THE SEED BANK

In 2023, we reached our 25th Anniversary and patted ourselves on the back for a chunk of met goals for the charity. At MofT, we love a list and a long-term plan. Therefore, we decided to sit down with the knowledge we have accrued, the experts we have met and the hopes we have heard from youth and the young at heart.  With 2024 devoted to completing a comprehensive Strategic and Implementation Plan for Matter of Trust and our Worthy, Actionable List of Projects for 2025-2050 (aka The WALOP).

BRAINSTORMING

First we begin the process of simply listing every major environmental and social challenge to life on Earth that we can find.  A total exercise in doom porn, only recommended for those who are energized by a savior complex.  See our list of Modes & Complexes that we think we (all) have 🙂 and how we think they help us!

SORTING

Next, we start piling, peg-holing, cross-referencing what we can with plenty of room for outliers.  This is our speciality.  We love doing this!

Every backyard could have an urban edible garden, tiny home, and chicken coop.

The front doors of the Eco-Home, with our hobbit doors made of 60% recycled car parts and scrap metal.

The Method

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Bee My Valentine  • Bedroom, Kids Room • February-March

Spring Greening (Earth Day)  • Bath, Storage, Garden • April-May

Greendependence Day • Home Office, Home Gym,  Smart Dorms • June-July

Fallin’ for Harvest Time • Kitchen, Dining • August-September

Haunted Eeeko-Home • Exterior • October-November

Season’s Greenings • Living Room • December-January

Fallin’ for Harvest Time Open House 2019! 

The Criteria

This is a living document that fits within our Mission:  Linking Surplus with Needs. Our ultimate goals are to encourages optimism and trust in Nature’s abundant cycles.

Organization, connection and direction are key for humanity to thrive in harmony with Earth.

This step is listing what needs to start happening and what needs to stop.

Project Name:

Primary Category(ies):

   Air

   Water

   Fire (Energy)

   Earth (Materials)

   Life

   & Beyond…

Challenge Triage Buckets:

  Low Hanging Fruit:

       Starts / Do more good stuff you like

       Stops / Don’t do bad stuff you hate

   Multi-Impact Crossovers

      Ask Nature First

      Natural Abundance

     Cycles

     Integration

     Self Healing

      Rates, Scale, Shape

      Self Organizing

     Right Sizing

     Adaptation

 Manmade Surplus

     Infrastructure

      Alternatives

      Systems

      Sorting

      Deconstruction / Life Cycle Assessment

      Quality

 

 Awareness

     Incentives

     Perspectives

     Convenience Level

     Empowered Masses

      Engagement

      Greed vs. Greater Good

       Empathy / Golden Rule

       Art / Sponsors / Ads

       Edutainment / Fun

       Partners & Networks

       Hope / Optimism / Trust

       Love

The List

Let’s start with:

Low Hanging Fruit – aka the annoying stuff humans can just stop ASAP because they’re easy, obvious and have major impacts.

Stop:  STICKERS ON FRUIT – They are so annoying to remove.  They are most commonly made of petroleum based plastic (thus contributing to our planet’s microplastics problem) and are somewhat surprisingly eaten or juiced accidentally by thousands of people/ daily. They do not decompose or biodegrade.  They contain “pressure sensitive adhesives”. These adhesives contain surfactants which are toxic for the reproductive system. Fruits and vegetable which are sold in open markets have higher permissibility of migration of chemicals in fruits because of heat and sunlight.

Who: Grocers please just use a natural food based dye marks (made of beet, carrot, blueberry, spinach… e.g., King Arthur,™  Color Garden,™  Watkins™…)

Stop:  PICKING UP DOG POO IN PLASTIC BAGS – Plastic bags can take up to 700 years to decompose.  Poo is fertilizer and can easily be composted.  Microbes naturally break down the manmade chemicals in flea medicines, heart worm medicines and all of the natural waste.  The methane quickly off gasses (unlike the harmful plastics).  Ideally all neighborhoods should have dog parks and those should all have large dog poo / green waste  composting pits where dogs are allowed to go do their business freely and smell each other to their heart’s content.

Who: Dog owners / walkers

 

Stop:  MAKING / ACCEPTING PLASTIC SINGLE USE SPOONS / FORKS / KNIVES / SPORKS / STRAWS

You know you have an overflowing drawerfull.  And you feel guilty throwing them away.  An estimated 40 billion plastic utensils per year are disposed of in USA alone.

Plastic cutlery can take up to 1,000 years to decompose naturally.  However, over decades they break down into toxic microplastics that get into the environment.  They are made of petroleum based BPA and when you put them into the dishwasher and reuse they break down release BPA (Bisphenol A) which is linked to issues such as infertility, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure.

Be sure to check the box that says No Cutlery when ordering food for delivery to your home.

Use reusable metal cutlery at home.  You can buy new or 2nd hand, it can be reused and disinfected easily and forever.  Carry your own set with napkin / bag in your pocket, purse, backpack, car…  Offer sets as a gift… e.g.,
https://sustainability.ucdavis.edu/zerowaste
Prosumer Choice – Amazon

Who: Fast food eaters, delivery orderers, party planners, everyone…

Stop: USED MOTOR OIL DUMPING INTO STORM DRAINS – Every liter of illegally dumped used motor oil can contaminate up to 1 million liters of fresh water.  There are many places you can get your motor oil changed inexpensively and cleanly.  Also, most hardware stores and mechanics have hazardous material disposal systems.  Call your local government to locate the best drop off location near you. 

Who:  Car owners (non-EV), DIY car lovers, Boat Owners… 

Stop:  LANDMINES & CLUSTER BOMBS Manufacturing & Laying

5 Million new landmines are laid per year. They cost $30 to make and $1000 to remove. The 110M current landmines would already cost $100B to remove. Annually @ 200,000 are removed or intentionally set off with @ 200 / year “De-miner” deaths .  The only people who don’t have the incentive to stop landmines are people who make landmines, and they can make something else.

Landmines hurt indiscriminately and destroy the environment causing 5,000 deaths & 20,000 injuries / year.  And nooo.. they should not be used to surround protected areas as animals can also set them off. Toxic explosive chemicals, soil erosion, and wildlife destruction for decades after the political conflict is forgotten.

Who: Governments & Manufacturers

General Public:  Be aware, engaged, speak up, discuss and point out the obvious.

Videos

Our Eco-Home video is an example of what every apartment building in San Francisco could do with this typical 25ft x 30ft yard space.

 

 

Why this matters?

You may encounter personal and global challenges in your lifetime.  The bigger the opportunity for change, the better it is to have clear ideas of the obstacles and opportunities.  The WALOP is simply a roadmap for methodical breakdown of the work into manageable tasks and ways to network with teams of support.   

What can I do?

Get Involved

We are always evolving and welcome new ideas, partners, contributions and emails. We have a very optimistic view of the future and love meeting others who are very fond of this lovely planet!

Donate

We strongly believe that,

“When you give, you get back tenfold.”

Now, that’s a great exchange rate!

The Hum Sum

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Our Eco-Social Media Platform!

Our planet is buzzing with activity and good ideas.
This site is dedicated to everyone who is tuning in and adding what humanity can do for a harmonious future!