Carbon is now becoming a medium of the project. Life is carbon. I am building life, air and carbon need to be carefully considered. Tearing earth with a plow is a large component to the global warming effect that no one talks about. Plowing allows carbon to evaporate into the air and is lost from soil. Trees breathe that carbon back into growth of their bodies and die back into soil to feed life. For the trees carbon is like mother’s milk sipped from the air.  By planting trees and planting an orchard I am decreasing the carbon from the air and putting it back where we need it. In just the last couple of weeks I have built and experimented with a kiln to make biochar. The charcoal will be inoculated with nitrates, bacteria, fungi, and nutrients. This material will keep the carbon in the soil for hundreds of years and give structure to the soil and a surface area for microscopic life to flourish.

The final element and medium of this project are my companion species that are planted and welcomed to the site. Life is the fifth element and the material that is the future of my manifestation. A future of abundance for future generations of myself and these co-creators. The living elements will live in symbiosis and thrive. Life is tenacious and delicate all in one breath. Recent science and studying of others allow me to grasp concepts and species interaction that until recently I had very little knowledge of. These unseen yeasts in the belly of a wasp directing it to the flower to sip from because the flower called to it is amazing and wonderous. Science has given us a lens to miracles and unseen beauty. The data from my own soil test let me know that the soil under my floundering apple is because a cooper and zinc soil deficiency. This led me to the knowledge of a discovery of ancient biochar found in the amazon that would allow me to recreate to amend the soil with chicken manure and charcoal.

The life I choose to add to the project is not random. Just like the biochar, each component has a job to do. Also, the plants tell a story about this place and my life in this place. My story is not unique and the affiliation with these plants is also not unique.  The plants are also chosen because of their place in the big picture. The elderberry’s deep purple berries and sweet smell draw in small children and birds.  The birds drop seeds further than the elderberry tree can reach. The birds feed the soil, and the branches also shade the soil and allow thirsty young plants to thrive in the shade. It in turn nestles back up against a strong oak who she shares their wealth with. He holds strong against the cold winds and hard rains protecting her protected from the elements. All living together in harmony or least in my imagination.