Let's write about wonderful bamboo!

Why grow bamboo? Bamboo is an attractive ornamental plant; gardeners often seek out bamboo create a visual barrier on their property or to add a specific feeling to their garden’s design.

Environmental Bamboo Foundation logo: In East Nusa Tenggara (Indonesia), there are 'Bamboo Mamas', women who are creating thousands of bamboo seedlings in bamboo nurseries in preparation to replant degraded lands and bring back the forests of the past. This initiative is a direct response to the threats climate change is bringing to their island home.

“Many gardeners want to add bamboo to their property as a privacy screen,” said Jennifer Estrada, co-owner of New England Bamboo Co. in Rockport, Massachusetts. “It is a nice tall, dense, and evergreen option to hide a fence or just to give your yard a more private setting in an otherwise thickly settled neighborhood. Others might like bamboo as an accent specimen for their garden or to help create a zen feel.”

Why do I want to write about bamboo? Honestly, I came to a an appreciation for bamboo when my family lived in the Philippines, while my husbands was stationed there, with the U.S. Navy. What I remember most about bamboo is how fast it grows and the green color is intense year around. Beautiful furniture can be constructed with large bamboo stalks. Although there are no Panda bears living in the Philippines, those in China and in American zoos cannot get enough bamboo to eat. It's their favorite diet.

Therefore, I was interested in reading this article, published in the April 2022, Rotary International magazine.

In the Philippines, the forest cover is among the most depleted in the world. At the end of the 19th century, 70 percent of the country's land was forested; now, it's down to 20 percent. This has caused bigger floods, more soil erosion, higher temperatures and fewer crops.

Philippine Bamboo Foundation logo

Since trees are the "lungs of the world, performing the function of sequestering carbon," Edmund Singson who is president of the Rotary Club of Makati (Manila) Central, observes that the need to do sustainable projects on reforestation and increase the capacity of people to take care of the forests has become urgent.

Bamboo is bringing some hope in revitalizing deforested areas. "Bamboo is the first line of defense to deforestation," said Edguardo Manda, president of the Philippine Bamboo Foundation and past president of the Makati Central Rotary Club, who was the featured speaker on one field trip segment of the virtual Rotary presidential conference on, 27 November.

Bamboo grows quickly and can produce a mini-forest in just three years, he added. The plant prevents soil erosion and captures carbon dioxide to address pollution. A community can flourish around a bamboo forest by harvesting poles and shoots from the crop for sustainable livelihood as construction material, charcoal and food. This leaves forest trees undisturbed and protected because bamboo has given the community an alternative source of livelihood.

This was the rationale behind the rehabilitation of Wawa Dam, a critical watershed especially for Metro Manila, which is experiencing accelerated deforestation.

Moreover, the indigenous people residing in the watershed produce charcoal for their livelihood by cutting trees. The resulting loss of forest cover has contributed to the heavy flooding in Metro Manila, resulting in severe damage to property, dislocation of families and economic disruption.

Edgardo Manda: Commercially produced and sourced planting materials from either secondary or tertiary bamboo branch cuttings, require lots of care otherwise will not survive harsh conditions in plantation sites.

Since Manda became its president in 2010, the Philippine Bamboo Foundation has undertaken several nationwide information and education campaigns about the plant. It has also developed four eco farms and created bamboo villages/communities and in so doing also created bamboo forests.

Also, it has teamed up with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to prepare training materials about bamboo plantation management and the development of skills in producing finished products. Manda believes there is a commercial potential world-wide for bamboo products as a healthy food option, beer, laminated/engineered bamboo lumber, natural fiber, and reinforcement material for housing.

And this! Green School: Elora Hardy grew up in the wonderful land of BAli, in Indonesia, where her father taught her that if you have an idea you can create it.

Her father created a world-renowned design and build team in Bali, called, "Green School".

On its campus is a three-story triple-sprial cathedral innovation in architecture and engineering, made of bamboo. After working abroad, Hardy was lured back to Bali to carry on the work her father started. She founded the IBUKU studio, which has become an incubator of new ideas borne from collaborations between Balinese artisans and innovative designers and architects worldwide.

There were no experts on using bamboo in creative architectural designs. Hardy and her father put a whole new industry in motion.

Bamboo's strength is comparable t steel and concrete, says Hardy, who has brought bamboo to concrete spaces overseas. In Hong Kong, her company was asked t build a Balinese landscape. In Las Vegas, she was asked to create comfort, texture and a sense of closeness, "like bringing a sculptural bamboo volcano," within a warehouse space. It was, quite appropriately, called "The Sanctuary". She has created 300 structures around the world, using bamboo.

Bamboo construction is combining artistry with technology, nand with machine. The results are beautiful, inspiring, and technically precise, even breathtaking.

This is the future, says Hardy. With the efficiency of process systems and design, one can build a whole bamboo city within just four years, using forms that are warm, that can hold us, even hug us, that are enclosed and yet still a part of nature.

Elora Hardy was a keynote speaker at the Rotary presidential conference in Manila, in November.

Let's write about saving heritage languages

Echo report from Australia, published in ABC News*, by Mark Rigby writing for ABC Far North.

This report can be a resource reference for all minority cultures.

Language suppression is an overt example of racism. One small community in Australia is finally finding some validation about the history of its aboriginal language. The program reconnects Aboriginal children with their culture.

The children sing nursery rhymes in Aboriginal languages at the community's aged care facility.(ABC Far North: Mark Rigby)

Kowanyama, in Australia:  Kowanyama is a town and coastal locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Kowanyama, Queensland, Australia. It is the site of the former Mitchell River Mission, founded in 1916, after the nearby Trubanamen Mission was abandoned. In the 2016 census the locality of Kowanyama had a population of 944 people. Mitchell River Mission, at Trubanaman, was established by the Church of England in 1905. Children living on the Mission were separated from their parents and housed in segregated dormitories for the purposes of education. This practice was also viewed as a means of isolating the children from their culture. In 1918 the mission relocated to a site on Magnificent Creek and was given the name Kowanyama (however, for many years after this move it was still referred to as Mitchell River Mission). In 1966, the Anglican Church approached the government to take control of the mission and responsibility for the mission was handed over to the Queensland Government on 1 May 1967. The mission became a government administered reserve known as Kowanyama.

Aboriginal languages once banned under colonial rule are making a classroom comeback, creating new connections to culture in remote western Cape York Peninsula. 

Kowanyama, north-west of Cairns, is home to three distinct language groups that were almost eradicated.

But they are now being taught to students at Kowanyama State School and it is having a far greater impact than anyone in the community could ever have imagined.

First Nations people were forbidden from speaking their languages — Kokoberra, Kokomnjen and Kunjen — when they were moved onto Anglican missions in the early 20th century.

Kokoberra elder Priscilla Major is one of only a few people remaining who speaks all three languages fluently.

She said the ban dealt a devastating blow to the retention of culture.

"Adults who are in their 20s, 30s and 40s, even in their 50s and 60s don't know their language," Ms Major said.

"We've got to keep talking; we don't want our language to get lost."

Ms Major was part of a two-year community consultation process, initiated by Kowanyama State School and the Queensland Department of Education, to incorporate Aboriginal language classes into the school's curriculum.

Kowanyama State School deputy principal Mikayla Bell said that process identified the community's desire for all three languages to be taught.

After successfully launching Aboriginal language lessons in the classroom in term three, the program is now making the community's wishes a reality.

Language revival on country

Students are venturing out of the classroom and onto country.

"Being outside learning in the way they used to learn and their ancestors used to learn was a really important aspect for them," Ms Bell said.

On the banks of Magnificent Creek, which runs through the heart of Kowanyama, students learn to say the Aboriginal names of local flora and fauna.

They also visit Kowanyama's aged care home to share their lessons with community elders and learn more about Aboriginality.

"Identity is a really important part of being an Aboriginal person, and that identity was taken from a lot of people a long time ago," Ms Bell said.

"We're at the very beginning and we're not saying these kids are walking out here being able to talk full language.

"But it is a revival program and it requires a lot of people being involved, and that's our elders."

'Learn while you can'

The language classes are making a mark on students with school attendance on the rise.

Ms Bell said attitudes to learning had changed.

"Being able to have the students really strong in their culture and have identity and pride can just encourage that attendance at school," she said.

"We don't expect that all kids are going to be doctors or dentists. There's a variety of different jobs out there in the world.

"But the most important thing is that they can contribute to a community setting and be good citizens."

For Priscilla Major, there was an urgency to the language program.

"I explain to them, you've got to learn your language now while you can because we won't be here for you the next time," Ms Major said.

"There've been a few things lost already, and I'm adamant I'm bringing some things back before I go down."

The students learn to read, write and speak ancestral languages in the classroom, and out on country.(ABC Far North: Mark Rigby)

'We've got to keep talking': Elders revive Aboriginal languages in the classroom.

*The ABC and CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)  announced the Kindred Animation Collaboration, a joint initiative designed to nurture and support the kids’ production industry, by funding new children’s animated projects in Australia and Canada.

Definition: A heritage language is a minority language (either immigrant or indigenous) learned by its speakers at home as children, but never fully developed because of insufficient input from the social environment. The speakers grow up with a different dominant language in which they become more competent.

Let's write about "hugs"

Subtitle to this blog:  "Learn more about hugging".

Although one can reasonably expect to receive an instructional journal about how to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a row boat in, "Just Keep Rowing: Lessons from the Atlantic Ocean", by Katie Spotz and Mark Bowles, the surprise enjoyments are much more inspirational than the book's cover describes. To use a metaphor, you cannot judge this book by it's interesting cover.

Katie might have subtitled this particular journal entry published on page 227, as "Just Keep Hugging"

In 2010, Katie Spotz became the youngest person to row a boat across the Atlantic Ocean, entirely alone. Readers can re-live her journey in Just Keep Rowing,  In reality, this is a lovely self-empowerment book written by Katie Spotz and Mark Bowles, with 70 life lessons that parallel the number of days Katie spent alone at sea, while rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. 

During her journey, Katie learned many vital life lessons from the Atlantic. As she found out, an ocean is a great teacher about the meaning of life. Katie became its student, sometimes reluctantly but often enthusiastically, and she communicates these lessons because she believes they can be valuable for everyone. From students to business executives, and to people just wanting to find new ways to live life to the fullest, these lessons from the Atlantic will help readers to see the world from a new perspective.

"A hug is always the right size," Winnie the Pooh

Most important, the purpose of this Atlantic rowing challenge was to draw attention to the number of people in the world who will never know Katie Spotz by name, but who she wanted help by raising awareness about the importance of providing them with clean water.

One of the many inspiring lessons taught while Katie just kept rowing was about the importance of "hugging". Maybe, it's more accurate to say, the importance of being hugged.  

This is how she describes this experience. "One thing this row has reinforced for me is how special some people are.  My sister is one of those people for me. We really can and do enter our own little world where our souls sort of mystically entwine. What is the natural response when that happens?  Joy and laughter, the sound of life being lived right.  That's why I want her to be the first person I hug when I reach land."

Perhaps I had forgotten how much hugs matter in life.  Hugs were something I could not pack along with my Clif bars.  I really never thought about what being devoid of hugs for 70 days might mean for my psyche.  I can tell you now, that it's hard.  An embrace with a loved one is a gift of life we need to enjoy many times a day.  The problem is that we sometimes take hugs for granted, much like a handshake. But, they are fare more than that. They are that brief moment when two people open their arms in a sign of vulnerability compassion, love and welcome. Entwining arms with another person brings our inner lights together. Think about two candles, burning apart from each other. What happens when you bring them together and and the two flames unite?  The single point of light becomes much brighter. That's how it feels when my sister Maggie and I hug. As I said, in my letter to mom. The first hug will be remembered forever."

"This is the lesson the Atlantic Ocean is teaching me today:  the power of a hug.  This power is not reserved just for a select few.  Hugs are for everyone."

Amen!

Maine Writer post script: I consider some of the the themes described in the beautifully written journal by Katie Spotz, to be analogous to the prose in "Gifts from the Sea", by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, who wrote meditations on youth, and age, love and marriage, peace, solitude and contentment during a brief vacation by the sea