Vlierbloesems voor insecten, vogels en ons

Wilde eetbare planten. Onze tuinen en parken staan er vol mee. Maar meestal herkennen we ze niet of weten we niet wat we er allemaal mee kunnen doen. Ik ben op ontdekkingsreis om zelf dit weer te leren! Heerlijk want het brengt je echt weer in contact met de natuur. En bovendien zijn wilde planten zeer voedzaam en bevatten ze mineralen die verdwenen zijn uit onze landbouwplanten en bodems.

Ik sta nog helemaal aan het begin van deze reis. Maar gelukkig zijn er mensen van wie ik kan leren. Zo weet mijn schoonvader alles van voedsel inmaken en heeft hij een zeer uitgebreid familiereceptenboek geschreven. Aan de hand daarvan waren Jelle, mijn vriend, en ik deze week geïnspireerd om vlierbloesemsiroop te maken! De vlier bloeit ongeveer 3 weken per jaar in eind mei – begin juni. Nu dus!

Dus gingen we op weg naar het Vondelpark. Ik vond het best een beetje spannend. Niet omdat wildplukken officieel illegaal is in Nederland (don’t get me started on that). Maar omdat vlierbloesems belangrijk voedsel zijn voor insecten en de vlierbessen voor vogels. En insecten en vogels hebben heel hard al het natuurlijke en veilige voedsel nodig dat ze kunnen krijgen. 75 % van de insectenpopulaties is in de afgelopen 30 jaar verdwenen! Door de mens en dan met name ons landbouwgif. Als insecten nog verder verdwijnen, stort onze hele voedselketen in elkaar en sterft de mens zelf ook uit. Kortom alle reden om wilde planten te koesteren voor de dieren. En om de hele landbouw agro-ecologisch te maken zodat mens en dier beide voldoende te eten hebben.

Natuurlijk maakt de natuur zelf genoeg voor iedereen. En is het ook goed om je als mens te verbinden met wat je eet. Dus kunnen we in kleine hoeveelheden prima wilde planten eten. Maar als je wilde planten gaat plukken is rule number one: meer dan genoeg overlaten voor het dierenleven. Altijd. Pluk een klein beetje. Ik was heel streng vond Jelle. We plukten maar een paar bloesems per boom. Het was super leuk om te doen en voelt als een manier om een connectie met deze prachtige bomen te ontwikkelen.

Hoe maak je dan vervolgens vlierbloesemlimonade? Met toestemming deel ik het geheime recept van mijn schoonvader Tanne de Goei. Inclusief instructie over hoe te oogsten! De bloesems bloeien nog ongeveer 2 weken, dus jij kan het ook maken. Zolang je onthoud: dit voedsel is van de insecten en vogels! En wij mogen een klein beetje mee delen.

 

Vlierbloesemlimonadesiroop, recept van Tanne de Goei

De smaak van de vlierbloesem zit in het stuifmeel, dus bij het oogsten is het belangrijk er op te letten dat er veel stuifmeel op de vlierbloesemschermen zit. Dus niet oogsten als het die dag heeft geregend en liefst in de avond oogsten zodat er gedurende de dag veel stuifmeel heeft kunnen ontstaan. En liefst oogsten op een plek waar zo weinig mogelijk verkeer in de buurt is, zoals in een park, in de uiterwaarden of tussen de weilanden, zodat er zo min mogelijk vervuiling op zit. De vlier bloeit in mei en juni.

Ingrediënten:

(voor 3 liter limonadesiroop)

20 à 30 grote bloesemschermen (de bloemen moeten open zijn en liefst met veel stuifmeel)

8 citroenen

30 gram citroenzuur (o.a. te koop bij Turkse winkels en drogisterijen)

1 kilo suiker (volgens Gerda Gebker is rietsuiker uit den boze!)

3  goed schoongemaakte glazen flessen met schroefdoppen met rubber vanbinnen of met beugels met een goed rubber ringetje

Bereidingswijze:

Snij de citroenen in dunne schijfjes. Schudt de vlierbloesemschermen voorzichtig uit en knip de dikke stengels eraf.  Leg in de schalen eerst een laag van vlierbloesem, dan een enkele laag met schijfjes citroen, dan weer vlierbloesem en tenslotte nog een enkele laag met schijfjes citroen. Vul de schaal verder met koud kraanwater en dek de schalen af met plastic folie. Zet de schalen op een zonnige plaats in de vensterbank en laat ze 48 uur daar staan.

Haal met een schuimspaan de citroenschijfjes en de vlierbloesem-schermen uit de grote pot en doe ze in een zeef en wrijf met een stamper het vocht uit de schermen en het sap uit de citroenschijfjes. Zeef daarna het nat door een goed uitgespoelde schone kaasdoek (om vliegjes en  rommel eruit te halen). Breng het nat aan de kook in een grote pan. Als het kookt voeg de suiker toe en los dit al roerend op. Voeg ook de citroenzuur toe en breng het nat weer aan de kook. Als het kookt het gas uitzetten en de limonadesiroop (via een trechter) in de flessen doen.

Ongeopend ongeveer een jaar te bewaren in een kelder of donkere kast. Geopende flessen in de koelkast bewaren.

REBEL FOR LIFE

* Meestal schrijf ik in het Nederlands, maar deze blog kwam eruit in het Engels en dat heb ik zo gelaten *

Today I did something ‘illegal’ for the first time. I joined an Extinction Rebellion NL action in Amsterdam called swarming. With small groups of people we blocked traffic roads in the city. Our message? “We’re sorry for the inconvenience. But as a society we have to take real climate action NOW to ensure a future for life on earth.”

    Each block only lasted 7 minutes so people in cars where only a little delayed. We counted down with time signs and went to people with vegan cookies and flyers. The reactions where off course mixed. Quite a lot of people we’re enthusiastic and actually cheered us on. Some people where surprised but friendly and open for a talk. I loved talking to these people and listening to their stories. And no matter what their beliefs or situation, they all agreed that we need a different economic system. This goes beyond green consumerism and electric cars. Extinction Rebellion (XR) wants to create sustainable economic and social structures that work for everyone.

Some people where mad because of the delay the roadblock caused. Often they didn’t want to talk to us so we respected their space and acknowledged their anger internally. When they did want to talk we listened to them and validated their experience. “I can see that you’re angry, because you’re busy and have to go to….” This way of responding is based on non-violent communication and helps people to safely express their emotions. Sometimes after this they where open for a conversation and we told them why we we’re doing this.  

This action was my first real life experience with Extinction Rebellion and I LOVED it. I followed the actions of this international grassroots movement in London the past 10 days and was very impressed by what they achieved. Finally a non-violent movement is rising up in ‘the heart of capitalism’ that expresses the urgency of the ecological crisis we’re facing. A movement that is rebellious, creative and attracts media attention with relatively small numbers of protesters. That shows we can do things outside of the beaten tracks and current rules. Which is also what real solutions to the climate crisis will ask of all of us. And the XR movement has a way forward based on a zero-carbon economy and participatory democracy.  

Still beforehand I was a little nervous to join an XR action in the Netherlands. I’ve organized demonstrations, but I’ve never been involved in a civil disobedience action before and also never been arrested. I always thought I was not that kind of activist. But it turns out I am. That is, within a movement that has non-violence, safety, respect, wellbeing and love as it’s basis.  

At the briefing this morning it was immediately clear that the XR movement has made wellbeing a priority. They are a very friendly, open, honest and loving group of people. There is wellbeing build into the structure of the movement and actions, from different roles and buddy systems to wellbeing coordinators. But it’s also an energy that all participants have within them. Everyone looks out for everyone. And there is room to express emotions. People genuinely check up and ask how you feel. The overall energy is one of joy and laughter AND you can share it when you are tired, sad or angry. It’s all welcome and it’s being met with love and care (what do you need right now?). If something comes up in days after the action, you can still share it with your buddy or coordinator.  

In this way the group creates room for authentic expression and connection. It also carries the burden of climate grief and depression together. Because the realization that we’re facing the extinction of most lifeforms on the planet, including our own, is a huge thing to face. And something that only the younger generations seem to truly grasp. I’ve struggled with this for about 5 years now. Pending between panic, anger, grief and resignation to the inevitable. I learned how to express my ecological concerns without getting mad at people. But I never met a large group of peers that deeply shared my feelings. And therefore I almost lost the conviction that we can still truly change something now. Sure I focus in my work on ecological awareness and positive solutions. But honestly internally I’ve been preparing for a total collapse of society. Today I experienced that by carrying the emotions of the ecological crisis together, we can make room for hope and take action to turn to tides. We can still do things to avoid a total ecological and societal collapse and it’s our duty to at least try this. We can honestly tell people about the huge dangers we’re facing AND offer a positive and inclusive way forward.  

The spirit of wellbeing is also embedded in the way XR reacts to bystanders and people affected by actions. These people are not seen as ‘the enemy’. There is no us vs. them. There is a deep realization that we all live in a toxic system. And that we need to change the system itself. Off course these actions can create inconvenience and trigger emotions in bystanders. But they are met with genuine attention and love and an invitation to people to share how they feel. It’s obviously a challenge to do this with people who are angry or (verbally) aggressive towards you. But the XR movement makes good use of the insight of non-violent communication. The basis of this is emphatic listening, emphatic expression and staying in contact with yourself. This way of communication might be one of the key solutions to the problems of humanity. So many people on this planet are not heard or validated in their deeper emotions and experiences and become angry or violent because of this. Like Naomi Klein once said, climate change is not just about ecological devastation. It’s also about how we treat each other in these major collapses. The XR movement shows a way forward that includes everyone while still taking action based on strong moral principles.  

Because of the principles of non-violence and the focus on wellbeing Extinction Rebellion has been called a protest movement in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. I believe an inclusive climate movement (and there is still work to be done to make XR this) does carry forward the work of the big activist movements of the past. True solutions to the ecological crisis also change the capitalist, racist, sexist, (neo)colonial, classist and other oppressive structures of the system we live in. Within XR there is definitely work to be done to make sure the movement also involves people of color, people from different educational backgrounds and representatives from the Global South. By making this a priority and working together with existing groups (who don’t all have the privilege of risking arrests) we can realize collective solutions to the climate crisis that will turn the tides on this planet for good.

So yes count me in. I’m now a REBEL FOR LIFE.

This action was just one of the actions of XR Netherlands. Make sure to check out all of them and look for experiences of people with a longer trackrecord in this movement. I’m looking forward to joining more Extinction Rebellion actions. And developing more concrete idea’s together about what a zero-carbon, fair, post-capitalist society looks like and how we can get there.

Let’s all become lawyers of the Earth

* Meestal schrijf ik in het Nederlands, maar dit artikel kwam er in het Engels uit en dat heb ik zo gelaten *

Ever think the earth is in need of a good lawyer? Well the good news is, she had one, and soon she will have millions. Polly Higgins devoted her life to creating a law hat protects the earth from being damaged by humans. This law makes Ecocide — the extensive damage, destruction or loss of ecosystems —into an international crime. Ecocide Law makes it possible to hold the ones destroying our natural environment, and thereby destroying the future of humanity, directly responsible for their actions. 

Polly’s law

Polly Higgins has been fighting for justice as a court lawyer all her life. About ten years ago she decided that there was one client that needed all of her attention: Mother Earth. She gave up her job, sold her house and started a worldwide campaign to show people that there is one law that can protect the earth on a global scale.

Polly is exactly what you would expect a Lawyer of Mother Earth to be. Kind, inspirational, honest and fierce. She uses the intelligence of nature, in which everything has a place in the whole and is respected, to devise laws that act accordingly. The Ecocide Law is therefore an essential part of a sustainable society. For many years Polly has made her case and inspired many different people around the globe. The beautiful thing is that it didn’t matter whether she spoke in front of the UN or in a small local meeting. She was always approachable, kind and clear. She is the kind of person who has influence not because she holds an official seat of power but because she has a high moral integrity and credibility.

In this short video below you can check how Polly explains her work!

An unexpected turn…

A few weeks ago Polly discovered that she had a very aggressive form of cancer. The doctors gave her a few weeks to live. Polly took up the matter with her usual love for life. She did everything she could from changes in her diet to resting, being with loved ones, receiving inspirational message and putting herself open for the wonders of the universe through a daily global intention experiment aimed at her healing. The Facebook Group that was created for her is a huge outpouring of love where it became clear how many lives she touched an how powerful her work has been. George Monbiot wrote a well read article about her in The Guardian and Polly said she hoped she would live to see 1 million people pledging to protect the earth.

As it goes in life things happen in their own way. Polly died on the seventh day of the huge Extinction Rebellion protest in London, which was inspired by her work. Thousands of people stood up to carry on her mission of protecting the earth. And they did so while holding in their pocket a legal document created by Polly to show that they are Conscientious Protectors. This document helps any court to see that non-violent actions to protect the earth are morally lawful and thereby obeying a higher law.

Off course the mission to make Ecocide a crime was never just Polly’s in the first place. But she acted as on of it’s most powerful proponents, thereby inspiring many others to stand up for the rights of nature and humanity. With Polly no longer with us, it befalls on all of us to proceed with this mission and make Ecocide an international crime. 

There are still many things to be done to make Ecocide Law into a reality. And since it’s an essential piece of a sustainable future it deserves all our attention. The article below gives a simple explanation of what the Ecocide Law is and what you can do to make this into a reality.

What is Ecocide Law exactly?

The Ecocide Law is a law that goes right to heart of the injustices in our world. It makes CEO’s, heads of states and financial investors directly responsible for the damage they inflict upon ecosystems and it’s inhabitants. It will make things like fracking, deforestation and toxic agriculture illegal. How does it manage to do this? By making Ecocide the fifth international crime against peace. It will become part of The Rome Statute which is the governing document for the International Criminal Court. The crimes against peace are “the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole” and are over and above all other laws.

The power of the Ecocide Law lies in the fact that is internationally binding. Thereby surpassing ‘well intended but not legally binding’ agreements like the Paris agreement, Sustainable Development Goal’s and UN Global Compact. It’s also stronger than national Civil Law under which corporations are sometimes sued by individuals. The problem in these cases is that the only outcome can be a fine. Corporations can and do remain operating, causing more and more damage, while accommodating fines within their profits. Ecocide Law can and will change this by treating the people that cause large scale damage to ecosystems as international criminals.

The law against Ecocide is unique in the sense that it puts the natural world and it’s inhabitants centre stage. It’s therefore an important part of a wider body of Earth Laws that legally protect the rights of nature and future generations. Obviously Earth Laws are also protecting humans since we are nature’s inhabitants and depend on the natural world for our survival. Climate change, on of the biggest threats to human civilization, could be effectively dealt with under Ecocide Law. Corporations and governments that continue to emit large quantities of CO2 and fail to take real action, will be hold accountable in international courts and forced to change.

What does it take to make Ecocide a crime?

Ecocide crime has a clear history in The Rome Statue. Until 1996 it was part of the drafts of The Rome Statue and most states where in favor of making Ecocide the fifth international crime. Only at the last minute, under pressure from the Netherlands, the UK and France, was Ecocide removed from the list of international crimes. The Ecocide Law was then banished to oblivion until international lawyer Polly Higgins took up the case ten years ago.

Polly Higgins has worked hard to put the Ecocide Crime back on the map. She wrote 2 books on Ecocide, put together legal teams to draft model laws, started a campaign and inspired people all over the globe with her talks. In 2010 she proposed the Ecocide Law in front of the United Nations. In order for Ecocide to become an international crime, one or more states have to propose it. Then an amendment is open to signatories and when a 2/3 majority agrees, Ecocide will become an international criminal law.

Making Ecocide Law a reality

Obviously it will take hard work to make the Ecocide Law into a reality. Heads of state and CEO’s that operate alongside them are not very willing to make themselves subject to a law that will prosecute them as criminals when they undertake business that causes Ecocide. On the other hand more and more countries will suffer from the consequences of climate change making it more likely that that will want to hold the people that cause this accountable. Despite the argument that ‘all of us use oil’ it is still a very small group of people that decide how the global infrastructure and economy are run. Ecocide Law could hold them accountable and create a peaceful global system change.

Small island states like the Republic of Vanuatu, that are at the forefront of climate change, are currently working on tabling an amendment to the Rome statute, introducing the missing Ecocide law. Polly Higgins and her legal team created a platform called Earth Protectors where anyone can pledge a small donation to support the island states in their mission. Earth Protectors also get a legal document that shows they are Conscientious Protectors. By signing up as an Earth Protector you are clearly stating that you believe that damage and destruction to the Earth and its inhabitants is a crime – and you will have a unique Trust Fund document in your name to show this, which carries legal weight.  So if you undertake non-violent civil disobedience you will have a legal document that will help you make your case in court.

Laying the framework for a sustainable society

As inhabitants of this earth we know when she, and we, are being harmed. It is our moral duty to protect the earth. Somehow we all feel that conscientious protectors of the 20th century like Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela we’re fighting for the right cause. But we often forget that what they did was illegal in their time. They went against the official laws to abide higher moral laws. And they played a part in anchoring these higher moral laws in society. Off course their work is not done yet and Ecocide Law is also carrying their work forward. Ecocide Law goes to the heart of oppressive and racist capitalists systems. It gives people from all over the world legal tools to stand up against capitalist corporations that are exploiting their natural environment and forcing them to work under slavery conditions.

By undertaking non-violent actions to protect the Earth we show that we are already living under Ecocide Law. Simply because honoring and protecting all life is one of the higher laws of the universe. Thanks to Polly’s work lawyers from all over the planet are now doing everything they can to put Ecocide Law in The Statue of Rome, where it rightfully belongs. We can support and protect them by making their work visible.

Making Ecocide a crime will create the framework for a truly sustainable society. Off course there are more elements that sustain this future society and that will transform our economy to be in line with the natural world. But Ecocide Law is an essential step because it has the power to stop those who are willingly pulling the earth into a cycle of damage and destruction. Ecocide Law puts the power back where it belongs: in the hands of everyday people fighting to live in a just and sustainable world.

It’s up to us to carry the groundbreaking work of Polly Higgins forward. The best thing you can do is tell as many people as possible about this groundbreaking law. And pledge to become an Earth Protector. Let’s all become lawyers of the Earth!