Monday, April 16, 2012

ECO-Tours - The Skinny

When we first started, about a dozen and a half friends who understood that for us all to have a comfortable future, some sacrifice today was necessary. We were not brutal, coarse of brash, but rather compassionate, helpful and concerned for the well-being of all creatures. Humans tend to think from a species-centric place, affording the natural world no quarter in their world view. I do not want to paint with too broad a brush, but for those who are exceptions to this world view, you know who you are. Our founder, and author of most of what you read here at The Otherfish Wrap, continues to pump his own funds into these efforts. What began as a performance art project, completely funded with his own tax returns has grown into a regional force for good that has broken through all self-imposed ideas about what might constitute a success. Our efforts have crossed any limitations and boundaries we may have envisioned into a lifelong pursuit.

The past two autumns, we have been able to plant over one million trees per year. The resulting trees are favored by birds and we fully expect this to enhance the impact as birds become agents of further change over the years! The best thing about bird bombs is that each seed packet will land wrapped in a boost of fertilizer. When our first plant-ins took place, we would show up with a hundred or two small seedlings and within a few hours, they would all be planted and watered in, then we would retire to a campfire, or picnic table, share a mostly vegetarian pot luck and have time to share our insights, hopes and dreams with one another amongst the tiny trees that would one day transform the areas that we took under our wing. Today, many of those first trees we planted are towering giants, casting shade on fields, homes, paths and hillsides that had been dessicated and lifeless just twenty years ago. Some hug the banks of streams while others are shielding the brow of hills across Northeast Wisconsin.

At this point in  our development, we are seeking a more diversified and consistent donor group. We would like to begin to keep a regular office, rather than always meeting in our living room or kitchen. We want to have space to meet in larger groups increasing our effectiveness further. We are about to begin our plant-ins in the watershed of a second Great Lake, Superior and doubling our efforts will require double the time, money and human effort and further increasing our efficiency and effectiveness. Anyone interested in our work is encouraged to contact either Tony C. Saladino, our director, through facebook or donate through our link to Paypal. We always welcome in-kind donations, as well as any opportunities to share our knowledge, skills and attitudes with curious ecotourists and further our guests' understanding of sustainability issues, permaculture and efficient use (and re-use) of resources. This blog is beginning to reach a significant number of people and if each one who reads an entry would donate just a dollar, it would allow us to plant an additional tree each and every day! To put this in perspective, an acre of temperate forest, in climax condition provides home to between 300 and 320 mature trees. We continue to transform acreage, one tree at a time, one seed at a time. One thing we have seen proven out over the years is that a single acorn holds within it the miracle of a great oak. however, if it is not planted, there is no chance of it growing, ever.

If you are planning to be in either Northeast Wisconsin, or along the Lake Superior Shore, let us know ahead of time and we will prepare a unique ecotour for you. If you want to see energy efficient homes, plant trees, or just walk amongst beautiful wild rivers and waterfalls, we can show you them. If you would rather tour an organic farm, learning how to make your own lifestyle more sustainable and pare down your carbon footprint, we can share insights into ways of going about that too. We are continuing to provide living examples of bringing together folk wisdom and natural healing and food production with modern technologies that are appropriate and scaled to provide higher quality of life at less expense. This revolution is not being televised, although there are some sources of information on the internet, the best way to learn many of these important lessons is through seeing and doing them. We always welcome guests who are serious about finding their own path to sustainability.

Come, see what we are doing and revel in the abundance of life, in step with Mother Earth.

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