Permacultural Explorations

During one of our walks we stumbled upon someone who offered us a place to stay. We had planned on camping out at an RV park, but instead we took him up on his offer and camped out at his permaculture farm in Bouse, AZ. This farmer, Mark Moody, founder of the Arizona Mesquite Company is committed to revitalizing utilization of a long-forgotten species of native desert tree know as Mesquite. To his knowledge, he is the only farmer that cultivates and harvests pods from this tree and has been entirely self-sufficient at doing so. A few of us toured his farm where he showed us the hammer mill he constructed for grinding the pods into flour and the hoop house he built to grow young trees. He emphasized the extremely high protein content of mesquite and said with certainty that he could feed an entire village solely from the mesquite products from his farm.

The work that Mark and countless others are doing is extremely admirable. I know from taking a permaculture design class how important it is to work with nature to create a self-sustaining system of agriculture. Such a system will be critical in the face of climate change when brutal, unpredictable conditions make continued industrial production of cash crops impossible. Given that climate change is already upon us, we need an adaptive, resilient form of agriculture if we are to survive. Permaculture is exactly that and the great thing about it is that it encourages innovation. Using permacultural techniques is like cooking without a recipe book, there are a few key concepts but a lot of actions are done by trial-and-error until the best one is found and perfected.

Permaculture exemplified Chris's values in so many ways since it is the perfect cross-section of his minimal impact philosophy and ideals for creative agricultural solutions to climate change and poverty. Thus Jamie had the idea to build a permaculture garden behind the 660 Cooperative as a memorial for Chris. In addition to this garden being a haven for people who knew Chris to spend time and remember him in a tranquil space, our hope is for it to also provide present and future 660 residents with healthy, local food from their own backyard. We also hope it will bolster community not only within the coop itself but for passersby for which its gates will also be open.

To learn more about Mark's Mesquite Farm, check out his website at http://www.arizonamesquitecompany.com

To learn more about or donate to the Chris Dennis Memorial Permaculture Garden go to http://jpj46.peaksmaker.com/?campaign=1457

Moonlight Marching, Daylight Climbing

The days we spent crossing the Mojave really tested us. The temperature extremes were beyond anything I've ever experienced. The brutal heat was especially bad and left us all exhausted and dehydrated at the end of the day. So we decided to nocturnalize ourselves for a night to compensate. We started off at 2 am and marched with the light of the full moon glowing over us. This was one of the most sacred experiences I've had thus far on the march. The peacefulness of the night brought us to a tranquil silence that felt almost tangible.

Moonset over a beautiful desert landscape

After about 3.5 hours of walking, daylight gently spread across the landscape preceding the appearance of the sun. Then as we saw the sun start to rise above the mountains, we looked back and saw the moon simultaneously sinking below the mountains behind us. It was truly a spectacular sight to behold and one that I will never forget.

We arrived at camp around 7:30 am at which time I almost immediately passed out. I did not even both to get out my sleeping pad, I just lay on the desert sand in the shade of a boulder mound and fell asleep. Unlike the others I had stayed awake until our 2 am departure video editing so I was dead tired.

Zach at the 3/4 point

Later on in the day a few of us decided to hike up a mountain as a sort of celebratory activity for Zach's last day on the march. The mountain was deceptive though. From a distance it looked like we could summit it about 20 minutes. In reality it took about 45 minutes to get up and over an hour to get down.

As we hiked up, Zach and I were having a blast challenging ourselves to climb the most difficult routes we could find, but it soon became apparent to us that there were a few people who had underestimated the integrity of the ascent and were intimidated by it. Michael who I'd for some reason assumed to have climbing experience was one of them. But he admirably persevered and was very glad that he did. Once on top, we could see for miles. The vastness and beauty of the landscape was indescribably breathtaking. It was so daunting to look down at our camp in the distance. It looked as if it might have been an ant village from the height we were at. Opportunities such as this one to get a birds-eye view of the amazing landscape we are crossing are what really keep me motivated to continue the long grueling days on the road.

Michael sitting triumphantly at the summit

Desert Marriage

On March 13th we arrived in the Joshua Tree Spiritual Retreat Center where we stayed the following two nights for our "Day of Rest". The first night we went to see a live performance by "Gene Evaro Jr". This was the first real party night we had on the journey and it was a blast. We got in as they were warming up then ate dinner there.

After we had finished eating we danced long into the night and conversed with the band members long after they had stopped playing. They were pleased that we enjoyed them so much to the extent that many of us bought their CD and asked them to sign it.

The day after was the special occasion we had been waiting for. Our wonderful California State Coordinator Ki Coulson was about to be officially wed to her 11-yr domestic partner, Taylor. Jimmy Betts, our program director married them in a private, low-key ceremony as the rest of us prepared a wedding reception on the campground. Though it was completely informal, both Ki and Taylor bought and wore white dresses and Ki also got a veil. The rest of us were in scrubby desert clothes but that was just the way they wanted it.

Before dinner was served everyone joined hands and Ki and Taylor gave short speeches. They told us that they had chosen us because this march was so historical and so it was only appropriate that they get married on the march since this wedding was historical to them.

Once dinner was served they sat in the center. Once everyone was satisfied, Ki and Taylor were asked to dance. Neither of them knew how to, so they mostly waltzed in a circle. They were soon joined by 10 other people waltzing in solidarity, but also sloppily. It was the most unorthodox wedding celebration I had ever been to but that was what made it so perfect. I felt honored that they had chosen us as the group to celebrate with.

Marcher in the Home

While on the road, anything goes in terms of where we sleep. The first night we slept in a middle school gym, the second night outside a church and the third night we slept at the Santa Fe Recreational Area. On the fourth night though we had a special arrangement for homestay hosts. Since we had a deadline to meet we hastened our pace to ensure we'd make it to the pick-up location.

I was lucky to have a host who was participating in the Mardi Gras pancake dinner at a middle school. I saw marchers dispersed around a room so I picked a table that did not yet have one. As soon as I sat down they excitedly asked me questions and I answered them up until my pancakes were served. As I started eating them I realized how famished I was. I felt a little rude since the people I had been seated with wanted to hear about my journey while I was preoccupied with replacing calories. So after my initial hunger surge had been satisfied I slowed my eating pace to give them my full attention.

After the dinner had concluded I caught a ride to another church where the marchers were to speak. It was here that I gave my first speech about Chris. I was a little shaky walking up to the microphone without a script prepared but as I started talking the words flowed out effortlessly. I began by describing how I first came to be involved in activism at Cornell by attending the National Power Shift Convergence in DC. Chris had been my carpool driver and it was on the long car ride down that we instantly became friends. I told them about his volunteer work in Haiti and admitted that I regretted not going with him to Haiti while he was alive. It was then that I told them that Chris had drowned five days before we were set to graduate and I could hear gasps percolating around the room. I continued on telling them about how talented Chris was as a videographer and how he tirelessly used his skills to inspire people to take action against fracking and poverty. I ended by telling them that I was marching in his honor and filming a documentary in his memory. As soon as I concluded there was roaring applause. It was at that moment that I felt Chris's presence; I sensed his beaming smile on me from the audience and I could not help but smile back. I looked down at my bamboo pin and thanked him for guiding me.

Braving the Apocalypse

Our grand adventure started with a sunrise ceremony at the Wilmington Waterfront Park that was led by members of several first nation tribes. They had us dancing around in a circle as the dark sky yielded to the awakening of the sun. The ceremony left me feeling energized and reminded me of the preciousness of the Earth that we are defending.

After the ceremony we congregated in front of the stage with solar-powered speakers for the Climate March Kickoff that was organized in concert with So Cal Climate Action 350. It was at this event that I first heard that Los Angeles had placed a ban on fracking, which was hugely exciting. I cannot think of better news to motivate a group of climate marchers to start a 3,000 mile odyssey across the country.

The march itself was a true testament to our willpower. We started off with hundreds of people marching with us on the streets of Wilmington. After we completed the first couple of miles of the march, some people left but a surprisingly large number of people continued on to walk the entire 17.5 mile trek with us to our destination. However the weather turned apocalyptic within a matter of minutes. Soon a torrential downpour was upon us, the first rainstorm to hit LA all year. Despite the heavy precipitation we persevered with high spirits. There were people trudging in saturated sneakers who still smiled and chanted the whole way. Seeing the support of these people made me so much more confident that we will be successful. One high school kid in particular motivated me immensely. He and a friend had been pulling a cart with a model polar bear on it. Eventually conditions got so bad that they had to ditch the cart to a support vehicle. However this kid did not give up the polar bear, instead he carried it by himself the remaining 10 miles. His admirable perseverance helped me overcome my own discomfort and made me wholly confident that we will succeed in our journey to Washington, D.C. and our message will resonate loud and clear to our nation’s citizens and political leaders: It is time to take action against climate change, now.

Preface

Eight months ago I lost my best friend to a boating accident. Five days before we were set to graduate a group of my friends when camping by Cayuga lake. Around 4:30 am or 5 in the morning, Chris took a canoe out by himself where he capsized and drowned due to hypothermia. I was completely shocked and devastated, feeling as if I too had drowned into the dark depths of the lake without any hope of resurfacing.

About a month after this incident my dad called me up with a piece of information that gave me a slight shimmer of hope. He told me about a blog post he had read on climate progress, describing the "Great March for Climate Action". He said they were recruiting 1000 people to walk across the country to bring attention to climate change and demand something be done about it. As he was telling me about it I was thinking "This is exactly what I needed". I signed up without hesitation.

Chris was the most altruistic and genuinely caring person I've ever known. Videography was his passion and he applied it in ways that benefitted people by creating beautifully crafted documentaries shedding light on poverty in Haiti and the perils of fossil fuels. I am extremely grateful that some of his video-making talent rubbed off on me, which I know means I must use it to document the march and dedicate the film in his memory.