Meanwhile… – Ampersand Sustainable Learning Center

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Meanwhile... Life goes on at Ampersand

We are stuffing ourselves with salad these days. The winter greens beds are now growing very fast, and we are trying to keep up with at least one big salad per day. While the global pandemic has affected us too, our lives are not too different at Ampersand. We are in seedling production mode. Being surrounded by the young growth is always so nourishing.

We hope you are preparing your garden beds! Not just with good soil but also shade and wind protection structures. Our plant sales will be on April 19 and May 9 as usual in Madrid, NM.

These wonderful spring rains and growing sunlight are also bringing edible wild friends! We had planned a native plant walk for April 11. It's possible to limit our group to 10 and keep distance from each other while enjoying and learning from the wild plants. But we are unsure if there is enough interest at this point. Let us know! We are pondering how we can adapt our offerings and still be of service. It's just as important now to share about sustainable and conservation oriented life-ways. Perhaps the limitations of this time are providing their own course of teachings. Time to bump up our creativity and resourcefulness!

Meanwhile we are taking long hot showers, with overflowing rain catchment tanks!!!

Despite all the disorientation of this time, blessings come with this pause in human activity. A massive reorientation of human life support structures has been a long time coming. The wild creatures are feeling less stress at the moment. It does come at a cost for us humans, but the ravens here at Ampersand seem to be celebrating today.

Something amazing happened!
Folks from Living Energy Farms delivered and installed a small photovoltaic kit in the Flicker House! They were on their way back from the Navajo and Hopi reservations where they provided many homes light and power.

If you are looking for an inexpensive photovoltaic system to take care of basic power needs, check out Living Energy Lights.The kit is easy to maintain and understand.

It has battery capacity to power 8-10 lights and charge phones, tablets, and laptops anytime. When the sun shines, you have extra power for larger 12 volt DC appliances up to 120 watts. This system is great for emergency backup power as it can be stored for years and perform well after storage.

Thank you Stephanie, Jessie, and Onyx for being our power angels!

Amanda wrote this blog post a couple weeks ago, before the world changed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's still incredibly relevant. I think if you read it you will see why.

Climate Adaptation

Yesterday my Arid Land Restoration class was overflowing with students. It was the most I have had attend a class I offer at the Santa Fe Community College. At the beginning of class, I openly delighted at the interest and wondered aloud at why this subject has drawn so many this season. Is it because of the state of the planet? I asked. The response from my class of more than 20 was laughter. I didn’t expect that. Was that just too obvious a question? Listening to the student introductions, I could see that each person cares deeply about the property that they caretake or they want to learn more about the lands of New Mexico. I could see that indeed the Earth is calling us back, collectively. Her people are hearing the call. Each person hears it within her own heart, a desire to know and integrate with the healing of the land.

I have to admit the word adaptation rubs me the wrong way sometimes. Having been a sustainability educator for so long, the idea that people are more interested in adapting to save their own lives rather than making these changes in order to live appropriately with the Earth and her elements and creatures, can make me feel defeated. But it’s only natural that crisis awakens in us a desire to find new ways...(read more)

Here are your spring veggies!
We are busy transplanting and growing them into strong nutrient filled friends for your garden. Get your growing beds ready! And mark your calendar for the plant sales on April 19 and May 9. We will bring them to Madrid, NM, setting up our plant sale fundraiser out along the highway as usual. Thanks for supporting us and also growing local food security.

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