Sometimes it’s impossible to see the changes in the world around you from the ground. You have to get a different perspective. That’s exactly what SkyTruth (www.skytruth.org) a local nonprofit accomplishes with their compelling satellite photographs showing environmental impacts from around the world. SkyTruth’s mission is to empower citizen scientists, government bodies and research organizations with knowledge of the true impact that humans have on the world around them through meticulously catalogued, scientifically credible images.
Last year SkyTruth launched FracFinder, a multi-stage project to track fracking sites using a combination of aerial and satellite imagery. SkyTruth employees and over 200 volunteers analyzed images spanning 5 years of time and the entire state of Pennsylvania to map the growth of well sites. Over 90,000 image analysis tasks were performed to produce this rigorously catalogued record of the expansion of the industry, from only 60 sites in 2005 to 1,410 in 2010. The project has recently expanded to begin mapping Ohio drilling sites and the data collected will be
invaluable in researching the environmental and public health effects of this practice.
The data sets produced by SkyTruth continue to be critical to peer reviewed studies analyzing the impact of mountaintop removal mining on fish populations. These studies will be used by regulatory agencies to make environmental and water use policies for the future.
SkyTruth shines a light on the true impact that our actions are having on the environment and present that information in formats anyone can understand. Their tracking methods and data analysis techniques
are paving the way towards a future where everyone can see the consequences of man’s actions on the environment and take action. Ultimately, SkyTruth’s goal is to make the tools, imagery, and data they use commonplace and accessible to the public. Just the way Google and other search engines provide access to the world’s knowledge stored on the internet, skytruthing will effectively be a search engine for environmental change. If you can see it, you can change it.
Edible landscaping is a specialized form of gardening where your average, everyday ornamental plants are replaced with a variety of plants that have some food use. This style of landscaping has been gaining popularity in recent years as issues of resource conservation and sustainable living are becoming more visible and popular.
20 years working throughout North and South America to promote edible and ecological landscape design. In Nicaragua his non-profit organization Project Bona Fide (
Inspired by the natural flow of the landscape, Ecologia works integrates its designs into the surroundings with Fibonacci inspired spirals, tiered rain gardens, dry stack stone terraces, earthen ovens and permeable drives and walkways. Ecologia is also famously responsible for the edible woodland garden at Frederick restaurant Volt where Chef Bryan Voltaggio can be be seen gathering herbs for his acclaimed culinary creations.
Another approach to edible landscaping is the idea of a “food forest.” A food forest imitates the natural arrangement of a forest where multiple species of plants grow together symbiotically in close quarters. Rather than leaving a single fruit tree to defend itself in a sea of grass, the food forest approach produces a dense arrangement of edible plants and also allows the different species to build their own intimate and complimentary ecology.
Founder Michael Judd is also a lover of all things fungal and promotes the use of fungus to speed up habitat recover and building more fertile soil for projects. Using wood chips colonized by Wine Cap mushrooms to boost the growth of other plants can also provide a harvest of mushrooms to compliment the other plant species.
Using crowdsource funding through Kickstarter. com, Michael is publishing his first book, “
Between food forests, permeable paths, edible landscaping, sustainable henhouses, holistic equine property design and charitable work in Central America, Michael Judd, Ecologia and Project Bona Fide are providing a wide range of services for Maryland locals and the world at large.
