Read: En’Owkin: What it Means to a Sustainable Community by Jeanette Armstrong
- Consider the 4 different perspectives described in the essay. Which perspective do you think you represent? (remember that “youth” doesn’t refer to actual age but more to a set of attitudes)
From the 4 different perspectives described, I think I represent the “youth” perspective the most because I’m creative and innovative. When there’s a problem, I always look for ways to solve it so that the future is better. For example, I received and used a lot of unnecessary paper during my freshman year of college. At the end of the semester, all the papers either got thrown away or put in a recycled bin. So, just before the start of my sophomore year of college, I invested in an iPad to take notes on to prevent this issue from happening again. From this, I went entirely paperless and saved a lot of paper from being used which correlates to saving trees as well.
In addition, I think I represent the “fathers” perspective as well. This perspective refers to those similar to their concern about things necessary for security, sustenance, and shelter. Also, it involves practical strategy, logistics, and action. I come from a family of eight and I always took care of my siblings which correlates to the security aspect of it. Another example is having a concern for things necessary for shelter. When I returned home from my sophomore year of college (the start of the COVID-19 pandemic), I helped my family in purchasing a new house by using most of my money that was in my savings account. I also started to work a lot more so that I can help around the house and put more into my savings account.
Write a paragraph or two on each of the following questions:
- Which of the Permaculture values did your service hours address and in what way? (EarthCare, PeopleCare, FairShare, LimitsAware)
I believe that my service hours was more towards EarthCare because there’s a lot of ways where I’m helping the environment and contributing to nature. Some permaculture values that my service hours address are ‘Work With Nature Rather Than Against’, ‘Using Biological Resources’, ‘Producing No Waste’, and ‘Use and Value of Renewable Resources’. For ‘Work Work With Nature Rather Than Against’, I planted a variety of plants and pulled weeds which is good for nature/the environment. In addition, after I cut all of the dead areca palm leaves off the plant, we then spread it on the ground which helps prevent weeds from growing (improves soil). At my service site, there are two dogs. We use their manure towards soil fertility (fertilization). This meets the permaculture value of ‘Using Biological Resources’. We always try to prevent waste as well. For example, we recently built plant beds to showcase the many plants we have at the nursery. We used old one 1 ft x 10 ft lumber and 4 concrete bricks to build each plant bed. We also used the fence as the backing due to the limited lumber we had. Instead of throwing those items away, we found a way to efficiently use them which is good for the company and environment. Also, when we ran out of lumber, we used all concrete bricks to build more plant beds as well. This correlates to the permaculture value of ‘Producing No Waste’. Lastly, for the ‘Use and Value of Renewable Resources’, there are several solar panels at the site where the sun’s light energy can be used for electricity (e.g. microwave, lighting, etc.). We also put buckets along the edge of roofs to collect rainwater and then use that water to water our plants.
- Describe how your service hours followed the Principles of Civic Engagement. Give specific examples of your activities in relation to at least 5 different CE principles.
My service site followed Principles #2, #3, #4, #6, and #7. For Principle #2 (Public Interest), the service site I volunteered at has very few workers. Kunia Country Farms is a small, family-owned business and they appreciate all the help they can receive. During my service hours, I planted, pulled weeds, cleaned areca palms, and helped customers. While doing so, I also got to learn a lot of information about different plants and good soils to use for newly planted plants (coconut soil). For Principle #3 (Meaningful Learning Opportunities), I got to learn about plants, soils, bugs, and treatments while doing my service hours. As mentioned above, I learned that coconut soil mixed with cinder is one of the best soils to use when planting new plants. I learned a lot of different plant species such as palms (areca, manila, foxtail, etc.), monstera, hibiscus, ti leaves, and many more. Also, we found a plant with unusual bugs on it. We figured out that it was mites. Then, I did further research for treatment for mites and found that Merit Insecticide is one of the many solutions. For Principle #4 (Depth of Experience), I believe that I gained a lot of experience (and knowledge) from volunteering at my service site. I volunteered for more than 48 hours there because I love helping out the family business and applying what I learned to the farm. From the many hours I volunteered, I gained a lot of experience in planting seeds, replanting plants into bigger pots, propagation, cleaning areca palms, and pulling weeds. For Principle #6 (Respectful Collaboration), I was able to partner up with a small, family-owned business to help with whatever they need. I was able to help in planting, cleaning plants, watering, pulling weeds, and many more. In addition, I got to help with rearranging the displays and create plant beds as well. For Principle #7 (Academic Integration), I got to integrate some information I learned in the class to my service site. For example, I learned that Green Cones are a good composting method that cycles organic material back into the soil. After learning about many composting methods, I actually created a DIY of it and put it in an area where it’s all in-ground plants. Another thing I incorporated into my service site from class is companion planting. Before this class, I didn’t know that “companion planting” was a thing. At the service site, I placed the basil next to other fruit/vegetable plants because they’re known to repel insects.
- Describe how your service hours followed the Principles of Sustainable Design. Give specific examples of your activities in relation to at least 3 different SD principles.
My service hours followed many sustainable design principles such as ‘Work With Nature Rather Than Against’, ‘Using Biological Resources’, ‘Producing No Waste’, and ‘Use and Value of Renewable Resources’. For ‘Work With Nature Rather Than Against’, I planted, pulled weeds, cleaned areca palms, and watered plants during my service hours. From these things, I’m working with nature because planting more plants and getting rid of weeds benefits nature. Also, I spread the dead areca leaves that I cut from areca palms onto the ground so that it prevents weeds from growing (improves soil). For ‘Using Biological Resources’, we used the manure from the two dogs that they have at the nursery towards soil fertility (fertilization). For ‘Producing No Waste’, we used old lumber and bricks that were going to be thrown away to create plant beds to display the plants we have at the farm. For ‘Use and Value of Renewable Resources’, we put buckets along the edge of tents/roofs to collect rainwater and then use that water to water our plants.
- Describe how your service hours benefited you personally in terms of skills you learned or practiced that will be useful to you in life. (such as essential employability skills or any of the learning outcomes associated with this class)
My service hours benefited me personally because I am now capable of creating my own garden that will be effective and healthy. In the future, I plan to have a big backyard where I can grow many plants, fruits, and vegetables. From my service hours, I got to learn a lot of information about different plant species, a good composting method called Green Cones, companion planting, and that coconut soil mixed with cinder is one of the best soils to use when planting new plants. With this knowledge, I’ll know what plants I want to grow, have a composting method that will improve my soil fertility (using food scraps), what plants grow well near each other, and what type of soil to use that’s good and effective.
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