No matter where you are, you’ve got a couple of these around.
Author Archives: Andrea McDowell
Good News: 350.org
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” Dr. Seuss, The Lorax The good news is that no one has to save the world. The bad news is that we all have to save the world. The good news is that you are not personally responsibleContinue reading “Good News: 350.org”
In the City
A changing climate and our feathered friends
Climate change often sounds like it’s something that happens somewhere else: the ice at the poles melts, island nations (and manhattan) go under water, more Category 5 hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. But what about Toronto? OK, summer’s hotter, winter’s warmer, especially at night–does that sound so bad? (Though keep in mind that moreContinue reading “A changing climate and our feathered friends”
Beautiful earth: Mary Oliver's poem, again
I’m going to be obnoxious and start by asking you to read this out loud, or at least under your breath, because half of its pleasures are in the rhythms and rhymes. What Was Once the Largest Shopping Center in Northern Ohio Was Built Where There Had Been a Pond I Used to Visit EveryContinue reading “Beautiful earth: Mary Oliver's poem, again”
Trilliums
Anyone whose known me for more than approximately 8.32 seconds knows how much I love trilliums, and not just because they’re gorgeous (although they are). They’re a fragile, finicky plant in a marginal and difficult habitat, and they manage to turn that into something beautiful: blooming after the ground thaws but before the deciduous leavesContinue reading “Trilliums”
knee-high to a treehugger
I have a handful of books on how to get kids enjoying nature: I Love Dirt! by Jennifer Ward, Sharing Nature with Children by Joseph Cornell and Hands-On Nature by the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (edited by Jenepher Lingelbach and Lisa Purcell). All are good. Hands-On Nature is like a teacher’s lesson-plan book, withContinue reading “knee-high to a treehugger”
Bloodroot
The bloodroots around here are already gone, sadly. I saw them for maybe a week, although my handy wildflower field guide assures me they bloom through May. (Lies!) They are lovely. They are also toxic. Or medicinal. Take your pick. Some websites advocate the use of bloodroot, so named for its reddish sap, to treatContinue reading “Bloodroot”
mini-article
I have it from reliable sources that a short article I wrote on the East Don Parkland Partners has hit the newsstands in the latest issue of Spacing magazine; I haven’t yet seen in my local Chapters, but it is out there. Spacing is about public space in Toronto, but they’re branching out to otherContinue reading “mini-article”
Environmental Psychology
Yesterday was the first sunburn of the season, gained walking, cycling and photographing before the thunderstorms set in. I’m very fair, and I know I shouldn’t go out without sunblock and I should limit my UV exposure and all those other skin-cancer prevention strategies, but I can’t help it; in the face of a sunnyContinue reading “Environmental Psychology”