Rosemary's Friends

In the future, children will think our ways are strange. "Why do old people always grow so much milkweed in their gardens?" they'll say. "Why do old people always write down when the first bees and butterflies show up? Why do old people hate lawn grass so much? Why do old people like to sit outside and watch bees?"

We will try to explain to them that when we were young, most people's yards were almost entirely short grass with barely any flowers at all, and it was so commonplace to spray poisons to kill insects and weeds that it was feared monarch butterflies and American bumblebees would soon go extinct. We will show them pictures of sidewalks, shops, and houses surrounded by empty grass without any flowers or vegetables and they will stare at them like we stared at pictures of grimy children working in coal mines

We will be feeding our grandchildren strawberries and raspberries we grew in our gardens, dragging them along to the farmers' markets for tomatoes and eggs and goats milk and pickles and pecans and salsa and sunflower seed butter and jars of honey, as they complain and drag their feet because Gramma always stands around talking to people for like an HOUR

and we will say "When I was YOUR age, fruits and vegetables came from a supermarket and they were bred to get shipped 1000 miles in a truck and sit on shelves for weeks, and they tasted so sour and watery it was like eating paper compared to these ones. It wasn't even legal in some places to grow your own food"

and they will roll their eyes like yeah yeah just because everything was miserable in the 20s doesn't mean I have to have a smile on my face standing in the hot sun while you listen to that one guy talk about his bees FOREVER

But they will go, because there might be baby goats.

Baby goats, and honey-straw treats.

Sustainable fashion for the Solar Punk

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-Paul Dickinson on coming together as people to stop the climate crisis, Optimism and Outrage episode 195: "A Better Future Emerging"

God I hope that environmentalists, conservationists, zookeepers, etc. can figure out a way to unionize. I have no clue how a strike would work bc that would lead to our life's work being destroyed. If we stopped protecting these animals, ecosystems, etc. they would die. But it's horrible that getting a paid job is so freaking difficult bc you have to volunteer first, many positions require at least a college degree, and then when you finally get the job you're paid squat. Zookeepers usually have at the very least a bachelor's, most have doctorates. And get paid bupkis. But if we try to fight for higher wages we are called selfish and we are taking already limited resources away from those who need it most. Accredited zoos have to make difficult decisions to protect endangered species all the time, such as the Copenhagen Zoo deciding to put down a genetically invaluable Giraffe in order to make space for others.

I was able to ask one of the previous directors of the national zoo, "what is being done to insure fair wages for zookeepers, and expand opportunities to those who do not have the resources to volunteer?" I think I surprised her, but she said they were having workgroups and meetings on that issue. I believe that the national zoo has recently opened internships specifically for those with little experience, especially people of color, so that they can get training that will help them break into the field. I think they are paid but I'm not sure.

I don't think it's selfish for us to want to be able to afford rent, food, maybe a vacation once in a while too. We need to take care of ourselves so we can take care of our earth the best we can.

D. H. Lawrence, from Lady Chatterley's Lover

~ May Sarton