“Let nature take its course”
Make the best use of nature’s abundance to reduce our consumptive behaviour and dependence on non-renewable resources.
The horse icon represents both a renewable service and renewable resource. It can be used to pull a cart, plough or log and it can even be eaten – a non consuming use is preferred over a consuming one. The proverb “let nature take it’s course” reminds us that control over nature through excessive resource use and high technology is not only expensive, but can have a negative effect on our environment.
There’s more to cows than milk
“Milk, cheese and yogurt are just the start of the story: the cows are also turning pasture and perennial crops into high value organic meat and manure that gets used in our compost, worm farm and compost teas for the garden and orchard. The joy of sitting under a cow and milking her, listening to the pail fill, is hard to beat. The wonder of children seeing where milk comes from is unforgettable and the delivery of a new calf is always a cause for celebration.” – Jodie Lane
‘There’s more to cows than milk’ photo and accompanying text contributed by Jodie Lane and, featured in the 2013 Permaculture Calendar.
Principle 5: Use & value renewable resources & services
Jim Walsh with his giant schnauzer Tom doing an easy 40 km/hr
“Tom and I have reached a maximum recorded speed of 64.8 km/hr in this cart. On a cool day he has pulled me around for 6 hours in one day and, like most working breeds, he loves doing it. How great would it be if carparks were replanted with useful trees where happy dogs might rest before taking their owners home at the end of the day.” – Jim Walsh
Photo credit: Asiafoto.
Weeding between the rows
Joseph is on the handles while Abraham keeps Major from straying as they weed along the last row of maize. Two months earlier they turned most of last year’s lupin crop into the soil, but saved some (behind) for seed. Willows and acacias (background) stabilise the bank of a beautiful stony bed river, before a steep hill of native bush. November 2006.
Photo taken at St Francis Farm in New Zealand and contributed by Christoff Schneider
Feasting on Salmonberries
Goats have remarkably dexterous mouths that can negotiate eating the foliage and stems of thorny plants. Rubus berries can take over pastures, repelling grazing animals and enabling the spread of the forest. For goats these wild, abundant plants are just another meal. Goats mow grass, and convert tree and shrub prunings into milk, meat and manure. Animals can have a productive niche in the fertility cycle, completing the loop.
Photo taken at St. Mary’s Spring Estate, Canada and contributed by Joel Catchlove
