Shantree Kacera

A gypsy moth caterpillar can eat about one square metre of leaves as it goes from a little tiny new caterpillar to a great big adult one that’s ready to pupate. That’s a fair amount of foliage for just one little caterpillar. The voracious caterpillars threatening Ontario’s trees, the gypsy moth caterpillar (Lymantria dispar) isn’t fussy about what it eats. Once it’s done with the trees, it’ll even drop down and feed on understory plants and bushes. In 2019, Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry used aerial photography to determine gypsy moths had defoliated 47,203 hectares. By 2020, the damage had spread to 586,385 hectares. That’s a 1,200 percent increase.The population of gypsy moths is cyclical, with large outbreaks every seven to 10 years The gypsy moth caterpillars are invading Ontario this year. It has become a significant pest because the caterpillars have voracious appetites for more than 300 species of trees and shrubs, posing a danger to North America’s forests. The caterpillars defoliate trees, leaving trees vulnerable to diseases and other pests and can eventually kill the tree. A gypsy moth infestation at this stage lasts an average of 10 days for females and 13 days for males … Read more

In 1983 when I arrived here on this organic land I created these neat, tidy and immaculate gardens. Totally weed-free, as the years went by the gardens had their own plans of succession and diversity. Gradually the gardens grew and evolved into a young forest garden. I was humbled numerous times as the herbs, shrubs and trees grew and more shade-filled this landscape. Humbled and open to evolving, I realized that it is not only possible to work with the Earth in a way that nourishes life and culture, but that this ‘way’ is our ancestral birthright. I was able to see a synergistic process occurring with the life already thriving on the land, with the surrounding ecology — and with the land’s natural successions of regenerative growth over time. I moved into a deeper level of being; to live in a fully connected, renewable and soulfully present way with the living Earth. Now, 40-years later I continue to foster and share this embodiment of the living skills and sacred way that is essential to engage with the larger spirit and ecology of the Earth, to live the blessing of the green world and redirect my collective and personal path. … Read more

‘If governments won’t solve the climate, hunger, health, and democracy crises, then the people will. Regenerative agriculture living provides answers to the soil crisis, the food crisis, the health crisis, climate crisis and the crisis of democracy.” ~Dr.Vandana Shiva Message from Elders of the Future In the decade of the 2020s, we asked ourselves the question – In the Crisis: Regeneration or Degeneration. A significant shift was upon us. Here are a few steps we took to become herbal forest dwellers. Imagine waking up in the morning of 2030 living in a herbal ecovillage – everyone is acting as an ecosystem participant contributing to the whole, thriving in a regenerative forest community—fully connected forest dwellers. The basis of this earth culture is a living – like a tree’s metaphor for our society. The root system is our relationship with the earth, and the stem of the tree or hardwood that it’s the centre of the trunk is our core governance. The branches are the various cultural expressions, and the leaves are us as individuals. The ecological wisdom and knowledge of regenerative culture are – giving attention to and respecting communicating with the land and holding the ancient plant language as … Read more

There is a tremendous increase in nutrients in sprouted foods when compared to their dried embryo. In sprouting, the vitamins, minerals and protein increase substantially with a corresponding decrease in calories and carbohydrate content. These comparisons are based on the equivalent water content in the foods measured. Analysis of dried seeds, grains and legumes shows a very low water content. But this increases up to tenfold when the same food is converted into sprouts. For an accurate comparison, each must be brought to a common denomination of equal water content to assess the exact change in nutritional value. Sprouted mung beans, for instance, have an 8.3 increase of water content over dried beans. The nutritional value of sprouted and dried mung beans can be compared by multiplying the-analyzed nutrients of sprouted mung beans by the factor of 8.3. Based on this criterion, the changes found in sprouted mung beans when compared with the figures for the beans in the dried state are as follows: Energy content – calories Decrease 15 percent Total carbohydrate content Decrease 15 percent Protein availability Increase 30 percent Calcium content Increase 34 percent Potassium content Increase 80 percent Sodium content Increase 690 percent Iron content Increase … Read more

A Veganic Ecological Permaculture Perspective: Shifting the Paradigm & Creating a Bioabundant Future of Peace “I believe regenerative gardening is one of the most dangerous occupations on Earth because you’re in danger of becoming free.” Take a moment to consider that 50% of Americans were farming in 1880. Now less than 2% of the nation is employed in agriculture. From another perspective, in 1945, Americans grew 45% of their food in their backyard gardens. Now we grow 0.1% of our food in our backyards. We created this era of chemical mega-farms that has led to the destruction of our soils, water systems, oceans, and human health. By the same reality, we can transform this planet into the most verdant and regenerative ecosystem that has been in many millennia. We live in a time on planet Earth where many are questioning whether there is another way to live. Here at The Living Centre (est. 1983) in London, On. Canada, we believe the Earth is asking us to shift our ways of living and tend to the landscape. Each of us looks at how we move through our day in a peaceful and in harmony with our environment. A permaculture is a … Read more

Herbal Radiance: Light Enhancing Protocols  What a changing world! Spring is here along with a million seeds bursting beneath the ground, getting ready to move upwards. Tree buds are coming forth as they’ve done for millennia, flowers are blooming, and birds are returning in great flocks to the northlands.  Despite all of the grief, confusion, and uncertainly in the world right now. The world moves on ~ and we with it.  Arkan Lushwala, a Lakota Sioux Elder “In a deep, primordial part of ourselves, many of us have been waiting for something like this to happen. Someone powerful and sacred had to intervene to stop the destruction of the sources of life: The Earth herself. She has now done so. Viruses are made by the Earth. And now as humanity, we are forced to make the sacrifice we couldn’t make from our own will.” The healthiest way forward that I know of is to keep moving towards a future of possibilities. I am often asked, “what should we be doing”?  The answer that always comes is to continue doing what I do best ~ that is to do my work. Be generous to others, to love one another as best … Read more

Regenerative Plant Medicine The plant world is one of the most regenerative examples we have in this world today. One way to shift our paradigm is to integrate and apply the practices of regeneration into our daily life. We can learn this by observing, interpreting and then using a regenerative way of being.   Herbalism is Gaia in Action – a beautiful role model to support us towards a regenerative future.  “Herbalism is the medicine of belonging; the direct experience of the whole healing the part. To heal ourselves, we must know ourselves and the ground upon which we stand.” ~David Hoffmann, MNIMH, Medical Herbalist Permaculture for the Herbalist’s PathPermaculture for the Herbalist’s Path is a Self-Care approach and bodywork that integrates seeking a more straightforward way of life and the skills to design a regenerative future for all. Regenerative Herbalism is both Healing the Planet – Healing Ourselves. Reclaiming our heritage of herbal medicine and developing medicinal food forests for health. PLANT MEDICINE + REGENERATIVE LIVING What is Permaculture? Ethics, Principles & Characteristics  What is Herbalism? Ethics, Practice &  Community  We are creating a more beautiful world by applying the ethics and principles of Permaculture to our relationships with medicinal … Read more