Local Fairbanks man works towards a sustainable life

According to the United States Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, "Sustainable living embodies a thoughtful approach to leading fulfilling, productive, and environmentally responsible lives. Successful sustainable living balances economic, social, and environmental needs while meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations." 

Matt Springer works towards these goals on his small plot of land on the outskirts of Fairbanks, Alaska.
He invited me to check out his garden and chat with him about the future of gardening, or was it civilization, as we know it.
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A walk around the garden

His garden is rife with plants possessing medicinal uses, which he makes into tinctures.

Seeds of the Milk Thistle, native to the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Middle East, are used to treat chronic liver problems.

Burdock root is used as a diuretic and blood purifier.

The tall phallus is Mullein, used to treat lung conditions.
 There are several other medicinal plants in his garden, including Calendula, which is commonly used topically to help speed up the healing process or as a moisturizer.
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There is also no shortage of the standard garden fare for eating well and he insists that rather than being discarded, weeds such as lambsquarter or chickweed are nutritious and taste perfectly good cooked up in various dishes.

Some of his produce is sold at the Tanana Valley Farmer's Market.

He also devotes a portion of his garden to experimenting with grains such as barley.

This barley is apparently the descendant of the ancient barley domesticated thousands of years ago. It is hulled, so more difficult to process than modern varieties, such as the one below.

Since limited space is an issue, Matt generally focuses on experimental gardening, growing small quantities of things simply to see what will grow up here where the history of domesticated plants is so short. He has been pleased to discover that many species take off when left to their own devices. He led me to a spot where a giant Milk Thistle stood. Sounding like a proud papa, he explained how the plant had spread itself without his having to do anything.

I admired this red plant and Matt excitedly showed me various places where it too had spread itself. Incidentally, the green plant in the foreground is generally found in the Himalayas. Clearly I lack horticultural knowledge, which is why I asked Matt several times to write the plant names down for me that he was spewing with ease, but he was busy running around. The only name I managed to get was for this plant that I thought had interesting looking spiny buds and wonderful smelling flowers.

Datura Stramonium, commonly known as jimson weed, is toxic and can induce a state of delirium if ingested.
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Matt and his partner enjoy the feel of fresh air so much that they have constructed an open-air living space where they have their kitchen and a place to hang out when it rains. Most of their daily activities occur entirely out of doors, where there are a table and chairs set out for eating and socializing.

They've been busy canning and making tinctures before the frost comes.

Yes, that is a bicycle powered blender. Margaritas anyone?

The enterance to his property, where he dries his tabaco.

Water can be a scarce resource. Here there is a tank that is filled by rain runoff.

These barrels are also used for water collection purposes. He is working on building a pond to collect runoff from snow melting in the spring, which will help the seeds planted in exposed beds survive the spring and flourish without his having to water them, thus making his garden more sustainable.
He mentioned how his "wild" beds retained water so well that he didn't need to water them, even during the summer it only rained once. He uses mulch on the bottom layer and places plants in a way that simulates how they would develop in the wild after a forest fire with short plants for insulation and moisture retention, shrubs, and trees. Looking at it from a distance it would be difficult to identify this as an orchard, it deviates so much from the neat lines of fruiting trees we have in mind. However, there are cherry trees, plum trees and apple trees beginning their lives in there.

He explained how a person could see the mint growing around the lilies and think, "They must be crowding each other" but their root depths are totally different so they don't compete with each other at all and actually the mint helps the lilies by keeping the soil moist, protecting it from the sun.

They do have an enclosed space for sleeping, but Matt's partner complained that it was often too hot and she missed the open air.

Clearly, this lifestyle is only sustainable in Alaskan summers. Both Matt and his partner abandon Fairbanks for warmer climes elsewhere during the winter months.
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Where is all the garbage?

I recently came across an interview in "The Believer" where Anthropologist Robin Nagle is quoted as saying, "Everything single thing you see is future trash. Everything." 

In the course of the interview she points out that trash presents a cognitive problem for society, being both everywhere around us but also kept invisible. She speculates that on some level rubbish scares us because it reminds us of our own ephemeral state so we get rid of it quickly, pushing it out of site, because who wants a constant reminder of their mortality lying around to taunt them? 

Looking around Matt's property I wondered what sort of trash he and his partner produced and what they did with what little of it they did produce. I noticed a bag of tortilla chips on their table, recycled paper of course, and Matt admitted that while their goal is zero non-organic waste and they do produce enough to have to take the trash out once a summer. I became very conscious of how much trash my family and  I produce on a quotidian basis, enough trash to make taking it out a twice a week activity.
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Matt Springer is one person doing his best to live a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. Most of you are likely protesting, thinking things like, "I can't knock down my house, live in a tent with no running water, and rely on bicycle powered everything! This is impracticable. What am I supposed to do?" Fair enough. You don't have to become a total "dirty hippy" to effect change, small gestures over time can add up to a larger impact than any of us can calculate. It could be as simple as using canvas shopping bags in stead of plastic ones, trying to produce less waste, or installing more energy efficient light bulbs but doing something, anything, will be beneficial.

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Related links:
UAF Sustainable Campus Task Force
Calypso Farm and Ecology CenterUS Department of Agriculture's National Institute for Food and Agriculture

The Ester Republic

Interesting article on the modern applications of archaeology in trash studies

Sustainable Plastics?
What you can do (to eliminate plastic in your daily life, making it more sustainable)
The zen of sustainable living