From disappearing farms in WI to disappearing forests in OH

 

A midwest adventure Photographer's Journal

During the week in Wisconsin we visited a couple farms north of Madison, and learned a lot about our agricultural system in the process. John Kinsman, an 85 year old dairy farmer, runs The Family Farm Defenders and Campesinos ALGO. He also had a fabulous organic garden from which we picked veggies right out of the ground and ate them, dirt and all.

See photos of BioTour's travels through America's Dairyland, from city to farm, Lime Ridge and Blair WI

Our next stop was Marv + Janice's grass farm in Blaire. We spent a couple calm and quiet nights on thier expansive property, complete with roaming chickens, several dogs and overflowing apple trees. We had colorful conversations about traveling adventures and the life of a 60's hippie over breakfasts and dinners.

See photos of commuter students crowding round the big blue bus in Elgin IL

Elgin and Goshen were very progressive campuses, although very different. Elgin is a commuter school, so hearing a lecture of saving fossil fuels hit close to home in thier everyday lives. Goshen is a close-nit college, where students are friends with their professors and are required to study abroad. But each batch of students brought thier curiosity, knowledge and interest to the bus, and we enjoyed lengthy conversations outside in the temperate evenings.

See photos of young children to eager student learning sustainability and banging drums in Goshen IN

See photos of the peaceful conservatory at Merry Lea nature preserve, IN

We had a rude awakening in Columbus before our visit to Ohio State. A man had called the cops on us because we were "squatting" on the quarter acre parking lot (empty, of course, at 7am) of his struggling pawn shop. We were obviously not the root of this man's problems, but certainly today's scapegoat. After an angry scuffle, he invited Alan to "step into his shop to work it out," then took a swipe at him through the window, and ended by spitting a lougie at me. Good way to start the day.

The Ohio State Energy Fair had a much more positive result, and I met almost all 60 companies and groups doing or promoting something sustainable in Ohio. There was local squash soup in biodegradable cups, a recycled bean bag toss, and a group of inner-city students roaming the campus and learning about greening the earth. We powered the PA system with our solar panels, and the entertainment included several speakers (including BioTour) and a couple bands, one having seven different instruments.

See photos of the BioTour bus powering a seven-piece band with the solar panels in Columbus OH

See photos of what remains of an old growth forest in Dysart OH