My title is inspired by Larry Forcier, a UVM Professor whom used this a part of his definition for an ecosystem in his Natural Resources and Field Ecology Intro course. As one of 200 or so freshmen taking the class, I didn't think how impactful the statement really was at the time. Because knowing or defining humans as a part of an ecosystem, is not common thought. And it ought to be.
Last summer, as I convinced my mother to begin composting some of our food waste, she began to voice her concerns. "Compost isn't sanitary" "How does it become dirt" "won't the dirt smell like food and attract animals". And I realized that she did not know that something as simple, vital, and magical as making dirt was not just an ability of people- but a moral responsibility. Humans are the ones who exploited the soils in the name of monoculture and 'progress'. Now we have so many toxics in our landfills that when you throw something 'away' it goes to a sanitary landfill- so thickly lined and sealed that even foodstuffs don't break down- and that is what it's supposed to do.
We don't want things like the mercury/lead in tv sets to decompose and leach into our soils or water table. But things like our tvs should not be disposed of with food items. When you mix a ratio of 'greens' and 'browns' (leaves, grass clippings : food stuffs) heat from the sun and a little movement with grow beneficial bacteria that turn your food back into soil- which remember, is what it grew from.
Now as the building at the Willow School grows from discovery and into schematic design, it is more important than ever that we keep the flows and cycles of nature relevant and apparent in the building.
In a book called Integrative Design by Bill Reed and 7group they support my statement, saying:
" Because our Buildings are connected to larger systems through an exchange of resources and waste, the opportunity for true sustainability occurs only when we can shift our focus from individual buildings to the larger nested systems beyond the building to the site, watershed, community and larger region. In fact, we have found that as we expand our thinking to larger and larger scales of system, the possibilities for design expand as well"
And HEY YOU- whoever you are out there in cyberspace reading this, guess what? This applies to you! If you move to get somewhere, make something, use something and/or create trash- your actions affect others. You are adding or taking something from your environment- why is it that people are the only ones who feel they don't need to give anything back?
We do, or nature will take something back.
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