What A Bee Knows: Exploring the Thoughts, Memories and Personalities of Bees by Stephen Buchmann

 

  Bees remember and recognize human faces. I wrote about this on a post last year, and I mentioned some facts about the fascinating brain of a bee.

 The brain of a bee is about the size of a poppy seed, but it contains almost one million neurons.  I was thrilled to discover Stephen Buchmann’s book, which was published by Island Press this year, so I borrowed it from the library as soon as I learned about it.

 Buchmann is a pollination ecologist who specializes in researching bees. His book takes us on an adventure to explore their sensations, minds and experiences. His goal is to spark wonder and curiosity for bees, and to dispel fears. 

 Buchmann describes the structure of a bee brain and the ways it functions. I was astonished to learn that brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) that exist in our own brains and influence our behaviors also exist in bees. For example, serotonin and dopamine are also found in bees. 

 What a Bee Knows reveals details about the intriguing lives of different species of bees. We learn about their behaviors, moods, nutrition and special abilities. Most bees feed on pollen and nectar.

 You may have heard about the “bugs” living in our gut, and how these bugs make up the composition of our microbiome. Our microbiome is linked to our health and general wellbeing. You will be surprised to learn that bees also have a gut microbiome. Researchers are actively studying their microbiome and how this amazing assemblage of bacteria, fungi and viruses is connected to their health. For example, Buchmann and his colleagues have found Lactobacillus in the gut of honey bees.

 Some of the components of the bees’ microbiome transfer from the pollen of flowers when the bees visit the flowers, and some of the protein from the microbes in the pollen are part of the nutrition of the larvae of the bees.

 Pesticides and herbicides in the environment cause a disruption of the microbiome of bees, and this has the potential to compromise their health. Currently, bees are in serious decline and there are many reasons for this.

  Climate change is an important one. The massive amounts of carbon dioxide spewed by burning fossil fuels continues to worsen climate change. Everybody is impacted by climate change. Bees are not an exception. Pesticides are fossil fuel- based, so they belong to the same issue that deserves our attention and understanding.

 Let’s share some figures from Buchmann's book to emphasize the need to protect bees:

"About 80 percent of the world’s 369,000 species of flowering plants depend upon insect pollination for fruit and seed set. More than 80 percent of the leading 115 major crop species worldwide depend on or at least partially benefit from floral visitation by animal pollinators. Pollination by animals, with bees predominating, contributes to an estimated 35 percent of global total crop production. Globally, the annual value of insect pollination of crop plants is estimated to be around 253 billion US dollars".

 Bee pollination improves both the quality and quantity of the crops. Food, fiber and beverage production depend on bees. Bees even ameliorate shelf life and commercial values. "We need bees more than they need us". 

  It is time to push human arrogance aside and do what it takes to support them. The good news is that we can help bees to survive and thrive by making mindful choices:

 

Plant wildflowers. If you don’t have a yard, use your window sill. Everything helps. Avoid buying hybrid flowers because those plants are selected to please humans, not pollinators, so they may have little nectar or pollen. Choose plants that are adapted to the local soil and climatic conditions. Native plants will entice a vast array of pollinators and will enliven your garden in delightful ways.

 Avoid using insecticides. Neonicotinoids, for example, are responsible for decimating bees and other pollinators and they still continue to be on sale.

 You can learn more about this here:

 https://wisconsinpollinators.com/Articles/Neonicotinoids.aspx

Roundup contains glyphosate, which affects the gut microbiota of honey bees. Other ingredients in Roundup are also toxic.

Avoid using lawn chemicals. Lawn care products contain hidden insecticides and herbicides. Besides, you risk harming yourself, your family and your pets. Enjoy the dandelions and clover. Remember that clover enriches the soil.

Avoid herbicides; they lower the number of blooms. Roadside weed blooms are food sources for various pollinators. Even though fungicides used on fruit trees don’t kill bees directly, they contaminate the food used for the bee larvae. This contamination affects the gut microbiome, whose integrity they need to stay healthy. 

Avoid mulching flower beds or paths. Thick-chipped bark mulches in flower beds harms bees. Around four thousand species of native bees in the United States are ground nesting. They need bare ground to make their nests.

Dead trees or limbs provide a habitat for leafcutter bees, mason bees, and other wildlife. Don’t remove them. 

There are projects you can join to support bees as a citizen scientist. You can also visit sites that post relevant information about bees:

https://www.beesinyourbackyard.com

  It goes without saying that everything we can do to address climate change is crucial  to protect bees as well. 

 Understanding the complexity of their brains and behaviors is an important aspect of the book. However, when the author compared the bee brain to the human brain he stated that human beings are born with a fixed number of neurons, and that this number does not change after birth. This has been debunked by research. Neurogenesis has also been documented in human brains, and it is also relevant to emphasize the concept of neuroplasticity. 

 Neuroplasticity is the process through which new connections and pathways develop in the brain, and brain stimulation plays an important role in boosting neuroplasticity. Doing activities that stimulate the brain, such as reading, learning new skills and other activities can help to foster neuroplasticity. The good news is that keeping a healthy lifestyle with adequate nutrition, sleep hygiene, exercise and meditation helps to support the neuroplasticity of the brain. The bottom line is that neuroplasticity happens in bees as well as in human beings.

  I found this amazing interview to Dr. Julia Basso. She is a neuroscientist, yoga instructor and dancer who researches the effects of yoga and dance on the brain. Last but not least, if you want to keep your brain healthy, avoid smoking, alcohol and drugs as part of your supportive plan.

 I never understood the fear of bees. I work alongside them without any kind of problem. If we treat bees with respect and consideration, they have no reason to attack us, so it is time to make choices that support their survival. We can all do our part to protect them. In doing so, we are supporting our own wellbeing as well as the present and future of all life in this beautiful planet.

 

References related to this post:

https://wisconsinpollinators.com/Articles/Neonicotinoids.aspx

 https://phys.org/news/2023-05-evolution-honey-bee-brains.html

https://beyondpesticides.org

 

The Impossibility of Love by Kate Wilson

 

  Kate Wilson sculpted a marriage between her poetry and Vincent Van Gogh’s artworks, evoking emotions and messages that capture the essence of his oeuvre.

  Each poem harmonizes with one specific painting. I read the book twice, because the second time I searched for each work of art. Traveling through time and space I dived into the soul of Van Gogh, revisiting the sense of communion he experienced with whatever or whoever inspired him to draw and paint.

   Kate Wilson’s poetry contemplates Vincent’s artworks with tenderness; it is rich in imagery, devoid of cliches, engaging.

 One of the saddest poems is about a woman called Sien. It relates to the drawing entitled “Sorrow”.  It is about the woman he loved, whose life was ruined by an addiction to alcohol. I’m only sharing a fragment of this delicate poem:

“She is sorrow

in pencil and parchment,

discolored over time.

 

I cannot see her face,

but I can hear her

shake and shudder

with the suddenness

of motherhood.”

 

  I believe, however, that the title of the collection, “The Impossibility of Love”, does not represent Vincent Van Gogh as a person and an artist. Vincent Van Gogh was love. He was inspired by love, and love was the foundation of his artworks and letters. Every medium he applied became an expression of it.

  Love was the light of inspiration that guided him through his creative journey.

  Kate Wilson’s poetry collection awakens all the senses and pulls at the reader’s heartstrings; she makes this possible through her artistry and emotional connection with Van Gogh. Her poetical world seems to paint at times her own platonic feelings for the artist.

The Impossibility of Love was published by Bosporus press.

I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A Life of Service by Peter Coppelman

 

 “When my spirit is broken

I retreat to my spirit home,

The wilderness…”

Peter Coppelman

   An attorney turned into a poet--Peter Coppelman-- shares life experiences with candor and humor. It takes courage to expose one’s intimate thoughts and vulnerability. Coppelman’s poetry helped to save his life, building a path of resilience and gratitude.

 “Each day that I’m alive I have a choice:

To wallow in despair or to rejoice…”

  Coppelman devoted his legal career “to public interest work, trying to help make the world a better, more just, more peaceful place.” At the end of the book there is information about his legacy. The essence of his career was inspired by Murphy Bell (1930-2017), an attorney who worked to end segregation in school districts around Louisiana. 

  Some of Peter Coppelman's main accomplishments have to do with the conservation of public spaces that were endangered; he created new National Monuments that were threatened under the Trump administration; he also worked to support the rights of disabled people in California (You can learn more details about his achievements from A Life of Service).

   There comes a stage in life when one is inclined to reflect on the past and examine experiences from new perspectives, dredging up wisdom and offering inspiration for new generations of people. His poetical world sifts memories of childhood, youth and adulthood through a creative lens. Sometimes he quotes poets like Walt Whitman and Mary Oliver, merging their words with his own verses. This happens, for example, in his poem “I contain multitudes”.

 “So many personas, the list goes on,

When writing a poem I can choose one to don.

Worrier, sinner, athlete, musician.

The sky’s the limit of what my life includes.

I contain multitudes.”

 

  The poetry collection also reveals the ways the recent pandemic impacted his life and the lives of others, and how the power of his imagination had the potential to create a refuge in times of uncertainty.

  My favorite poems from this collection are “Dances with the Whales”, “Journaling” and “Baby Gordy”. 

  The only poem I disliked was the one about bullfighting. I found this poem to be at odds with the rest of his collection, and it contradicts his vision. I think that the cheering of a bullfighter indicates how the normalization of violence and cruelty influences societies, and this normalization blinds people to the tragic consequences of such attitudes and actions. Rules and regulations are not enough to work against acts of violence. A change of mindset is also required. The fact that he was not disgusted by the bullfighter's behavior is a clear indicator of what I am trying to convey through my words.

  Torturing and killing animals for amusement is unethical and disgusting.

  I now recall Mahatma Gandhi’s words: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

  Bullfighting is an act of cruelty and it is not an acceptable “cultural tradition”. Even though 76 percent of citizens in Spain oppose it, it is still legal there. You can learn more about this issue by checking the site of the Humane Society International.

https://www.hsi.org/issues/cruelty-entertainment/

 

https://www.hsi.org/news-resources/bullfighting_how_help/

 

 I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

If you enjoyed this post, you can check my writing on the following books:

Inside Animals Hearts and Minds by Belinda Recio

 

Unlikely Friendships by Jennifer Holland

 

The Animals Agenda: Freedom, Compassion and Coexistence in the human age by Jessica Pierce and Marc Bekoff

Six Hours: Running for my Life in the Grand Canyon by Rick Mater

 

 

 At age 64 Rick Mater’s goal was to run the Grand Canyon in less than six hours. His plan was to run from the top to the bottom and back: a 17-mile round trip.  The challenge had a caveat: Rick had suffered a massive heart attack five years earlier, and he’d had four stents placed in his heart.

  Marathon runners are at greater risk for cardiac events.  In his specific case the risk was even greater. His running habit had become a matter of medical controversy. Despite the warnings, Rick managed to resume his running routine while coping with the uncertainty of his medical condition.

  Rick Mater describes distance running as something liberating, exhilarating and fun. When he joined the Boy Scouts as a child, he did not feel at ease in the system imposed on him. His free spirit did not welcome the rigidity of such an environment:

“I’d been a Boy Scout once, when I was ten years old, only to find myself at odds with the rules and the structure, the quasi-military nature of it: uniforms, earning achievements, badges, learning the different types of rope knots…”

 He preferred to explore nature by himself: “The entire time I wished I could go off by myself to a lake that was nearby and just enjoy spotting sunbathing turtles. Maybe find some frogs and tadpoles.”

 The description of the geology of the Grand Canyon can be considered a metaphor of his own unpredictable situation when he made the decision to pursue his goal to run the Grand Canyon:

 “The Great Unconformity was off-kilter, full of faults, layers at sharp angles, and disorganized sections of hardened primal sediment.” His narrative explores the history of the Grand Canyon, incorporating Native American history, geology, and environmental concerns. It kindled my interest to learn more about the environmental challenges of the region.

 I did not know that so many people had lost their lives hiking and running in the Grand Canyon. Rick takes the time to share their heartbreaking stories.

   The author narrates the challenges of being a devoted runner while weaving into his memoir chapters about his past life: the crises of his youth, when he considered the possibility of ending his life; the laborious battle to become a parent after he married Kathy; the loss of their first baby (Josh) and the birth of their daughters; the first time he was diagnosed with coronary artery disease and the vulnerability he experienced when he was hospitalized for the first procedure (the angioplasty):

 “I lay on my own gurney, clad in a pale hospital gown, wearing only my underwear underneath, stripped of my Blackberry, cellphone, wallet, keys—all taken away in a bag of personal possessions along with my clothes and shoes. Kathy stood nearby, protective, running interference for me with the medical staff.”

  

 The end of the book has its own surprises. I avoid spoilers, so I will simply finish this post by pointing out that Six Hours: Running for My Life in the Grand Canyon is a memoir with the potential to inspire you to do whatever makes your heart sing, and to embrace your passions with joy and gratitude. It is about focusing on the juice—the life force-- that makes everything flow. Amid the uncertainty we may have to contend with, we can still claim our space to celebrate what our life force has to offer.

 Enjoy this reading adventure and ask yourself: what would you do if you knew you had six months left to live?

  Rick Mater’s memoir will lead you toward that question at some point, so be prepared… would you do anything different?

 

Richard Lewis Mater is a longtime runner and Emmy-nominated TV executive living in Los Angeles. He was born in Pinner, England, and grew up in California, New Jersey, and Munich, Germany. He has run the Grand Canyon twice as a cardiac patient. You can learn more about his books by visiting his site.

I received a copy of his book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

 If you enjoyed this post, feel free to check my writing on the following books as well:

Running for Good, by Fiona Oakes

Chase that Smile, by Harold Cabrera

The Well-Lived Life by Gladys McGarey, MD

 

“Choosing love in the face of great fear is, in fact, a miracle all on its own. Yet sometimes it creates other types of miracles, too.”

“I like thinking of us as puzzle pieces because it gives us each space to be unique… Seeing things this way helps us understand that each of us is essential…”

 Dr. Gladys Taylor McGarey is 102 years old and she knows that healing comes from within, so she connects us to the parts of ourselves that have the power to heal what needs to be healed.

 The Well-Lived Life meets you where you are in your life journey.

 Let me start by saying that The Well-Lived life is not a self-help book. Yet every human being on earth will benefit from her inspiration and wisdom. Dr. Gladys shares her unique conversations with patients, personal experiences and reflections. When she was a child, her parents provided medical care to the people living on the fringes of society in Northern India. Her parents tended to those with leprosy; they reached out to the so-called “untouchables” in India.

 Dr. Gladys inspires us to live life to its fullest potential. Her intelligence and sense of humor are irresistible. She reminds us to keep the juice flowing and to know that change is part of that flow. Now you may wonder what it means to keep the juice flowing… Read the book and find out, because this is one of the crucial aspects of The Well-Lived Life.

 To find the juice and let it flow is the core of a well-lived life, and when we align that flow with our life purpose, synchronicities abound. We truly dance in tandem with the universe.

The Well-Lived life is like the soul of a special friend; there are no words to explain how deeply you connect with such a friend; I will be keeping it handy in case I need reassurance in the future. I will give it as a gift to my loved ones.

The Well-Lived life is a dance, a song, a hug, a smile. It is the light of our consciousness awakening us to our self-realization. It is the voice of our inner wisdom keeping us balanced and resilient amid life challenges.

  Life is dynamic. It flows and heals. It moves and communicates with us in various ways…

“When life is truly flowing, what gives us juice evolves alongside us. Sometimes our struggle to get juice is exactly the thing that pushes us to find it somewhere else, such as a master electrician who was devastated when disability forced him into early retirement, only to discover the restorative power of gardening, or a film producer who threw herself fully into volunteering at a local shelter during the early days of the Covid pandemic.”

 Read her book and let your juice flow with the energy of the sun on the brightest summer day.

 Dr. Gladys Taylor McGarey is not only a physician. She is a healer, and the best doctors know that healing comes from within. Dr. Gladys combines allopathic and holistic medicine, adopting an integrative approach that welcomes the patient with love and understanding. I encourage every physician to read this book.

 In her nineties Dr. Gladys was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had surgery and radiotherapy for it. She is now 102 years old and her zest for life has not faltered; the light of her inspiration has not faded. It continues to create ripples across the world.

 Dr. Gladys continues to live each moment to its fullest potential.

 What do you want? What drives your enthusiasm?

  The sparks of her wisdom are transformative in nature. She reminds you to honor your life, and to embrace each moment with an open curious mind.

You are the only one who knows your life purpose.

Nobody else does.

 

 

Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Montgomery

 

 Reading Anne of Green Gables was an exhilarating experience, so I had high expectations when I started the second book of the series: Anne of Avonlea. This one, however, made me cringe. Several parts of the book tempted me to quit the read, but I pushed myself to finish it in order to write this post.

 When I read Anne of Green Gables, I thought Anne was ahead of her times. She navigated her challenges with grace and intelligence, encouraging others to become more open-minded. In Anne of Avonlea, Anne’s behavior does not befit the character the author created in the first novel.

   Anne and Marilla felt compelled to adopt six-year-old twins because the children had lost their parents and needed somebody to raise them. I thought this was an intriguing part that would reveal how Anne would touch the twins' lives in unique ways. I was wrong.

  The twins were Dora and Davy. Dora was a kind, well-behaved girl, whereas Davy was mischievous and violent; his actions showed clearly that he lacked empathy and consideration for the feelings and emotions of others. Yet Anne and Marilla considered Davy their “favorite” and they loved Davy more than they loved Dora. To make matters worse, the author portrays this situation as something normal and acceptable.  

 Let’s take a moment to reflect on this aspect of the novel. Even though Anne of Avonlea was written about a hundred years ago, this feature of the characters and plot appears to mirror current affairs and situations in our modern societies. For example, research has shown that women in the workplace are held to different standards than men.

  We don’t even need to travel far to see how women’s lives are treated poorly by the legal system.

 Coming back to the story, it is important to point out that Anne and Marilla are not the right caretakers for Dora. She deserves better.

 Anne started working as a teacher in the small town of Avonlea, where everybody appreciated how she cared about her students. She did her best to excel at her teaching position. One day, however, her mood was not in the right state of mind and her behavior went off the rails. One of her students—a girl—had a fall. As a result of this accident, Anne told her off in a way that clearly evinces the social biases against girls.

  “If you cannot move without falling over something, you’d better remain in your seat. It is positively disgraceful for a girl of your age to be so awkward.” Anne never apologized to the girl nor showed any signs of regret about this statement.

 You may remember from Anne of Green Gables that Anne had been adopted by siblings Matthew and Marilla. Now we are told that Anne voted for the same political party that Matthew had voted for before he died because she wanted to follow his example. Anne had no interest or motivation in examining the ideas, principles and goals of the political party she was blindly willing to vote for. It was made clear that the only reason to support this political party was that Mathew had voted for it before he died.

  In this novel Anne does not appear to be the intelligent person she was in the first book. It is true that she had an insightful conversation with her colleague in which she spoke against whipping children, but, other than that, there is not much to impress the reader about Anne in Anne of Avonlea. I still like some of the peculiar characters Lucy Montgomery introduces, and the end of the story is a pleasant read, romance instilled into it without obnoxious sentimentality.

  I assign two stars out of five to Anne of Avonlea. It may still be considered a useful resource to spark discussions about current social issues that continue to assail the world today, and to analyze the subtle and not so subtle ways in which gender discrimination continues to pervade different societies. An introspective outlook can open up the opportunity to examine social judgments and prejudices and to see how these judgments shape the fate of societies and the world.

 

 Note: Three days after the publication of this blog post, new research emerged. One new research study shows that nine out of ten men and women across the world are biased against women. I provide a link:

Also, a recent study shows that one third of young men in Germany consider that violence against women is acceptable:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/11/europe/germany-violence-against-women-study-intl/index.html

One in  three female NHS surgeons in England have been sexually assaulted by a colleague within the last five years:

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-66775015

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/sep/12/two-women-describe-sexual-assaults-in-surgery

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/26/why-are-uppity-women-stil-weaponised-when-hold-on-rights-so-fragile-sonia-sodha

I am sharing here an opinion article by Kara Alaimo:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/15/opinions/gilgo-four-how-we-talk-about-victims-of-violence-alaimo/index.html

Sweet in Tooth and Claw: stories of Generosity and Cooperation in the Natural World

 

 Even though Dr. Jonathan Lundgren had won several awards and published hundreds of scientific articles, he was reprimanded and treated with hostility for expressing the findings of his research on the ways neonicotinoids harm bees and monarch butterflies. In 2016 Jonathan Lundgren left his job at the USDA and began a fifty-acre farm:  Blue Dasher Farm; he named it after his favorite dragonfly.

  Dr. Jonathan Lundgren also created the Ecdysis Foundation, a non-profit research lab located on the farm. The name of the foundation refers to the stage of metamorphosis in which insects shed their skin.

 Several farmers support his research and partner with him to create a community of farmers who are interested in sustainable practices that work to improve the quality and resilience of the soil. In doing so, they restore the integrity of ecosystems, curb climate change, improve the quality of water and air and support human health. What is not to like about that?

  Kristin Ohlson reflects on their partnership in practical terms: “All these farmers are citizen-scientists. They walk the land with the informed, fond curiosity of naturalists and know that it’s folly to approach their work as if they were baking the same cake every season using the same recipe and ingredients. They know that nature has many moving, changing, interacting living parts and that these parts need our respect. For the farmers trying to find a path to both healthy profits and healthy landscapes, Lundgren’s science can answer some of their questions about how to proceed.”

  Buz Kloot is a scientist at the University of South Carolina who used to hate his work because he felt like a coroner. “The waterways were dying and the only thing I could do was to declare the cause of death.” He did not think that anything could change because he did not think farming could change. He did not think the health of the soil in modern America’s farmlands could change until he visited a farm owned by a soil-health pioneer: Ray Styer.

  Ray Styer had not used chemical fertilizers in twenty-five years.

   You can learn more by listening to Dr. Buz Kloot here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWDO_O3JUSI

 The experiences of various farmers are featured in the chapter entitled “Agriculture that Nurtures Nature”. It is the fifth chapter of Sweet in Tooth and Claw by Kristin Ohlson.

 I appreciate how the author debunks the false assumption that more agricultural productivity is needed to satisfy the demands of a growing population. “According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, we already grow enough to feed ten billion people, which is one estimate of the world’s peak population. A third of that production goes to waste, and another third feeds automobiles and CAFOs—Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations are where animals are divorced from their natural surroundings, crammed into very small spaces, and often fed things they never evolved to eat. The massive amount of food produced by industrial agriculture rarely reaches the billion people who are hungry, not because there isn’t enough food, but because it’s too expensive or is not locally available. And the farmers who are on the industrial-production treadmill suffer, too: the problem for them is overproduction, which results in lower prices despite their hard work”.

  

 

Why has cooperation in the natural world been overlooked for so long?

  Sweet in Tooth and Claw delves into the ways cooperation in the natural world works to sustain life. Her exploration of scientific facts may help readers understand why it is necessary to learn these concepts and may inspire societies to emphasize cooperation.

 The facts she shares in her books corroborate how our lives are interdependent and connected. To illustrate the awareness on the essence of her message, I can cite beavers and focus on how their actions benefit the environment.

  Many people do not know anything about the unique role beavers play through their sophisticated work. Beavers help to minimize the effects of floods, and they even help to prevent them. Beavers improve the quality of the water, store water during droughts, and create wetland habitat for other species, enhancing biodiversity.

  

 How does our own survival depend on the integrity of life on earth? How can our choices help to make a difference? Sweet in Tooth and Claw is a comprehensive resource to answer these questions.

  If you don’t have time to read the whole book, I recommend the chapters entitled “Living in Verdant Cities” and “We are Ecosystems”.

 Perhaps you remember that 90 percent of vascular plants interact with fungi. Their exchange plays a role in their health and survival, but these interactions are often ignored. I wrote about this here.

  There are more living organisms in a teaspoon of healthy soil than human beings on earth, and understanding this web of life is a work in progress.

 

When soil is healthy it is better prepared to withstand unexpected phenomena such as droughts and floods. Sustainable practices of agriculture that are based on fostering biodiversity and enriching the health of the soil with organic matter rather than using synthetic chemicals are reasonable ecological strategies to face the challenges ahead.

   I highly recommend Kristin Ohlson’s Sweet in Tooth and Claw. Some of the topics she addresses in this book have been discussed in previous posts at My Writing Life blog.

 

Finding The Mother Tree

Entangled life

The Ecological Gardener

  You may also want to visit this site.