminate mosquitoes.  The population as well as road, towns, houses grew rapidly.  Except for Chitwan National Park and a few other reserves, the native forests and grasslands mostly disappeared.  Small farms proliferated.

By 1993, agriculture in Chitwan as in much of the world, faced a crisis.  Taking advantage of flat land and irrigation, farmers made Chitwan a breadbasket of Nepal.  But like farmers participating in “green revolutions” throughout the world, they gained their high yields through chemical fertilizers, pesticides, mechanization, hybrid seeds, and borrowed money.

Over time, farmers fell into debt, grew only a narrow range of grain crops, and increasingly relied on income from wages and salaries.  Ironically, many grew grain to sell but had insufficient food for their own families.  And like the farmers, the soil lost its self-sufficiency and became more and more dependent on expensive fertilizers.  Young people left in droves to work in low wage jobs in cities or overseas.

Observing these problems and and wanting to help find practical solutions, Dr. Pramod Parajuli and Dr. Elizabeth Enslin gained the support of the MacArthur Foundation in 1993-94 to carry out a research and action project on agroecology in Chitwan.  Anil Bhattarai joined them as a research assistant.













Goals:

  • Meet the basic needs of a peasant family for food, fiber, fodder, firewood, health, happiness, and renewable energy.
  • Nurture and regenerate ancient practices of dharma and hospitality.
  • Model our experiment on fairly small scale, so that peasant families with similar landholdings of 2-5 acres could learn from it.
  • Make our farm a place for teaching, sharing, and learning from others.

Methods

  • Bio-intensive agriculture modeled by John Jeavons in Willits, California.
  • Permaculture and whole systems design.
  • The farming traditions of the Himalyan foothills still practiced by elders, such as Pramod and Udaya’s mother, Parvati Parajuli.
  • The farming traditions of Tharus, Kumhals and Botes indigenous to Chitwan.

Results

They spent the first year double-digging beds, making compost and planting trees.  Their garden flourished and inspired a new generation of farmers, gardeners and food and agricultural educators.
 

Permaculture in Thailand

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 221-365

Thailand

WWOOF Thailand located in Nong Weang, Buri Ram and WWOOF Thailand Permaculture and organic projects located thru out Thailand, are sustainable living training, demonstrating and teaching centers of permaculture principals, courses, hosting and workshops in both English and Thai. In 2013, WWOOF Thailand has hosted over 1000 organic and permaculture students, interns and volunteers in permaculture certificate design courses and WWOOF Thailand organic and permaculture projects.













 WWOOF Thailand is a Permaculture Research Institute of Australia certified member,and offers many high quality Permaculture certificate design courses, consulting, design and teaching projects and courses every year. WWOOF Thailand uses permaculture to demonstrate how to regenerate degraded land, improve farm yields, transform mono crop land into ecologically sound "bio-diverse food systems and forests and create organically sound permaculture farms and education demonstration farms and centers across Thailand.

 WWOOF Thailand also has many projects teaching "natural building" using Earth bag, Adobe brick, wattle, cob and bamboo construction techniques. They also host interns, volunteers and courses each year they deliver, low cost courses in Permaculture Certificate Design, Urban Permaculture, broad acre design, sheet mulching, aquaculture, food forests, vermiculture, hugelkulture, solar energy and other self sustainable skills. We aim for low cost, high value for students, groups and professionals visiting and/or living in Thailand.

Mindfulness Project,The Mindfulness Project is an ecological forest preserving charity in Khon Kaen, Thailand. The 34 acres is a monastery land built in order to preserve and extend the forest as well as making an example of sustainable living and natural building. The special feature is, that every house is covered with artistic mosaic. The Mindfulness Project now hosts volunteers, student groups and courses.

Rak Tamachat Permaculture Education Center is located in North East Thailand near Korat. Begun in January 2012 using a master plan created by Christian Shearer the founder of The Panya Project. Beau and Lin Wickboldt founded Rak Tamachat as a permaculture education center to achieve their goals of creating a sustainable future for their family and others. The center is built on a 50 acre corn and rice farm that is using conventional agriculture techniques. A wide variety of elements are used to meet these goals, including natural building, sheet mulching, aquaculture, food forests. Rak Tamachat hosts visitors, volunteers, interns and courses.


The Panya Project, located in Mae Taeng, Chiang Mai, Thailand, is a sustainable living project implementing permaculture principals and hosting workshops in English and Thai. In fall 2006, the project hosted a permaculture design course taught by Geoff Lawton of the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia, and subsequently installed over 500 meters of swales and a 2 million liter pond. The Panya Project used permaculture to help regenerate what used to be a mono-crop mango plantation, transforming it into what is called a "biodiverse food forest, organic farm and education center". The Panya Project also incorporates what they call "natural building" into their design, e.g., wattle, cob and adobe brick. The Panya Project now hosts volunteers, student groups and courses.

Daruma Eco-Farm is a sustainable permaculture project located in Bang Phra, Thailand, approximately 1.5 hours drive from Bangkok. Daruma offers courses permaculture design and natural building courses, has an artist-in-residency program, internship, and volunteer program. The farm utilizes integrated aquaculture and is working on a project to generate methane from buffalo dung. Rice paddies are planted according to the System of Rice Intensification (SRI). Resident animals include cats, chickens, ducks, fish, pigs, sheep, and a dog.



Permaculture in Indonesia

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 220-365

Indonesia

The Indonesian Development of Education and Permaculture assisted in disaster relief in Aceh, Indonesia after the 2004 Tsunami.They have also developed Wastewater Gardens, a small-scale sewage treatment systems similar to Reedbeds.

Reed beds are natural habitats found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions and estuaries. Reed beds are part of a succession from young reed colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground. As reed beds age, they build up a considerable litter layer which eventually rises above the water level, and ultimately provides opportunities for scrub or woodland invasion. Artificial reed beds are used as a method of removing pollutants from grey water.
 
Reed beds with water levels at or below the surface during the summer are often more complex botanically and are known as reed fen. Reeds and similar plants do not generally grow in very acidic water, and so in these situations reed beds are replaced by other vegetation such as poor-fen and bog.

A bog is a mire that accumulates peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses, and in a majority of cases, sphagnum moss.It is one of the four main types of wetlands.


















Jiwa Damai (meaning Peace of Soul), based in Mambal, close to Ubud in Central Bali, Indonesia is a retreat centre and organic permaculture garden, designed in accordance with nature.



They offer permaculture courses and courses in organic farming and demonstrate sustainable practices using biological gardening techniques and EM (effective microorganism) technology to recycle biological waste and to grow fruits, vegetables, forest, medicinal herbs and plants for Balinese ceremonies.
 
They also cultivate coconut palms for the production of Bali Extra Virgin Coconut oil.
 
A focus is to preserve rare species of indigenous plants. One area of the garden contains a variety of medicinal herbs, in other areas we grow plants for Balinese ceremonies as well as organic vegetables and fruit.




Friday, August 15, 2014

Forests Blossoms

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 219-365

Since we need to plant a lot of land with forest why not plant with trees that bloom once a year and will create a beautiful view will attract tourists just for the pleasure of seeing the trees blooming.

Here are few example: 
Rhododendron bloom


During march and April the rhododendron trees are in full blossom.  















A Gulmohar Tree in Bloom

 

The purple blooms of Dipteryx panamensis can be seen in this image of the tree canopy of. Barro Colorado Island, Panama.  
 

Cherry Forest/ Orchard
















Almond Blosson














Orchards are not forests. Forests imply a combination of different trees. Fruit and Legume trees are good option for planting forest on private and government properties.
I never understood why  the cities do not plant fruit trees in parks. 
Seatle is the first one in USA that has a orchard park. And is such a new ideea. So much space that is not used for the free benefit of people.
And the price of fruits is so.. high while large amount of land is unused at the maximum potential.
 
What about a rose forest.?










Gingko biloba is a highly venerated tree in Japanese culture. Six ginkgo trees survived the Hiroshima bombing, continuing to grow despite facing so many challenges, and are still alive today. Therefore, the Japanese regard the gingko as “the bearer of hope”. It is also known as “the survivor” or “the living fossil.”















Beautiful wisteria trees

The largest and oldest in Japan, the tree is the main attraction at the flower park as visitors flock to see it in full bloom.