Sanctuary Circles
On March 16, 2023, Love Farm Cooperative applied for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Habitat Grant Program with a proposal entitled, Sanctuary Circles - regenerating native ecosystems in Benzie County. The budget is ~$110k with a $32k match, for a total cash request from the DNR for $77,430. This page documents the various inspirations and influences for the project, a slightly ephemeral and mystical approach for what is usually, probably, a strictly science grounded process of consideration. The method to our madness is that people are really the key to building habitat. Every one of us is a steward of the wilds, whether we take the responsibility or not. Human beliefs and awareness are the most powerful factors in determining whether the wilds thrive. We can't abdicate authority to agencies or departments, non-profits or "thought leaders", (straight out of Orwell, that). This page is a sort of crowbar to the collective unconscious, a way to catch hold of your cognitive shoulder, gaze into your third eye and whisper... "yo!"
Here are the actual words we offered the DNR 🙂 Scroll to the bottom to see the letters of support for Sanctuary Circles.
Just a Moment
There is only this one, right now. We are sleeping, wake us up.
Radically Environmental
A influential science fiction movie from the radical environmentalism of the 1970s. Earth sends her last forests into space for safe keeping. Optimistic Lowell, (Bruce Dern), crew member aboard the space freighter Valley Forge is their steward. What would YOU do to save the forests?
Sanctuary Circles are a riff on the forest domes of Silent Running, they are conceived as a strategy to save the forests, restore them. Only after a DNR deep dive did this movie regenerate.
Remembering the Future
Will we recognize the restored ecosystems when they flow from the Sanctuary Circles? Can we remember the magnificent fecundity of our parent's ecosystems, of our grandparents? Is there epigenetic memory of our ancestral wilderness, waiting to be reinforced? What sort of planet produced this past? Even with the pictures, the almost inconceivable abundance we are preparing for.
Ghost Guardians
Timber walls, meandering. Straight logs turning. We'll close the loop to make a rustic fort, a primitive walled village and inside, many friends will meet and grow strong together. Generally, biodiversity is an indication of health.
Gates
How will people climb inside the Sanctuary? There are no doors on these portals, the Sanctuary needs one. Anyway, gateway.
Hello Dirt
On Love Farm last summer, we met the soil microbiome through the nutrient dense and delicious greens, beans, and grains that grew. If the garden can thrive, why not the fields and forest?
Hungry
I am a friend, hungry for life. Help me to know where not to go and I will take my proper place in the great story once again.
Letters of Support
