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Wild Farm Alliance
The Wild Farm Alliance (WFA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing biodiversity by expanding the idea and practice of wild farming. Rooted in Watsonville, the heart of central California's agricultural lands, the WFA was founded in 2000, and was a participant in the sustainable agriculture movement. With twelve board members and a panel of advisors, including notorious agrarian Wendell Berry (Wild Farm Alliance-2006) the Wild Farm Alliance is composed of agricultural intellects from across the country. Furthermore, this panel of agricultural experts participates in educational meetings and conferences that encourage conservation and sustainable agriculture, as well as shape and implement the practices and beliefs of the WFA. The Wild Farm Alliance is also responsible for promoting private and public conservation incentives that compensate farmers for their stewardship efforts. Advocates of organic agriculture the WFA claims that organic farming (when done right) i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wild Farming
Wild farming is a growing alternative to "factory farming" that consists of planting crops that are highly associated and supportive to the natural ecosystem.Imhoff, Daniel. 2003. “Farming with the Wild: Enhancing Biodiversity on Farms and Ranches.” Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, CA. This includes intercropping with native plants, following the contours and geography of the land, and supporting local food chains. Altieri, Miguel A. 2000. “Ecological Impacts of Industrial Agriculture and the Possibilities for Truly Sustainable Farming.” Hungry For Profit. Eds: Magdoff-Buttel et al. Monthly Review Press, New York, NY The goal is to produce large crop yields, while still promoting a healthy environment. Wild farming is a backlash against the dominance of factory farming which is a dominant factor in the food industry and has a 'myth' that industrial agriculture is more efficient. Up until the mid 20th century, agricultural crop yields relied on natural inputs such as rainfall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watsonville
Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, located in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 according to the 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and Democratic, Watsonville is a self-designated sanctuary city."Watsonville-Santa Cruz JACL Holds Candlelight Vigil in Observance of Feb. 19," ''Pacific Citizen'', March 10–23, 2017, p. 9. History Watsonville's land was first inhabited by an Ohlone nation of Indigenous Californians. This tribe settled along the Pajaro Dunes since the land was fertile and useful for the cultivation of their plants and animals. Spanish era In 1769, the Portolá expedition - first European explorers of the area - came to the area from the south, where soldiers described a big bird they saw near a large river. The story survived in the river's name, ''Rio del Pajaro'' (River of the Bird). The Portolá expedition continued through the area on its way north, camping at one of the lakes north ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem services. There are many methods to increase the sustainability of agriculture. When developing agriculture within sustainable food systems, it is important to develop flexible business process and farming practices. Agriculture has an enormous environmental footprint, playing a significant role in causing climate change (food systems are responsible for one third of the anthropogenic GHG emissions), water scarcity, water pollution, land degradation, deforestation and other processes; it is simultaneously causing environmental changes and being impacted by these changes. Sustainable agriculture consists of environment friendly methods of farming that allow the production of crops or livestock without damage to human or natural systems. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stewardship
Stewardship is an ethical value that embodies the responsible planning and management of resources. The concepts of stewardship can be applied to the environment and nature, economics, health, property, information, theology, cultural resources etc. History of the term Stewardship was originally made up of the tasks of a domestic steward, from stiġ (''house'', ''hall'') and weard, (''ward'', ''guard'', ''guardian'', ''keeper''). Stewardship in the beginning referred to the household servant's duties for bringing food and drink to the castle's dining hall. Stewardship responsibilities were eventually expanded to include the domestic, service and management needs of the entire household. Commercial stewardship tends to the domestic and service requirements of passengers on ships, trains, airplanes or guests in restaurants. This concept of stewardship continues to be referenced within these specific categories. Stewardship is now generally recognized as the acceptance or ass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') level. Biodiversity is not distributed evenly on Earth; it is usually greater in the tropics as a result of the warm climate and high primary productivity in the region near the equator. Tropical forest ecosystems cover less than 10% of earth's surface and contain about 90% of the world's species. Marine biodiversity is usually higher along coasts in the Western Pacific, where sea surface temperature is highest, and in the mid-latitudinal band in all oceans. There are latitudinal gradients in species diversity. Biodiversity generally tends to cluster in hotspots, and has been increasing through time, but will be likely to slow in the future as a primary result of deforestation. It encompasses the evolutionary, ecological, and cultural ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecological Restoration
Restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human interruption and action. Effective restoration requires an explicit goal or policy, preferably an unambiguous one that is articulated, accepted, and codified. Restoration goals reflect societal choices from among competing policy priorities, but extracting such goals is typically contentious and politically challenging. Natural ecosystems provide ecosystem services in the form of resources such as food, fuel, and timber; the purification of air and water; the detoxification and decomposition of wastes; the regulation of climate; the regeneration of soil fertility; and the pollination of crops. These ecosystem processes have been estimated to be worth trillions of dollars annually. There is consensus in the scientific community that the current envi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pollinators
A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the major pollinators of most plants, and insect pollinators include all families of bees and most families of aculeate wasps; ants; many families of flies; many lepidopterans (both butterflies and moths); and many families of beetles. Vertebrates, mainly bats and birds, but also some non-bat mammals (monkeys, lemurs, possums, rodents) and some lizards pollinate certain plants. Among the pollinating birds are hummingbirds, honeyeaters and sunbirds with long beaks; they pollinate a number of deep-throated flowers. Humans may also carry out artificial pollination. A pollinator is different from a pollenizer, a plant that is a source of pollen for the pollination process. Background Plants fall into pollination syndromes that reflect the type of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halictidae
Halictidae is the second-largest family of bees (clade Anthophila) with nearly 4,500 species. Halictid species are an extremely diverse group that can vary greatly in appearance. These bees occur all over the world and are found on every continent except Antarctica. Usually dark-colored (frequently brown or black) and often metallic, halictids are found in various sizes, colors and patterns. Several species are all or partly green and a few are red, purple, or blue. A number of them have yellow markings, especially the males, which commonly have yellow faces, a pattern widespread among the various families of bees. The family is one of many with short tongues and is best distinguished by the arcuate (strongly curved) basal vein found on the wing. Females in this family tend to be larger than the males. They are commonly referred to as "sweat bees" (especially the smaller species), as they are often attracted to perspiration. Ecology Most halictids nest in the ground, often in ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riparian Zones
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by hydrophilic plants. Riparian zones are important in ecology, environmental resource management, and civil engineering because of their role in soil conservation, their habitat biodiversity, and the influence they have on fauna and aquatic ecosystems, including grasslands, woodlands, wetlands, or even non-vegetative areas. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a riparian zone. The word ''riparian'' is derived from Latin '' ripa'', meaning " river bank". Characteristics Riparian zones may be natural or engineered for soil stabilization or restoration. These zones are important natural b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biodynamic Farming & Gardening Association
The Biodynamic Association (formerly the Biodynamic Farming & Gardening Association, then the North American Biodynamic Association) is a United States-based company that promotes Biodynamic agriculture system through educational and research programs and has headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. History Biodynamic agriculture was inaugurated in 1924 by Austrian scientist Rudolf Steiner. It is the oldest, non-chemical agricultural movement and pre-dates organic agriculture by some twenty years. Beginning in 1926, American farmers and gardeners joined the effort to test and promulgate Steiner's agricultural ideas.Paull, John (2019The Pioneers of Biodynamics in USA: The Early Milestones of Organic Agriculture in the United States American Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, 6(2):89-94. By 1938 there were 39 Americans who had joined this international effort, with some reading Steiner's work in the English translation and others in the German original.Paull, John (201 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agriculture In California
Agriculture is a significant sector in Economy of California, California's economy, producing nearly $50 billion in revenue in 2018. There are more than 400 commodity crops grown across California, including a significant portion of all fruits, vegetables, and nuts for the United States. In 2017, there were 77,100 unique farms and ranches in the state, operating across of land. The average farm size was , significantly less than the average farm size in the U.S. of . Because of its scale, and the naturally arid climate, the agricultural sector uses about Water in California, 40% of California's water consumption. The agricultural sector is also connected to other negative environmental and the health impacts, including being one of the principle sources of water pollution. Value The table below shows the top 21 commodities, by dollar value, produced in California in 2017. Between 2016 and 2017, there were increases by more than 2% in total value for the following crops: alm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Environmental Organizations Based In California
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale from microscopic to global in extent. It can also be subdivided according to its attributes. Examples include the marine environment, the atmospheric environment and the terrestrial environment. The number of biophysical environments is countless, given that each living organism has its own environment. The term ''environment'' can refer to a singular global environment in relation to humanity, or a local biophysical environment, e.g. the UK's Environment Agency. Life-environment interaction All life that has survived must have adapted to the conditions of its environment. Temperature, light, humidity, soil nutrients, etc., all influence the species within an environment. However, life in turn modifies, in various forms, its conditions. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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