Blair
If you want an easy way to help your local pollinators, then consider building a water station! Many plants and crops rely on pollinators, so the more you attract and help, the healthier your garden will be (for example: "“Bee pollination improves crop quality, shelf life and commercial value.”)
For a basic one, you will need:
- Tray or dish
- Rocks
- Water
The tray or dish is to hold everything, and the rocks are to give the pollinators something safe to land on. Without the rocks, you will likely end up with drowned bees. Due to evaporation, you may have to fill the dish once or more a day.
HOWEVER, although that is the most common method, there is another one that I prefer that was taught to me by local beekeepers. They use a refilling dog bowl instead of a dish, so it doesn't have to be filled as often.
While this was advice from beekeepers, the watering stations are not limited to honeybees; you may see all sorts of native pollinators visiting.
If you can't buy a refilling bowl, here is a tutorial on how to DIY one.
No matter what you choose, though, the pollinators will appreciate it! I do suggest putting the water in shade to limit possible algae growth.
"The rock powder, usually basalt, is often scavenged from local mines or quarries, where it exists as a waste by-product. ERW companies collect the rock powder, sometimes milling it further to reduce the grain size. Then they truck it to farms, where it is used in place of ag lime.
Studies show that volcanic rock dust can raise the pH of overworked soils, improving productivity." Modern Farmer
Have you heard of The Great Dust Bowl? It was a series of dust storms in the USA that were so intense, they killed crops, livestock, and people during the the great depression.
The situation was amplified by a drought, but the dust was also human caused.
“Following years of overcultivation and generally poor land management in the 1920s, the region—which receives an average rainfall of less than 20 inches (500 mm) in a typical year—suffered a severe drought in the early 1930s that lasted several years. The region’s exposed topsoil, robbed of the anchoring water-retaining roots of its native grasses, was carried off by heavy spring winds. ” Britannica
This dust storm was so thick that it blocked the sun.
“Dear Mr. Roosevelt, Darkness came when it hit us. Picture taken from water tower one hundred feet high. Yours Truly, Chas. P. Williams." An unknown author writes to Roosevelt
Under the hands of desperate farmers, grasslands turned to landscapes so lifeless and dangerous, that many people abandoned their dreams and left.
One of the practices that amplified this disaster (that is a current farming practice to this day) is rototilling. During this, you flip the soil over, which can make planting easier. This comes with many problems, including:
- Destroying the soil microbiome. Healthy soil means healthy crops.
- More weeds. As you flip your soil you are allowing dormant seeds a chance to thrive
- Soil Compaction: As the soil gets more compact, it becomes harder for roots to work through it.
- Washing or blowing away top soil. Top soil is where the heathiest soil is, and it can be washed away if left uncovered
- Drying the soil. By leaving the soil exposed you are letting the sun bake out any moisture
Fixes:
- Crop rotation. This is a pre-medieval technique where you rotate what crops you grow in what soil. This can add nutrients to the soil, avoid nutrient depletion, reduce diseases, and reduce pests.
- Cover Crops. Never leave your soil bare. Cover crops can save your soil.
- Water Catchments. These slow down the movement of water, encouraging the soil absorbing it. Examples: bunds or swales.
- Alternative farming. Such as aquaponics or hydroponics.
- Food forests. Instead of rows of monoculture, food forest combine several different types of plants in a way that mimics a forest.
- Reducing food waste. To take pressure off food production. In Canada alone, $31 billion dollars worth of food waste is thrown out a year.
- Mulch. Putting mulch down can protect your soil while also keeping down weeds.
- Planting trees and bushes. Even if it is just on the outside perimeter of your crops, trees and bushes can help hold soil in place, reduce wind, and improve the general health of the area.
More Info:
Did you know that you can grow your own bath sponges?
"Luffa is a genus of tropical and subtropical vines in the pumpkin, squash and gourd family.” Wikipedia
Luffa plants are from southeast Asia, and can be grown in places with a long warm summer. The fruit can take a long time to grow and toughen it’s inner fibers (about 150-200 days), but after that time, they are ready to become sponges.
Explaining it simply, you peel the skin, wash the insides, hang them to dry, then you are done.
“Getting all the seeds out can be a challenge, but the drier the sponges are, the easier the seeds will fall out. Save the best ones for next year. You can also cut open the sponges in any shape you want to remove seeds or make a loofah fiber mat.” luffa.info
When done, you can use the sponges for bathing, washing dishes, and even as industrial filters.
More Info:
Edit: people were getting confused about which quote was for what, so I added dividers and titles to separate it all better. Sorry for the confusion.
Kinetic Tiles
Many years ago now, I was watching an NHK (a Japanese broadcaster) program about how kinetic energy was going to be utilized in the busiest stations in Japan. The theory was simple; as people walk over a mat, their steps would produce electricity to help power the station. In any other station it might not work, but in a station that typically has 1.57 million passengers per day, that is a lot of people power.
Since then, there have been many companies attempting to utilize kinetic energy, with the biggest company likely being "Pavegen." They have their system in certain city sidewalks, airports, and even under sports turfs.
"The downward force drives an energy-storing flywheel inside the tile, which spins to convert kinetic energy into electrical energy through electromagnetic induction. It’s like a generator — only instead of spinning a turbine with wind, water, or coal, it’s spinning a flywheel with footsteps." Grist
More Info On Kinetic Pavement:
Kinetic Shoes
If tiles are not unique enough for you, that same tech can be used in shoes.
"The researchers say that this method can produce a lot of watts relative to the surface area of the generator, with the proof-of-concept device generating around 10 watts per square meter in early experiments. They claim that theoretical estimates indicate up to 10 kW might be possible." NewsAtlas
More Info On Kinetic Shoes:
More work needs to be done to make kinetic energy more efficient, but there is just something fascinating to me about power generation that can fit seamlessly into our world without us noticing.
To ensure his plans were based on historic originals, Gareth purchased over 1,700 survey drawings of the Bourn Windmill in Cambridgeshire, approximated the measurements, and then reconstructed a quarter-size copy in his garden.
Gareth relied on his skills and education as a classical boat builder at the Falmouth Marine School, which also serves him at his day job repairing furniture. The windmill is built mainly of green oak and can rotate to be directed at the wind. He sewed the sails himself from a curtain he bought in a thrift store.
The mill’s generator produces 100 amps at 12 volts when spinning at its optimum speed.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/man-builds-an-electricity-generating-windmill-in-his-own-garden/
“How do you cool a building without air conditioning? Using an approach called biomimicry, see how architect Mick Pearce harnessed the ingenuity of termites to design a natural cooling system for the largest commercial building in Zimbabwe.”
Using the technology inspired by a termite mound, The Eastgate Centre in central Harare, Zimbabwe uses up to 35% less energy than other buildings.
Have you ever heard the saying “it takes a village to raise a child?” Well, where I live, most people do not know the name of their next door neighbor.
This isolation can cause loneliness, but it is more than that. Having a community is helping people do jobs they can’t, it's lending tools, it's teaching someone something their parents never taught them, and more.
Luckily, there is a solution that is becoming common in both co-housing and eco-villages around the world. They utilize common areas or community centers, as well as outdoor spaces(such as courtyards or rooftop gardens). While you still have your private home with your own kitchen, you also have these spaces which are open to everyone.
Here are some ideas you might see in these common spaces:
- Indoor play area. In some, the retired senior citizens who like to keep busy volunteer to watch children in these areas while parents are at work.
- Dining room big enough to fit every person who lives there and guests.
- Community Kitchen. People take turns cooking, or they have occasional dinners together.
- Private office spaces (for work-from-home workers who still want to be around people).
- Tiny libraries.
- Outdoor play area.
- Outdoor sitting spaces.
- Community gardens and/or a greenhouse.
More Ideas:
- Window awnings which utilize passive solar, so the sun is blocked in the summer but not the winter
- A central courtyard for passive cooling. Examples: Skywells (China), Tsubo-niwa (Japan). Thevenin @beehaw.org adds that a retractable cover of some kind might be important to protect from wind pressure.
- Better insulation for better temperature control, and sound proofing.
- Bird-safe windows
- Rainwater collection for watering plants (or, the more expensive option: for piping into toilets)
- White roofs for cooling in hot climates, dark roofs for warming in cold climates
Recommended Video:
What else would improve apartment buildings?
This one isn't for balconies, but it is for apartments, so I hope it makes sense that I am posting this here.
With window hydroponics, you take:
- used water bottles
- a pump kit (with tubing and joints)
- a bucket of water
- growing substrate
- a hanging anchor kit
- silicone steel tube
- chain (for hanging)
- tools (electric drill, plier, hole punch)
... and convert them into a tiny food garden that hangs by your window. This gives food options for those who live in apartment’s that might not have had the choice before.
You'll of course need plants that do not get too big (such as dwarf tomato plants instead of full-sized). If your window does not get enough sunlight, you may also have to supplement that with grow lights and a plug timer.
You do not need to buy an expensive kit. There are DIY sources everywhere, including this video explaining to use a pool noodle to create a growing substrate(an option to save an old pool noodle from the trash) instead of rockwool or pebbles.
I have not tried this myself, but thought I would share it in case it helps someone.
More Info:
Prior to when electricity became common place, people were looking for other ways to make life easier. One of these inventions, the solar water heater, came in 1760, and boomed with popularity in the 1900’s for warm areas.
“In 1891, Clarence Kemp released the first ‘Climax’ solar water heater in Baltimore. He placed several water-filled iron elliptical tubes inside the box in series with cold water entering one side and warm water exiting from the other end. Multiple tubes avoided warm and cold-water being in close proximity, thus avoiding adverse heat exchanges.” PassiveHousePlus
These early models did have faults (such as heat lost, and poor resistance to frost, but continued to improve and build with popularity over time.
Eventually, for a complex number of reasons, solar water heaters disappeared and gas and electric took the show.
Today, this tech is making a comeback, though with modern touches.
Videos with More Info:
