#learned a lot about sustainable forestry

[katarh-mest]

teeny correction - loblolly pine matures and is harvested in about 20 years (with thinning harvests every 5 years before that.) this is the primary wood used for timber frame houses. it is a TERRIBLE source for paper or fiber products despite this because that's still 5 years before you can get anything out of it. thus it does not to detract from the fact that hemp matures in as little as 100 days.

#SaveTheTrees

[environmental1000studies]

10/9 Let’s get ethical! Ethical!

I found this week's readings very interesting as they dive into the need for environmental reform and further sustainability in our urban areas and the natural world. This week's readings stick out to me the most because I want to eventually work with environmental policy within the National Park Service, and this service itself is a vast network of organizations that work to conserve and promote the sustainability of our natural lands. Living in NYC, it's easy to see that we don't have the same access to natural wildlife as in Yosemite or Glacier National Park, but the sustainability of the city and other urban areas is very important to not only our health but the health of the animals and other living organisms around us. Recently, I did a study in my Ecology lab on urban forestry, specifically in the Bronx, East Harlem, and the Upper West Side. There was a socioeconomic factor that played into the presence and abundance of various tree species in a 3-block radius, but the importance of these tree canopies we have along our streets was found. The implementation of urban forests is important to sustainability and human health because it promotes cleaner air, regulates temperatures, and gives homes to various wildlife within the city. Human interaction tends to have a negative impact on the environment through the various greenhouse emissions and pollution we contribute through our industries. Making advances in environmental policy using science is going to be how we slow the drastic heating of our planet that humans constantly escalate. It makes me wonder what sort of ethical dilemmas one might typically see when it comes to making environmental decisions, specifically in urbanized areas. What is prioritized, and what is put to the side?

So, I am currently taking an environmental ethics class, and for our semester project, I chose to create another blog focusing on the broad range of ethics within conservation efforts and policies enforced by various National Parks. This week’s topic of environmental ethics is the basis for that entire project, so I am excited to integrate newly learned concepts into this week’s chat! While I struggled to find specific ethical dilemmas within urban areas, I did stumble upon “Ethics and Global Climate Change” by Stephen M. Gardiner & Lauren Hartzell-Nichols. This article looks at ethical dilemmas regarding climate change. Briefly, the article outlines three major ethical obstacles encompassed by global climate change. First is the tragedy of the commons, which identifies the global struggle to achieve reduction goals because, individually, each nation proceeds to emit “unimpeded” (Gardiner & Hartzell-Nichols). Of course, people want to slow climate change and global warming and all of the bad that comes from it, but actively, countries continue to prioritize their production regardless of how much damage it continues to cause. Second is the “temporal diffusion of climate change”: long-term, cumulative effects that will eventually cause severe environmental damage globally (Gardiner & Hartzell-Nichols). It is cause for concern because of the unfairness in terms of the inevitable reality of the future, but also due to the collective inconsistency in international relationships and cooperation. Lastly, there is moral uncertainty when thinking about the value placed on nonhuman life, our obligation to protect that life, and to what extent (Gardiner & Hartzell-Nichols). So, that’s a lot! But it makes sense. Considering the environment ethically makes me a bit existential, and these ideas fascinate me. The human mind is capable of rational thought and reasoning, and our unique individuality leads to countless paths of thought and ideas. Selfish as it is, countries will put the stability of their nation ahead of the protection of the planet. Production continues despite the worsening outlook for future generations environmentally. Life is placed on a moral scale, in which humans with power decide what is best, leading back to the first issue. The cycle is never-ending, and personally, I do not see these polar ethical stances uniting to bring forth real change anytime soon. *Sigh*

wc: 659

Gardiner, S. M. & Hartzell-Nichols, L. (2012) Ethics and Global Climate Change. Nature Education Knowledge 3(10):5

[mfrendo1]

Blog Post 2

When I picture my ideal job as an environmental interpreter, I imagine myself guiding people through a forest, helping them see the environment in a whole new light. During my past few summers working in forestry conservation, I spent a lot of time outdoors and really grew to appreciate what the forest has to offer. That experience made me realize how much I enjoy being in nature and more importantly, how much I want to share what I’ve learned with others. In this role, I’d combine my background in forestry with my love of teaching to lead hikes, host workshops, and explain how everything in the forest connects, from the trees to the wildlife. 

Workshops would be a big part of what I do, teaching practical skills like tree identification and sustainable forestry practices. But I’d also want to make these experiences memorable by including stories and folklore, helping people relate to the forest on a more personal level. I would want people to leave with more than just facts but rather to feel connected to the landscape in a way that sticks with them.

I’ve come to understand that people learn in different ways, and it’s important to cater to those diverse learning styles. Some people are hands-on learners, others absorb information by listening or observing. My goal would be to create programs that cater to those different learning styles using visual aids, storytelling, or interactive activities, so no matter how someone experiences the material, they walk away feeling like they truly understood something new. 

I see myself working in a place like a national park or a community forest reserve, somewhere that attracts a range of visitors, from families to nature enthusiasts such as parts of western Canada.

Communication would be a skill important to my role. I’d need to explain potentially complex concepts in a way that’s clear and engaging. My previous work in forestry conservation would provide a solid foundation of knowledge, but I’d also make sure to stay creative with how I present it.

Empathy and patience would also be a very important skill. People come with different levels of understanding and interest in the environment, and it would be my job to make sure everyone feels included and takes away something valuable from the experience. 

Ultimately, it’s not just about sharing facts, it’s about helping people connect with their surroundings. By showing the beauty and importance of our forests, I hope to inspire a greater appreciation for conservation. Every hike, workshop, or chat would help build a community that values and protects these ecosystems.

[amitynoida]

Best Bsc Forestry University In Noida— Course, Perks & More!

Has forest life ever looked fascinating to you? Have you ever wanted to pursue a career in which you get exposure towards forest departments? If your answer is yes, and you want to pursue a career in which you get exposure to zoological parks, nurseries, and agricultural departments, then choosing a forestry degree would be ideal for you.

In this blog post— we will look at the curriculum of BSc in forestry and the perks of pursuing such a degree. But first things first, let's start by understanding the curriculum at one of the best Bsc forestry colleges in India – Amity.

Why Amity Is The Best For BSc Forestry?

Amity University stands as the best Bsc forestry colleges in Delhi NCR, and NIRF has ranked Amity as the No.1 private college in India. Amity is a renowned institution, not just in Noida but in the whole India. Let’s understand how Amity can help you in your Bsc forestry journey.

Curriculum At Amity

A well-rounded BSc forestry program is offered by Amity that covers various subjects which are essential for a successful career in forestry. It includes courses in- forest management, wildlife conservation, soil science, and environmental sustainability. Students also learn about the latest technologies used in forestry which ensures that they are loaded with modern skills and knowledge. Program at Amity is designed to be hands-on, with practical sessions and field trips that provide real-world experience.

Exceptional Faculty

The faculty at Amity comprises experienced professionals and academics who are experts in their fields. They are a lot knowledgeable with real-world experiences; they bring such knowledge to the classroom to ensure that students receive high-quality education and guidance. Tutors here are dedicated to mentor students and to help them achieve their academic and career goals.

Top-Notch Facilities

Amity provides its students with access to the advanced facilities which includes- modern labs, research centers, and libraries. These resources are crucial for students to gain practical experience and to conduct research in various aspects of forestry. Amity's campus is designed to create an environment that fosters learning and innovation.

Perks Of Pursuing A BSc Forestry

There are a plethora of perks when it comes to pursuing a forestry degree. So, here’s a few of many of them:

Diverse Career Opportunities: Graduates with a BSc in Forestry have a plethora of career options available to them. They can work in government forest departments, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, and private environmental organizations.

Internship & Placement Support: If we talk of Amity particularly— it has strong ties with various industries and government organizations, which helps in providing excellent internship and job placement opportunities. In the session of 2022-23, around 15,000+ students got placed at Amity.

Holistic Development: Apart from academic excellence, Amity University focuses on the holistic development of its students. Amity offers various extracurricular activities, clubs, and college societies that help students in developing their leadership skills, teamwork, and a sense of community.

To Summarize!

Picking the best university for Bsc Forestry in India can play a crucial role in shaping your career. Amity shines at the top because of its curriculum, faculty, facilities, and career opportunities. With its comprehensive program, experienced faculty, and strong industry connections, Amity University provides an ideal environment for aspiring forestry professionals. Whether you aim to work in conservation, research, or forest management, a BSc Forestry degree from Amity University will set you on the path to a rewarding and fulfilling career. Apply Now!

Source: https://amity-university-delhincr.blogspot.com/2024/09/best-bsc-forestry-university-in-noida.html

[hosachiguru1]

All you need to know about  Agriculture Land For Sale

Founded out of a passionate drive to make farming more efficient and productive, Hosachiguru brings together traditional farming methods and modern techniques to revolutionize farmland management. At Hosachiguru, we have created a company that strives to provide state-of-the-art agricultural services for all farmers with green hearts. With our combination of dedication to both innovation and traditional farming techniques, we aim to make farm life easier for all who call the land their home.

1. Agriculture land can be used for a variety of purposes, including growing crops, ranching animals, or Shooting games.

2. There are a variety of different types of Agriculture Land For Sale available, including public and private lands.

3. The prices for Agricultural Land For Sale vary depending on the acreage and the condition of the land.

4. Some farmers may find Agricultural land to be more profitable than others, depending on the farm’s needs and the market conditions.

What is an Agriculture Land For Sale?

Agriculture land can be a great investment for those who are looking to purchase a property. Not only is the land valuable in terms of its acreage, but it can also be vital in terms of its potential production. Due to this, farming lands are often covered by those looking to buy or sell land.

What are the benefits of buying Agricultural Land?

Agricultural land is an important commodity in many economies. It is used to grow crops, breed animals, and provide the environment for other businesses. There are a number of benefits to purchasing agricultural land, some of which are listed below.

1. Agricultural land can be used for more than one purpose.

2. Agricultural land can be leased or sold quickly and at a low cost.

3. Agricultural land can be rented out for a variety of purposes such as farming, petting zoo, or livestock barn.

4. Agricultural land can be bought and rented out in a variety of configurations, including self-sustainability plans that allow for the use of natural resources such as wildlife habitat or rain gardens to maintain the property’s sustainability over time.

5. Agriculture Land can be used for research and development purposes.

What are the steps to finding and buying Agricultural Land?

First, it is important to understand that there are a variety of ways to find Agriculture Land For Sale. One way is to use an online search engine like Google or Bing. Another way is to contact a land agent who may be able to provide you with more information about Agricultural Land for sale in your area. Finally, you can also check out classified ads in newspapers or online.

Once you’ve found hectares of Agricultural Land for sale in your area, the next step is to research the specifics of that particular property. Do not simply take the property at its word- look into reports and reviews from other customers before investing time and money on this purchase. You’ll also want to do some independent research by speaking with real estate agents and researching soil types and other features specific to Agriculture Land for sale.

Why is it important to buy Agricultural Land?

Agriculture land is an important piece of property for many people. This is because it can be used to grow crops and produce goods that help people in their community. Additionally, agricultural land can also be used to build homes, businesses, and other structures. There are a number of reasons why Agricultural Land is such an important piece of property. For one, it can provide a lot of income for those who own it. Additionally, Agricultural Land can also play a big role in the economy by providing jobs and revenue. Finally, Agricultural Land can help farmers learn how to produce different types of crops and products effectively. These factors make Agricultural Land something that is worth buying and using as property.

Types of agricultural land: land for farming, ranching, forestry, mining, and more

Farms: A farm is an area used for raising food crops, such as corn, wheat, or soybeans. Farms can be large or small, and the land can be in one area or many different areas. They typically have a few acres of land per person. Farming is a popular type of agriculture because it produces food that people can eat and use in their homes. Farms can be bought and sold, but they are more common to buy than rent out.

Ranches: A ranch is an area used for feeding animals, such as cows, horses, and pigs.

Conclusion:

If you are looking for Agriculture Land For Sale, you should be aware of some of the key points to keep in mind. First, it is important to consider your specific needs when buying land. Second, consider the market conditions of the area you are interested in. Finally, ask around for advice and find a reputable seller.

[waiitiridge]

Hi my name is Eloise im 25 and live in Australia. The life you post about, living in a tiny house, living sustainably off the land and craft are all life goals of mine. I currently read a lot of books and try things myself for example, I sew using old sheets, knit using thrifted yarn, make bread using flour from a local mill, have been growing veggies and attempting to germinate native flowers. I am wondering if you would be able to share you wisdom with me on what process you used to be able to find such a location to live in, did you have to move very far? Where all my family and friends live you can find land like that for over $500,000. If you go cheaper it is flat and dry and I will be over 2 hours away from family and friends. To find a way of making money that aligns with my values I am looking to do a horticulture trainneship but for those 3 years I will be earning much less than minimum wage and I also want to find time to have children in the next 5 to 10 years. I am focusing on living intentionally and would really love someone to chat and discuss challenges and solutions with if you would be interested. Cheers

Kia ora,

We got very lucky buying our block a few years ago at Christmas time. The pictures were poor, the soil is poor, and it was covered in gorse with no real road and no services. We got it for 250k for 4ha which would be impossible to find today. There were other offers but the seller loved our vision I think talking with people in the area you want to settle in might help you find those life changing connections. Community workshops, gardens, and social clubs are a good way to start meeting people in the sustainable living bubble.

For jobs, horticulture is great but if you can go to uni for forestry you'll be set. So much you can do under the forestry umbrella from silviculture management, to conservation, to harvest management and online GIS software work from home. It's versatile, leans rural, and in demand. My partner works in forestry and I'll probably be going back to work in forestry once our daughter starts at the local school.

All the growing, building, and crafting can be learned as you go but if you ever need help with anything in particular I'm always happy to help 🥰

[dizzydizney]

Hello!

So I was thinking about college and what the vks and aks would choose for a major, but you know, in every fic there's the stereotypical mal-fine arts, evie-fashion design, jay-sports scholarship, carlos-computer science, ben-king etc

(which are gret and very fitting) but what if those weren't options?

Like, I could tottaly see jay as an architect, fumbling with papers and huge A1 sheets full of crooked buildings, led covered hands and shirts, hair tied up in a bun and held in place by pencils

and carlos maybe a physics or chemistry major (or very early phd cause he's an absolute genius), mad scientist vibes and all that good stuff

Mal could surely pull off a forestry & environmental sciences degree, being an activist and trying to become the voice of the fae residing in the auradon forests, those that are forgotten by the law

oh! and audrey being in the same major as mal, preparing for her future ruling on the throne of roses

Chef!Ben my beloved < 3

Entitled cop chad or kind-hearted musician chad????

Doctor!Evie, cause being exhausted by the constant pressureof school AND about having the lives of your patients in your hands is totally on brand for her

Wow, this got long, sorry I'm just rumbling and haven't even touched the sea three

I really want to hear your opinions though

Oh my gosh okay so first of all, love all these suggestions! They're definitely less conventional and less popular but that just makes them more fun to hear!

But honestly, Mal doing anything in the arts would be wonderful. Aside from spray paint and one doodle, we didn't see her do much in canon even though we know it's an interest of hers. She didn't have time to pursue it like Evie with fashion or Jay with sports. So I'd be fine with that. But her being an environmentalist is also good. I LOVe the tie to nature and her faerie heritage. That's something worth exploring

Jay as an architect is interesting. You provided a very lovely visual to go with it 😍 I could get behind it. Like imagine he just gains an interest in architect from all his parkour and scaling buildings sksks. That'd be so funny

I also feel like we didn't get a lot of Carlos's hobbies in the movies either?? It was Dude, Jane, and sport that he didn't even like. I do love mad science vibes for Carlos, but I could see him doing a ton of stuff. I love the idea of this Cruella being the head of a huge fashion house like Glenn Close's Cruella, and Carlos learning the ropes at that. But using his tech genius mind in the fashion industry. Creating sustainable pieces out of recycled material, and mingling wearable fashion with modern tech. Basically slaying the entire "Fashion in the Age of Technology" Met Gala better than anyone who actually went. But he's my fave of the Core Four, he can do literally anything

Could so see Doctor!Evie happening. She's a caregiver, she would want to do what she can to save people. But I could also see her being an activist, or doing the whole fashion meets technology thing. But yeah, these characters are versatile, you don't always have to pin them to one interest and one future only

Love activist!Audrey as well. Ooh, or could see her doing something with animals. Bring back first book Audrey where she's just a sweetheart angel and woodland creatures flock to her side

Chef!Ben... You said it all. Would love an au where his biggest responsibility is running the most popular boulangerie in town

Haven't really thought about Chad a lot. Don't like the idea of anyone being a cop lmao buuut something "entitled" would suit him. Literally I just see him as some cheesy social media influencer sksksk

And yeah this is long so I won't start on the Sea Three lol we can save that! But I loved the long ask so don't apologize about being in my inbox lol I love you for it! ❣️❣️❣️

[with-the-same-tattoos]

Okay wait what do you think the slashers would be like at college?

AHAH allright uh....... ive not been to the traditional kinda college personally, I've been and am currenly in a vocational college, so I'm not totally sure how accurate I can be w this but!!  ; v ; honestly????? Student life slasher au hcs???????? Lets go?????? Here's the ones I could think of currently, feel free to ask abt others /send me opinions abt yalls own >:0

Brahms Heelshire

Literature major. English lit? Dunno if they get seperated, I feel like I've heard that in a sentence somewhere!!

Doesn't really have a clear aim for what he wants to do after gratuation. Like, doesn't really care all that much.

However, he is actually really passionate about school and studying. Student life fits him well. He loves learning, etc, and likes to get good grades.

The routine works well for him too. At least, partly. He's a bit bad at taking care of himself, because he just puts a bit too much focus into studying instead of cleaning, showering, eating well, etc.

He really is just a massive tall guy who appears at classes wearing half pajamas and kinda smelling musky but not bad. He never speaks during class but he really, REALLY looks like he wants to "well, actually-"

Gets flustered easily by his thoughts/opinions being challenged. Not good at debating his thoughts w other people, feels personally attacked, and wants to always be swooned over.

Doesn't really talk to people. Stares, however. Like, a lot. At boys n gals.

He has like a p nice apt, payed for by his parents, nat. Its messy. Not too bad, but a lot of pizza boxes. N som nasty mags n such. Kinda empty.

Bubba Sawyer

What if..... the Sawyer family decided to farm instead of murder? Hmm....

Agriculture in vocational college mayhaps??? Economics, mechanization, kinda the technical stuff at first- but he gets interested in the sustainability, politics, etc the further he gets!

A bit of a chaotic student. Tries REALLY hard and is very passionate and spends a lot of time on schoolwork, extra reading etc. But he struggles w organizing papers, files, looses a lot of his notes and pens, etc.

He's always helpful, and like, eeeveryone likes him bc he's just so nice??? Bumbling lad but if u need a pen he will borrow u one, if u need help w schoolwork u should ask Bubba, also just super fun to hang out w !!!

He's... hes big yeah and kinda noticable, he often kinda knees himself on things and rattles tables, drops things etc, so he might be a bit distracting to students who struggle w attention :(

Chop Top Sawyer

ART MAJOR CHOP TOP BAYBEE

YOU KNOW WHAT I AM SAYING. ART MAJOR CHOP TOP BEING SO WONDERFUL AND CUTE N JUST CREATING AND VIBING.

Nobody really gets his art. Its kinda grandiose, chaotic, colorful, kinda painful to look at, but he's so full of enthusiasm and joy and he's so nice to everyone that u can't help but to love him.

Always wearing clunky headphones and jamming to loud music that can be heard very strongly thru the headphones. But like, its all bops so nobody minds all that much?

Im guessing this is like BOBBY, not chop top, technically? Long hair Bobby in college with the weed bunts and rocking music.

Actually has like a lot to say thru art, the world just isnt ready for it yet.

Also does performance art.

Jason Voorhees

Forestry. Duh.

Good good student, good kid, solid person. A little shy and withdrawn, but, RELIABLE.

Generally interested in natural resources, sustainability, and very into wildlife studies. Is just there to stUDY HOW TO PROTECT NATURE.

Can kinda come off as scary, pretty often. Tall, muscular as hell (he works out rly often and hikes), has kinda lumberjack kinda look going on w durable pants, boots, flannels and tanktops. Looks like he could fuck shit up but if u spend just a little time w him u find out that he's just... so soft

Not like the most upbeat, gets kinda nervous in big people groups. Probs had some experience w bullying as a kid in school. The enviroment he's in now is much more mature, tho.

Also he's like 6"6 pure muscle people r not gonna mess w him anymore.

Also the reason why the dorm area around him is so fucking chill.

He has 2 knock like once on ur door and stare u down for 5 sec and if ur partying too loud and u WILL NOT BE PARTYING TOO LOUD ANYMORE.

People r scared of him but also love him

Imagine being his wimpy small roommate tho ; v ; who he's in love w and all n uhh... yeah....

[yarpharp]

The world of the Walking Dead is honestly kinda... Ridiculous?

Like yeah, we live in America where you'd be surprised how many people own guns and knives and all sorts of collectible weaponry, but also we live in an America that has—by and large—long since gotten out of touch with any survival knowledge?

For instance, Daryl Dixon as a character is extremely interesting for most of the series not just because he's got a lot of layers and angst in terms of character personality, but also he's one of the few people we encounter who actually has applicable skills in straight-up survival. The man grew up in the mountains of Georgia, staying out of his abusive home and learning how to rough it in the wild unknown. The dude is shown as skilled in bolt crafting, some herbal knowledge, animal husbandry (specifically huntable creatures), and seasonal knowledge. He's also got plenty of mechanical knowledge to jerry-rig cars, motorized machinery, etc. He can, I assume (my memories of the show are not that clear) tan hides, make some basic leather, and probably make himself a replacement bowstring from animal sinew.

Meanwhile, what the fuck does Rick have for a good portion of the series? A gun? Many guns? A supposed killer instinct? It takes Hershel to teach him anything about farming, and even that is a skill for when you manage to maintain a long-term settlement. Maybe I'm too much of an anthropologist here, but establishing a farm culture is a societal evolution that happens after a band or group of people manage to find a safe place and devise a way to store food for longer than two weeks.

And yeah, I know in the later seasons there are moments of like, abrupt survivalist clarity, but they're very randomized and used as plot points to thrust the characters into yet another violent gun-shooting altercation. And even then, like... Electricity and such wouldn't be able to stick around for long without modern infrastructure. There's all these episodes of solar-powered homes and Negan's expansive warehouse network and all that shit, but they are depending on technologies with parts that cannot be easily replicated within the United States. So many of those industries have been outsourced to other countries. America does not produce a lot of it's own technology. Eventually a few more years down the line, all of that tech is gonna be scrap. And in the few instances where we come upon settlements that look and vaguely function like old pioneer towns, they still clearly suffer from the issue of barely any of these survivors seem to know how to survive without modern means.

I don't know, I feel like there could have been a shit ton of narrative potential if they had more episodes focusing on just learning survival or puzzling out ways of ensuring sustainability for their tiny settlements/communities. Yeah, sure, let's go get violent, but what about afterwards? Where will these people go? Are they perpetually doomed to failure because NONE OF THEM EXCEPT MAYBE DARYL KNOW HOW TO LIVE IN A WORLD WITHOUT MODERNITY?

Stop with that macho-centric highway drifter thinking. Daryl gets a pass because he kinda exists as a forest-mountain man who sometimes emerges from it to ride a motorcycle. What I want to know is what happened on the Native reservations and in Native communities. You cannot tell me they all got chewed up by the zombies, and you can't tell me they wouldn't be able to survive. We still have SO MANY TRADITIONS to fall back on. Herb lore that my grandmother passed down to me from her mom, my great-grandfather's knowledge of hunting and forestry he got from his father.

I also wanna know what happened to all the wierdos, because it's the arts-and-crafts kids and the Renaissance fair nerds and the goddamn furries that might very well end up surviving... And prove to be vital individuals in society.

The Walking Dead was a cool comic, but the show feels almost mocking. At the end of the day, it reads to me like a popular parody of the American gun-toting drifters and badasses with lost causes, intermixed with bizarre extremes that do little to explain themselves. It... Honestly is just a very pro-gun fantasy made entertaining with largely hetero drama.

It's exhausting.

[upcycleability]

Be Wary of Planting Trees

Planting trees is considered to be one of the strongest ways in which people are trying to combat climate change. Trees such up carbon dioxide and hold it in their wood, so planting a lot of them is bound to reduce total carbon emissions, right? What can be bad ebout planting trees?

Well... it’s complicated.

The benefits of tree-planting inititives

Nobody is going to argue with the idea that planting trees is ultimately a good thing. Especially due to the fact that we have chopped down 46% of the world’s forests from the time we started chopping til 2016, according to National Geographic.

Planting more trees takes excess carbon out of the air, increases clean air in the atmosphere, gives wild animals a place to live and call home, prevent species from being extinct, and if done right, increases biodiversity and ultimately benefits the world as a whole.

While planting trees is not by itself wrong, why would it be seen as a bad thing? Well, it depends a lot on the context of the tree plantings.

Trees as an excuse

A lot of people, but especially corperations and large companies, use tree planting as a way to wave away blame for other bad behavior. For instance, companies may refuse to reduce emissions, or even actively fight against emissions standards in law, while also trying to make themselves look more “green“ in the eyes of consumers.

in June of 2020, InsideClimate News released an article talking about the numerous pledges given by large oil companies to “reach net zero emissions.“ In this article, they mention:

“Most glaring is that none of the companies has committed to cut its oil and gas output over the next decade, the simplest and most reliable way—one might say the only way—to cut emissions, and a must if the world is to avoid dangerous warming. In fact, the stated net-zero “ambitions,” as the companies generally call them, do not require that greenhouse gas emissions fall to zero at all. They rely instead either partly or largely on capturing or canceling out these emissions with unproven technologies and reforestation at a questionable scale.“

Pumping pure carbon into the air, and then turning around and spending a few million on tree planting and carbon sequestration is not going to cut it. If we are going to reach real net zero emissions, we need to eliminate the oil and gas industries as a whole, literally uprooting them and making them obsolete. There is not enough land on this planet to plant a tree for every gallon of gas or pound of coal we burn.

You can learn a little bit more about this from this video from the YouTube channel Just Have a Think.

The misuse of forestry

Trees that are being planted make up only a small amount of the trees that are ripped out of the earth at an alarming rate. Often for little good reason. For one, wild fires are increasing around the world, destroying millions of acres of trees right then and there.

Hundreds of trees can exist per acre, which means that hundreds of millions of trees are lost to wildfires every year.

When it comes to the use of paper products in America alone, we use 7 trees per American per year. This equates to about 2 billion trees being used annually, often for paper products such as toilet paper and paper towels.

And this isn’t even getting into the slash and burn impacts of the Amazon by the president of Brazil. Nor does it count the hundreds of millions of trees chopped down specifically for European power grids.

According to Time Magazine in 2015, 15 billion trees are chopped down across the world annually. So in order for our tree planting behaviors to matter in the long term, we need to focus on reducing the number of trees that are cut down altogether. That includes focusing on recycling all of the paper currently in production, increasing the use of the bidet, using paper towels, and using more recycled and bamboo products when you can.

Planting trees is a good mindset, but there is more you can do

The last thing that we all want is for someone to think that planting trees is all that they have to do. While corperations are the ones mainly on the hook, you also should not become complacent just because you bought some carbon credits.

You should still:

* Vote for politicians that will fight for greener laws

* Write your representative and ask them to vote for greener laws

* Contact companies and request more eco friendly and sustainable packaging and goods.

* Reduce meat consumption

* Switch to renewable energy if you can

* Buy secondhand whenever possible

* Buying things sustainable, and closer to you if you can

* Reducing or eliminating flying if you can

* Using public transportation if able

We should not hold the weight of the world, but we should at the very least help to do our part.

***

If you like what I have written and want to help me out:

I run a small business as a solo craftsperson who focuses on eco-friendly and sustainable creations of goods. I use natural fabrics fished from the trash and other secondhand locations like thrift shops.

You can find my Etsy store HERE.

I also have a Mercari shop for cheaper clothes

And a Poshmark for the more expensive stuff.

[trilliontrees]

Trillion Trees Initiative for climate protection environmental biodiversity and species protection worldwide

The Greening Deserts Trillion Trees Initiative and Greening Camps can reduce negative climate changes, deforestation, droughts, desertification, land degradation, floods and global warming on a large scale - especially in human-made deserts, drylands, savanna and wastelands. Inviting nations, organisations, personalities and institutions since years and many have shown interest. You are also welcome to join the projects and greening initiative. Let's make the world green again, together! Let's plant billions or even a trillion trees to improve the climate and to reduce global warming significantely, especially with urban greening camps in urban areas. It is maybe the cheapest and most effective solution to cool down planet Earth, clean up the air and waters. Greening Deserts founder developed good solutions and projects to regreen drylands and wastelands with different kinds of resistant and typical plants. The greening and research camps will be green spots to cultivate all the plants and trees are needed, for example ground cover, flower trees, wild grasses, wild flowers and medicinal plants. Together with soil improving plants top soil layers will be created in just a few years - the basis for the following tree plantations and mixed forests. Seeds and seed balls can be dropped by seeding balloons and seeding drones.  

Greening Deserts economical, educational, cultural, social, scientific and sustainable projects have really big potential to reduce desertification and global warming, to improve healthy environments, sustainable agriculture (EcoFarming) and ecological forestry (EcoForestry). It are also projects for innovative Cleantech and Greentech developments. Here are some of the main projects: like Agrophotovoltaik, Desert Bamboo Africa, Greening Coasts, Greening Drones, Greenhouse Ship, Green Ring Africa, Great Green Wall North Africa, Seeding Balloon and Transparent Solar Greenhouses. All these projects were founded and initiated by Oliver Gediminas Caplikas during the last years. Strong future partners and investors for the ongoing project developments are always welcome! Invest in true values like education, ecological or real sustainable products and services together with our upcoming education, greening and research camps. Your investment in Greening Deserts projects will really change the world and we will create a better history or future. Global Cooling with Global Greening is not just possible, it is very realistic and the most effective solution – especially in relation to the costs, energy and time. Another important points are environmental education, climate adaption, mitigation, resilience and sustainability. All these points and developments will be realised at the forestation, greening and research camps.

Building a basic camp with a little team needs approx three to nine months, depends on the conditions and region. Greening and forestation of each concerned region starts from the very beginning, so like planting trees for the first parks. Bigger camps can get an Energy Storage Park with a solar park, water park and or wind park. Smaller camps will have of course solar energy and water supply, too. There are many developments and other projects connected, most of them will be realised with the camps. It is also interesting for urban areas, city forests and gardens - especially community and rooftop gardens. Many ambassadors, ministers, trade commissioners, scientists and experts were invited to join Greening Deserts campaigns, initiatives and projects during the years. We exchanged a lot about the sustainable developments, technics and techniques could be developed at the new Greening Camps. You can read more about on the official and social pages.

Many scientists confirming Greening Deserts concepts and projects, for example to plant a trillion trees to reduce human-made climate change effects and global warming worldwide. With financial support the projects like the Greening and Research Camps could finally start with forestation and greening, especially of drylands or wastelands in Africa and Europe. The Greening Camp project development is running since 2018, after successful funding in 2019 or 2020 the project can start fast as possible and build the first pilot camps.

More important information about Greening Deserts special projects like the new Critically Endangered Species (CES-RPP) research and protection program.

It's about Greening Camps, innovative developments, research, global goals and effective solutions. Greening Deserts projects like the greening and research camps will be platforms for Cleantech, climate protection, nature conservation, culture, education, environmental and species protection, Greentech and science. All camps can have a library, lounge and media room. Perfect to exchange with education, book and media branch, to experiment with creative designs, green building and sustainable architecture. Bigger camps can get an Energy Storage Park and even could be expanded to a kind of campus or science park.

We have not much time to establish hundreds of camps, greenhouses and new special areas, on land and at sea, for the most endangered species and keystone species of this world. It is similar as with other cascade effects like the permafrost and wetlands problem. If more keystone species like the bees extinct, even relative unknown or small ones, it will accelerate the mass extinction and reach 'tipping points' in relation to the critical biodiversity loss is ongoing. The only way is to focus on this most important issue of the world and put it on the first place of all agendas, concentrate on the most endangered known species and find the forgotten and unknown keystone species with best of search algorithms, networks and intelligent systems like AI, Deep Learning, cloud and crowdworking, archive management and intelligent library systems - powered by best of computing environments, so like special supercomputers. It has really more priority as using so much computing resources for astrological calculations, brain simulations or other mega applications which doing all the same or nearly simliar kind of tasks or work. Not to mention all the energy wasting computers, servers and smartphones in idle mode or used for time wasting tasks like certain films, series or war games.

It is important for us all to prevent the mass extinction in the next years, to restore and improve biodiversity in so many areas, also in urban areas. We all need to care more the species who are endangered or treatended the most! It makes no sense if there are so many conservation and species protection initiatives or programs for a single species like elephants, pandas,.. in background much more important species dying out. The species protection community and organisations like IUCN Red List of Threatened Species should overwork their agenda and priorities in this relation. Humanity must protect more the keystone species, particularly on which many other life forms depend on! For example if the most important species bees extinct, humans will extinct some years later. Another point is to support the climate adaption of animals and plants on the long term, help the species to survive by providing extra wildlife habitats like more biotopes, game reserves, meadows, parks and diverse forests for more biodiversity.

Every day counts to protect the most endangered species with all means and to bring this aspect, this task and the topic to the top on all relevant agendas - on all possible channels, daily and internationally. Of course, corresponding protected areas with the highest concentrations of life forms in all possible regions and climate zones also have priority. The 'overprotected' species and programs, resources, energies, .. in this context.. they should also concentrate more on these aspects, because to protect so much elephants, polar bears, giraffes, pandas, etc. who are relative save and every day important key species dying out ! It is a similar problem as with the neglected tipping points and the wrong prioritization of politics and economy - see United Nations Climate Change Conference. Only if the problems mentioned are resolved promptly the cascade effects can be reduced and possibly over decades of massive efforts stopped, and new disasters in this regard prevented. Then there may be a real chance to prevent extinction, also of humanity. Every action and every person counts in this regard, whether large or small, known or unknown. We maybe have approx two years to solve these problems and ten years to plant a trillion trees worldwide.

Bees have been declared as the most important species on planet earth. However, according to wildlife experts and scientists, the bees have joined the endangered species long list. Insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and other pesticides must be reduced, so like the air pollution. Let's plant more wild flowers and flower trees, especially for the bees, birds and other animals who need trees to survive. We need more biotopes, real natural and wild habitats or wildlife reserves with wild meadows, mixed forests and protected areas like game reserves, landscape conservation, nature conservation and water conservation areas. Greening Deserts projects goals are mainly to restore natural landscapes like mixed forests, grasslands and wetlands - to bring back biodiversity, clean air, topsoils and water. Reduce and stop deforestation in near future, replace wood with other sustainable materials like hemp and rice straw.

Further information and news:

The Greening Camp plants like desert bamboo and hemp will improve the soils, underground water and waters in general. Drylands and wastelands can be turned into fertile lands easily with Greening Deserts technics and technologies were developed during the last three years. It improves the soils in just a few years, after this other soil improving plants, environmental friendly crops and trees can be planted. There will be many side products of the forestation or greening processes, it can be delivered to hemp product producers like the paper branch and packaging industry. All would win at the end - the poor people or regions, the degraded lands or soils, the forestry, paper and wood industry - even big wood paper consumers like the book, newspaper and packaging industry. Hemp and rice straw paper books could reform the book and paper branch in many ways. If you want to know more about, don't hesitate to contact. We are experts in these fields and markets since 2003. The worldwide cleaning and greening process can accelerate the global peace building process siginificantly.

And again! You and colleagues are welcome to join the Greening Deserts campaigns and initiatives like the official Trillion Trees Initiative to reduce negative climate changes, deforestation, droughts, desertification, land degradation, floods and global warming on a large scale - especially in human-made deserts, drylands and wastelands. The initiative was founded in 2018.

The founder launched another great initivative to reduce plastic waste in worldwide waters and it will open a complete new sustainable market. It's called Plastic Fishery, more news will come on the plastic fisher network and platform.

Awareness programmes, communications letters and statements were initiated and shared with thousands of worldwide governments, institutions and organisations in summer, autumn and winter 2019. Diverse collaborations, cooperations, partnerships and sponsorships are possible. Feel free to contact by the official channels and pages on Greening Deserts and Trillion Trees Network.

Climate protection, nature conservation and environmental protection is also species protection. Please do not ignore and forward if you can, it affects us all. Childrens Rights are Human Rights. Clean air, soils, waters and healthy environments are Human Rights, too. We need more environmental awareness and sustainability, sustainable living and sustainable working, in all fields or areas. We need to create a world of understanding, acceptance, respect, tolerance, compassion and consciousness.

Do more for green places in your city, try to establish more community gardens, city parks, city forests, urban farming areas, fascade and rooftop gardens. Show that you can live and work really sustainable by saving energy, water and other natural resources. Reduce waste and pollution, especially plastic waste. Use alternative packaging and ecological products like bamboo or similar products. - Oliver Gediminas Caplikas

Visit the official pages:

http://trilliontrees.eu

http://trilliontrees.in

http://trilliontrees.us

http://trilliontrees.net

http://trilliontrees.info

http://trilliontrees.africa

http://www.trilliontreesinitiative.com

http://www.trilliontreesinitiative.org

http://afforestation.org

http://forestation.net

[perucast30-blog]

Forestry Distributors, Inc

Where to Locate Dealers That Can Easily Promotion You the greatest Products

Wholesalers are actually recognized for offering the consumer along with high quality items at a great cost. If you want to discover top quality makers of a specific product, our experts need to search for providers who supply what our company wish.

The number of Distributors raises eventually as well as, as their competition increases therefore perform the costs. To put it simply; Vendors, if enabled to begin command, end up eating into the earnings of the business. When our experts begin to utilize more products in our everyday lifestyle, our team typically make oversights when it concerns choosing the best Distributor.

Before we begin our look for the very best Distributor, our company ought to initially look for a company that can fulfill our general demands for basic materials. For example, for a hair flat iron, we need it to become of high quality as we wish our hair to look nice. But exactly how perform we know if the Supplier offers these basic materials?

It is strongly suggested that you maintain a list of Suppliers that give premium quality items at a low price. You should understand the amount of you are actually paying for every product just before you get it. For instance, if our experts intend to purchase a considerable amount of all of them, after that our company need to have to value them according to quantity. This will definitely assist our team purchase simply those products at an economical rate.

https://alietc.com/suppliers/food-agriculture/farm-products-grains-fruits-etc/garlic , that utilize less expensive raw materials, will not earn a profit given that they will have excessive costs. https://alietc.com/suppliers/chemicals/waste-paper is actually suggested that we adhere to Providers that supply products of high quality at a low cost. Not just will this aid us save money yet additionally enhance our revenues.

Once we have picked a supplier as well as got hold of a list of Vendors, our experts require to start searching online. Our company can easily start through looking on Google.com or even some other internet search engine. Merely enter the key words that relate to the kind of products that our company want to get.

Internet search engine will certainly offer you a great deal of outcomes to choose from. Make certain to review the fine print. Try and also look for the label of the provider along with certain service or products. That way, you will receive more details on the company.

Some providers, for some reason, give more details than others. You need to have to recognize what is the principal concentration of business prior to you go on to purchase an item from all of them.

Other factors that our team need to do when our company are seeking a distributor is actually to attempt and also contact them. Have a look at the e-mails of the provider prior to calling them for more details. Try to find out if the firm follows up with the purchases they obtain as well as if they have the ability to take care of the demands that they receive.

One more thing to carry out is actually to learn if the business is actually signed up with any sort of regulatory body systems. You should additionally have a look at if the firm is signed up along with every other worldwide or nationwide body systems. This is actually because all of us recognize that uncontrolled providers are usually the ones that can easily certainly not offer you the very best offers on services and products.

Some Suppliers, in their try to take on one another, are actually even more very competitive along with one another in regards to the product or services they give. They at times supply un-necessary deals like complimentary shipping, which are in fact really costly in the long run. This might appear appealing to some individuals however it is actually not a good idea.

Dealers need to follow an extremely strict rules of conduct and also their distributors need to stick to a collection of policies to ensure that there is no negativeness that might sneak in to the firm. If you would like to find a provider who offers top quality products at a practical price, at that point the best possibility will be to check the ISO requirements for premium.

Setting Up a Marketplace B2B Profile to Market Your Business

Online marketplace B2B accounts could be a terrific resource to your advertising tactic. By generating a blogging site or even making use of a social networking sites internet site, you can connect with your prospects in an online fashion and obtain the latest updates, services and products readily available for your service. You can easily likewise utilize your blog site or social media accounts to update your potential customers about any changes that are actually happening in your business.

You may be wondering what is actually a B2B online market account? You can produce a website and also a blog. Often times you will definitely desire to possess each all at once, so you may continually share info along with your prospects as well as sustain a relationship along with them. On top of that, it is simpler to upgrade your blogging site or even internet site along with info when you are actually servicing your internet site.

To establish a B2B marketplace account, you will need to have to choose how much opportunity you intend to commit to creating your business. There are several possibilities that are free or economical to join. Be sure you perform your study and also opt for a plan that corrects for you.

If you plan to utilize your weblog to offer service or products, the best means to sell is to pick a system that allows you to be in the consumers bottom for as little as one full week. Afterwards opportunity has actually passed, you will certainly be actually contributed to the data source and also is going to begin to market by yourself. This is actually the quickest means to obtain your service moving.

You can easily likewise pick to sell products that you develop. This is actually often named "buyer-driven" marketing. When you determine to market one thing that you produced, it could be really good for possess an on the internet industry B2B account to market to your customers.

Having an internet market B2B account is actually quite important for a lot of small businesses. While your competitors are actually delegating their advertising, you can easily make the most of the web and also your resources. It will certainly certainly not only provide you extra purchases yet will certainly make it achievable for you to increase your service without needing to leave your house.

When picking an on-line marketplace B2B profile, see to it you are benefiting from any type of programs that are offered to you. You can establish a basic account that will certainly give you extra functions. You may find these plans through performing a hunt for "online market place B2B".

You can easily expect to pay out a cost for any kind of type of on the web marketplace B2B accounts that you choose. The fee is actually commonly minimal, but it depends upon the sort of profile you select. A great general rule is to choose a course that offers solutions for the very same cost as a print subscription.

Your B2B online industry profile need to be easy to use, user-friendly and cost effective. It needs to offer you with a variety of resources that are going to assist you handle your advertising and marketing initiatives, company as well as products. Make sure you know the information of any contract you authorize.

Your company may have an email list or a weblog. Additionally, you can choose which social networking internet sites and blog posts to use for advertising. You will certainly likewise wish to utilize these websites to associate with your customers and also clients.

Always remember, to use a b2b profile to industry your organisation, you require to become able to reach your customers via these internet places. You need to consist of a lot of information regarding your business in each of your websites. This aids your customers to remember your service, while your possible consumers are actually additionally told of your provider.

Discover the greatest packages when you shop for your item, through carrying out some shopping around as well as locating the most effective bargains when you acquisition wholesale, or to put it simply, totally free classifieds. Certainly not just will this conserve you loan, but you will definitely also manage to get to a larger team of individuals than if you are trying to promote individual products.

[junqkook]

— INTO THE WOODS, 1: THE GROVE (m.)

— notes; i hate that i have to say this, but STOP REPOSTING AND/OR RE-IMAGINING THIS AU AS YOUR OWN. THAT IS STILL PLAGIARISM.

pairing; jungkook/reader genre; goblin au, smut, e2l rating; explicit words; 6,790

— synopsis; getting hurt and stumbling upon a goblin in the forest leaves you completely at his mercy, though you aren’t sure if that’s necessarily a bad thing.

contents; goblin!jungkook, e2l themes, cheating implication, rough sex, unprotected sex (stay safe!), clothed sex, creampie, marking, possessiveness, oral (f and m receiving), dirty talk, multiple orgasms.

— chapters; the grove (01) | the thicket (02) | the nest (03)

“This is just great,” you muttered to yourself, shivering slightly from the chill in the air as you stomped through the grass. The forestry around you was so thick it was damn near impossible to even begin to think of a way out. Not to mention that the sun was setting and you’d already been walking around aimlessly for hours.

You were usually fine with the forest, never venturing in too far for fear of the beasts it held within, hidden away from your human eyes. Your village spoke of them in harsh whispers, your schools educating the young about the goblins, beware the goblins lest they steal you away.

But the herb your mother needed was hard to find, hidden in the undergrowth, and you had inched further and further inside the forest until you were no longer sure how to get out, a handful of herbs clenched in your fist. Night was quickly approaching and every hushed sound had you on edge, hair rising and goosebumps raising on your skin.

You circled around as you passed a tree, foot catching in the roots poking out of the grass and you collapsed in a heap on the ground, yelping as you went down. The plants near the tree trunk muffled your groan and you spit them out as you tried to get to your feet, ankle throbbing and shirt torn at the elbow where it scratched against the bark of the tree.

Your tongue felt heavy as you pushed yourself to your knees, turning and blinking rapidly as you cradled your knees to your chest, wincing at the sharp pain in your ankle. The inside of your mouth felt odd—there was a sharp tingling sensation building on your tongue and the insides of your cheeks.

You got to your feet using the trunk as support and attempted to set your weight down evenly. You hissed when sparks of pain shot up your calf and you kept most of your weight on the uninjured limb. Limping forward didn’t seem like a fruitful option, but you refused to give up hope on finding your way out of the forest—you would get out, get home, and go on with your merry life.

It was only a few feet away where you attempted to cross over a fallen tree trunk, huge and littered with moss. It was so thick it almost rested at your full height on its side and you used your arms to pull yourself up. It was much harder than you’d anticipated, your vision blurring for a moment and your breaths coming heavy. Your arms were trembling and you whimpered as you maneuvered your feet to the top of the trunk, where you sat to gather yourself before climbing down—it was definitely going to be painful, as there was no other way but to land on your feet lest you wanted to sustain another injury.

You swayed as you turned to the other side of the tree trunk, unsteady even while seated. You rubbed at your eyes, the tingling sensation spreading to your throat. Your limbs felt heavy as you tried to move, but your hand slipped and you pitched forward, eyes closing and surrounded by black before you even hit the ground.

Everything ached.

That was your first thought upon gaining consciousness. You were swaying gently, something warm wrapped around your body. You buried your face into it and groaned, whatever it was tightening around you.

“Hold still, little human, we’re almost there,” something murmured.

You tried to open your eyes, but they wouldn’t budge. Your arm dangled in the air and you foggily realized that you were being carried by someone. Your whole body refused to do as you wanted, panic settling in your stomach from the paralysis. Your throat felt constricted, not enough air making its way into your windpipe.

Finally, finally, you were set down on the ground. Your body didn’t move, limp wherever the person had placed you. Panic seized you again, gripping tight as you tried to push through the haziness that had a hold on your brain.

Fingers prodded at your mouth, pushing your lips apart gently. Your heart was thudding loudly in your chest and you were sure that he could hear it as you felt the heat of his body tower over yours. Lips pressed against yours, parted similarly, and then a tongue licked into your mouth. You wanted to recoil, open your eyes and see who it was that had carried you away and was now kissing you. The movement of his tongue against yours continued for a few moments and your lips began to throb as he pushed harder against them.

He pulled back slowly and whispered, “Swallow.”

Without thinking, you did as he said and relief was almost instantaneous. Your mouth no longer felt as though a fire had been lit inside of it, the relief spreading to your constricted throat until it felt normal, only a dull ache in its place.

He pressed his mouth against yours again, gentler this time, nipping at your lips and swiping his tongue across them. Your eyes fluttered open and met brown ones, the man staring right at you as his mouth worked against yours. Your fingers twitched and you made a muffled sound, prompting him to push himself away from you.

You struggled to sit up, the man offering no help, but you finally managed to prop yourself up, hissing at the tendrils of pain shooting from your ankle. You turned to look at the man crouching beside you, his face impassive. He looked exactly as a human would, but you knew better—you checked his ears, which were elongated back and curved at the tips, fading from a pale skin tone to a light green at the points.

“Goblin,” you whispered, lips trembling. Your voice came out hoarse.

“Human,” he mocked, sneering at you.

“Why—why did you bring me here?” you asked, fearful. Was he going to eat you? But that didn’t make a whole lot of sense, since he’d just—wait, had he just saved your life?

“Poison,” he answered you, watching you collect your bearings, chest heaving. “You had hemlock poisoning.”

Your fingers were shaking, remembering how you’d fallen face first into a patch of plants beside a tree right before you had gotten dizzy. You managed to poison yourself with hemlock accidentally and now here you were, seated beside a goblin.

You should thank him for saving your life. You wanted to. But these creatures always carried with them a price for good deeds.

“What do you want from me?” you asked him slowly.

He scoffed, turning away from you and standing to his full height. He left you with a tiny semblance of privacy as he shuffled over to a desk and you looked around yourself, seated on the earthy grass. It looked like an alcove and you could see a shut wooden door up ahead, everything lit with small lanterns that lined the walls.

“Who said I wanted anything from you?” he finally spoke, turning to face you again. He threw you a blanket, which you caught with unsteady hands and held to your chest. It was scratchy but warm and you spread it out over your body, relishing in the warmth as the goblin watched you from where he stood, merely a few feet away.

“You’re a goblin,” you told him. “Goblins always have a price.”

He smiled sharply, eyes hard. “And you’re a human. Humans are always ungrateful.”

You frowned, pulling the blanket up to your chin and watching him. “I’m not ungrateful. You saved my life.”

“I did,” he returned. “Hemlock does not affect goblins the way it does humans.”

“We don’t know each other,” you said lowly. “Why would you save my life?”

He sighed, fidgeting. “Death is not something to wish for.” Your eyes widened and you opened your mouth, but he continued before you could speak. “Also, I do not desire the blame for a human’s death.” He glared at you for a second too long before turning back to his desk, fiddling with something you couldn’t see.

You shut your mouth, cheeks warming. You shifted your body weight, grimacing when your ankle shot pain up your leg and tingles set in. Reaching down, you pushed part of your sock down and away from your ankle, biting your lip when you saw how swollen it was—it was even starting to bruise.

The silence was stiffening and your nerves weren’t calming, not when you were basically stuck in a goblin’s home with said creature having every advantage of you. If he really didn’t want a human’s death on his hands, he would let you leave, surely. You weren’t sure if you’d even be able to stand, let alone find your way out of the dense forest, but you needed to take the chance anyway.

“Can I leave?” you asked, breaking the silence and staring at the goblin’s back.

He turned to face you again, blinking his large brown eyes comically. You bit back an incredulous laugh—he was immensely attractive, especially for a goblin; though, you’d never actually seen one in the flesh before, only from stories told by others and what you’d learned in school.

“No,” he responded.

Anger bubbled up inside of you. “Is the price for saving my life keeping me here?” you hissed. He rolled his eyes and you scoffed. “I knew you’d have a price—goblins never do anything out of the goodness of their hearts.” You crossed your arms over your chest. “If you even have one.”

Your remarks were met by more silence and you let it fester for a few beats before facing the goblin. He was staring down at a small glass vial that he held in his large hands, turning it over while he clenched his jaw tight. The movement made his pointed ears twitch.

“There is no price,” he finally said, meeting your gaze harshly. His brows were pulled down, wrinkling the skin between them and his lips were downturned into a scowl. “If you don’t wish to die from the hemlock, you need more treatment.” Your face felt hot, embarrassment slipping into you and gripping tight. The goblin’s face was like stone, not revealing anything except his displeasure, but his eyes—his eyes reflected the hurt that your words must have inflicted.

“Oh,” you muttered quietly, tearing your gaze away from him. You couldn’t stand to look at him anymore, your pride too high for any thought of apology to form in your head.

He set the vial down on his desk and walked away from you, further into the home—which, you suspected, was just built in an alcove or maybe even the hollow of a tree. Who really knew, when it came to goblins? They were known to have magical abilities, causing the downfall of many humans throughout history.

“How—how did you heal me?” you asked, voice quieter than it had been earlier. You twisted your body to face him, watching him settle down in a very comfortable looking worn out couch. He gnawed on his lip, looking flustered, before he could meet your eyes.

“Saliva,” he answered you. “If you swallow goblin saliva, it heals the poison in your body.” You bit the inside of your cheek, remembering how he’d kissed you when you awoke. “You, uh—you ingested too much of the hemlock to fully reap the benefits of the treatment. That’s why you must stay here until all of it can be removed from your body. The paralysis was already settling in when I found you.”

It was quiet in the home, the only sound between the two of you being your heartbeat ringing in your ears. “Thank you,” you breathed.

“You’re welcome,” he replied, grabbing a book and starting to read, flipping through the pages.

“Um,” you interrupted. “I’m ____. What’s your name?” He only responded by quirking his mouth up and staring at you. You rubbed your palms on the grass beneath you nervously. “I’d like to know the name of the creature that saved my life.”

He let out a slow breath, shutting the book and relaxing further into the couch. He gave you an inquisitive look, running his gaze down your body quickly as he considered your request. “I do not owe you an answer,” he started. “But I will give you one. My name is Jungkook.”

You bit back the smile that twitched at your lips. “Thank you for saving my life, Jungkook,” you said.

His eyes were sparkling with mirth as a smile lit up his face, though those brown eyes of his remained dark as they focused on you. “You’re welcome, ____.”

You woke to Jungkook shaking your shoulder gently. Blinking up at him in confusion, you sat up and groaned at the twinge in your back from sleeping on the grass all night.

Your throat felt a little clogged up, rough, and you coughed into your palm. Jungkook let his palm rest on the back of your head, slipping his fingers in the strands of your hair, and pushed a small vial onto your lips, raising his brows and nodding in encouragement. You parted your lips and tilted your head back into his palm, letting him pour the liquid into your mouth—it tasted sweet, like candies that reminded you of home.

Once you’d swallowed, he set the vial down and leaned in. You put a hand on his chest and stopped him. “What do you think you’re doing?” you asked, voice hoarse with sleep.

He lifted a brow in response. “The antidote I’ve made isn’t enough. I assume you want to be on your way home soon?”

“Of course I do,” you snapped.

“Then you need some help from me,” he told you. “Unless you’d prefer drinking the saliva from the vial as well, in which case it’ll only take me a few minutes to fill it—”

“No, no, no, no—please don’t spit in it and make me drink it,” you interrupted, gagging at the mere thought of what he was implying.

The slight smirk that quirked up his lips didn’t slip by your notice. “Then the only other way is to kiss you.”

You grumbled, ignoring the tightening of your belly and the trembling of your fingers. “Can’t we do it somewhere more comfortable?”

His smirk turned into a frown as he glanced back at his bed. “No offense, but I’m not fond of having a human in my bed.”

You rolled your eyes. “Fine, fine, whatever, just do it—”

His mouth was pressing into yours immediately, cutting you off. You made a muffled sound against his lips and parted yours, letting your eyes flutter shut. Jungkook licked into your mouth, pressing his tongue against yours as his hand moved to cup your cheek, the one in your hair tangling and tugging you into an easier position.

You gasped as he angled your head back farther, shuffling closer to your body and kissing you harder. Your hands fisted in his shirt, gripping the rough fabric tightly as you tried to push even closer to him. You met his tongue’s movements with yours, trying to lead the kiss as your body grew hotter and hotter.

He pulled away from you with a loud and obscene smacking noise. Your eyes snapped open and you met his dark gaze, his pupils dilated. He let go of you quickly, as if touching you burned him, and cleared his throat. You had to catch yourself before you fell completely on your back, chest heaving as you swallowed. Your cheeks flushed with warmth and your nerves tingled all over your body, spreading like a wildfire through your veins.

“I think that’s—that’s enough for today,” he said awkwardly, rubbing the shine on his lips away with the back of his hand.

“Okay,” you agreed simply, cursing yourself for getting carried away in his kiss.

“I have to go out and do something,” he told you blankly, grabbing a pack off his desk and shoving items into it. He turned back to you, face wiped of all emotion. “Don’t touch anything.”

You nodded and he didn’t spare you another glance as he turned and walked down the alcove, opening a door and walking out into a brightly lit forest from what you could see, shutting it after himself. The loud click of a lock quelled your enthusiasm and you huffed, slumping in your spot.

You tried to get up, but you couldn’t even bend your foot as pain seared up your calf from your ankle. You wanted to explore his home while he was gone, though you weren’t sure how long it would take him to return. Scooting back slowly, you managed to make it to the desk he had, twisting yourself onto your knees and wincing at the throb of protest your ankle gave when you lifted your foot up in the air behind you. Using the desk as support, you managed to stand on one foot, keeping the injured one lifted up off the ground. You were panting by the time you got up, pain hindering you more than it normally would have.

Looking down at his desk revealed it to be littered with gadgets and papers, vials full of liquids and scratched out writing in a language you couldn’t read on said papers. You examined some of the items, finding a watch and pens and pencils, a few books in what you assumed was the same language as what was written in his notes, and some dried herbs.

You hopped over to the couch, which upon closer inspection was a recliner, and slowly sat down in it, relishing in the soft cushions and familiarity. It was nice not to be laying on the ground anymore—which made you wonder where exactly his home was located that it had wooden walls and a door but grassy ground, like the forestry just beyond the exit.

You couldn’t get the latch on the side of the couch to work, so you slowly set your foot down and winced at the flare from the shift in position. Your elbow knocked into something on the armrest and you gasped, quickly catching it in your hands before it could tumble to the floor.

It was the book you’d seen Jungkook reading yesterday.

You opened it to where it had been marked, a gold string leaving his place. You pouted when you realized you couldn’t understand anything, but you tried to read the strange sounding words anyway, cocking your head.

Only a few minutes had passed when the door burst open, slamming against the wall, and you flinched harshly, snapping your head up from the yellowing pages to look at the source of the noise.

Jungkook was standing in the doorway, panting.

And he looked furious.

He marched over to the couch, shutting the door behind him with his foot and twisting his hand—you heard the lock click into place even though he hadn’t touched it and your heart leapt into your throat at the recognition of magic. It didn’t take long until he was standing before you, your body trapped on the couch and staring up at him with wide eyes, and he snatched the book from your grasp.

“I told you not to touch anything,” he hissed.

“I only wanted to see what was in the book—”

He made an odd sound, similar to a growl, and tossed the book back toward his bed. Your heart was hammering inside of your chest, loud enough that you were certain he could hear it, and you yelped when he reached down and shoved his hands under your thighs and back.

“What are you doing?!” you shouted, moaning in pain when he lifted you into his arms and the movement jostled your injured limb.

He didn’t answer you, walking a few steps and crouching down, dropping you unceremoniously back in the spot you were before he left in a hurry. You blinked away the tears pricking your eyes as he stood back up, glaring at you with a gaze so menacing it made a chill run down your spine.

“Don’t touch what doesn’t belong to you, human,” he snarled. Without waiting for a reply, he stormed over to his bed further in the home, still completely in your sight as there were no separate rooms or halls, and twisted his wrist as he kicked off his shoes and climbed into his bed. The lights flickered out and you heard him rustling before all was quiet in the small space you shared.

You gnawed on your bottom lip for a few minutes before deciding to try to sleep, laying down on your back and choking back the tears that threatened to break free. You lay awake on the ground for what seemed like hours, listening to the sound of your own breathing and wishing for the comforts of your own home and your own people.

The same routine followed as another two days passed, your hair knotting and your skin irritated. You felt gross with everything sticking to your skin, unaccustomed to being in the wilderness for so long at once, along with an added shame twisting your insides with every flicker of heat in your body at Jungkook’s touches, his kisses.

You didn’t dare touch his book again, leaving it be and instead focusing on trying to decide what to do. Jungkook had said earlier that it would be the last treatment you needed from him and you could leave whenever you wished.

Which left you with two problems; your foot was still killing you and you had no idea where you even were, let alone knowledge of how to get back home.

You decided to wait for his return, unsure if you would even be able to open his door without him present. You didn’t know what he left to do each day, but curiosity did not win out when you thought of who he was probably meeting—other goblins.

You perked up on the couch when the door opened hours later, the dim light from outside shadowing his figure. Jungkook walked in, handing you some fruit as he had done before, which you gratefully ate. He stretched his arms while you finished and then gave you an inquisitive stare.

“I told you that you could leave,” he said.

“You did,” you replied.

“So why didn’t you?”

You swallowed the remaining bites of fruit, fidgeting awkwardly. “I don’t know where I am,” you told him. “And my ankle still hurts. I suspect it’s broken.”

He hummed, walking over to stand in front of you and then crouching down so his head was level with your lap. He dragged his fingers down your leg, eyes flitting up to meet yours, his gaze heavy on yours. You hissed when his fingers pushed gently on your ankle. “Probably,” he murmured, the corner of his lips twitching up.

“You healed the poison,” you started, keeping your voice low.

“Mhm,” he agreed, letting his gaze wander back down your body as his fingers caressed your ankle, tugging your shoe and sock off.

“Can’t you heal my foot too?” you whispered.

He snapped his gaze back up to your face, his eyes twinkling and his mouth spreading into a grin. “I can,” he said easily. Before you could ask him to do it, he suddenly held your ankle in his grip, pain shooting up your calf. You let out a strangled noise, your instinct to remove your limb from his grasp but he wouldn’t allow you to. He pulled himself up to his knees, sliding his torso between your legs quickly. “But that kind of favor is one that comes with a price,” he continued, voice pitched low and deep.

“What kind of price?” you asked. You swallowed past the lump forming in your throat, the grip he had around your ankle still spreading sparks of pain through your leg.

Jungkook leaned in closer, the tip of his nose barely brushing against yours as he whispered his price. “You.”

“What do you mean?”

“One night,” he told you. The smile was still present on his face, his eyes dark and every touch of skin releasing sparks in your veins. “Your body.”

You licked your lips and your stomach twisted with satisfaction when his eyes darted down to watch the movements of your tongue. “I thought you said you didn’t like the idea of a human in your bed,” you breathed, biting down on your bottom lip.

“You don’t have to,” he commented. His hand’s loose hold on your ankle remained and his other hand came up to your face to tuck it behind your ear, letting his finger tips graze the outside of your ear. “The price for your ankle has been set. Take it or leave it.” His look was steady, the smile gone from his face, as he spoke. “It is your choice.”

Your heart was hammering into your ribs, the arousal heating your body and drowning out the shame at the attraction you felt for him. You couldn’t think about what your family and friends would think of you, you didn’t care about how people treated sympathizers—all you knew in that moment was that you wanted Jungkook, wanted more of his skin on yours, his mouth all over you; you wanted everything.

“I’ll pay the price,” you whispered to him, surging forward and pressing your mouth to his. He made a muffled sound against you and then he was pushing forward, nipping at your bottom lip and licking into your mouth as his grip on your ankle tightened to an almost painful degree. You cried out against his lips, heat building in your foot—and then it was gone, leaving a dull throb as pleasure ran up your calf. You gasped into his mouth, kissing him back fervently and tangling your hands in his dark hair while his own hands ran up your legs to your thighs.

He stood up, pulling away from you abruptly, and held out his hands for you. Slipping your hands into his, you let him pull you up from the couch, and he led you over to the unmade bed, where he gently pushed you to sit down on it. He followed after quickly, towering his body over yours before he kissed you again, trailing chaste pecks all the way down your throat to your collarbone as he tugged your tattered skirt up your body. His hands moved to your blouse, ripping it halfway down to expose your breasts to him.

“You’re beautiful,” he mumbled into your skin, trailing his mouth down your chest to the top of your breast. You arched your back and threw your head back as he wrapped his mouth around your nipple, sucking and licking it as his hand kneaded your other breast.

His free hand trailed down to your belly, slipping it under the remains of your shirt to caress the skin before slipping down to your thighs and sliding up to your soaked panties. He yanked them down to your knees in one go, growling against your skin as he pulled back from your chest, sniffing loudly and moaning softly. He met your eyes and your cheeks felt warm, thighs attempting to close to subside the ache that had begun between them.

“You smell so good,” he mumbled, shifting back on the bed and using both hands to spread your thighs apart at the knees, the strength he used ripping your panties. He tossed them aside without another thought. You bit down on your lip hard enough to break the skin and tasted copper in your mouth while you watched him stare at you. “Don’t think I didn’t notice how aroused you got during your treatments,” he said, a sly smile spreading on his face as he met your eyes for a brief second before focusing back down between your legs.

Jungkook ducked down iirmmediately, not even giving you a second to prepare yourself before he was nosing at you, the tips of his ears brushing your inner thighs as he licked a stripe up your slit. Your legs were pinned down by his hands as he continuously licked up your slick, the vibrations from his moans making your hands shake as they found purchase in his dark hair. His fingers dug into your skin as his mouth worked on you, tongue dipping into your entrance and making you mewl. He wrapped his lips around your clit and sucked on it hard a few times before he detached himself from you, propping himself up on his knees and leaving you sopping and aching for more.

“Will you be a good girl and suck my cock?” he purred, eyes hooded as he changed positions, sitting properly and spreading his legs apart. You nodded your head immediately, sitting up and crawling between his legs, undoing his pants as he praised you softly. He was hard and you shoved your tongue into your cheek as you tugged him out of his pants, eyes widening at his size. “Go ahead,” he encouraged. “I know you can take it all, baby.”

You rubbed your thighs together as you took the head into your mouth, sucking hard and looking up at Jungkook through your lashes. He breathed out harshly and placed his hand on the back of your head softly, looking down at you and gnawing on his plump bottom lip. You focused on pleasuring him, wrapping your hand around the base of his dick as you worked on it, sucking and bobbing your head lower. You managed to fit most of it in your mouth when his hips jerked and the head hit the back of your throat. You gagged briefly and swallowed hard around him, making him groan loudly in response before pulling you off of him by your hair. You detached from him with an obscene popping sound and when you met his eyes, they were dark and the pupils were blown so wide you could barely see the brown of his irises.

He held your head up by your hair and you blinked owlishly, licking your lips and feeling the precum and saliva smeared across your mouth and chin. Jungkook made an animalistic sound and pounced on you, pushing you to your back on his bed and pushing his mouth on yours, licking into it hotly and fitting his hips between your legs. His cock pushed against your folds, sliding in the slick of your arousal and spit. The head rubbed your clit a few times and you wrapped your legs around his hips to bring him closer, fisting the sheets in your hands and moaning brokenly into his mouth.

“Please fuck me,” you breathed, pushing your chest into his and hissing with pleasure as the rough material of his shirt rubbed against your nipples. He bit down on your lip and moved to your jaw, kissing and nipping as he brought a hand down to grip himself and line the head up with your entrance.

He rubbed the head against your slit a few times, breathing roughly into your neck as he ducked his head to watch. “You’re so wet, all for me,” he mumbled. “How badly do you want my cock?”

“So bad,” you keened. “I want it so bad, fuck me, please—”

He thrusted in harshly, cutting you off with a startled gasp as his cock stretched your walls. He was halfway in and rocked his hips gently, pushing a little deeper with each thrust. You swallowed roughly and gripped his arms tightly in your hands, fisting his sleeves as you clenched around him.

“Relax,” he said. “Am I hurting you?”

You shook your head, screwing your face up as you tried to rock your own hips. “No, just—you’re so big.”

He huffed a laugh as he continued to roll his hips until he was fully inside of you, cock nestled in your folds and skin sticking to yours. You were so wet and aroused you could hear the sounds even as he barely moved, only grinding his hips into yours as your walls adjusted.

You managed to relax, but it lasted merely a second as he felt your walls unclench and his hand dipped between your bodies, fingers finding your clit and rubbing it mercilessly as he pulled halfway out and shoved back inside. He kept up his brutal pace, fingers digging into your clit without pause as he moved. Your moans were so loud you would’ve been embarrassed had you not completely given in to the pleasure, pressure building in your abdomen.

He bit down on the juncture of your shoulder hard and your body couldn’t handle it, your orgasm hitting you fast and harshly. You’d never felt this much pleasure from a man before and you knew you’d never be able to sleep with any man again without comparing them to Jungkook. He kept rolling his hips into yours, helping you through your orgasm until you winced. He held himself still inside you and you could feel his cock throbbing, hard and hot within your walls. Your sporadic squeezing around him made him twitch and you mewled at the feeling of it.

After a minute of labored breathing and stillness, he pulled back slowly and began a much gentler pace, thrusting his cock into you slowly before pulling it out to the head and repeating. You whimpered, but then his fingers were tapping your abused clit and your breath hitched, your back arching as the pain turned into pleasure.

“You’re going to come again for me,” he demanded, licking the spot he’d bitten. “You’re so tight and so warm,” he continued, moaning as his thrusts picked up speed. “You’re never going to want anyone but me.” His cock was shoving in and out of you quicker and quicker, the head rubbing against your sweet spot and making you see stars. You brought your arms around his shoulders and dragged a hand into his hair, gripping it tight as you keened loudly, bucking your hips against his in search of release. “You’ll never be able to fuck anyone, touch anyone else, without thoughts of me. That’s your price to pay,” he mumbled into your skin. You were barely coherent, muttering nonsense as he gave a particularly well-aimed thrust and the head of his cock brushed your g-spot again, his fingers pinching your clit harshly, and your pleasure washed over you even more intensely than the first time.

As you rode out your high, Jungkook’s movements became erratic and his thrusts grew sloppier as he chased his own high, moving his hand away from your clit to grasp at the bedsheets on both sides of your head. Your chest heaved as you clenched tighter around his cock, the lewd noises from where you were joined echoing throughout his home and flushing your face red.

Your hand in his hair worked gently as he shoved into you so hard your body shifted up a few centimeters with every thrust. Your fingers brushed the tips of his pointed green ears and his entire body tensed, a startled noise tearing itself from his throat as he stilled inside of you, hunching his body over yours and resting his forehead on yours as he came. Spurts of come painted your walls as he rolled his hips through his orgasm, his seed filling you up and leaking down to the sheets.

When his cock softened he pulled it out of you, his come slipping out along with it and dirtying you even more. He laid down beside you on the bed, turning his head to look at you. You met his look with your own, smiling weakly at him. He shifted his body to face yours and rested a hand on your thigh. Jungkook watched you carefully as he trailed it up, gathering his dripping come and shoving it back inside you with his fingers. You whined and clenched around his fingers as he repeated the action a few dozen times before relenting, bringing his hand up to your mouth and smearing the come on his fingers on your mouth before leaning in to kiss you deeply.

Neither of you said anything as he grabbed the rumpled blanket and brought it up to cover the both of you. He fell asleep quickly afterwards, one arm draped across you; but you lay awake, body trembling and rolling your freshly healed ankle a few hundred times before you could even think to sleep.

You awoke a handful of hours later, Jungkook sleeping soundlessly beside you as he had been when you finally let yourself slip into a restless sleep. You lay in his bed for a few more moments as your heart pounded in your chest and you decided it was time to leave. Your thoughts were threatening to drown you as you slipped out of his bed and out from under his arm carefully, fixing your clothes as well as you could.

You faced Jungkook again, biting the inside of your cheek as you leant down and pressed a chaste kiss to his forehead. “Thank you for everything,” you whispered, knowing he’d never know just what he’d done for you. It was really a shame that he was a goblin and you were a human—the butterflies bombarding your belly every time you looked at him had grown in the past few days and you wished you could spend more time getting to know him, maybe even growing to—

You shook your head, getting rid of the thoughts plaguing your mind quickly. You grabbed your bag, which had been thrown to the side by the desk, and pulled it over your shoulder. You decided to grab his small blanket off the couch, wrapping the prickly material around your frame to cover your torn shirt and keep you warm when you ventured outside in search of your home. Before you left, your eyes caught on his book, sitting on the arm of the recliner. In a split second decision, you gently pushed it into your bag, looking back at Jungkook to make sure he hadn’t woken up.

He was still asleep, his chest moving up and down peacefully and undisturbed.

You slowly made your way to the wooden door, the lock seeming nonexistent as you pushed it open slowly and walked out into the brightly lit forest. You came out of a tree trunk and you marveled at it—goblin magic really was amazing, more so than you’d ever heard or learned about in school. When the door shut, it dematerialized until there was nothing left but the hollow tree trunk. Your lips parted in wonder and you rushed back in but saw no signs of a goblin home anywhere.

Shaking your head, you dragged yourself away from the tree and started to make your way through the forestry, an unusual feeling tingling in your limbs; you had no idea where you were or where you were going, but it was as if your body knew on its own where it was headed.

Before long, you saw the edges of your home village and a smile tugged at your lips as you rushed toward it, running down the hilly grass and jostling your bag against your thigh. You ran through the town, ignoring the villagers cries at your reappearance as you reached your own home, the door shut and the lights inside on. You knocked on the door excitedly and when the door opened to reveal Namjoon, his own appearance looking worn down, your face broke out with a huge grin.

“____!” he exclaimed, eyes wide. You threw your arms around him, beyond relieved that you’d come home to him and that his was the first familiar face you saw. “We thought you went missing and something happened, you—you didn’t come home for days!”

“I’m okay,” you said, smiling into his skin. You pulled away from the hug, though his hands remained on your back. “I got lost but—I found my way back home.”

Namjoon ushered you into your home to see your family again, your mother shouting and crying as she wrapped you up in her arms so tight you could barely breathe as you laughed her worry off.

The book in your bag felt heavier, its presence burning against your thigh. You paid it no mind, smiling and waving your family’s concern away as Namjoon slipped his hand into yours, interlocking your fingers. You grinned at him and tightened your hold on the strap of your bag, thoughts of the goblin already swirling through your brain at the touch of another.

all rights reserved © junqkook | 07/18 — no reposting and/or modifying of any form on any medium is allowed. DO NOT RE-IMAGINE THIS UNIVERSE AS YOUR OWN.

[fox-cache]

hey, saw your response under the ecofascism shower thoughts mess and would you recommend a degree in something wildlife/ecosystem management? - a college student who has no idea what to do

First of all: ecofascism shower thoughts mess I’m literally cackling. Ecosystem problems aside, national parks have a majorly problematic history to reconcile with Indigenous peoples before we start hailing them as shining icons of conservation.

Second: the short answer is yes. I’m really passionate about the field and it was completely worth it pursuing something I care so much about. Even when it was hard, the fact that it was something I had genuine interest in carried me through. And you get to do some really cool shit which honestly can make it all worth it when you’re exhausted from your 13th day of field work in a row or melting your brain over data. My biggest piece of advice is be versatile and open minded, don’t expect to focus on something specific, especially right away, and be open to exploring different areas of the field. It is incredibly diverse how many things you can study and get experience in. Some of my classmates started wanting to work in the wildlife field and ended up in forestry, water quality, soils, etc. I initially was interested in studying predators but most of my experience has been with birds. You will also be surprised how much you end up learning about industry and the socioeconomic aspects as well- it is all incredibly important. I used to be anti-hunting and believed things like forestry, fishing, cattle ranching, etc we’re all generally bad for the environment and quickly learned very different, it is amazing how wrongly the general public is taught. So much goes into these industries that makes them very sustainable. I will say what I struggled with the most was that it can be difficult at first to land job experience if you don’t have much experience to start with. For me, I had pretty much no experience to start with and so I didn’t have a lot of luck landing that first job which I found disheartening. I definitely had to fill my gaps with volunteer work (a downside to the field, but you can definitely gain experience through it, just don’t sell yourself to free labour- you’re worth way more than that) and really pushed my recreational activities in my resume like birding and hiking. I was super lucky to land my first job when I did and after that the doors really open a lot! With projects restarting after the initial covid lull there is a lot more work right now. I will also say colleges tend to offer more hands-on practical experience than universities, so they’re often a good place to start. The work itself is something to consider too, as a LOT of the jobs out there require you to work away from home, work remotely, long days in the field, lots of physical stuff, move locations a lot, etc. But if you’re ok with that the world is pretty much your oyster, and as you get more experienced stability comes more easily. Also, don’t let people tell you there’s no jobs or good money in envi sci, cause there definitely is. It varies with the job of course but particularly after you start getting experience you can get paid very well!

TLDR: if you feel passionate about the environment, conservation, wildlife, etc, it is definitely worth it, just be prepared for field work, be versatile, and be open minded. If you’re passionate and genuinely interested that’s what matters the most. This field is growing so rapidly and always needs more people who care, and there’s a million areas you could work in under the umbrella of envi sci. I’m happy to chat more if you need advice :)

[mgrxves-blog]

// long funeral service and queer rant under the cut

I honestly cannot articulate just how crushingly unhappy I feel.

I have done a lot of introspection and a lot of soul searching and I am finally becoming honest with myself as to why I am so unhappy. (I am a champ at lying to myself -- it’s really one of my biggest vices.)

I do not belong on funeral service -- or rather, I do not belong in ‘traditional’ funeral service. Point blank I don’t fit in and I have found that trying to fit myself into that little square box is not only frustrating and uncomfortable, but no matter what I try to do to fit in it’s never good enough. It’s really a microcosm for the rest of my life.

I was 16 when I got into this industry. I’m 22 now. You make a lot of choices as a teenager that do not necessarily translate when you get older and mature and grow. I’ve learned a lot about who I really am. I made a lot of decisions because I thought they would help get me out of a not-so-great situation, and yeah, they did. They have served their purpose.

I would be miserable as a traditional funeral director for a number of reasons. I’ve always been too opinionated. I’m too much of a tree-hugging hippy. And this industry, especially where I live, even now living in a major city, is not friendly to queer people. It is notorious for being vile and toxic to trans people -- as employees, mourners, and decedents. I’m planning on finally stopping being a little chicken shit and start the road to medically transitioning this autumn. I’m planning on starting using he/him pronouns in situations with people who it would be too much work to explain why I use they/them. To transition while working in most funeral homes here would be dangerous. To come out could easily cost me a job and I live in a state where trans people do not have a lot of protects in the private sector. To continue to be closeted is getting really fucking tiresome and damaging. And before I forget to mention, apparently someone who is perceived as female dressing in a suit and tie is extremely offensive to a lot of people in this industry. Me wearing a neat three-piece suit and tie to the job as gotten me in trouble before. I am as dressed up as they possibly come -- that is the most professional attire I can think of, but any semblance of perceived gender nonconformity is seen as vile and threat. I wish I was making this shit up, I really do.

In doing this soul searching, I’m realizing how much I miss working outdoors, how much I miss things like farming and stream testing and forestry. “Lab” days in the mycology course I took where we went into the forest to hunt for mushrooms to identify made me the happiest I had been in a long time. I felt fulfilled. I should have gotten my head out of my ass early enough to change my biology concentration from mortuary science to conservation. At least I have that bachelors in biology, though, because that opens up a lot of doors for me. I have made one (1) good decision in this life.

I’ve done a lot of research and some work in “alt” death care, and I still really want to help people in that time of transitioning that occurs before, during, and after death. I would love to be a Death Doula and I still plan on getting my Life Celebrant certification. Not only does alt death care align with my beliefs and ethics, but it is a hell of a lot more accepting to queer folks and other people who don’t fit the mainstream.

I have one more month left of school so of course I’m going to stick with it to graduate and have my other degree in hand. I’m still looking for an internship, but you don’t need a license to be a death midwife or life celebrant.

I’m really worried about the future mainly because I really need to find a sustainable job that pays well. I don’t need much, but my part time job isn’t making me enough money to really survive.

I’ve already had long conversations with one of my professors and my fiance about this and I still have many people I need to talk to to get advice from, but right at this moment I am honestly not in the best place. I am finally letting go of a part of myself that I thought was the true me but wasn’t, and that’s painful and I’m grieving right now. I wish I would have realized this sooner, but I think the bullshit that is academia and this industry and the hell that has been this semester has finally pushed me over the edge and I’m growing. It’s been a really long time coming, but I’m growing, and that’s what’s important, right?

I may need to take a break from this blog for awhile, though I really want to start some threads on Anne and especially Angeline’s blogs. I think that might be the catharsis I need right now.

[gabesbiorenewableresourcesblog]

Stuff has to come from somewhere, even if it's biorenewable.

As I discussed in my last blog post, resources can be both renewable and non-renewable. One sub-category of renewable resources is biorenewable resources: resources that are obtained from living organisms. These resources are able to renew themselves quickly, but their consumption isn’t always sustainable, and there are a lot of different factors that go into the way that they are produced, extracted, and consumed.

A lot of the biorenewable resources we use are plants that come from forests, or farming. Plants grow through photosynthesis, the process in which they convert carbon dioxide and water into biomass. To maximize our resources, however, simply relying on natural plant growth isn’t always enough. Humans have taken matters into their own hands and have found ways to generate more biorenewable resources more efficiently, through methods such as fertilization, genetic modification, and more. 

Through the past few weeks, I’ve learned a lot about forests, and have been really surprised to learn how not all forests are the same, and how forests are so crucial in the production of resources. I feel like we don’t always think about the fact that not all forests are natural. Over 34 percent of the United States is forest, and plantation forests make up about 10 percent of the forests in the country. (Check out the graph posted above)

These forests are man-made with the sole intention of maximizing wood production. They will probably be absolutely essential for wood production in the future, due to them being incredibly effective!

There are also downsides that come with plantation forests. In fact, forest maintenance in general can vary greatly in degrees of sustainability. Pesticides and fertilizers can be used on plantation forests, which greatly increases yield, but using pesticides can also be harmful as they can affect air and water quality.  

It can be confusing when consuming products that come from biorenewable resources when trying to understand which ones are truly “green” and which aren’t as sustainable as they seem. That’s why environmental certification exists. There are multiple big organizations that certify the company's products as being sustainable. Forests are also certified by forest certification companies. The two main systems are the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). These organizations help certify plantation forests as being sustainable, but believe it or not, even a certification doesn’t always mean a product is sustainable. The SFI has actually caught a lot of attention and criticism for greenwashing and allowing pretty lax rules for what is okay when it comes to forest management. So it’s more important than ever to do thorough research as a consumer when buying pretty much any product. 

I think it’s pretty interesting how there is such an economic side to biorenewable resources. I actually read that according to Boston Consulting Group, “The estimated total value of the world’s forests is as much as $150 trillion—nearly double the value of global stock markets”. At the end of the day we all want sustainability, but when it comes to the production of our most precious resources, some people prioritize money over what’s sustainable. Sometimes it’s unnecessary but other times, tough decisions need to be made regarding the balance between our consumption and our sustainability. 

References:

Lesson 7 Plant Growth, BBE 1002, UMN

Lesson 8 Woody Biomass Production, BBE 1002, UMN

Lesson 9 Forest Trends, BBE 1002, UMN

Lesson 12 Environmental Certification, BBE 1002, UMN

The Staggering Value of Forests—and How to Save Them: https://www.bcg.com/publications/2020/the-staggering-value-of-forests-and-how-to-save-them

Image from:https://ourworldindata.org/deforestation

  Link to blog: