It's as easy to romanticize the past as it is to demonize it; instead, let's learn from it. More than living simply, more than living 'green', thrifty grandmas knew the importance of the 'economics' in Home Economics. The history of home ec, lessons in thrift, practical tips and ideas from the past focused on sustainability for families and out planet. Companion to http://www.thingsyourgrandmotherknew.com/
When I worked in a day treatmentAt Holiday Heights Elementary School near Fort Worth, Texas, what was once a patch of Bermuda grass has become a hub for active learning. Students regularly head to the school garden to learn about p
When I worked in a day treatment setting, we tended a small flower garden. I was shocked when one of the high schoolers was totally fascinated with a worm! Real life experiences are so removed from some of our kids lives'. How have you taught social skills using "real life" experiences?
"The future of the nations will depend on the manner of how they feed themselves, wrote the French epicurean Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin in 1826. Almost 200 years later, how nations feed themselves has gotten a lot more complicated. That’s particularly true in the US, where food insecurity coexists with an obesity crisis, where fast food is everywhere and farmer’s markets are spreading, where foodies have never had more power and McDonald’s has never had more locations, and where the possibility of a barbecue-based civil war is always near. So here are 40 maps, charts, and graphs that show where our food comes from and how we eat it, with some drinking thrown in for good measure."
With more people than ever living in cities and less people than ever working on farms, the future of our food is in question. The riskiness, labor, low gain, and negative stereotypes of farmers combined with the fear of food conglomerates has led to a depletion of smaller scale farmers. Brain drain in rural farming areas is depleting the number of younger people willing to work in agriculture. With most of our food production being controlled and overseen by large corporations, people are now questioning the quality of our foods. Recently, the local food movement is educating people on the importance of food produced with integrity and supporting local businesses.
Occasionally these lists that say something like "40 maps that..." end up being an odd assortment of trivia that is interesting but not very instructive. Not so with this list that has carefully curated these maps and graphs in a sequential order that will enrich students' understanding of food production and consumption in the United States. Additionally, here are some maps and chart to understand agriculture and food in Canada.
"About 10,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers, aided by rudimentary agriculture, moved to semi-permanent villages and never looked back. With further developments came food surpluses, leading to commerce, specialization and, many years later with the Industrial Revolution, the modern city. Vance Kite plots our urban past and how we can expect future cities to adapt to our growing populations."
Over the past decade, bee populations have been dropping, partly as a result of a disease called colony collapse disorder. This is very bad news for humans, because bees are a crucial part of the reproductive cycle of many of our favorite foods, including apples, onions, avocados, and more. This incredible data visualization shows what you'd lose if the world lost bees.
Full of information about small green roofs, their construction and biodiversity and plants, over half is devoted to 40 case studies. The book is full of inspiring and beautiful images of a wide variety of green roofs on all manner of buildings and structures. Written for homeowners, architects, landscape architects or ecologists, it’s a valuable resource on a practical level that serves as an excellent companion to the many other green roof books on the market, while at the same time offering a completely unique approach to the way green roofs have been previously written about.
I first heard about rain harvesting in 2008 when my home town of Cedar Rapids, Iowa was flooded. Several of the city's water pumps were destroyed and we were asked not to use the city water. Luckily, we were getting plenty of rain in those days so we...
Early in May, we sold a bunch (but not all) of our old dairy cream separator funnels or cones in our Etsy shop to a lady in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. The lady was Kat, called "Kat in the Hat" ...
The Daily Mail has a fascinating feature on David Latimer and his soon to be 54-year-old bottle garden that he started on… (This Garden In A Bottle Has Been Thriving Since 1960: Sealed in its own ecosystem and watered just once in 53 years
For over a decade, a disease called colony collapse disorder has been destroying bee populations worldwide . Because bees pollinate many of our staple crops, their deaths threaten our food supplies.
Populations of large wildlife are declining around the world, while zoonotic diseases (those transmitted from animals to humans) are on the rise. A team of Smithsonian scientists and colleagues have discovered a possible link between the two.
As a child I remember Mrs. Thompson, my first grade teacher, gently putting her hand over mine; guiding me in forming the letters. We wrote on green lined paper with dotted lines down the middle. After we had practiced for a whole week we were allowed to u...
We find the below infographic to be very interesting, as it highlights facts about solar energy which we did not know. From Google to Space Missions and from flooring to a roadway, check out the interesting facts and amaze your friends with your knowledge.
Do you find yourself wondering around the kitchen and Pantry looking for everything you need to cook a complete meal for your family. I have been working on a list of ingredients that should be in your kitchen, freezer and refrigerator. These are the items...
Square foot gardening is a logical way to get the most vegetables from a small raised garden bed. It's perfect for small spaces and can even work if all you have for a yard is a concrete patio. Mel Bartholomew is the mastermind that developed this ing...
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When I worked in a day treatment setting, we tended a small flower garden. I was shocked when one of the high schoolers was totally fascinated with a worm! Real life experiences are so removed from some of our kids lives'. How have you taught social skills using "real life" experiences?