Unlikely environmental partners
Now that we have the
basics in place --- electricity, heat, a workable kitchen, and running
water --- we've been spending more time exploring what the area has to
offer. One jaunt further afield took us to the Ora E. Anderson Nature
Trail, a half-mile rail-to-trail that passes through an inspiring
wetland.
This area used to be
farmland not too long ago. But the railroad messed with water drainage,
then the beavers moved in and exacerbated the issue. The result is a
species-rich enclave that I'm definitely going to have to return to
during the growing season. A good place to just sit and observe for
awhile!
We also attended an
equally inspiring set of lightning talks about partnerships between the
university and the community. The most photogenic involved reclaiming
the orange streams you find throughout coal country, where old mines
leach acidic water and basically kill off all life therein.
In a fascinating method of turning trash to treasure, Rural Action has
created a treatment system that scrubs the issues from the water then
funds itself by selling the pigments to Gamblin Colors to be turned
into oil paints. Sounds pretty sustainable!
Anything inspiring
happen in your neck of the woods this week?
Or explore more posts by date or by subject.
About us: Anna Hess and Mark Hamilton spent over a decade living self-sufficiently in the mountains of Virginia before moving north to start over from scratch in the foothills of Ohio. They've experimented with permaculture, no-till gardening, trailersteading, home-based microbusinesses and much more, writing about their adventures in both blogs and books.
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"Rural Action has created a treatment system that scrubs the issues from the water then funds itself by selling the pigments to Gamblin Colors to be turned into oil paints."
That is absolutely astonishing! Although I don't use Gamblin Colors (use Windsor & Newton's Watersoluble Oils) I can see where this is a win-win situation. Will you be visiting (if you can) the factory where Rural Action does its treating of the water? To me, that's the kind of story I'd like to see some of the big media outlets show. You could also write a story, or your husband do a video, of a visit to that plant and then contact Aeon magazine (wonderful stories) and work with them to get it out.