A few years ago, I had heard about the vanishing of bee’s
but never paid much attention to the issue. I wondered where they had gone. Why
didn’t people find a large amount of bees dead in a location? I’m from the
Central Valley (Madera, CA) and know that bees are important for pollination. Even
though bees are a key aspect to agriculture I didn’t pursue this issue and
never revisited it. Looking back I feel a little guilty for not being well
informed of the problem we are facing. Watching the movie was very informative.
I deducted that it was probably due to pesticides but it was just a guess and
long behold by the end of the movie that seemed to be the best answer.
As for Dirt!: The Movie, I found it to be equally as informational.
One of my best friends is completing her masters in horticulture so she always talks
about the soil. I’ve learned through her and the movie that soil is the skin of
the earth. Watching the movie allowed me to understand the love for soil and
its importance. I found it interesting to see that schools are getting ride of
the asphalt and placing gardens instead. No only schools, but also prisons
which then allow inmates who are released to have a job with Green Team. I now have a better
appreciation for soil and understanding of its importance in our environment.
I found that there are animal farms in Sacramento County. As
of 2012 for dairy, there were 11,050 animals and each site averaged 1,228
animals in that farm. There’s a broiler that
has 1.78 million chickens in Sacramento. I was not aware that we had such a large
number of animals in my county. I don’t think of Sacramento being agricultural,
so I was a bit surprised.
Unfortunately, I have never composted. I didn’t grow up with
the idea of composting and I actually didn’t hear about it until I was in college.
UC Davis does a great job about composting but even then, I never learned how
to compost. I would consider composting because I have learned that there are
many great benefits for the soil. I actually discussed composting with my
housemates and I think we are going to give it try. Additionally, we would like
to have our own garden.
-Iliana
Hi Iliana,
ReplyDeleteIt's so interesting that schools and prisons are getting rid of asphalt for gardens, which I think is an amazing idea not only to generate jobs, but to generate more activity for our friendly neighborhood flowers and pollinators! I've learned a little about the disappearance of bees, but I'm sure you can agree with me that after taking this class we can realize how important pollinators are, and they're not just bugs that are out to sting us!! The balance of our environmental and agricultural health depends on these insects, so it's up to us to save and protect them as much as we possibly can.
-Aveena
Hi Iliana,
DeleteWith the amount of open land in Sacramento, I had expected there to be a few factory farms, but like your self, I was surprised by the amount of animals in the farms. The number of farms here is probably still lower than the amount of factory farms near your home town of Madera. I think that it was a great thing you mentioned not learning about composting until reaching college; this shows that the educational systems need to do a better job at teaching the next generations about how to reduce unnecessary waste and reuse to save resources. I still have trouble differentiating between things that are compostable or even recyclable. A national campaign may be a great way to further educate the public about composting and recycling.