Izmet's Dream: Restoration

*Reclaiming Paradise*
Visit the shop for great gift ideas. Featured Designs No Dumping Allowed tee Monarch calendar print Bird of Paradise Daffodil Suwannee Cypress click on photos to enlarge Squidoo Directory	Home Conservation Restoration Projects Sustainability Action For Kids Shop Blog Contact Us
Restoration Ecological restoration is an intentional activity that initiates or accelerates the recovery of an ecosystem with respect to its health, integrity and sustainability. EcoResults will make the case that rural land stewards–ranchers and farmers–can be one of the most effective means we have of creating several of the values most in demand by our society–open space, clean and plentiful water, species diversity and abundance, etc. And it will make this case in the strongest way possible, with eye-opening before and after photos of successful ecological restorations achieved by rural people using the skills and techniques we mostly associate with rural life–stewardship of the land and of plants and animals that live on it. Read some amazing success stories about the restoration of decimated mining sites and desert areas. EarthCorps is a non-profit organization founded in 1993. It is dedicated to building global community through local environmental restoration service. As an AmeriCorps affiliate, EarthCorps provides one-year intensive programs for young adults (18-25) to learn best practices in conservation techniques and develop skills in leading volunteers (ages 8-80). International projects are currently being worked in Japan, Russia, Guatemala, Philippines, Mexico, Ecuador, and Brazil. The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) International is a non-profit organization infused with the energy of 2300 members – individuals and organizations who are actively engaged in ecologically-sensitive repair and management of ecosystems through an unusually broad array of experience, knowledge sets and cultural perspectives. They are scientists, planners, administrators, ecological consultants, first peoples, landscape architects, philosophers, teachers, engineers, natural areas managers, writers, growers, community activists, and volunteers, among others. Founded in 1988, the SER International now boasts members in 37 countries and all 50 US states, with 14 chapters serving regions of North America, England, Europe, Australia and India. Recognized by public and private enterprises as the source for expertise on restoration science, practice and policy, the Society achieves its objectives through cooperation with partner organizations and the work of its worldwide membership. The Society for Ecological Restoration International is a registered not-for-profit organization under Section 501(c)3 of the US Internal Revenue Code, and all contributions are fully tax-deductible. SER International does not itself engage in restoration projects; its mission is: "to promote ecological restoration as a means of sustaining the diversity of life on Earth and reestablishing an ecologically healthy relationship between nature and culture." Check out their restoration showcase and career center for more information on this vital organization. Paul Stamets, founder of Fungi Perfecti, has been a dedicated mycologist for more than thirty years. He is the 1998 recipient of the Collective Heritage Institute's Bioneers Award and the 1999 recipient of the Founder of a New Northwest Award from the Pacific Rim Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils. Mr. Stamets has written five books on mushroom cultivation, use, and identification and numerous articles and scholarly papers on medicinal, culinary, and psycho-active mushrooms. His books Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms and The Mushroom Cultivator (co-author) have long been hailed as the definitive texts on mushroom cultivation. His book Mycelium Running is a manual for the mycological rescue of the planet. Microscopic cells called "mycelium" --the fruit of which are mushrooms -- recycle carbon, nitrogen, and other essential elements as they break down plant and animal debris in the creation of rich new soil. What Stamets has discovered is that we can capitalize on mycelium's digestive power and target it to decompose toxic wastes and pollutants (mycoremediation), catch and reduce silt from streambeds and pathogens from agricultural watersheds (mycofiltration), control insect populations (mycopesticides), and generally enhance the health of our forests and gardens (mycoforestry and mycogardening). Check out my review of this book on my blog.	Kaituna Valley, Banks Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand A restoration project is currently underway on the Parr property in Kaituna Valley. Read all about it on the Projects page!
Invasive Plants An invasive plant has the ability to thrive and spread aggressively outside its natural range. A naturally aggressive plant may be especially invasive when it is introduced to a new habitat. An invasive species that colonizes a new area may gain an ecological edge since the insects, diseases, and foraging animals that naturally keep its growth in check in its native range are not present in its new habitat. Contact your local native plant society or state Department of Natural Resources to find out which plants are invasive in your area. Learn to identify locally important invasive plants. Remove invasive plants on your property or prevent their spread. Only use non-invasive plants when landscaping your property. If your property borders a natural area, consider using only native plants in your landscape. Find non-invasive or native alternatives for invasive landscape plants. Use systemic herbicides carefully as a last resort to remove invasive plants. Make others in your neighborhood aware of invasive plants. Tree covered with porcelainberry. The Indigenous Peoples' Restoration Network's (IPRN) mission is: to support native and tribal communities in need of technical assistance for environmental restoration and cultural rehabilitation, and to assist leaders and practitioners in their efforts to apply traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) within their own vision of political, economic, and cultural sovereignty.
River Partners The mission of River Partners is to create wildlife habitat for the benefit of people and the environment. River Partners protects the environment by implementing large scale restoration along streams and rivers. We work on the major river systems of California's Central Valley. California's riparian areas have been reduced to 5% of their original size. By reforesting riparian lands, River Partners protects our river systems and the services they provide California's communities. These services include absorbing floodwaters, reducing erosion, and filtering air and water pollutants.[3] U.S. Geological Survey The problem in Hanahan, South Carolina, a quiet suburb of Charleston, was not particularly unusual. In 1975, a massive leak from a military fuel storage facility released about 80,000 gallons of kerosene-based jet fuel. Immediate and extensive recovery measures managed to contain the spill, but could not prevent some fuel from soaking into the permeable sandy soil and reaching the underlying water table. Soon, ground water was leaching such toxic chemicals as benzene from the fuel-saturated soils and carrying them toward a nearby residential area. By 1985, contamination had reached the residential area, and the facility was faced with a serious environmental problem. Removing the contaminated soils was technically impractical, and removing contaminated ground water did not address the source of the contaminants. How could contaminated ground water be kept from seeping toward the residential area in the future? One possible solution was a new technology called bioremediation. Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) had shown that microorganisms naturally present in the soils were actively consuming fuel-derived toxic compounds and transforming them into harmless carbon dioxide. Furthermore, these studies had shown that the rate of these biotransformations could be greatly increased by the addition of nutrients. By "stimulating" the natural microbial community through nutrient addition, it was theoretically possible to increase rates of biodegradation and thereby shield the residential area from further contamination. In 1992, this theory was put into practice by USGS scientists. Nutrients were delivered to contaminated soils through infiltration galleries, contaminated ground water was removed by a series of extraction wells, and the arduous task of monitoring contamination levels began. By the end of 1993, contamination in the residential area had been reduced by 75 percent. Nearer to the infiltration galleries (the source of the nutrients), the results were even better. Ground water that once had contained more than 5,000 parts per billion toluene now contained no detectable contamination. Bioremediation had worked! [4] [1] Society for Ecological Restoration International [2] Center for Urban Restoration Ecology [3] River Partners [4] USGS Home Conservation Restoration Projects Sustainability Action For Kids Shop Blog Contact Us ©2007-2008 Izmet's Dream, LLC All rights reserved. Custom Search

Izmet's Dream: Become the change you imagine.

Reclaiming Paradise

Visit the shop for

great gift ideas.

Featured Designs

No Dumping Allowed tee

Monarch calendar print

Bird of Paradise

Daffodil

Suwannee Cypress

click on photos to enlarge

Squidoo Directory

Home Conservation Restoration Projects Sustainability Action For Kids Shop Blog Contact Us

Restoration

Ecological restoration is an intentional activity that initiates or accelerates the recovery of an ecosystem with respect to its health, integrity and sustainability.

EcoResults will make the case that rural land stewards–ranchers and farmers–can be one of the most effective means we have of creating several of the values most in demand by our society–open space, clean and plentiful water, species diversity and abundance, etc. And it will make this case in the strongest way possible, with eye-opening before and after photos of successful ecological restorations achieved by rural people using the skills and techniques we mostly associate with rural life–stewardship of the land and of plants and animals that live on it.

Read some amazing success stories about the restoration of decimated mining sites and desert areas.

EarthCorps is a non-profit organization founded in 1993. It is dedicated to building global community through local environmental restoration service. As an AmeriCorps affiliate, EarthCorps provides one-year intensive programs for young adults (18-25) to learn best practices in conservation techniques and develop skills in leading volunteers (ages 8-80).

International projects are currently being worked in Japan, Russia, Guatemala, Philippines, Mexico, Ecuador, and Brazil.

The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) International is a non-profit organization infused with the energy of 2300 members – individuals and organizations who are actively engaged in ecologically-sensitive repair and management of ecosystems through an unusually broad array of experience, knowledge sets and cultural perspectives. They are scientists, planners, administrators, ecological consultants, first peoples, landscape architects, philosophers, teachers, engineers, natural areas managers, writers, growers, community activists, and volunteers, among others.

Founded in 1988, the SER International now boasts members in 37 countries and all 50 US states, with 14 chapters serving regions of North America, England, Europe, Australia and India. Recognized by public and private enterprises as the source for expertise on restoration science, practice and policy, the Society achieves its objectives through cooperation with partner organizations and the work of its worldwide membership. The Society for Ecological Restoration International is a registered not-for-profit organization under Section 501(c)3 of the US Internal Revenue Code, and all contributions are fully tax-deductible.

SER International does not itself engage in restoration projects; its mission is:
"to promote ecological restoration as a means of sustaining the diversity of life on Earth and reestablishing an ecologically healthy relationship between nature and culture."

Check out their restoration showcase and career center for more information on this vital organization.

Paul Stamets, founder of Fungi Perfecti, has been a dedicated mycologist for more than thirty years. He is the 1998 recipient of the Collective Heritage Institute's Bioneers Award and the 1999 recipient of the Founder of a New Northwest Award from the Pacific Rim Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils. Mr. Stamets has written five books on mushroom cultivation, use, and identification and numerous articles and scholarly papers on medicinal, culinary, and psycho-active mushrooms. His books Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms and The Mushroom Cultivator (co-author) have long been hailed as the definitive texts on mushroom cultivation.

His book Mycelium Running is a manual for the mycological rescue of the planet. Microscopic cells called "mycelium" --the fruit of which are mushrooms -- recycle carbon, nitrogen, and other essential elements as they break down plant and animal debris in the creation of rich new soil. What Stamets has discovered is that we can capitalize on mycelium's digestive power and target it to decompose toxic wastes and pollutants (mycoremediation), catch and reduce silt from streambeds and pathogens from agricultural watersheds (mycofiltration), control insect populations (mycopesticides), and generally enhance the health of our forests and gardens (mycoforestry and mycogardening). Check out my review of this book on my blog.

Kaituna Valley, Banks Peninsula,

South Island, New Zealand

A restoration project is currently underway on the Parr property in Kaituna Valley.

Read all about it on the

Projects page!

Invasive Plants

An invasive plant has the ability to thrive and spread aggressively outside its natural range. A naturally aggressive plant may be especially invasive when it is introduced to a new habitat.

An invasive species that colonizes a new area may gain an ecological edge since the insects, diseases, and foraging animals that naturally keep its growth in check in its native range are not present in its new habitat.

Contact your local native plant society or state Department of Natural Resources to find out which plants are invasive in your area.

Learn to identify locally important invasive plants.

Remove invasive plants on your property or prevent their spread.

Only use non-invasive plants when landscaping your property.

If your property borders a natural area, consider using only native plants in your landscape.

Find non-invasive or native alternatives for invasive landscape plants.

Use systemic herbicides carefully as a last resort to remove invasive plants.

Make others in your neighborhood aware of invasive plants.

Tree covered with porcelainberry.

The Indigenous Peoples' Restoration Network's (IPRN) mission is:

** to support native and tribal communities in need of technical assistance for environmental restoration and cultural rehabilitation, and

** to assist leaders and practitioners in their efforts to apply traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) within their own vision of political, economic, and cultural sovereignty.

River Partners
The mission of River Partners is to create wildlife habitat for the benefit of people and the environment. River Partners protects the environment by implementing large scale restoration along streams and rivers. We work on the major river systems of California's Central Valley.

California's riparian areas have been reduced to 5% of their original size. By reforesting riparian lands, River Partners protects our river systems and the services they provide California's communities. These services include absorbing floodwaters, reducing erosion, and filtering air and water pollutants.[3]

U.S. Geological Survey
The problem in Hanahan, South Carolina, a quiet suburb of Charleston, was not particularly unusual. In 1975, a massive leak from a military fuel storage facility released about 80,000 gallons of kerosene-based jet fuel. Immediate and extensive recovery measures managed to contain the spill, but could not prevent some fuel from soaking into the permeable sandy soil and reaching the underlying water table. Soon, ground water was leaching such toxic chemicals as benzene from the fuel-saturated soils and carrying them toward a nearby residential area.
By 1985, contamination had reached the residential area, and the facility was faced with a serious environmental problem. Removing the contaminated soils was technically impractical, and removing contaminated ground water did not address the source of the contaminants. How could contaminated ground water be kept from seeping toward the residential area in the future?

One possible solution was a new technology called bioremediation. Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) had shown that microorganisms naturally present in the soils were actively consuming fuel-derived toxic compounds and transforming them into harmless carbon dioxide. Furthermore, these studies had shown that the rate of these biotransformations could be greatly increased by the addition of nutrients. By "stimulating" the natural microbial community through nutrient addition, it was theoretically possible to increase rates of biodegradation and thereby shield the residential area from further contamination.

In 1992, this theory was put into practice by USGS scientists. Nutrients were delivered to contaminated soils through infiltration galleries, contaminated ground water was removed by a series of extraction wells, and the arduous task of monitoring contamination levels began. By the end of 1993, contamination in the residential area had been reduced by 75 percent. Nearer to the infiltration galleries (the source of the nutrients), the results were even better. Ground water that once had contained more than 5,000 parts per billion toluene now contained no detectable contamination.

Bioremediation had worked! [4]

[1] Society for Ecological Restoration International

[2] Center for Urban Restoration Ecology

[3] River Partners

[4] USGS

Home Conservation Restoration Projects Sustainability

Action For Kids Shop Blog Contact Us

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