To go in the dark with a light is to know the light. To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight, and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings, and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings. -Wendell Berry As the days get shorter and winter sets in, we each experience the… (read more)
Through the process of colonization, Indigenous people were forcibly removed from billions of acres of land that they depended upon and belonged to, and relocated to ever-diminishing reserves. We all know that Indigenous people have signed treaties to share the lands and waters that the U.S.and Canadian governments have failed to honor, and that, in many… (read more)
This First Day at 12:30 p.m. after Meeting for Worship, we will recite the Haudenosaunee (pronounced who-DIN-oh-show-nee) Thanksgiving Address Greetings to the World. Please join us, in person or on zoom! The Haudenosaunee people (also known as the Iroquois) have said that the words of the Thanksgiving Address are their gift to the world and are meant… (read more)
A land acknowledgement is a statement, often at the start of a meeting or other gathering, that recognizes the Indigenous people who are the original caretakers and inhabitants of the land upon which the event is taking place. Acknowledgement means to accept and admit the truth of something, in this case, the complicated and fraught history of people… (read more)
According to the United Nations, land areas managed by Indigenous Peoples are among the most biodiverse and well-conserved on the planet. The cultural stories of Indigenous People have embraced sustainability long before the term entered public discourse. Modern environmentalism has been deprived of Indigenous knowledge because our early environmental thinkers, like John Muir, saw nature as something apart… (read more)
Shinrin-yoku is the Japanese practice of bathing your senses, or immersing yourself, in the forest; it’s a process of slowing down to pay attention to nature. Research shows that forest bathing reduces anxiety, strengthens your immune system, and helps you sleep better. And it will also help you to develop a stronger connection with nature. … (read more)
Eugene rests in the Willamette Valley Oak Savanna ecoregion. Oak savannas are landscapes characterized by widely spaced oak trees and a prairie-like ground layer vegetation. The white oaks of this ecoregion are considered keystone species because “they support more life-forms than any other North American tree genus including fungi, insects, birds and mammals.” (U.S. National Park Service)… (read more)
I talked about intact forests last week, but we hear more about old-growth forests in Oregon. Oregon Wild says, “generally speaking, old growth means a forest that has not undergone any major unnatural changes (such as logging) for more than 100 to 150 years, contains a diversity of tree species and structures, and provides a home for a diversity of wildlife species. Natural disturbances like… (read more)
Our world’s forests are one of the most effective nature-based solutions to climate change and the wildlife extinction crisis. Despite this, forests are undervalued and largely unprotected. More than 75% of the forests on the planet have been damaged or destroyed by roads, mining, logging, oil extraction or industrial farming. The remaining 25% of our planet’s forests are what we… (read more)
Native pollinators need appropriate native plants, those that are indigenous to our specific geographic area: Here in the Willamette Valley, we live in the Pacific Lowland Mixed Forest ecosystem (same as the Puget Sound Valley). Before cultivation, we had dense coniferous forests, prairies that supported open stands of oaks, and wetlands with swamp or bog communities. The original, natural… (read more)
Click the picture for information about community group use of the Meeting House.
