Although we had a snowstorm this week, I could still do some essential work. I did finalize the location where I am piloting the garden. The size of this space is about 16ftx12ft=192 square feet. The center bushes are the wild blackberry. It’s WILD. 🙂 the bushes seem to be everywhere. I never did anything…
Toward land-sharing week 1: Jan 24-Jan 30, 2022
I spent the first half of the week researching the Permaculture framework and identifying what I could see for my wildlife-inclusive garden. The cycles of the Permaculture are as follow One crucial thing to remember is that Permaculture uses cycle structure instead of linear. Under this cycle structure, we can continue to reflect, modify, and…
Types of birds in my backyard (will continue to update as new birds are noticed)
Types of birds at the bird feeder (this week, I will continue to update as I see new birds) A pair of Northern cardinals. The male has the iconic red body and the female is more dark brownish-red. But she is still a beauty! Suburban neighborhood frequent visitors! They are everywhere in our neighborhood!…
Process Journal
This process journal is my attempt to apply the Permaculture Design Process with the Action Research Process from my learning at the Critical and Creative Thinking Graduate Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston (CCT) program. I am integrating these two processes to design a synthesized practical framework to transform my underused backyard into a…
Being a thoughtful observer Part. 2
Do you ever wonder, “What are wasps good for?” Many of us who enjoy backyard BBQ would tell you: They are good for NOTHING! They RUIN our prefect BBQ!!!! Before you bring out the can of wasps spray, let us take a quick look at what are these evil pests are good for? I invite…
Building a new mindset: Rethinking our human-local wildlife relations
I have been reflecting on some of my neighbors’ current “must get rid of pests” attitudes toward the local wildlife in my neighborhood. While many of my fellow neighbors claim to enjoy the natural scenery in our community, many of them complain about the appearance of wildlife on their properties. This leads to some thought-provoking…
Being a thoughtful observer Part. 1
Gardening is hard labor. Many new gardeners may have this thought. It can be true if we look at our yard and only think about what we need to clean up, from sticks to rocks to weeds. There are so many things that we need to do. To make it worse, all of these are…
Gardening with Wildlife: Turning backyard into local wildlife habitat
Most of our backyard wildlife can be annoying! Aren’t they pests? Thus, why do we want to protect them? Moreover, why can’t we send them back to their natural habitats in the forest? There are many reasons to help our local wildlife. From simply having the opportunity to enjoy them right in our backyard to…