Eric Ishizue

Silvopasture is the practice of including trees and other large plants into the grazing locations of livestock. The benefits of adding trees are: giving the animals shade from the heat, allows for more tree cover for small plants to grow (and then be eaten) by livestock, and sequestering more carbon out of the atmosphere by planting trees onto grazing land. There are also some downsides such as the possible need for specialized equipment, and more time and money into land management, and the requirement for large plots of land to grow forests.
In order to implement this practice, the geography must be flat and wide enough for cattle and other grazers to roam. This strategy must also be in an area that can support forests, and has enough water to support them.

I found that there were not any volunteer opportunities for biomass collection in California, but there is a volunteer posting by the national park service which is in New Mexico. The post is brief, and may not line up exactly with what this perennial biomass production activity describes, it involves collecting and categorizing plant material from the field. I did do more reading and research into the purpose and meaning of biomass production. I found that the perennial biomass production and energy practice involves utilizing alternative plants that grow all year round instead of annually growing crops such as corn and wheat. These types of plants can be used as a source of food for livestock, whereas woody variants can be used as an alternate source of plant material for paper production. It was mentioned that the main issue of perennial biomass production is producing enough quality material to be implemented as a source of income for the farmers who adopt this into their cropland.

I learned that bamboo is a fast-growing plant that is reported to have uses as a food source, as a building material, and is durable enough to be used as a sustainable alternative to plastic products. Bamboo is an interesting plant because it can be harvested without uprooting the whole plant and as such, does not need to be replanted in a growing site. The bamboo plants also sequester carbon into the soil just like trees, produce oxygen, and can aid as a carbon sink while also being useful as biodegradable products. I am unfamiliar with too many uses as a nutritional food source, but from my experience, bamboo shoots have lots of fiber, and are good in soup with a fun texture. As a building material, the bamboo plant was reported to be light and durable which would make safer housing material in the context of natural disasters. As for plastic alternatives, I have been using bamboo chopsticks and utensils for years and can vouch for their durability.

I have completed the rest of this week's meal prep with the curry I cooked yesterday, but I decided to cook some more food for next week. I noticed that there were still some leftover celery and onions from the day before, so I decided to cook a gumbo for next week. I am glad because I get to make another meal that I haven't tried in a while and because I get to use the excess chicken stock from the open container from last night. I also usually cook with some music or a video on my phone, but I decided to cook without using any devices. I was surprised that I was much more productive and less distracted today and did not burn anything in the cooking pots. The reduced distractions of a video also let me finish washing the cutting boards and containers without getting sidetracked.

I calculated the carbon footprint of my and my extended family and I was surprised to see how much of an impact our lifestyles and daily choices have on the environment. I was alarmed because the top five list of most resource use was at least 1.8 earths and at the highest, almost 5 earths. I have not taken one of these climate quizzes before, so I had no idea how much change I need to make in order to help the planet.

I had enough leftover food from the past two days to feed myself a very good, yet low prep time lunch and early dinner today. I spent my two meals outside in the sun. I guess they became double picnic meals which I haven't experienced since elementary school.