“I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.”
―
Petrichor
i have to write
i have to relate the delight
the rain
have you been there in the rain,
when it is a misty rain, a heavy fog, barely getting wet,
have you been there right after the rain,
the grass slowly melting and dissolving into wet shoes,
the nose awake. Erigir, erigir, erigir.
Have you become aware
do you know Petrichor
as well as I love Petrichor?
Are you there, fully aware of the totality
of the Pedogenesis which is occuring?
it is so very delightful and enriching,
and one may even say invigorating as well.
have you traveled around and taken the time
perhaps to compare the dark of the dark gray Chernozemic soil
laying beneath the grasslands with the
rich gray Luvosolic and Brunisolic soils which form
the rich forest floor? these are perhaps my favourite.
but there is no denying that Regosolic, Gleysolic, and Vertisolic soils
are so unique and ever divergent
Or perhaps, you prefer those Solonetzic soils, where the
remnants of the prairies rich in potash from seas of bygone eras
decorate the landscape in salty white tough crusts.
On the days where i bend down and get my knees wet
in addition to my shoes, i revel in the Organic soils, and
share my time with sedges and mosses that is a time when
time stands still and you realize you are not alone,
its a time of magic when from nowhere
the mushrooms spring up in the depths
between the tree roots.
Humus embiggens, rain enriches.
Oh Petrichor, oh Petrichor, how i miss you in the winter months
And now, Phenology, be blessed, you have returned again!
Oh! over spring, summer, and autumn, and how you vary
and which is best, nay I cannot say
but thank goodness you have returned, you were truly missed
hello again Petrichor, don’t stay away so long.
Oh best beloved reader, do say, what are you connected to?
Do you also know Petrichor?
They recognize that while knowledge about nature is vital; passion is the long-distance fuel for the struggle to save what is left of our natural heritage and ~ through an emerging green urbanism ~ to reconstitute lost land and water. Passion does not arrive on videotape or on a CD; passion is personal. Passion is lifted from the earth itself by the muddy hands of the young; it travels along grass-stained sleeves to the heart. If we are going to save environmentalism and the environment, we must also save an endangered indicator species: the child in nature. Louv. 2005. p. 158
“The great biologist E.O. Wilson has said…”the question I am asked most frequently about the diversity of life [is]: if enough species are extinguished, will the ecosystems collapse, and will the extinction of most other species follow soon afterward? The only answer anyone can give is, possibly. By the time we find out, however, it might be too late. One planet, one experiment.” Sarah James and Torbjörn Lahti
Bibliography.
James, Sarah and Torbjörn Lahti. The Natural Step for Communities. How Cities and Towns can change to sustainable practices. ISBN 0-86571-491-6. New Society Publishers. Gabriola Island, B.C. 2004.
For directions as to how to drive to “George Genereux” Urban Regional Park
For directions on how to drive to Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
For more information:
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063
Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot
Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com
Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map
Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map
Facebook Group Page: Users of the George Genereux Urban Regional Park
Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
You Tube Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
You Tube George Genereux Urban Regional Park
Please help protect / enhance your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)
Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year). Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers Please and thank you! Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated. Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!
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“St. Barbe’s unique capacity to pass on his enthusiasm to others. . . Many foresters all over the world found their vocations as a result of hearing ‘The Man of the Trees’ speak. I certainly did, but his impact has been much wider than that. Through his global lecture tours, St. Barbe has made millions of people aware of the importance of trees and forests to our planet.” Allan Grainger
…”To be whole. To be complete. Wildness reminds us what it means to be human, what we are connected to rather than what we are separate from.” ~Terry Tempest Williams
Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. George Genereux Urban Regional Park. 