Forestation Projects Spain Africa USA China

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 232-365

We cut forests on this planet as if we have other to go on.
Big empires in history treated land forest as resources and not as something that is necessary to coexist with.
Lately more and more people realize that the act of few companies governments mafias affect us all. Some try to reverse the destruction while other continue to have policies and money toward that that cause the depleating the land of soil water and bio diversity.

We are going to focus on the positive example that can be followed on a bigger scale, because we believe that the forest should have the right to live and coexist with human society.

Groasis Water Box     www.groasis.com
 
Groasis participates in the Life+ "The Green Deserts" project. This project takes 5 years of investigation with 32,000 Groasis Waterboxxes. They cooperate with six Spanish partners and one Belgium partner. They plant on 7 extreme places in Spain. It is extreme hot, extreme cold, extreme dry, extreme rocky, they suffer from extreme winds and they plant on extreme slopes of mine sites. The experiments are done under the supervision of the University of Valladolid. 

Africa "Great Green Wall"


The plan to build a five thousand mile band of trees across the Africa begins in Senegal, where trees are already being planted.

Permaculture Jordan Desert

Geoff Lawton went to the Jordanian ( 2 km of the place where Jesus was crucified) desert in 2001 and turned a ten acre bit of desert and turned it into a orchard.if this can be done in the Jordanian desert imagine what can be achieved not just  in the United Kingdom but everywhere.

Reforestation & Avoided Deforestation Projects

Reforestation and forest preservation carbon offset projects are part of the global warming solution. Forest-based carbon offset projects fight climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere in trees and soil and have many co-benefits for the community and local wildlife. Forest preservation creates jobs, maintains and expands wildlife habitats, protects biodiversity, and improves local environmental quality.

Much of the world’s tropical rainforests have either been cut down or are directly threatened with imminent deforestation. Deforestation and forest degradation have resulted in species loss and direct contribution to global warming.

Moreover, deforestation accounts for over 20 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions – more than the entire global transportation sector! Our reforestation and avoided deforestation offset projects meet the toughest industry standards.
Forestry projects absorb carbon emissions for years and decades into the future.

Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Reforestation Initiative USA

 

The Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley Reforestation Initiative aims to reforest at least one million acres throughout Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois. Considered North America's rainforest, this region is a vital habitat for migratory birds and numerous plant and animal species. The project will also sequester CO₂ emissions. Previously encompassing 22 million acres of temperate forest, the region now holds only four million acres of unfarmed forestland.

Trees for the Future

 

Started in 1989 by Grace and Dave Deppner, Trees for the Future works with communities in Central America, South America, Africa and Asia to incorporate tree planting into their agricultural activities

Trees for the Future is a Maryland-based nonprofit organization founded in 1989 that helps communities around the world plant trees. Through seed distribution, agroforestry training, and in-country technical assistance, it has empowered rural groups to restore tree cover to their lands, protect the environment and help to preserve traditional livelihoods and cultures for generations.

China

China has seen 3,600 km² (1,400 sq mi) of grassland overtaken every year by the Gobi Desert.

.Each year dust storms blow off as much as 2,000 km² (800 sq mi) of topsoil, and the storms are increasing in severity each year. These storms also have serious agricultural effects for other nearby countries, such as Japan, North Korea, and South Korea. The Green Wall project was begun in 1978, with the proposed end result of raising northern China’s forest cover from 5 to 15 percent and thereby reducing desertification.

Links

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8z5xZLY1sA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI_nRHg-0l4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1rKDXuZ8C0

http://www.replant.ca/reference/replant_chapter_04.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=joL0_4TGJKk

The Tree of Life

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 231 -365

According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the tree of knowledge and the tree of life, are both forms of the world tree or cosmic tree

The Tree of Life in Myth

'Buddhism tells of Sakyamuni’s birth and a flash of light that travelled around the world that sparked the first growth of the Tree of Perfection – a sacred  fig tree

 that it is said to have been four hundred feet high that bloomed with flowers and fruit that glowed and glistened.  It is said that the Buddha was born, received his enlightenment, preached his first sermon and died all under the Bodhi tree. Some say he sat under the tree for six years protected by the tree while he was enlightened. 

In Judeo-Christian parable in the Book of Genesis there are actually two trees, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. A tree planted by God in the Garden of Eden that Adam and Eve are commanded and warned not to eat from (it is the Tree of Knowledge that God explicitly warned them about) but are tricked by a crafty and cunning serpent who promises that they will become as wise as God, that they will know knowledge and wisdom (consciousness of duality) and never die if they eat. They indulged in its fruit and they were cast out and banished from the garden. The prophet Enoch describes the tree as bearing  like grapes with a beautiful fragrance. Talmudic scripture suggest that Eve made wine from the fruit. It is the Tree of Knowledge that Christ is said to have been crucified upon.

Sumerian Clay tablet is dated c. 2,500 BCE.  The original Sumerian (Indo-Iranian) concept was that wisdom is likened to a tree whose fruit endows those who eat it with health and longevity. The symbol of an elixir of life had already been well established in antiquity by the Indo-Iranian cultures long before Judaism, Christianity, Islam and other cultures had the opportunity to recognise it. This 4,500 year old clay tablet shows a man and a woman seated below the Tree of Life. Behind the woman is seen a serpent allegedly ‘tempting’ the woman.   

In Norse mythology Yaggdrasil is the holy Ash World Tree surrounded by nine worlds. It is said to connect the Underworld to Heaven with its branches and roots. Odin is said to have hung on the tree for nine days, self-sacrificed so that he could bring the wisdom of the runes to his people. Once again, from the symbol of the tree flows human awareness and consciousness. 

In Egypt the Holy Sycamore is said to stand on the threshold of life and death, connecting the worlds.  It stands at the Eastern gate of Heaven from which the sun rises each morning.  A number of different types of trees had different functions and were sacred to different Egyptian deities.

In alchemical traditions the Arbor Philsophica is another tree that is said to bear alchemical symbols representing the seven planets and the processes of alchemy. These planets correspond to the seven metals gold, silver, copper, iron, mercury, lead and tin which were all said to grow on the tree. The tree is said to grow from the ground or sometimes from the body of man. Jung speaks of a dream where he sees a tree with branches of gold, silver, steel and mixed iron which he realises corresponds to the Arbor Philsophica and symbolises growth and illumination'. 

Other examples of trees featured in mythology are the Banyan and the Peepal (Ficus religiosa) trees in Hinduism

, and the modern tradition of the Christmas Tree in Germanic mythology, the Tree of Knowledge (Kabbalah) of Judaism and Christianity, and the Bodhi Tree in Buddhism.

 In folk religion and folklore, trees are often said to be the homes of tree spirits. Historical Druidism as well as Germanic Paganism appear to have involved cultic practice in sacred groves, especially the oak. The term druid itself possibly derives from the Celtic word for oak.

Tree Spirits 

To the ancient Greeks and Romans, trees were thought to be inhabited by female spirits called Dryad (in

(oak Tree)

oak trees) or Meliae (in ash trees).

(ash trees)

In Greek drys signifies 'Oak' from an Indo-European root *derew(o)- 'tree' or 'wood'. In Scottish folklore a friendly tree spirit, called the Ghillie Dhu, helps lost children find their way home. 

Japan is home to a rich tradition encompassing various tree spirits, generally called Kodama. Traditionally, foresters made offerings to the Kodama before cutting a tree down.

    

The Jasmine

By Liliana Usvat
Blog 230-365

The jasmine shrubs and vines (lianas) belong to the Jasminum genus and feature beautiful white, yellow or pink flowers that give off a heady aroma.

They are filed in the Oleaceae (Olive) family, where you will find other plants like olive (Olea europaea), border forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia), common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) and fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus). 

Height: If treated as a vine, the angelwing jasmine can be 15-20' or more long. If used as a shrub, it's usually pruned to be 2-4' tall.

In Syria, jasmine is the symbolic flower of Damascus, which is called the City of Jasmine. In Thailand, jasmine flowers are used as a symbol for motherhood.

Madurai, a city in Tamil Nadu is famous for its Jasmine production. In the western and southern states of India, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, jasmine is cultivated in private homes.

 These flowers are used in regular worship and for hair ornaments. Jasmine is also cultivated commercially, for both the domestic and industrial uses such as the perfume industry.

 It is used in rituals like marriages, religious ceremonies and festivals. In the Chandan Yatra of lord Jagannath, the deity is bathed with water flavored in sandalwood paste and jasmine.