Category: Reviews

Solid municipal waste, much of which is composed of plastic, is on the rise across the globe. Estimates indicate that since the mid-1900s, humans have produced over 8.3 billion metric tons of non-recycled petrochemical-based plastic. Worse still, 76% of that plastic is believed to have been used only once or twice before being discarded. In

“The Ecological Gardener” is a great book for anyone who wants to think beyond the vegetable patch, beyond the flower beds and the mowed lawn. Matt Rees-Warren encourages gardeners to embrace the larger landscape and reimagine how our gardening might help mitigate climate change. Is it possible to do that? To reduce carbon one compost

Corn isn’t typically considered a charismatic crop. For many, it invokes images of Midwestern monoculture, starchy syrups and corn on the cob.  As “Endangered Maize” establishes, though, the efforts to preserve the biodiversity of corn over the last two centuries tells a familiar story about modern agriculture: crop diversity has shrunk in the face of

Jolie loves strawberries so much that she would eat them every day if she could. Her solution: to grow her own. But growing berries takes a lot of work, and mom and dad suggest she wait until she’s older. Jolie doesn’t want to wait. She wants to be “older” now! So she scribbles age lines

When you imagine a farmer, what comes to mind? For many, it’s a white man in plaid and jeans in an expansive field with a tractor. Author Natalie Baszile begins “We Are Each Other’s Harvest: Celebrating African American Farmers, Land, and Legacy” with a similar image, describing a mural meant to be a tribute to

Gretchen Legler says some people may describe her as “woodsqueer,” a somewhat obscure term for those “who’d been in the woods too long.” Her latest book, “Woodsqueer: Crafting a Sustainable Rural Life,” embraces the moniker wholeheartedly, with an emphasis on both “woods” and “queer.” Part memoir and part natural history, this place-based collection of essays

Somehow, I naively thought that forest gardening involved growing crops in the forest. While people do harvest nuts, fruits and herbs from the woods, “forest gardening” has come to mean gardening “like a forest.” In “The Home-Scale Forest Garden,” Dani Baker shows how to design a multi-layered garden of edible plants that mimics the ecology

Kat Maier has been a practicing herbalist for over 30 years and it is clear from her writing in “Energetic Herbalism: A Guide to Sacred Plant Traditions Integrating Elements of Vitalism, Ayurveda, and Chinese Medicine” that she is well versed in her craft. This new book explores the underlying energetic connection with nature that many

Gather ‘round, friends! Today only! Two reviews for the price of one! And what a lovely duo we have to delve into. On the surface, “The Wild Dyer” by Abigail Booth and “Natural Palettes: Inspiration from Plant-Based Color” by Sasha Duerr seem in obvious competition with one another. Both books being born and written from

Years ago as a graduate student navigating a faculty-student social mixer, I asked a respected professor about his subject of expertise. After a moment’s reflection, he patiently explained that my question was misleading, that all subjects are interconnected portals to understanding collective experience. Reading “Bite Back: People Taking on Corporate Food and Winning,”edited by Saru