CHANGE OF DATE to Tuesday, May 6
Educational outreach and book publicity continue – tune in this Friday, May 2 at 9am on station 105.7 Radio Cultural, Cancun
Why organic? Basically, why not? Why pay money for artificial fertilizers and pest controls when nature provides more effective ways to do the same thing? Age-old methods are winning back farmers and gardeners because they cost less and they do more! As insects become resistant to pesticides, soils get depleted by petroleum-based fertilizers, and people realize we are poisoning our world and ourselves, healthy alternative growing strategies are proving their time-honored effectiveness. Techniques such as rotating crops and composting to keep soil nutrients in balance, interplanting flowers with vegetables to control insects, mulching and planting natural ground covers to control weeds – these are smart ways for all of us to grow healthy, and minimize pollution of our environment and ourselves.
For more info check out:
http://www.ers.usda.gov
http://www.wasatchgardens.org
http://organicschoolproject.org/grow/garden-resources.htm
Tomorrow is EARTH DAY!! We will be celebrating by presenting workshops for local kids about the ecosystems of the Mexican Caribbean, including the amazing biodiversity of the MesoAmerican reef, and their importance to the safety, health and sustainability of the region – AND WRITING AND PERFORMING SONGS ABOUT IT!
What are you up to? Respond to this post in a comment and let us know!
Selling seashells by the seashore is actually not such a great idea. Why? because 1) often the shells being sold were taken with live animals inside, 2) empty shells are important future homes for animals like hermit crabs; 3) some shells are from endangered species, 4) the usual “if you take it, it wont be there for the next person to see…,” 5) in some places it is illegal, 6) the remains of shells and corals and other organisms disintegrate to form the fine sand that forms beaches, and 7) selling them encourages the idea of touching and taking from the environment.
An alternative is making crafts from trash – bags from plastic labels, purses out of can flippy things – basically, reusing whatever is available. The materials are free, instead of harming the environment you are helping it, and – tourists will be happy to support a sustainable practice over a damaging one, and probably pay more for the item.
Programs to teach craft-making with trash are already being conducted, such as by the group Amigos de Isla Contoy.
http://www.islacontoy.org/
This is a concrete layer cake from Sac Bajo (Isla Mujeres), providing a structure on which corals can grow, and fish can find refuge.
