Happy Friday

Last week we gathered to watch Botany of Desire, which is based on a book by the same name by Michael Pollan. It goes through four plants that have had a great impact on the world. Explore more here. A couple quotes I found especially powerful are as follows:

"The order we impose on nature is never more than temporary or illusory. In the end the logic of nature will win out over the logic of capitalism, the logic of the factory, the logic of efficiency. It's always been so, and it always will be so. Nature is stronger than any of our designs, and nature resists our control."

"Everything we do, what we choose to eat, what flowers we choose to put on our tables, what drugs we choose to take, these are evolutionary votes we are casting everyday, in many, many different ways."

So let's adopt an outlook where the world of plants and animals, and the world of people (who sometimes forget we are animals) are not mutually exclusive. In fact, without plants, we would have very little time left on this big ol' globe. It's about that time of year to start the early seeds, like onions. Seed packets have already found their way to Greentree, the local co-op. Get planting!

Michigan Student Sustainability Coalition Summit

Roughly 200 students from all around Michigan met here at Central Michigan University this weekend in solidarity. Workshops and service learning projects filled up Saturday, with topics ranging from fighting destruction by fracking and tar sands, to divestment from fossil fuels. Networking opportunities abounded. Thanks to the creativity of those who joined our hands-on project, Campus Grow will have some new art for the Children's Garden.

We were able to send some succulents to new homes. Appreciative students were able to enjoy transplanting whole plants as well as growing new plants via leaves. For planters, we used recycled egg cartons, water bottles, soy milk jugs, and glass jars decorated in paint and fabric.

One great thing about these plants is their ability to grow from their bits and pieces. The undifferentiated cells at the base of the leaves, when plucked from the main plant and pushed slightly into moist soil, eventually grow roots, and then shoots. Sometimes this process takes months, and sometimes the leaves don't survive, but I always feel joy when everything works out.