Hello Claude,
solution than a problem" <<I saw the pics of the water hyacinth and thought, "that's more of a
I tend to agree, they produce incredible amounts of biomass and pull the
nitrogen out of the water column, plus they're beautiful. I was talking to
a friend of mine about the "encroachment" of trees onto disturbed prairies
(another sore point for the rabid exotic plant eradicators) and his response
was, "Thank god the trees are outdistancing the men with their machines and
chain saws."
That we (those in the permaculture community) are glad for the presence of
exotics and woody plants sets us apart from the aggies and native plant
societies. It's a distinction I'm proud of and have had several
conversations with Bill Mollison about.
He sees the invasive woody plants as nurse trees for the next wave of
succession, and if an exotic plant has useful properties, which they almost
always do, then it's up to us to utilize them in a way that builds biomass
and wealth. Even kudzu, he says, is edible by pigs and cattle.
So I think we, the permaculture community, play an important roll in helping
people to realize the potential of these exotic / invasive plants. And
once again the old adage of working with nature rather than against it must
be our credo - no exceptions!
Kirby Fry
For the real scoop on environmental and social justice issues check out the
archives of Democracy Now!
http://www.webactive.com/webactive/pacifica/demnow/archive.html
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