———————– ** Fresh Green Beans ** ———————– Grown in Kansas. Eaten Worldwide.

Despite my many visits; I had never really seen the Haskell-Baker wetlands until I had saw them through the eyes of Mike Caron, a passionate scholar and activist of wetland habitats who has a way with words.

As a fellow environmentalist I mirrored Mike’s respect for the wetlands and was eager for the tour by a man who knew so much about its dynamics and history. But before our trek even got started, a sad and disturbing sight confronted us.

Not 20 feet from the edge of the Haskell Indian’s Memorial Grounds, noisy earthmovers were mindlessly digging up the land and hauling the dirt away. The Memorial Grounds are recognized historical site and a memorial for the many dead First Nations children that attended the Haskell Boarding School - an assimilation institution intent on, as Mike put it, “killing the savage and saving the man”.

What these titans of construction were doing is unknown, and how they had permission to do so is even more confusing. According to Mike, a historical site should have no construction done around it. This fact, however, did not stop the erection of sewage lift stations, which pipe sewage near the symbolic headstones (the actual graves are mythed to be under the basketball courts) and the wetlands for processing.

Sadly, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the many cultural and environmental injustices that have befallen Haskell land.

The Haskell-Baker wetlands are a historically and culturally significant area for many different First Nations people. It is significant because of the way people of many Nations were forced together for their reeducation. The land is imbued with the traces of these people and the many trials they faced here together.

From a Eurocentric perspective, the land was seen as unproductive and a dumping ground for vagabonds and waste. However, from an ecological perspective; wetlands serve as an important, and continually rarified, ecosystem. The wetlands ecosystem exists in a delicate balance of environmental factors and life cycles which make it home to hundreds of environment specific plant and animal species. For the First Nations people the land is sacred and life-giving. These contrasting views represent the struggle of these people while modernity encroaches onto their lands and into their world.

This struggle continues today. Presently, there is a critical issue that has been raging for the past 20 years: the proposed South Lawrence Trafficway (SLT). This highly contested highway, intended to relieve traffic congestion in the city of Lawrence, threatens to rob the wetlands of its cultural significance and ecological diversity. The wetlands has long been a place where people have come to take comfort in its wild refuge, to study, to pray, to come together in solidarity with their families and their community. The construction of the SLT would result in the loss of one more valuable wild area, just to be replaced by more development and sprawl. One more loss for our increasingly diluted culture, and one more win for our market-driven globalized world.

What we are seeing here on the local scale in Lawrence is a severe clash of values, and assumptions made by our Western views and values. It seems difficult for immigrated peoples to realize the integral nature of an environment and its peoples. Instead, non-natives view their relationship to their habitat with neoliberal economically tinted glasses; that is as individuals’ divorced from the land that they view as a commodity and nature being something to control rather than to respect and nourish. These views of our neoliberal globalized society further perpetuate environmental injustices on land that is, in the view of many, priceless.

-Juliana Tran

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A Rainy Day at The Wetlands By Juliana Tran

Top Photo by Wally Emerson

The Lawrence Sustainability Network, LSN, was born in 2006 of skepticism and hope. LSN’s founders did not believe that politicians could be counted on to halt our society’s steady march toward the precipice of environmental destruction, economic collapse, and social instability. Instead, they believed that individuals would have to decide for themselves to leave the herd and find another path, to find other disaffected souls, and learn to live lightly and sustainably on planet Earth. Herein lies hope, hope for other species, our families, our communities, and hope for the future.

It is not surprising that we must first act individually in the decision to live differently. American society glorifies individualism and competition, teaching each of us that we will sink or swim on our own merits. So it is no small irony that our first steps away from destruction are personal initiatives to develop a collective response. We in LSN believe community building is key to our success. Together we can imagine what a more sustainable world might look like. We can pool our ideas and our resources, and we can share the daunting task of figuring out how to make the transition from where we are to where we want to be. The introduction to LSN’s vision statement, taken from our website, sets out in broad strokes what we would like to accomplish:

Ecological sustainability means living in a way that is mindful of consequences for the future. We envision a community built around livelihood strategies that protect the commons of clean air, soil and water; deliver efficient, affordable, clean and renewable energy; prioritize local food systems; and promote biological diversity so that future generations of people and other species can also satisfy their basic needs. In this community ‘development’ will mean improving the quality of life for all people in the Lawrence area, fostering social justice in the distribution of available resources and opportunities, and fortifying our local economy toward the goal of self-sufficiency. Social relationships are equally important to ecological sustainability; the social world we will advance will be built on mutual aid, trust, equity, and participatory democracy.

A just and healthy world is LSN’s hope for the future. It will take many hands and minds and hearts, coming together in community, to bring it about.

~ Jane Gibson

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Bowersock Power’s hydroelectric plant on the Kansas River provides an alternative for customers looking for carbon-free energy.
Photo by Lauren Keith

Tucked away in a non-imposing brick building near Sixth and New Hampshire, the quiet beast hums away, fed by the waters of the Kansas River. Inside the facility that passers-by may think is abandoned, lies Kansas’ only hydroelectric plant.

The hydroelectric plant, which is owned by the Bowersock Mills & Power Co., produces 2.5 megawatts of energy, or enough electricity to power about 2,000 homes and businesses, Nicholas Herndon, a worker at the plant, said.

The thought of a dam in the middle of the Great Plains is somewhat strange because many think a drastic change in elevation is needed to take the energy from the water.

“What we don’t have in height, we make up for in quantity,” explains co-owner Sarah Hill-Nelson.

Although this is one of the oldest hydroelectric plants west of the Mississippi River, the changing flux of Lawrence residents doesn’t know that the plant even exists or that they have the option to buy environmentally friendly energy.

To have green energy in your home, you can buy “green tags.”

Mark Maxwell, a worker at the dam, said Bowersock sells its power to Westar, and then Westar sends out the electricity on the grid that connects homes and businesses.

“You can’t really buy what we produce because you’re just buying energy off the grid,” Maxwell said. “Most of the energy is going to be produced by Westar, but for the tags you buy, Westar doesn’t produce that amount of energy, which lessens the amount of coal burned, the pollution and the environmental impact.”
The green tags cost about $20 per month. Tags can be purchased at greentagsusa.org.

Although some people think that buying green tags is a scam because green energy is supplied to the same electrical grid as non-renewable energy, it’s easy to see that green energy is being generated in Lawrence. We can see the hydroelectric plant in action.

“The more environmentally friendly energy we have, the better,” Maxwell said.

You’re dam right.

-Lauren Keith

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Coal-fired power plants used to be the symbol of growth and progress, but people have now woken up to the true cost of coal.
Photo by Bruno D Rodrigues, flikr.com

Damn, America has found itself in quite the energy crisis.

The price of oil is burning a hole in our pockets and in the atmosphere. We are wary of General Electric’s standing as one of the top wind turbine manufacturers because of the company’s lax air and water pollution policies. The environmental crappiness of coal power has finally been exposed. What now?

Look no further than one of our favorite swear words: dam.

Dams are no stranger to the American landscape, but for the most part, we just leave it to the beaver.
Hydroelectric plants account for about 20 percent of the world’s electricity supply, giving more than 1 billion people power. All of the world’s hydroelectric dams put out a combined 715,000 megawatts, which is the same as saving 3.6 billion barrels of oil, according to the Renewable Energy Policy Network (PDF).

More than 2,000 hydropower plants are currently operating in the United States, making hydroelectricity our country’s most used renewable energy resource.

To learn how electricity is produced from running water, take a step back to elementary school. It’s that dam simple.

Flowing water has potential energy, which is stored until it can be converted into kinetic energy, or the energy of motion. Water coming into the plant drives a circular turbine and a generator, which change the water’s potential energy into a useable form. The amount of energy taken from the water varies. It depends on how much water is coming through the turbines and the height difference between the incoming water and the height that it leaves the plant. For a more in-depth look, see How Stuff Works.

Not all dams are environmentally friendly, but some meet certain standards that minimize their effects on wildlife. These dams are certified low-impact by a voluntary program. Some states require hydroelectric projects to be low-impact certified to qualify as renewable energy. More than 20 hydropower dams have this certification, including the only facility in Kansas.

With low-impact hydropower, one city in Kansas has made some dam changes.

-Lauren Keith

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Has the poo crusade of Brad Pooterish had an impact in America? Let’s take a look at waste reduction and recycling in Lawrence, KS to find out.

Use less CRAP, people! Reuse your crap! Recycle your crap!

~ Sarah H

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This is the account of a poo expert’s crusade to save landfill space for dirty diapers. Brad Pooterish, founder and CEO of Daddies Using Diapers (DUDs) shares a dirty little secret behind America’s looming landfill crisis.

All statistics in this video are true and based on real reports from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Diapers really do make up only 1.4% of the waste stream, while paper products and yard waste make up 47%. NO, paper and yard waste do NOT decompose in landfills. Landfills are designed to be a “dry tomb” environment; waste becomes mummified due to the lack of moisture and air flow.

What’s in your landfill?

REDUCE - REUSE - RECYCLE

For more info, visit http://www.epa.gov/msw/facts.htm

~ Sarah H

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“Poor Sachiko. You have to eat McDonald and pizza everyday.”

I’m a student from Japan. Before I left Japan, many of my friends mentioned fast food and felt sorry about an unhealthy and tasteless diet I’d go through.

Now, I can say they’re not right, at least in Lawrence. I like to go to downtown restaurants that serve a variety of food around the world. I love to cook using fresh ingredients from the downtown farmers’ market. After coming to Lawrence, I’m converted to a supporter of local food, too.

Photo Credit: Farmers’ Market in Downtown Lawrence Lawrence farmers’ market is open on Saturday morning and Tuesday and Thursday evening.

The farmers’ market, a community garden and restaurants that specialize in regional ingredients, Lawrence offers great venues for local food. The benefits of local food vary from taste to health, to the environment and local economy.

To be a prouder Lawrencian, how can we support local food and build a more sustainable food network in Lawrence?

Search Lawrence Sustainability Network and Local Harvest: They tell us farms and restaurants that specialize in regional ingredients.

Support local farmers through a subscription service: Small-scale local firms are vulnerable to risks such as bad weather and pests. Daniel Dermitzel, farmer and associate director of Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture, said we can help local formers by sharing those risks and subscribing to Community Supported Agriculture. Under the subscription service, organized farmers collect a fixed fee from customers and provide products periodically. The amount of share depends on the performance of those farmers. Rolling Prairie Farmers Alliance is available for the Lawrence area. 

Volunteer for the Lawrence farmers’ market: It’s a great way to share your passion with customers and vendors. 

In the long run, we should create more opportunities for farmers to sell their products.

Open the farmers’ market in winter: Although not many products are available during the winter season, opening the markets would help stabilize farmers’ income and satisfy customers’ demands. The Christian Science Monitor reports winter indoor markets that have become popular in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa. 

Create a local food kiosk on the KU campus: The kiosk could sell fruits, snacks and meals made of locally grown ingredients. It can be promotional, too.

Start a Farm-to-School program in Lawrence public schools: Farm to School is a program which schools provide meals using locally produced foods. Schools also provide learning opportunities, such as farming, gardening and studying about nutrition. This program would enable local farmers to sell their products and raise students’ awareness of food and health. 

Your participation wanted! And don’t miss Lawrence farmers’ market! It opens on Saturday morning and Tuesday and Thursday evening from mid April to November.

By Sachiko Miyakawa

Strolling along the boardwalk in the Haskell-Baker Wetlands, I wondered whether the elegant, furry heads of the cattails possess some mystical sway that makes people blind.

As a child, rumor in the suburb had it that if you played with cattails in the neighboring swamp you’d go blind. Years later, the swamp was drained and a low-income housing complex erected. I doubt anyone lost their eyesight, but could it be that perhaps the plants have instead become a metaphor for ignorance of environmental degradation, that their mere presence works prospective developers into a frenzy. Cattails today, a housing development tomorrow, a multiple lane highway the next.

Walking through the wetland, I don’t see a single animal, except for a small turtle, but I know that billions of microscopic algae lurk beneath the surface of water, that the habitats of birds, insects and plants depends on this ecosystem for their survival, and that to an extent so do we, as wetlands store water that would otherwise flood low-lying areas

Wetlands sustain diverse wildlife, but face growing threats. Picture by Alan Neal

Building the South Lawrence Trafficway will surely endanger all that. For all the convenience it poses in easing traffic congestion, destroying an endangered ecosystem is not the way to go and certainly one viable option is a roadway that bypasses the wetland. Native Americans also make a case on cultural and religious grounds as to why the wetlands should remain as they are.
I’ve overcome my naivety about the cattail and it’s time for some to stop being blinded by the folly of development and the promises of easier urban living and learn to appreciate that which provides an abundance of life.

-Denzyl

After a recent visit to the Baker Wetlands, located south of Haskell University, I was left with a sense of anger. I was angered by the prospect of the loss of a natural wetland and eco-diversity that would be created by the construction of the South Lawrence Traffic Way. But most of all, I was angered by the fact my alma mater, Baker University, supported the construction of such a terrible project. I was angry, until I actually did some research and discovered all the benefits the SLT would create for the wetlands. That’s right; I said the SLT will actually be good for the wetlands.

I called Baker University senior professor of biology and natural areas director Dr. Roger Boyd during spring break to set the record straight. All of the following information was provided by Dr. Boyd unless otherwise noted.

First, the facts: The SLT, in conjunction with 31st Street, will be eight lanes and eat up 56 acres of the wetlands. However, Baker has already signed a contract with the Kansas Department of Transportation that states the university will be ceded approximately 360 acres of land KDOT owns around the wetlands. Of that, 320 acres will be converted to wetlands and 40 acres will be maintained as prairie lands.

Additionally, as part of the deal, Haskell Road will be moved east and Louisiana Street will be moved west, allowing for the wetlands area to increase a mile in width. As such, after Baker converts the ceded land into wetlands (which it will do as soon as it acquires the land), the wetlands will be whole and not divided in parts around the area. Furthermore, KDOT will construct a strong sound barrier wall separating the SLT from the wetlands. Sound barrier walls have been proven to be effective at drastically eliminating transportation sounds (click here and here). Finally, the majority of the 56 acres the SLT will eat have only been wetlands since the early 1990s. That fact shows how relatively easy it is for land to be converted to wetlands and for natural life to move in and settle.

Some anti-SLT activists have argued the SLT will eliminate the strong eco-diversity in the Baker wetlands. However, KDOT will provide Baker with millions of dollars and resources to properly care for the wetlands annually. As such, Baker will have the resources to introduce life to the wetlands and ensure it proliferates. Translation: More eco-diversity, not less. Currently, Dr. Boyd has an annual fund of $500 to upkeep the wetlands and absolutely no equipment or resources to help him manage the area.

The Baker Wetlands’ objective is to serve as a natural outdoor classroom. With more land, money and resources think of how much more educational the wetlands can actually be. Dr Boyd said an expanded and managed wetlands (complete with an extensive visitor’s center) will better serve the whole Lawrence community and thousands of school children around the area. I agree with him whole-heartedly. How could vastly larger wetlands with nearly limitless funding and resources ever be a bad thing?

Save the wetlands by ensuring they grow and are properly taken care of so future generations can enjoy them.

J.J. De Simone

Let’s play the word association game: I’ll type a word, and you say the first word that comes to your mind. Ready? OK.

Wine.

Did you say France? Maybe California? (Maybe delicious?). When you think of wines, Kansas is probably not the first place that pops into your head. The truth is, Kansas is home to around 15 wineries - producing more than 50, 000 gallons of wine a year. But with the infamous Loire valley of France and the renowned Andalucia region in Spain, why would you opt for a lesser known, harder to find Kansas variety?

Grapes on the Vine at Smoky Hill Vineyards & Winery

1. Wine Tastings

You don’t have to shell out thousands of dollars for a plane ticket to Europe or the West Coast to take a trip to participate in a wine tasting. That’s right, you can put on your velvet and fur, swirl, sniff, and sip glass after glass of wine just a short car ride from your home.

2. Support Local Business and Agriculture

The same way eating locally produced foods benefits the regional economy, buying wine from a local vineyard promotes economic growth. Plus, glass wine bottles aren’t exactly the lightest thing to be shipping around the globe. Buying local wine lessens the amount of carbon needed to bring that sweet blush from the vine to your glass.

3. Meet Your Merchant

True oenophiles should get to know their producers, and those of us who aren’t such big wine-heads should too. Wines vary from year to year, grape to grape, and field to field: only the producers know the specifics of what’s inside their bottles.

4. Break Your Habit

Many of the grapes that grow well in Kansas - surprise surprise - do not grow so well in the major, more popular wine regions of the world. Local producers generally grow sweeter grape varieties, and fruit blends (like the rhubarb wine at Davenport Winery) that are not readily commercially available in liquor stores.

5. Harvest Time

When it’s time to pick the grapes from their vines, local producers can use all the help they can get. A fun activity for a family, a cute date idea, a good way to snack on seriously fresh fruit - whatever your reason - getting out in early fall and participating in a grape harvest at a local vineyard is a one-of-a-kind experience.

A complete list of Kansas wineries, along with links to the vineyards own sites when available, can be found here and here.

Cheers!

–Jennifer Kongs