Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Long Night Moon Request

It is common for not-for-profit organizations to ask for funds at the end of the year. The organization the we feel most strongly about is the one we founded decades ago, ECO-Tours of Wisconsin Inc. We are a local group that plants native trees, creates bio-char, teaches permaculture and gives tours that grapple with the issues surrounding making sustainability possible within the context of not only our daily lives , but across the ages. When we started, it took over six years to plant our first six thousand trees. The second six thousand trees took less than three years to plant and as of this coming summer, we will be averaging an annual rate of planting that is over one million tree seeds per year, plus seedlings and a few larger trees as well. We are tired of hearing about organizations that spend a tiny fraction of their funds on program and good works, so all of our labor, planning and administration are done as a labor of love, the ultimate donation to the cause. We only spend money on trees, dirt to plant them in and the few tools and materials that we need to plant and protect them.

As I have written about bio-char recently, let me just mention that our bio-char experiments and soil enhancement with the products of our work in this area are extremely promising. We are designing a retort big enough to be used as a bio-char oven that will use the biogas driven off the feedstock to heat our headquarters. The first time that I held a handful of this agricultural "black gold" and understood that I was holding enough carbon matrix that it had fourteen acres of surface area, ripe for in-habitation by billions of organisms, it truly transformed the way I saw my place in the ecosphere. Eco-Tours is devoted to bringing these sorts of transformational experiences to all of our guests, encouraging them to see solutions to global catastrophes that are evident all around us.

There is no end to the creativity and innovation that we have had along our way and as we develop, the next phase is promising to be as powerfully filled with change as our first decade. When we were just a group of friends, spending a thousand dollars per year, it was difficult to imagine reforesting even our first few acres, but we did that, year upon year, seedling by seedling, where now trees taller than houses stand. Typically, we mention, at this point,all the wonderful benefits of tree cover. In addition to fixing carbon, trees help to stabilize soil moisture, shading the surface of the planet from direct sun, slowing the drying winds and absorbing some of the snow melt before it runs off to the local streams and rivers. Beside ameliorating floods and drought, the vast majority of trees that we have planted provide food, cover, homes and raw materials for birds and mammals. People enjoy the aesthetic benefits that trees provide and a portion of the trees we have planted close to where people live, continue to provide protection from harsh winter winds and excessive summer heat, because of the shade that they cast.

Use our Paypal link to donate, or make a contribution by snail-mail at ECO-Tours of Wisconsin Inc. 1445 Porlier street Green Bay, Wisconsin 54301 If you would like to set up a recurring donation, or schedule a personalized ECO-Tour just for you or your group, please contact us directly (920)884-2224. Blessed Be and namaste'.

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