Chelsea Green Blog
Nature & Environment
Growing Food in the Face of a Hotter, Drier Land
Climatic uncertainty has become “the new normal,” and many farmers, gardeners and orchard-keepers in North America are desperately seeking ways to adapt their food production to become more resilient in the face of such “global weirding.” The following is an excerpt from Growing Food in a Hotter, Drier Land by Gary Paul Nabhan. It has…
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When it All Comes Together: The Barn Raising
This is the moment the Barn Club has been working towards: the barn raising. As Robert J. Somerville mentions in this excerpt, in modern times the task of barn raising has been given to bigger, stronger machines. But there is something deeply fulfilling about using your own two hands, along with the hands of others,…
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Finding Small Silences
Admired by a pantheon of America’s greatest writers and considered one of our most prolific essayists, Hoagland is in a class of his own. He came of age during our country’s literary heyday, learned to write the old-fashioned way — through direct experience in love, travel, and immersion in the natural world — and then…
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How-To Turn Sap and Syrup into Beer, Wine, and Liquor
As much as we love to drizzle (or drown, let’s be honest) our pancakes in maple syrup, you may be surprised to learn that a variety of drinks are made with tree sap, with results that will far surpass your typical sugar buzz. Several companies have ventured into the world of sap related alcoholic beverages.…
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On the Hippie Trail
From a young age, Simon Fairlie decided to go off the beaten path, also known as “the hippie trail.” After attending an all-boys boarding school, Fairlie decides to skip attending Cambridge and explore the world. The following is an excerpt from Going to Seed by Simon Fairlie. It has been adapted for the web. ‘If you don’t…
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The Dramatic History of Bringing Beavers Back to Britain
The movement to rewild the British landscape with beavers has become one of the most dramatic and subversive nature conservation acts of the modern era. From gun-toting locals to queens, the quest to reintroduce beavers in Britian has been thwarted at every turn. This hasn’t stoped farmer-turned-ecologist Derek Gow from trying, though. The following is…
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Going to Seed: Where It All Began
At a young age, Simon Fairlie rejected the rat race and embarked on a new trip to find his own path. He dropped out of Cambridge University to hitchhike to Istanbul and bicycle through India. He established a commune in France, was arrested multiple times for squatting and civil disobedience, and became a leading figure…
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Embracing Hope And Letting Go Of Fear
We can all get caught up in our own heads sometimes; fall down rabbit holes of fear and find ourselves stuck in situations we don’t want to be in. This can be especially true when it comes to climate change. Often, our resistance to change is a response to our fears of the future. But…
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What in the World is a Pawpaw?
Do you know what a pawpaw is? A few generations ago, most would say “yes!” You could ask just about anyone and they could tell you what this fruit looked and tasted like, and more importantly, where to find it. But today, the pawpaw remains a mystery to some and entirely unknown to others. With…
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10 Books to Gift a Nature Lover
Are you struggling to come up with the perfect gift ideas for the nature lover in your life? Well, look no further! We’ve collected some of our most popular and accessible nature books for you to choose from. From trees to beavers to reindeer; no matter what kind of books your nature lover likes, we’ve…
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Not in His Image: Where It All Began
Since its initial release to wide acclaim in 2006, Not in His Image has transformed the lives of readers around the world by presenting the living presence of the Wisdom Goddess as never before revealed, illustrating that the truth of an impactful Gnostic message cannot be hidden or destroyed. The following is an excerpt from Not in…
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Wild Apples, Real Cider, and the Complicated Art of Making a Living
“Loving apples or cider is not a prerequisite for loving this book. All that is needed is the willingness to follow a vibrant narrative voice driven by the pursuit of dreams.”—Alice Feiring Andy Brennan owns Aaron Burr Cider in New York’s Catskills region. Since its founding in 2011, Aaron Burr Cider has become well known…
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Rewilding: Restoration by Letting Go
When it comes to revitalizing the environment, sometimes the best thing we can do is take a step back and let rewilding work its magic. Time and distance often feel like inaction on our part, but removing ourselves from the land is the one action we can take that allows nature the time and space…
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Bugs: The Unsung Heroes
Bugs should be revered for all the vital roles they play in keeping our home inhabitable. Unfortunately, there is a stigma that comes with every bug. Though, without the creepy crawlies, we would be lost and so would nature. Here are a few obscure and iconic bugs that play key roles in nature. The following…
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Fake Meat is not a Miracle Food: Impossible Food
Nicolette Hahn Niman on the Fallacy of fake meat, as know as “Clean Meat,” and the Importance of Regenerative Farming The following is an excerpt from Defending Beef by Nicolette Hahn Niman. It originally appeared on Lit Hub. It has been adapted for the web. Faux Meats Silicon Valley-backed “clean meat” is now everywhere. Our…
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Defending Bovines, Butter, and Beef
Beef and dairy products have received a fair amount of backlash within the last decade or so. We have been told that beef is a big proponent in the increase of obesity and other chronic diet-related diseases, as well as dramatic environmental damage. However, more and more people are speaking out that this is not…
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The Magic of Exploring the Outdoors After Dark: Q&A with Chris Salisbury
Chris Salisbury’s newest book Wild Nights Out has just been released and encourages us to venture out into the unknown of the night. Wild Nights Out is the go-to guide for exploring the outdoors after dark. It boosts the resilience and self-confidence of children and adults, and instills a lifelong love of having fun in…
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On Swarms and Stings
To a beekeeper, thousands of bees concentrated in one area isn’t a nightmare–it’s an opportunity to help the bees find a new home safely when necessary. It does not always come naturally though; some of the most seasoned beekeepers were scared of being stung at first. It takes a lot of time and patience to…
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Moths: Nighttime’s Kaleidoscope
While butterflies may take all of the attention during the day time, moths are the celebrities of night. There are over 2,500 species of moths in Britain alone, yet they are often ignored. Author Chris Salisbury is trying to change that. The following is an excerpt from Wild Nights Out by Chris Salisbury. It has…
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Redeeming the Dark
Are you afraid of the dark? If you said yes, don’t worry, you aren’t alone. But have you ever wondered why the dark gets your blood racing? In his book Wild Nights Out, author Chris Salisbury explains where that fear comes from and then encourages us to face that fear and go out and explore the night (and…
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Keeping the Smoke Hole Open
It’s no secret that social media has changed us, but is it necessarily for the better? Author Martin Shaw puts social media on the spot as he reflects on how today we face more “societal flatness” than ever before. The tonic? The old stories. The following is an excerpt from Smoke Hole by Martin Shaw. It…
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Learning from Our Arboreal Allies
Akiva Silver owns and operates Twisted Tree Farm, a homestead, nut orchard, and nursery located in Spencer, New York, where he grows around 20,000 trees per year using practices that go beyond organic. His background is in foraging, wilderness survival, and primitive skills. He has been observing nature intensively for the last 20 years, cultivating…
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Inheriting the Earth
Farmland covers 38 percent of the land area of the Earth and is a major contributor to climate change. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Soil and plants have the capacity to store huge amounts of carbon in the ground, thus how we grow food can be one of the key solutions to…
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Dealing With Crossroads: Something to Hang Your Heart On
At a time when we are all confronted by not one, but many crossroads in our modern lives—identity, technology, trust, politics, and a global pandemic—celebrated mythologist and wilderness guide Martin Shaw delivers Smoke Hole. Here, he invites us to put down our phones and lower our gaze to the prayer mat. In Martin’s own words “In…
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Biodynamic Beekeeping 101
Spring is here and I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get started on all of the projects I mapped out during the cold winter months – including trying my hand at incorporating bees into my homesteading adventure! As a new-bee (get it?!), I need help to get started so I did…
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