Nature

"Offering clear and comprehensive instructions for low-tech growing for a range of budgets, interests, and scales, this book offers practical inspiration and a sense that "hey, I can do this!"
–— DANIELLE STEVENSON, owner, DIY Fungi

DIY Mushroom Cultivation is full of proven, reliable, low-cost techniques for home-scale cultivation that eliminate the need for a clean-air lab space to grow various mushrooms and their mycelium.

Beautiful full-color photos and step-by-step instructions accompany a foundation of mushroom biology and ecology to support a holistic understanding of the practice. Growing techniques are applicable year-round, for any space from house to apartment, and for any climate, budget, or goal. Techniques include:

• Setting up a home growing space
• Inexpensive, simple DIY equipment
• Culture creation from mushroom tissue or spores
• Growing and using liquid cultures and grain spawn
• Growing mushrooms on waste streams Indoor fruiting
• Outdoor mushroom gardens and logs
• Harvesting, processing, tinctures, and cooking.

Whether you hunt mushrooms or dream about growing and working with them but feel constrained by a small living space, DIY Mushroom Cultivation is the ideal guide for getting started in the fascinating and delicious world of fungiculture.

“A comprehensive and personal tome on the production, business, promotion, and problem solving for the independent mushroom grower.” —Taylor Lockwood, renowned mushroom expert & photographer

Most supermarket mushrooms are bland and boring; products of an industrial process which typically relies on expensive equipment and harmful pesticides. Many people would like to add more flavorful and diverse fungi to their diets, but lack the knowledge or confidence to gather or grow their own. Do-it-yourself cultivation is a fun, exciting way to incorporate a variety of mushrooms into a sustainable lifestyle.

Mycelial Mayhem is a straightforward, no-nonsense resource for the aspiring mushroom grower. This practical guide cuts through much of the confusion surrounding methods and techniques, helping the hobbyist or farmer to:

• Select regionally appropriate species for the home garden, farm-scale production, or an edible landscape
• Practice sustainable, environmentally friendly cultivation techniques, such as companion planting, to combat common garden pests and diseases
• Choose a successful, proven business approach to maximize profit and minimize frustration

Many people find that DIY mushroom cultivation is not nearly as complicated as they expect, but a knowledgeable and experienced mentor is crucial to success. Whether your goal is to harvest homegrown gourmet mushrooms for your table, supplement your income by selling to friends and neighbors, or start a full-fledged niche business, Mycelial Mayhem is packed with the advice and resources you need to succeed with this rewarding and valuable crop.

“After reading Mycelial Mayhem’s approachable primer to this age-old art I’m ready to invite the mysterious and captivating kingdom of fungi right into my own home.” —Langdon Cook, author of The Mushroom Hunters

Find connection with the land and feed your family locally, seasonally, and sustainably

Nourish your family from nature's pantry. Foraging as a Way of Life documents twelve months of wildcrafting, featuring five different plants each month for a full year of abundant, local, and seasonal eating. Enhance your sense of self-sufficiency while increasing food security, protecting habitat, and connecting with the land.

Full-color and lavishly illustrated, this accessible, in-depth resource features:

• Accurate and detailed descriptions of herbs, mushrooms, berries, and other wild plants to avoid confusion and inspire confidence when determining plant identification.
• Foraging recipes for remedies, tonics, syrups, and unique handcrafted dishes incorporating wild ingredients—feast on rosehip soup with pan-fried dandelion flowers, followed by birch- bark cookies or chicory chocolate bars.
• Extensive guidance for safe processing or consumption of each species, including cautions, lookalikes, and tips for sustainable harvesting.

Drawing on the author's field experience and her study of herbalism and ethnobotany, Foraging as a Way of Life is designed to inspire readers to share the exuberance and joy of wild foods while finding nourishment and connection in their local fields or forests. A must for every gardener who would like to gather dinner while weeding, for those wishing to learn sustainable harvesting while hiking, or for anyone who wants to create healthy, foraged meals while living lightly on the planet.

A timeless manual for transforming despair into active hope

In the face of overwhelming interconnected social and ecological crises, the Work That Reconnects has inspired and empowered hundreds of thousands of people to transform despair and apathy into constructive, collaborative action. Coming Back to Life, Third Edition is the essential guide to using the Work in group settings, facilitating the creation of a life-sustaining and equitable human culture.

This fully revised 25th anniversary edition further illuminates and deepens the extraordinary practice of the Work, with a particular emphasis on inclusivity and addressing wide-spread systemic racism and injustice. Authors Joanna Macy and Molly Brown:

• Completely expand and update the context, foundations, and core concepts of the Work, from Business as Usual to the Great Unraveling, to the Great Turning
• Illustrate its central framework—a spiral journey through gratitude, honoring our pain for the world, seeing with new eyes, and going forth
• Outline powerful perspectives, teachings, exercises, and rituals, evoking the interconnectedness of all life and awakening a desire to contribute to the Great Turning
• Offer specific guidance for anti-oppressive and trauma-informed facilitation of the Work That Reconnects.

Grief, anger, and fear are natural responses to the harsh realities of our time. By honoring these feelings through the revolutionary practices of the Work That Reconnects, space is created for compassion and forgiveness, along with the courage to take creative action on behalf of life.

“Ezeilo artfully articulates the obscured problem of racism in the country’s environmental movement and unapologetically sets forth solutions.” —Elaine Brown, author of A Taste of Power

Revealing the deep and abiding interest that African American, Latino, and Native American communities—many of whom live in degraded and polluted parts of the country—have in our collective environment, Engage, Connect, Protect is part eye-opening critique of the cultural divide in environmentalism, part biography of a leading social entrepreneur, and part practical toolkit for engaging diverse youth. It covers:

• Why communities of color are largely unrecognized in the environmental movement
• How to bridge the cultural divide and activate a new generation of environmental stewards
• A curriculum for engaging diverse youth and young adults through culturally appropriate methods and activities
• Resources for connecting mainstream America to organizations working with diverse youth within environmental projects, training, and employment

Engage, Connect, Protect is a wake-up call for businesses, activists, educators, and policymakers to recognize the work of grassroots activists in diverse communities and create opportunities for engaging with diverse youth as the next generation of environmental stewards, while the concern about the state of our land, air, and water continues to grow.

“An accessible guide to respond to the inequities faced by persons of color marginalized by mainstream environmentalism.” —Dianne D. Glave, author of Rooted in the Earth

“Highlights the cultural connection to nature that black and brown people have always had, and the need, for the sake of our physical, mental, and spiritual health, for it to be reclaimed.” —Kamilah Martin, Vice President at the Jane Goodall Institute

AWARDS

• GOLD | 2020 Living Now Awards: Evergreen Medal for Nature Conservation

Change the story and change the future – merging science and Indigenous knowledge to steer us towards a more benign Anthropocene

In Changing Tides, Alejandro Frid tackles the big questions: who, or what, represents our essential selves, and what stories might allow us to shift the collective psyche of industrial civilization in time to avert the worst of the climate and biodiversity crises? Merging scientific perspectives with Indigenous knowledge might just help us change the story we tell ourselves about who we are and where we could go.

As humanity marches on, causing mass extinctions and destabilizing the climate, the future of Earth will very much reflect the stories that Homo sapiens decide to jettison or accept today into our collective identity. At this pivotal moment in history, the most important story we can be telling ourselves is that humans are not inherently destructive.

In seeking the answers, Frid draws from a deep well of personal experience and that of Indigenous colleagues, finding a glimmer of hope in Indigenous cultures that, despite the ravishes of colonialism, have for thousands of years developed intentional and socially complex practices for resource management that epitomize sustainability.

Changing Tides is for everyone concerned with the irrevocable changes we have unleashed upon our planet and how we might steer towards a more benign Anthropocene.

AWARDS

• GOLD | 2020 Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize (BC & Yukon Book Prize)
• GOLD | 2019 Ocean Wise Research Institute Ocean Awards
• SILVER | 2019 Nautilus Book Awards: Ecology & Environment

Inspiration, practices, and meditations to empower us in the face of planetary suffering: “True wisdom for tough times.” —John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America

Deepening global crises surround us, causing many to fall prey to denial and despair. Coming Back to Life shows how grief, anger, and fear are healthy responses to the harsh realities of our time, and that when honored through the revolutionary practice of the Work That Reconnects, they can free us from paralysis and move us toward creative action.

This new, completely updated edition of the classic text illuminates the extraordinary Work that has inspired hundreds of thousands to make strides towards the creation of a life-sustaining human culture. Buddhist scholar and environmental activist Joanna Macy and Molly Young Brown introduce the Work’s theoretical foundations, revealing the angst of our era with remarkable insight. Pointing the way forward out of apathy, they offer personal counsel as well as easy-to-use methods for group process that profoundly affect people’s outlook and ability to act in the world.

“If you want to connect with your joy even in the midst of sadness, if you want to see new life arise out of despair, Coming Back to Life has my highest possible recommendation.” —John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America and co-founder and president, The Food Revolution Network

“A must for all who want to mobilize humanity in service of all beings. These concepts, exercises, and meditations have proven to work across generations, religions, ethnicities and races.” —Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, Director of Social Justice Organizing, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

Reconnect. Restore. Reciprocate. Repairing landscapes and reconnecting us to the wild plant communities around us.

Integrating restoration practices, foraging, herbalism, rewilding, and permaculture, Wild Plant Culture is a comprehensive guide to the ecological restoration of native edible and medicinal plant communities in Eastern North America.

Blending science, practice, and traditional knowledge, it makes bold connections that are actionable, innovative, and ecologically imperative for repairing both degraded landscapes and our broken cultural relationship with nature. Coverage includes:

• Understanding and engaging in mutually beneficial human-plant connections
• Techniques for observing the land's existing and potential plant communities
• Baseline monitoring, site preparation, seeding, planting, and maintaining restored areas
• Botanical fieldwork restoration stories and examples
• Detailed profiles of 209 native plants and their uses.

Both a practical guide and an evocative read that will transport you deep into the natural landscape, Wild Plant Culture is an essential toolkit for gardeners, farmers, and ecological restoration practitioners, highlighting the important role humans play in tending and mending native plant communities.

AWARDS

• SILVER | 2023 Nautilus Book Awards | Green, Restorative Practices / Sustainability
  
• HONORABLE MENTION | 2023 American Horticultural Society Book Awards

Unplug from technology and "plug in" to nature through the wonder of your senses.

The Book of Nature Connection is packed with fun activities for using all our senses to engage with nature in a deep and nourishing way.

From "extenda-ears" and acorn whistles to bird calls, camouflage games, and scent scavenger hunts, enjoy over 70 diverse, engaging, sensory activities for all ages that promote mindfulness and nature connection.

With activities grouped by the main senses – hearing, sight, smell, touch, and taste – plus sensory walks and group games, The Book of Nature Connection is both a powerful learning tool kit and the cure for sensory anesthesia brought on by screen time and lives lived indoors.

Whisper in birds, be dazzled by nature's kaleidoscope of colors, taste the freshness of each season, learn to savor the scented world of evergreens, hug a tree and feel the bark against your cheek. Spending time in nature with all senses tuned and primed helps us feel like we belong to the natural world – and in belonging, we come to feel more connected, nourished, and alive.

Ideal for educators, camp and youth leaders, caregivers and parents, and anyone looking to reconnect and become a nature sommelier!

AWARDS

• GOLD | 2023 Nautilus Book Awards | Special Honors: Educational Guidebooks
• SILVER | 2023 IPPY Awards: Nature
• SILVER | 35th IBPA Benjamin Franklin Book Awards: Nature & Environment

Explore our emotional bond with nature to heal ourselves and the natural world

Why spend countless hours indoors in front of screens when being in nature feels so good? In learning why and how to nurture our emotional connection with nature, we can also regenerate the ecosystems on which we depend for our survival.

Renewal explores the science behind why being in nature makes us feel alive and helps us thrive. Using personal experiences and cutting-edge research in cognitive science, this book weaves delightful stories that:

• Reveal nature's genius and impacts on our lives from physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual perspectives
• Explore how emulating nature is yielding design breakthroughs with biomimicry and biophilic design
• Highlight the importance of compassion and coexisting with wildlife in designing our conservation strategies
• Describe the significance of nurturing an ecological ethic that supports a reciprocal relationship with nature.

Whether you are drawn to conservation or are interested in the science behind human behavior, Renewal will help create a blueprint for integrating nature with a life of creativity, compassion, and joy.

AWARD

• GOLD | 2019 Nautilus Book Awards: Green Living & Sustainability
• SILVER | 2020 Living Now Awards: Green Living

Heal the great separation between humans and nature, and help create a future worth remembering.

The Memory We Could Be moves beyond the sterile, technical language around climate change and ecology to humanize the abstraction of global warming and bring different voices into the conversation.

Drawing on sources from anthropology to hydrology, botany to economics, agronomy to astrobiology, medicine to oceanography, physics to history, the author weaves a lyrical and powerful story of our relationship with nature.

The book has three parts:

"Past" addresses memory. Our inability to comprehend our staggering present partly lies in our ignorance of our staggering past. We peer into the black box of history to understand how we got here. We go on a journey across the roots of our ecological crisis, from the Roman Empire to the forests of Burma, from Congolese rubber plantations, to Colombian oil fields.

"Present" illustrates how climate change is shaping our world today, explores how it relates to poverties and inequalities, and equips readers with a set of intuitive instruments to understand climate impacts.

"Future" looks at alternatives and strives to illustrate in human terms the world we could lose and the world we can win. It asks what we can do and develops a transformative vision of a more ecological and equitable economy.

The Memory We Could Be is vital reading for all of humanity.

“A wealth of ideas for adults to engage children and themselves in the wonders of the natural world with suggested activities for all seasons.”―Robert Bateman, artist and author of Life Sketches: A Memoir

The Big Book of Nature Activities is a comprehensive guide for parents and educators to help youth of all ages explore, appreciate, and connect with the natural world. This rich, fully illustrated compendium is packed with crafts, stories, information, and inspiration to make outdoor learning fun!

The Big Book of Nature Activities features:

• Nature-based skills and activities such as species identification, photography, journaling, and the judicious use of digital technology
• Ideas, games, and activities grounded in what’s happening in nature each season
• Core concepts that promote environmental literacy, such as climate change and the mechanisms and wonder of evolution, explained using a child-friendly, engaging approach
• Lists of key species and happenings to observe throughout the year across most of North America

AWARDS

• GOLD | 2016 Nautilus Book Awards: Animals & Nature
• GOLD | 2016 Nautilus Book Awards: Middle Grades - Nonfiction
• FINALIST | 2016 Foreword INDIES: Nature

Picture a world where humans exist, like all other living things, in balance. Where there is no separation between "human" and "wild." Unlearn, Rewild boldly envisions such a world, probing deeply into the cultural constraints on our ability to lead truly sustainable lives and offering real, tangible tools to move toward another way of living, seeing, and thinking.

Part philosophical treatise, part hard-core survival guide, this unique and thoroughly unconventional manual blends philosophy with a detailed introduction to a rich assortment of endangered traditional living skills, including:

• Harvesting and preparing unconventional proteins
• Feral food preservation
• Dealing responsibly with waste
• Natural methods of birth control
• Tanning and processing animal skins

Lyrical, humorous, surprising, enlightening, and thought-provoking by turns, Unlearn, Rewild is essential reading for those who wish to heal themselves and the earth, live gracefully into the future primitive and experience their wildest dreams.

Miles Olson has spent the past decade deeply immersed in learning and practicing earth skills. While foraging, hunting, gardening, and gathering for his livelihood, his experiences have given him a unique perspective on rewilding, radical self-reliance, and the impact of civilization on the natural world.