Serenity in the Garden

All we are saying is 'Give Bees a Chance' Dandelions deserve a gold medal.  This sunny flower is one of the first spring foods for bees.  If bees survive the winter, they look to dandelions and other wildflowers for nutrition — so they can begin the work of pollinating our fruits and vegetables. The all-important bees are threatened right now.  Their popula tion is dwindling due to a type of pesticide that is being applied to flowers and vegetables and fruit trees....we must alert everyone! Let's not kill off anything that helps the bees.   READ:  http:// www.reporterherald.com/ opinion/guest-columns/ ci_25679656/ dandelions-deserve-gold-med al by Andy Goldsworthy

The Chipko members saving a mighty tree   The forests of India are a critical resource for the rural people throughout India because of their provision of food, fuel and fodder. They are also revered for soil stabilization, shade and their innate vitality. As the trees were increasingly cut down for commerce and industry in the late 20th century, Indian villagers used Mahatma Gandhi's method of satyagraha or non-violence resistance to protect these mighty arboreal beings. In the 1970s and 1980s this resistance known as the Chipko Movement. The name Chipko came from a word meaning 'embrace': the villagers hugged the trees to save them from the contractors' axes.  In 1980 The Chipko protests achieved a major victory with a 15-year ban on felling of trees in the Himalayan forests by order of India's then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi.  The movement spread to many parts of India and also generated pressure for a natural resources policy sensitive...