ABQ Stew

A MORNING IN THE BEE YARD

Martin Marklin, age 61, wakes up before dawn, pulls on his boots, and heads outside. He approaches his bee-buggy: a small, two-seater Mitsubishi truck painted in black in yellow. The truck bears a few modifications including a slot to hold the bee-smoker, a light up “stinger”, and two antennae (wire coils with painted foam balls).

Martin moves about his bee-yard gathering his hive tool, smoker, veil, empty frames, and other equipment. He loads it all into the bee-buggy and sets off.

The drive to his next bee-yard is peaceful, the route well known and the winding roads empty. Martin has five apiaries (bee-yards) one at his home and four on the properties of friends. Many have asked him to keep hives on their land, but he is particular about his locations. He only keeps honeybees in spots that have ample forage, a nearby source of water, and beautiful scenery. The last requirement is more for Martin than for the bees.

The first thing Martin does when entering a bee-yard is not opening a hive, rather it is to walk amongst them observing. In a conversation with Martin he said, “Most of the time I stand outside and observe. You can tell a lot about the health of the hive before you even open the lid. Are they coming and going? Bearding? Gathering pollen?”

When it is time, however, to open the lid, Martin does so without a bee-suit. In fact, he prefers to work in just shorts and a tee-shirt. After fourteen years of keeping honeybees, Martin is not afraid of the sting and prefers to have as little separating him from the bees as possible.

Martin fills his smoker with the traditional wood shavings and newspaper plus a little sprinkle of incense, his own special addition. The smoke works to calm Martin as much as it does the bees and allows him to enter a peaceful headspace. With the smoke wafting around him, Martin begins lifting the lids of the hives and entering the world of the bees.

A CANDLEMAKER’S JOURNEY INTO THE HIVE

Sixteen-year-old Martin stood in his mother’s kitchen melting crayons. This was the very first step in his journey to become a candle maker. Thirty-two years later, nearing his mid-life crisis, Martin had an epiphany. He realized that despite working with beeswax every day, he had no idea how bees made it. This thought sparked the purchase of his first package of bees and the discovery of a new passion.

Over the years, Martin’s one hive grew to around 150 and his single bee-yard expanded to five. Now he sells his honey in his retail store and even has a honey tasting area. The flavor of honey varies depending on the plants the bees pollinated. Because of this, honey from each of Martin’s apiaries tastes, and looks, different.

A MILLION LITTLE TEACHERS

The more time Martin spends in the bee-yard, the more he has come to learn and the more his skills as a beekeeper have advanced. “You have to anticipate their next move. Beekeeping isn’t about being invasive, it’s about providing them with the necessary things to survive” says Martin.

The lessons Martin has learned, however, go beyond beekeeping.

LESSONS FROM THE HIVE

1. Collectivism over individualism

Martins notes that “The bee is a superorganism. It’s about numbers, you don’t think about the individual bee you think about the colony, the collective.” They are also altruistic, everything they do is for the good of the whole. A queen can choose whether to fertilize an egg. If she does, the egg will become a worker bee (female), if she doesn’t it will become a drone (male bee). Drones provide very little benefit to the colony from which the come; their sole purpose is to mate with the queens of other hives. This means that the queen who makes drones is doing it for the sake of the species as a whole and not for the benefit to her own colony. “Beekeeping reminds me that I am part of a larger society” says Martin.

2. Work with not against

Honeybees play a vital role in the health of ecosystems. Without them we lose the plants we love. In just the month of February, 90% of all U.S. bees are transported to California to pollinate almonds. This practice has benefited humans but at a great cost to the honeybee. We can follow the honeybee’s example, however, and produce food that supports humans without harming the environment. The “Bee-Better” Certificate program is one step in this direction. Martin reminds us that “beekeeping reinforces that everything is interrelated. We can’t isolate one thing without affecting the whole.”

3. Share the good news

Bees have a highly complex and effective way of communicating with a funny name: the waggle dance. This dance is used to communicate the location of food sources. Martin says this dance is “the sharing of good news.” When we find something sustainable, beneficial, and good, we should share it with others.

CLOSING UP THE HIVE

It is the end of the day. Martin is in his final bee-yard closing the last hive. He may be sore from lifting the heavy supers and from the several stings he endured, but he feels a sense of accomplishment.

“Beekeeping keeps me focused and humbled. They go about their work tirelessly and without complaining.” With this thought, he turns on the bee-buggy and drives home.

-Posted by Anna

What is Sustainable Medicine?

For as long as I can remember I have loved the outdoors and have felt passionately towards Mother Earth. Several summers ago, I went vegan and that was the peak of my dedication. However, since reverting to an omnivorous diet I realized that I could be doing a lot more on my part to make up for leaving behind the plant-based diet. Here at UNM (University of New Mexico), I have had the opportunity to learn more about environmental threats, as well as what we can do on our end to improve the health of our plant alongside our own. Sustainable medicine is the basis of a healthy lifestyle and a thriving planet!

Sustainable healthcare upholds that our health – plus the health of our environment – are essentially connected and helps to promote a system that affordably delivers high-quality care while minimizing the environmental impact. The practice of sustainable medicine also aims to endorse the long-term goal of maximizing health by emphasizing nutrition, physical activity, personal fulfillment, and spiritual balance. This system strays away from ‘quick fixes’ that simply suppress the symptoms and instead focuses on nurturing the patients from the core.

It is crucial that the carbon footprint is kept to a minimum when delivering care and treatment to patients. Minimizing the resources and the emissions required to distribute high quality healthcare; using sustainable products and materials and/or reusing equipment where clinically appropriate. It is important to keep in mind that this minimization must not compromise the quality of care or health outcomes experienced by the patient.

As the years progress, population growth, unhealthy lifestyle trends, increases in chronic disease, and aging populations drive the increase in healthcare demands and resource consumption. The need for sustainable healthcare becomes more vital as climate change intensifies alongside the anticipated health impacts.

Herbalism: Curanderismo & Homeopathy

Herbalism, the practice of utilizing plants and herbs as medicine, can be the perfect gateway to sustainable medicine. When we connect sustainability to herbalism, we can begin to be mindful of the significance that our decisions carry, based on our responsibility to the health of our wider ecosystems. Talia Moore writes that “when we learn from the natural resource that is the local plants around us, we can use them to provide relief, a sense of autonomy over our healing, and a space for play and exploration in the kitchen.”

The University of New Mexico offers some great natural medicine related courses! Firstly, I want to highlight the course Thriving with Homeopathy: A Practical Guide, taught by Dr. Angelina Koch. This is an online course that aims to aid students in understanding homeopathic applications and doctrines. The curriculum essentially allows students to examine the interrelationship between the mind, body, and soul. Dr. Koch gives students a space to explore natural homeopathic remedies applicable to various circumstances. Secondly, the extensive Curanderismoprogram and curriculum, led by Dr. Eliseo “Cheo” Torres, teaches students the history of traditional Hispanic/Latino medicine. “People want to know about the medicine of their culture, of their grandmothers or grandfathers. We offer something unique in that we work with some of the top healers around the country and around the world in this class” (Torres 2021). Many of the topics examined in this course included remedies that I was already quite familiar with, thanks to my Hispanic upbringing!

Medicine: Western vs Natural

As I mentioned earlier, sustainable medicine aims to endorse the long-term vision of optimal health by emphasizing nutrition, physical activity, personal fulfillment, and spiritual balance. This natural route to healing focuses on prevention and treating the root of the issue/ailment rather than simply suppressing symptoms, which tends to be the goal of Western medicine (I.e., common overuse of antibiotics and pain medications). Generally speaking, Western medicine is more expensive and resource intensive than natural medicine (I.e., drug manufacturing, transportation, insurance issues, etc.).

How do I get started?

It is crucial we educate ourselves before jumping into the practice of natural healing. Remember the importance of sourcing healing herbs locally and supporting local herbalists to reinforce the element of community relationships within sustainable medicine. Be sure to give back to the plant world by researching the area’s endangered medicinal plants and growing more of them to protect these vital ecosystems! Holistically speaking, cultivating a practice of gratitude with plants and the natural world reciprocates a cycle of nourishment.

Considering a plant-based diet is another excellent way to incorporate sustainable medicine into your life. This is because food is medicine, as it is our fuel. A plant-based diet helps to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and other preventable medical issues. This shift to a greener diet not only benefits our bodies, but especially our home. Research shows that plant-based diets encourage significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in comparison to non-plant-based diets that are extremely common in most industrialized countries.

Make a difference with your medicine by opting for sustainable medicinal alternative whenever possible! Some examples of plants – found here in the Southwest – that can replace your over-the-counter pain medication:

Osha: The root is consumed primarily as a tea or tincture to enhance immunity to colds, cases of flu, and viruses. The Osha plant can also relieve digestion issues, body pains, and lung diseases.

Ashwagandha: The root and leaves contain nutrients that can be extracted and/or turned into a powder. Ashwagandha has been proven to reduce anxiety and stress levels, improve sleep and brain function, build hormonal strength and may reduce blood sugar levels and inflammation.

Yerba Mansa: It has antibacterial properties that allow the root to disinfect and treat wounds, sores and ulcers. Yerba Mansa can be consumed as tea, powder, capsule or extract to soothe and shrink inflamed tissues.

-Posted by Isa

It can be difficult to eat sustainably. What I mean by “sustainable eating” is based on the Planetary Health Diet, dietary guidelines based on research done by scientists to determine which diet is ecologically healthiest while also being nutritionally adequate. To make everyday eating more sustainable, the food system should be constructed so that eating sustainably no longer takes much effort or requires special expensive grocery stores but instead is the default for consumers. Not everyone has access to sustainable groceries. It can be difficult to replace nutrients from animal products with plant-based foods. According to the Planetary Health Diet, this isn’t non-negotiable. PHD does include small amounts of animal products. Of course, not everyone can eat the same way. Diets vary based on nutritional needs, health conditions, and personal preference.

At this point, you might be asking yourself: why is this important? Well, it affects how we live. Later I’ll be discussing shifting the entire food system. Diet is one of the most impactful changes an individual can make to reduce their ecological footprint. Climate change is a severe threat to humanity, so making the default food choices for consumers sustainable is crucial.

I’ve had my own struggles eating sustainably. I don’t have time to cook, so getting enough mostly plant-based food is a huge challenge that takes a lot of time and energy. There are other barriers people face when trying to eat sustainably. It’s difficult to tell which products are sustainable, especially with greenwashing. Another barrier to everyday sustainable eating is that the price or health of foods outweighs sustainability. The price of sustainable foods is often higher. Lastly, even if a food is obviously more sustainable, people are often uncertain about just how effective or how much more sustainable that food is. This could lead to other factors outweighing perceived sustainability.

The first method by which a sustainable food system can be accomplished is changing the supply chain. No-till farming and crop rotation are two methods of sustainable farming. No-till farming is farming without tilling soil, which degrades the soil and makes it less nutritious. Crop rotation is when farmers switch which crops they grow in a certain field over time. Growing the same crop can deplete nutrients from the soil. Regenerative agriculture techniques such as these can improve soil health and ensure that crops can be grown for a long time.

There are ways to make grocery shopping more sustainable. Emissions from transportation to grocery stores can be reduced by implementing e-groceries or improving walkability. On the consumer side, once there’s a critical mass of demand for sustainable products, companies will stock them. Lastly, grocery stores can “nudge” shoppers to make more sustainable choices. Sustainable products can be displayed at the front of the store, there can be posters reminding shoppers of sustainability, or shoppers can be given discounts for sustainable products or practices. I went to a Smith’s that displayed brown bananas with a recipe for banana bread, and another Smith’s has “green bag points” for customers who don’t use single-use bags. One method that’s been piloted in the UK is eco-labeling, where brands can choose to have a label on their products with a grade for how eco-friendly that product is based on a few factors. This strategy may be more effective if it is required of all foods, like nutrition labels.

The last way the food system can become more sustainable is through taxes and/or incentives. The simplest way to do this is to put a monetary value on ecosystem degradation and add that to the cost of products depending on how harmful they are. However, the effect of this would be to force low-income people into lifestyles that are seen as inaccessible today. Another way this could be done is by taxing environmentally harmful luxuries like cruises and flights and providing incentives for purchasing sustainable products. For example, there could be a combination of required eco-labeling and tax write-offs for money spent on products with high ratings. The food system is not sustainable as it is, and it is nearly impossible to live sustainably within it. However, with enough action at all levels of society, it can be changed for the benefit of the environment and all of us.

-Posted by Cameron

When you’re a child you get lectured by your parents for not finishing your dinner. They reference children in Africa that starve while you waste the pile of peas on your plate. While this is relevant to the food waste epidemic, it’s nothing compared to the food waste that is created in America yearly. Americans throw out 400 pounds of food per person annually or 1,250 calories per day per person. In total America wastes slightly less than half of all the total amount of food. There are more than 42 million Americans that suffer from food scarcity, but the U. S. does not eat 40% of its food.

To prevent more harm to the environment and ensure world hunger subsides, there needs to be a prevention of food waste. There are several different ways to reduce your food waste while providing food and nourishment not only for other people, but also for the planet. One of the best ways to reduce food waste is by composting. Composting can be easy and efficient for your home. The process of composting is recycling organic matter, such as leaves and food scraps, into a valuable fertilizer that can enrich soil and plants. All you have to do is take the food you do not consume (banana peels, egg shells, leftovers) and add it to a container which can be placed in your backyard. If you live in a place where you don’t have access to a backyard there are several discreet composting options for apartments and homes. Not only does composting reduce food waste but it also conserves water, cuts methane emissions from landfills, and improves soil health. 

Sadly all across the nation composting is not properly utilized. In New Mexico several stores donate certain food waste, but the rest is thrown away. Less than 10% of grocery stores compost, this is either because of lack of accountability or they don’t have access to compost services. This is very troubling because 40% of food waste comes from restaurants and grocery stores in America. The image of a slightly bruised apple may come to mind. Why don’t you see a bruised apple or slightly brown bananas in grocery stores? Most likely it is because this item is already in the trash since it does not represent the image that the store is trying to live up to. Food is food, and it shouldn’t be wasted because it’s not absolutely pristine in the eyes of the customer or business.

Composting is not the only way to reduce food waste. Some of the most simple ways to reduce food waste is to create a meal plan, stock your pantry with shelf stable foods that can be utilized for years, store food appropriately, and eat before you shop to prevent overbuying. These are all easy to implement in your life but one of the best All of these can be efficient ways to reduce food waste and global emissions. For several decades America has been at the front of the world for harmful practices to the Environment and overall food waste. The detriment that we have created has been largely ignored or explained away as a way for progress to be made with agriculture. Progress does not always have to mean waste and it’s time people that cared about this issue took initiative to stop these practices.

If you’re interested in having a compost system in your home, one of the best things to do is DIY it. All you’ll need is a large container/trash can (hopefully you can repurpose one that you had lying around), a power drill, and a power drill bit to go with your power drill. What you’ll need to do is rinse out your container, drill holes in the container approximately three inches apart (this should be both length and width), and then clean out the container again to  ensure no plastic particles are inside. Then start collecting your composting and adding it to the bin so it slowly starts to decompose.

With an effort from businesses and individuals, food waste can be a thing of the past. Taking accountability and trying new methods like composting, or just donating to people who need it more are ways to help the Earth. Don’t forget, just because the banana is a little ugly doesn’t mean it’s not delicious.

-Posted by Kayla

Agroecosystems, ecosystems that have been modified by human beings for agricultural purposes, have become a topic of study as we focus on shifting agricultural practices towards sustainability. When you picture an agroecosystem what do you see? You might think of rolling fields of grain or a small backyard garden, but would you think of the Santa Fe National Forest or the California grasslands? I would argue that the Earth itself is an agroecosystem.

Human beings currently manage an approximate 97% of land to some extent. Much of that land is used agriculturally, even if only to a small extent. The Forest Service manages and protects our national forests, these protections allow wild edible plants to grow, and in turn allows people to forage for them. Our national forests are also grazing pastures for the cattle that roam them. Agroecosystems exist on a continuum from agroecosystems with minimal human interference to industrialized monoculture farms. Would our national forests not fall on the minimal human interference side of the continuum?

In California government agencies are scrambling to save the grasslands. These biomes are necessary for the health of all California ecosystems, and they are rapidly disappearing. Historically, these grasslands were maintained by Native Californians who contributed to their health through management of the land and the species that lived on it. When Native Californians began to be pushed out of the picture the health of the grasslands began to decay. These grasslands relied on management, much of it in the form of harvesting food, to survive. Without such interference from people these grasslands are rapidly disappearing. When this management is added back into the picture the grasslands begin to recover.

This is all part of the bigger picture that human life is not separate from the ecosystem as a whole. In recent centuries human beings have begun to separate ourselves from the ecosystem, both physically by building cities and mentally by changing our view of our place in the ecosystem. This viewpoint has greatly contributed to climate change and many argue that it’s necessary for us to change our view of ourselves in connection to our ecosystem to truly make progress in reversing climate change. We are animals and we have evolved within the ecosystem. We are as necessary to a healthy ecosystem as wolves are to Yellowstone, to remove ourselves is to remove a key part of a balanced ecosystem. While our interference in the ecosystem has become far greater than other species, our interference is still no different from the interference of a bird keeping a stock of seeds for winter.

When a squirrel buries an acorn there’s a chance that squirrel will never dig it up again. Squirrels only retrieve about 95% of their buried acorns, not to mention the possibility that the squirrel never makes it through winter, and in these situations it’s possible for that acorn to sprout and grow into an oak tree. This oak tree will produce food for the future squirrels of the world and those squirrels will bury those acorns allowing the cycle to repeat. This keeps the forest and the squirrels alive. Is an oak forest the agroecosystem of squirrels? 

When we define our production of food within an ecosystem as separate from “the ecosystem” we separate ourselves from the ecosystem as a whole. At the end of the day, our actions growing food are no different in nature than the actions of a squirrel stockpiling acorns. Our actions may have greater influence due to the destructive nature of modern industrial farming yet it remains the same principle. Our influence on the ecosystem’s production of food is everywhere and so ingrained in the structure of the world that entire biomes rely on our influence to survive. It will be impossible to approach agriculture in a sustainable way while our influence on the ecosystem through agriculture is still viewed as separate from the broader ecosystem. The Earth itself is an agroecosystem.

-Posted by Alex

Plant-Based Milk’s Rise to Popularity

Over the past decade, plant-based milk seems to be getting more and more popular. I remember when oat milk raised in popularity a couple of years ago, there was a shortage at Starbucks. It was close to impossible to find oat milk anywhere. There were other plant-based milk options at the time, but oat milk was the one that stuck out.

People have made the switch from dairy milk to plant-based milk for many reasons: taste, sustainability, and health reasons. Almond milk is by far the most popular milk alternative. Plant-based milk’s popularity was at an all-time high in 2020 sales in the US. The total sales for that year were between $2.5 billion and $3 billion. Almond milk sales had the highest amount of $1.54 billion, but oat milk had the biggest increase in sales. Oat milk sales went up by 37% with a total of $512 million. Other plant-based milk had an 18% increase in sales making $91 million. Overall, dairy milk made more than its plant-based competition making $40.5 billion in the US.

Cow’s Milk Impact on the Environment

Compared to plant-based milk, dairy milk has a significantly larger impact on the environment. To create one liter of milk, 8.95 square miles of land are used. Making one liter of cow milk creates 3.15 kilograms of greenhouse gas. None of the alternative kinds of milk reach half of dairy milk’s emissions. The amount of freshwater used to make one liter of milk is 628.2 liters.

Plant-Based Milk’s Impact on the Environment

None of the plant-based kinds of milk’s land usage per liter comes close to dairy milk’s. None of them are over a square mile. Oat milk has the highest land usage of 0.76 miles², soy milk uses 0.66 miles², almond milk uses 0.5 miles², and rice milk uses the least amount with only 0.34 miles². All of the alternative kinds of milk have very similar greenhouse emissions. Rice milk produces 1.18 kg per liter, soy milk produces, 0.98 kg, oat milk produces 0.9 kilograms, and almond milk produces 0.7 kilograms.

There is a big difference in freshwater usage per liter with certain types of milk alternatives. Almond milk uses the most by a long shot, but rice milk is the closest with about 100 liters less. The total amount of freshwater almond milk uses is 371.46 liters and rice milk follows with 269.81 liters. Oat and soy milk don’t come close to the other kinds of milk with their water usage. Oat milk only requires 48.24 liters and soy milk requires 27.8 liters.

Health Comparisons  

The main health reason people consume plant-based milk instead of cow milk is because of lactose. Other than having no lactose, plant-based milk provides several other health benefits. Cow milk has more fat compared to most milk alternatives. On average, plant-based milk has 25-63% less fat. The majority of the types of plant-based milk have less sugar in it, except for oat milk. 

On the other hand, there are some health benefits to drinking dairy milk instead of a milk alternative. Dairy milk has more protein, potassium, and calcium compared to plant-based milk. One cup of cow milk contains 25% of recommended calcium intake and 10% of recommended potassium. It is also better for kids and toddlers because it has more vitamin D, protein, and calcium to help kids’ growth and development.

Comparing Cost

Typically when you order coffee somewhere, you have to pay extra for plant-based milk. At Starbucks, they charge 70¢ to add any of the milk alternative options they have there to your drink. In the UK, Starbucks there are removing the extra fee for milk alternatives. Soy milk is the cheapest type of plant-based milk. On average soy milk cost $1-3 per half gallon. The reason it is the most affordable non-dairy milk is that it has been in the market for it and its newness has worn off. Oat milk, on the other hand, costs more to buy because it’s a newer product and its popularity is at its prime. Dairy milk on average cost about $4.36 per gallon.

My Recommendation

There are many factors you need to consider when you are choosing which milk to buy: cost, impact on the environment, and health benefits. If you are wanting milk that has the lowest impact on the environment, I would go with either oat or soy milk since they have low land and water usage, and greenhouse gas emissions. The only negative part about buying oat milk is that it is one of the more expensive kinds of milk. If you are looking for cheap milk with a low impact on the environment, soy milk is your best option.

–Posted by Hope

As a child I personally hated bees,especially when they were buzzing around the raspa truck. As a reasonably educated adult I love bees and everything they can provide. Whether that be beeswax, honey, or royal jelly. However, today we will be focusing on an important job all bees and fellow wild friends provide, Pollination! Pollination is essential to our everyday lives from the food that you eat to the soap in your bathroom, yet we hardly give credit where credit is due.

Before we dive in on their importance let’s first define and understand what a pollinator is. According to the National Park Service a pollinator is anything that helps carry pollen from the male part of the flower to the female part of the same or another flower. In other words, a pollinator assists in the reproduction of flowers and plants. The state of New Mexico is home to a variety of pollinators. They range from monarch butterflies to bats. There’s a variety of native pollinators. These pollinators take different shifts during the day for maximum efficiency. During the day you may see bees or other winged creatures buzzing and flying around flowers and other native plants. During the night our other nocturnal friends take their shifts.

As reported by U.S. Department of Agriculture about 35% of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators to reproduce. Therefore, by statistics at least one section of your meal got to your mouth with the help of pollinators. Additionally in the USDA added that pollinators add approximately $18 billion in revenue to crop production every year (Keel, 2022). The infographic above, provided by Xerces society, provides a visual aid for all the assistance pollinators give both economically and aesthetically.

Sadly, the two dear pollinators mentioned above, bees and bats, are slowly fading away. They have extreme difficulty surviving in today’s human activities and modern world and need our help to keep from going farther into endangerment. Both bees and bats habitats are declining due to urbanization, this results in a lack of food with more competition. Caves that were once homes to colonies of bats are being closed for safety hazards to humans. If bees alone were to go extinct our food supply would greatly decline. It is our job as a society to aid in not only the population of bees but all pollinators; without their role in our lives the stability of human populations would hang in the balance.

There are many options to help our pollinating friends. As stated previously bats are having trouble finding shelter. A great way you can make a difference is by either buying or making a bat box to set up in your backyard. Setting up a bat box would not only give them shelter but would also provide a feeding ground. Bats are great tenants for your yard as they assist in pest control. If you’re looking to purchase a bat box a great company to look at would be BatBNB. They ship right to your door and have additional information about what a bat box can provide for our nocturnal friends.

A good DIY option is to create bee water drinking stations in your backyard. Often times bees drown from desperately trying to drink water or dehydrate from lack of water. One method I use in my own yard in filling a shallow bowl with water then placing marbles just above to water’s surface inside. An effective, cheap alternative to marbles is rocks, however, if the rocks are not thin you will need to fill the water a bit higher as pictured here. It gives the bees a safe place to land and replenish while they’re hard at work pollinating.

Additionally, you can plant native species that attract pollinators and are also adapted to New Mexico’s unique environment. These plants are best suited for small areas with dry soil. These plants not only attract native bees and butterflies; they also attract nectar seeking wildlife such as hummingbirds. The plants that Xerces society recommends for the Albuquerque and Santa Fe Region include Chocolate flowers, horsetail milkweed, gayfeather, desert willow, crispleaf buckwheat and many more. You can find the full list on the Xerces Society Website.

In the city of Albuquerque, you can get your own yard certified through ABQ Backyard Refuge to make your own space a “wild habitat in an urban place. They provide helpful plant lists, getting started guides, and many other resources to ensure your yard is not only pollinator friendly but New Mexico adapted.

-Posted by Ava

One of the most notable events in U.S history, the Dust Bowl, has common contributing factors to modern day farming practices. The Dust Bowl caused violent dust storms and high wind gusts that plagued the Midwest and Southwestern United States. People in the affected areas endured these storms for six long years, from 1930-1936. The big question about the strange event is; how did this happen? To answer the question, we must go back to World War 1.

During World War 1, the demand and price for wheat and other valuable crops such as corn skyrocketed. This demand for such large amounts of produce came from the need to feed an army and civilians throughout Europe. Production and cultivation of these vital crops led to farmers growing their operations to meet the demand. This boom in price and production that lasted throughout the 1920s into early 1930, finally crashed along with the stock market during the Great Depression.

One key factor that contributed to the fall in price of crops during the Depression, was that now the once abundant farmlands were left barren. Dry land farming, a process that relied on pre-existing moisture and nutrients in the soil, was one of the largest contributors to the Dust Bowl. With the farmland being overworked, there was not enough moisture or nutrients left in the soil for newly planted crops to survive. Overgrazing also destroyed anchoring plants and root systems. With nothing to keep the soil in place, and very dry sand-like soil condition, the soil began to erode and blow away with the wind. This was especially devastating in the Great Plains area due to the flat nature of the area and most of the prairie grass being stripped away. The result of these conditions led to large dust storms forming by wind picking up loose soil and creating large, fast moving dust clouds. The dust storms and soil that was impossible to farm on led to mass migrations to escape the storms and inhabitable conditions.

Over-farming was a very large contributor to the Dust Bowl, but it begs the question; what could have been done to prevent the damage?

The answer to this question is one that is not very hard to find, but is somewhat difficult to implement; soil health. Having healthy soil is the crucial foundation to ensure that we have healthy crops to harvest, and to ensure that another Dust Bowl incident does not happen again. Healthy soil is defined as soil that is rich with elements such as carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, organic matter being present in the soil, having the right amount of water, and it being physically strengthened by plant growth. Without these key ingredients, soil erosion could revert back to conditions similar to the Dust Bowl. The U.S has lost an estimated 57.6 billion metric tons of soil since the late 19th century. It is estimated that prairie lands lose about 1.9 millimeters of top soil every year.

After the Dust Bowl period ended, new farming practices were put into place to protect and promote soil health. These practices have been effective in slowing down the rate of soil erosion. To solve these problems and enforce regulations, the National Natural Resource Conservation Service, or NRCS, was created under the Department of Agriculture in 1933, later renamed the Soil Conservation Service or, SCS, in 1935 as direct response to the Dust Bowl. The main goal of the NRCS and SCS is to protect soil health and prevent conditions from ever being similar to cause another Dust Bowl. One organization here in  New Mexico, the NM Healthy Soil Working Group, is in the fight against soil erosion.  They have many resources to help people learn about healthy soil practices and conservation methods to consider when planting crops.

There are practices that both help the problem of soil erosion, but also have the chance to increase its rate and make the problem worse. Some of these practices include crop rotation in fields, no-till farming, and crop covering. These methods have been very effective at reducing erosion. No-till farming for example has been able to reduce the amount of soil lost to just 0.1 tons per acre a year. This is a large saving compared to losing 5.2 tons per acre a year in a conventional till operation. The process works by not digging into the Earth when planting (here is a video of a no-till operation). It helps keep the vegetation and root systems intact, strengthening the soil. This process also includes covering farmland that is not in use to protect it from erosion by wind. Crop rotation is another viable option by switching out which crops are planted in the same fields so that the nutrients can be utilized for specific crops. With these methods in place, we still cannot stop erosion, but we will be able to slow its effects.

We have come a long way since the Dust Bowl. We have learned about the importance of soil health and just how crucial it is to our own health, and the health of our Earth. We will always have the threat of a Dust Bowl like incident looming over us, and a few of the practices are still in place. Even though we have changed our ways, we will always have the parallels to the conditions of the past.

–Posted by John