Action in the Face of Despair

Well, it's officially that stretch of summer where every day that I don't kill my children is a cause for celebration. (Parents, I know you feel me.)

Other than that - we're all grateful for the recent bout of rain. Every single pig on the farm stretched out in the cool, damp mud, luxuriating in the rain.

The cooler weather has also put a pep in the step of the rambunctious babies - the piglet hoard is now venturing as far afield as the cherry tree in the side yard. Jeff has plans to move them to the front corner field sometime in the next couple of weeks, so keep your eyes peeled for streaking babes at your next pickup.

We're bracing ourselves for another hot week. The neighbours mentioned yesterday that they are hearing more and more folks in North Langley are having to have water trucked in because their wells have run dry.

The UN climate report released yesterday was another gutting round of bad news.

Listening to my good friend express how helpless and afraid it made her felt as a mom, made me wonder what else we can be doing as a community to prepare - for both transition AND adaptation.

For me, the best way I've found to manage despair in the face of the immensity of the climate crisis is to do something concrete - small but measurable.

So I thought I'd ask you, my farm family - is there anything we can do here on the farm, as a community, that would help you feel less helpless? To channel your grief or anger or frustration into purposeful action, no matter how small?

The first thing that came to mind for me was a community seed library.

Folks the world over struggled to access seeds the past two growing seasons now. A seed library is pretty much the opposite of Monsanto and the like. It's exactly what seeds ought to be - part of the commons - shared and absolutely FREE.

I'd be happy to share information regarding how to save seeds - we're in the perfect season for it - and then those who are interested can bring their seeds to the farm. I'll store them here and come planting season, anyone can have access, provided that they promise they will continue to save them and share them.

If you have other ideas in that same vein - simple, grassroots and practical - shoot me a line.

We can yell and scream and protest - and all that is good and necessary, but at the end of the day, our best source of resilience is rooted right here, at home, round our kitchen tables, in our gardens and in the strength of our community.

That's how we'll face this. Together.

As always.

Best,

Stacey