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Trip 2023

It has been about 20 or more years since I traveled this highway. Even longer by bus. In 2018, the only intercity human transportation and one of the few shipping centers in Prince George shut down with little forewarning. At least it caught me unaware. Greyhound. Wasn’t too fond  of people in general, refused to comply with Transport Canada’s emerging Accessibility standards for intercity transportation of people.

Why did I not use Greyhound more? They had a route for a very long time, connecting not only Northern BC to the nation and beyond, they brought that beyond to Northern BC and beyond that way. That is a question I would ask another who spent that time apart from a family. Particularly if at a basic level, this service was available.

No excuse, I had a hard life. My Multiple Sclerosis arriving in 2000, expected to put me in a wheelchair within 5 years. Within days of diagnosis, my father died. Within two 2 years, my mental health condition was apparent and diagnosed with MS treatments, new at that time. Medical support denied me as I was using Marihuana. No vehicle. My legs decided I would lead a pedestrian life, avoiding vehicles. ‘Disabled Income. I’ll say no more.

By 5 years, I had given up my car as my right leg could not move from the gas to the brake pedal fast enough. I also quit smoking tobacco, which put me in alternative places within my community. Greyhound would not accept me as I was disabled and invalid in their minds, which is the basic reason, and I had no vehicle. My medical support accepted me back, as they could not deny me. I feel they were forced. 

I have no fond memories of Greyhound anyway, who did not mind tobacco and alcohol as long as people were on board when doors shut and wheels moving when I last rode. They left many people behind. Alcohol was still forgiven, but Canada forced tobacco out. No Cannabis allowed, but to be fair, Canada called it Marihuana, which came straight from hell. Onward to 2023. Side note: Cannabis is legal now but still can not be consumed on board.

I arrived at the stop for multiple buses running for my city. Northern BC just got away with BC Bus North, and now at 8:16 am, we wait. Soon, it’ll arrive. 8:17 now… Hurry up and wait. Well, en route now past city limits at 843 am… Ebus underway!

This would’ve shortened my trip not so long ago. Actually, it would cause adventure as I might’ve been placed between communities, awaiting the RCMP and a ride to their offices. Past is the past, Onward to Kamloops

Well, we’re all on board by 8:25, Mike does the welcome aboard speech. This Ebus is not accessible. No, it does not have a ramp. This bus has 7 stairs. I saw that it has to be requested in advance 48 hrs minimum for access. They bring a unique bus to the pickup location. Scooters always go under one bus design, and another bus can take a fair-sized power chair, untested with a scooter. Washrooms in the back. Meh. Lots better than Greyhound. Not quite as good as Northern or another Health Authority’s Connection Busses. Coincidently, A division of Ebus company manages the medical transportation I learned. There is a price difference lol.

Stops announced Williams Lk, 70 Mile House. Shouldn’t that be 112.7 Km House here in Canada? Hmmmm. Stay tuned. This ride is much smoother than Greyhound, and seatbelts are mandatory. 9:47, just entering Quesnel.

Underway, I’ll be 500 + KMs before this day is done.

Well, 1135 and the stop at Williams Lk was another memory to behold. A single bathroom satisfied my 3 hrs travel to find it, but I didn’t feel like the ‘back of the bus’ bathroom was close enough. Well, onward after Mike, the driver, does a headcount. Onward to the next stop and stretch. Time to charge and enjoy the puff. Lol, This stop by a liquor store… Iconic memories of being left here, with Greyhound… Onward.

Miles to some, kms under the wheels, moving under us. Onward!

We stopped for lunch at 112.7 km house. I’ll bring lunch on my return, just saying. A bathroom break to wash my hands, puff and consume some truck-stop-packaged something. It’s time to huff a vape puff and get on board.

The city marker was found in a city park.

My impression of Kamloops by Transit any of the modes is great. Ample wide open nature parks, accessible and ‘walknrollablable’ by City Transit. They built sidewalks for community health. All built on hills, busses struggle to climb. No wonder it’s considered the ‘City of Tournaments‘. My morning walk was a walk to the 7-11, a block by sidewalk but 20 meters above my sister’s place. Meh. A surprisingly meagre amount of benches and garbage collection areas exist on the sidewalks. But again, the city was clean along those sidewalks. I noticed very few mobility devices in use. Had I brought mine, I would’ve seen more, I imagine. I was told Tranist, HandyDART services, and private vehicles are the standard modes of Kamloops’ mobility. Walking is done mainly in those parks, so common with benches and garbage cans. People rarely walk to the park, I was told.

Peterson Creek Park affords many views 30 or 40 meters above a busy highway. Well-placed benches are along a mega km natural trail connecting some other large area parks and sporting areas.
 They donate benches as a legacy. We give thanks for the views these people enjoyed in life. There’s no litter to distract the views. Thanks as well to respectful visitors who came before me and any who picked up after those disrespectful visits.
The Highway below the park and mountain views.
 The mountains overshadow Kamloops
Another Bench
Sage grows everywhere, among the diversity of nature.
 Trail markers, so an exploration party does not get lost (easily)
That highway so far below
This deserted mall serves as Ebus HQ in Kamloops. The office to register is inside, and a restaurant, a couple of computer tech support offices exist. Most of the places are closed inside.

 As it is Aboriginal Day in Canada, while I traveled back, I respected these lands I traveled upon. I am traveling between the TKemlups and Lheidli T’enneh territories. Such beautiful territories they’ve managed since a time before time was recorded. As we travel, my thoughts are of ancient trade routes and past explorers to this part of Canada. I called PG Taxi along the road and booked a taxi for my arrival at around 830pm. Back home.

Now on a Canadian server

Thanks to Shift Creative, a Prince George web design service Walknroll.info is now hosted and not costing me that US exchange rate. This site isn’t making me any money, but it still remains. It will, in the future, be more than entertainment. I highly recommend the services of Shift Creative!

Well, it will get more posts. For the first time since I installed this WordPress App on my Android device, this host has connected with no issues. I can post as I travel. I’ll do this as I travel on Ebus to Kamloops in a few days. This bus might provide wireless internet and charging, I hope.

Me, 2023, before I go, lol.

Yes, you’ll get some photos. Ebus is a fairly new service connecting Prince George to Kamloops. It is the first intercity service to run that route since the departure of Greyhound in 2018. Thank you for following this site all these years! Stay tuned as I walknroll around Prince George after visiting our sister city. More to come!

 

 

Adding PowerPoint presentations to WordPress posts

 

 

It has been quite a while since I’ve written here. A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned to a group who developed a PowerPoint (PP)presentation and presented it to a group live. It was masterfully done, well received and amplified the community served by that group… The credit for this post goes to Volunteer Prince George and the Handy Circle Resources Society.

Before the presentation, they presented the PP to our governance board at Volunteer PG. At the wrap up meeting after, I suggested perhaps we could place the information on our website in a post. It is a WordPress built website, way more active than mine and built for community. To that they asked me ‘How on earth do we do that?’. It’s simple, truth be told. I hope I can explain with this post I will share with them.

First, I went to my plug in directory and installed the plugin ‘Embed Any Object‘ and activated it. This put an ‘add document’ button above a draft post. It’s not limited to PowerPoint files. Enter the ‘Text’ area of the draft. It opens a set of code. Go to the location you wish the document to go. Then press ‘Add Document’. Browse to the document’s location, likely ‘upload’. Find the file and add it to the code section. Return to Visual, you’ll still see the code.

You can view before posting to ensure the document displays as intended. When finished writing the post, publish live. That’s the simplest way to put a PP presentation online. Alternatively, the user can upload the PP to an FTP site and embed the post with a specific line of code. As well, but with almost the same amount of technical knowhow, you could upload to YouTube and embed that with yet another plugin. Good luck!

Update: VPG’s dashboard and draft area for posts is set up differently from most WP Dashboards I work with. Likely because they use the new editor of WordPress using a newer style of WP writing blocks. It does not show the buttons on top for plugins. I’ll try to see why, as it’s a basic WordPress thing.

When some editing plugins are activated, this row becomes visible, on Edit or new post windows in the original WP Window

WordPress user types: Patron

What is a ‘Patron’? I asked Google after finding it as a ‘user type’ on a website I manage. I have this website and another on WordPress. They do not come cheap. One is on ‘Shared’ communication servers. I reference this, but it might not display on Google Chrome browsers. Mine’s on a private host’s ‘shared’ website server. Both allow WordPress to be installed on the domain, the website you’re viewing right now or over here where the only actual difference to you, the viewer, is that this one is HTTPS. It’s privately funded, but buy me a coffee here and I’ll thank you just the same! I’d consider you a Patron for sure! Why is this important for everyone, HTTPS? Do you see a warning before you view this other very trustable website? Or is even this one just as trustworthy? They’re way more credible than mine and get way more views per day! HTTPS assures you safety amid a clutter of websites offering troubles. When they become HTTPS, I am sure those views will increase. That said, just because it displays HTTPS, know safety by experiencing past website visits. Mine should improve with frequent posting, and creditable linking verifying.

Relax. You’re on an HTTPS website!

WordPress allows different user types separating them from casual browsers who do not ‘subscribe’ to new posts publicized. That, coincidently, is another ‘Registered User’ alongside a Patron user. A subscriber gets added to Mailchimp and other lists connected to our website alongside the other registered users so diverse, and others as it shares to Social Media. The website appreciates all who register inclusively; you support the website’s authors (Contributors, another user type) with your views and shares! The Patron is a user who has had a financial long-term impact on the organization, i.e., what the organization calls a ‘valued, esteemed contact’. Imho, I would consider them financial benefactors for the entity that the organization becomes because of the coin. It helps the organization amid the funds so appreciated by government gaming sources so dearly loved. Know your limit and play within it, but thank you BC for your donations through those entertaining addictive stations. If you lose control, there is help! Please don’t validate your addiction and try claiming it on your taxes as a creditable donation. Speaking of donations, if Non-Profits were to host HTPPS Websites, the visitors would be more likely to become a patron even anonymously via an online 50-50 chance. See how Gaming helps BC Nonprofits directly? Nonprofits almost always have a running 50-50 draw and since 2019, those have been online and secure. Some by email or offsite on a secure website (HTTPS) in the organization’s name costing a percentage!

Website Security

Website Security provided by a leading URL. HTTP or HTTPS? There is way more to it, but it begins with this. If a newer browser encounters a website without an SSL certificate (HTTP), a warning may be given to the website visitor who came looking for information, perhaps to sign up for services, enter volunteer hours or several other reasons making your work worthy. Perhaps you sell fine wares or art pieces as diverse as you. It often prevents them ‘for their safety’ from entering your domain. For shame. It’s not fitting with your inclusive atmosphere. The websites many non-profits use are provided via a ‘shared web server’ their telecommunications companies host, for example Shaw and TELUS (Telus site might not display in Google Chrome browsers) shared hosting servers. Even some startup businesses saving the cost of a full domain, perhaps for a blog. This is included in their communication packages, including phone and email. It does not include a free SSL certificate.

This will come up with newer browsers on HTTP websites, screenshot taken with a recently updated Firefox browser. When the site becomes HTTPS, it will automatically redirect any links pointing to the HTTP version.

On my website privately owned and paid from a server (a shared domain too), the SSL Certificates are insisted upon. SSL = Secure Sockets Layer. An ‘unsecured’ website brings excess junk traffic, bogging and slowing down as it attacks the root server and all on the shared domain. You have to ask for it, but it’s provided hassle free without an added cost. Running without it can add those costs tenfold in bandwidth overloads hourly. A website I manage is on the TELUS Shared hosting service as an HTTP now (screenshot above). This is a report for our board meeting upcoming as I type this post. I am working on upgrading the website to HTTPS and providing a means to track Volunteer Hours on that website. Our board members (all board members leading BC Provincially Registered Volunteer organizations) need to input Volunteer hours. Any time ‘working’ towards the volunteer organizations forward movement in projects, except for board meetings, is ‘Volunteer Work’ trackable.

Where do we find those SSL certificates? What type is needed? How much does one cost? So, in answer to the first question, we turn to our favorite search engine. I use Google. Meh, don’t hate me.  In a conversation with TELUS sales, I was told ‘No, it is not provided. Go anywhere, IE Godaddy HostMonster and others, and find the most affordable one. Use the Installer found on the Server. Yes, there is support in installation.’ I assume the answer from Shaw would be the same if they don’t provide it. SSL Type search informed me we need a single domain server, prices starting at $5.99 for a 5 year plan. I could use a ‘Wildcard’ SSL but that cost likely is prohibitive for a nonprofit to sustain. Renewal cost after perhaps 5 years is about a buck higher most of the time, on the one I chose anyway, and that I assume is fixed for further renewals. I found this one at https://www.namecheap.com/security/ssl-certificates/single-domain/. The prices listed are on a long-term rate, lump sum of 12 (* number of months in years from 1 to 5) months paid in one large amount) is what they ask for. A website owner can choose the maximum of 5 years or as short of a year at most servers. If you were to build a website on that server, the cost of space usually includes the certificate as mentioned above in the same increments. Renewing at the same server for whatever reason is slightly more expensive as something servers do as a sales gimmick focused on new clients but losing the renewals to other servers where the expensive domain fits but the customer keeps the less expensive server space perhaps with a slightly altered ‘.com’ or ‘.ca’ or ‘.info’ even designation.

For Non Profits of Canada, this can be a hindrance to install the certificate on a domain they own with ‘http’. It’s an expensive upgrade that remains the length of the time their websites are on that server so generously offered but not supplying a certificate. Perhaps we should all look at grants together. A google search for Non Profit Grants in Canada brought this link up focused on website improvements. It also brought this one to filter through at our government’s available grants website; it’s focused on British Columbia. Once it is installed, a ‘plugin’ to the WordPress Website will be installed for Volunteer Hrs. That’s a service I’m looking into used by another nonprofit I connect to, ‘Trackitforward’ which has prices starting at $12 a month paid annually, $144. Volunteer Hrs? Whazzup with that? Apparently, when a registered Non Profit receives funds from the Province of British Columbia and others, they love seeing the results of the support. Stakeholders, including website visitors. Wouldn’t it be a great thing to celebrate on a website accessible to everyone, the most diverse group of stakeholder’s first contact? They support Volunteer driven projects. Volunteerism assists all aspects of human life.

Volunteers are smart. They enter their information better on a secure HTTPS website so staff can record work and people on official forms privately. The information that’s displayed publicly are the hours they work collectively while stakeholders reach for credit cards for a worthy active volunteer organization project. On a secure website, donations and memberships can be asked for and accepted. If you are the ones with a credit card supporting Non-profits above the appreciated gaming funds many receive thanks to our government, I hope you’re still reading this. I personally thank you for that and rest assured, they are trying to make to so your donations simpler and more direct. I thank you as well for following my rantings I try to pass off as education.

 

 

Facebook: Build a Page or Group to attract 600 plus members.

Do you have a Facebook account? That’s step one.

Do you have questions about Facebook Pages and Groups? You likely belong to at least one if you’re on Facebook, perhaps even one I manage. This post hopefully will be completed in time to secure a ‘Social Media Worker‘ position that I applied for, could work for a service promoting website accessibility and inclusion. I have so much to learn myself. I’m a lifer in the school of life. Below in the image is step 2 of creating a Page or a Group on Facebook.

You can start a Facebook page or a group. Learn about them through my links!

Creating the Page or Group

My groups on Facebook are Private, I have one for an MS Peer Support Group I facilitate in the actual world. Speaking of that, I have a link for my MS Walk 2022, that you may want to help me find a cure. It’s linked to another page I manage for my local MS Walk. Thank you in advance. Back to FB. The Groups can be public too, but that often can’t be manged efficiently as it attracts trolls which are difficult to control. One use of Facebook is to collect donations for non-profits. I mange a business page for the Handy Circle Resources Society and the Prince George Mental Health Consumer’s Council you can view. Some funding for our programs and events comes from and through Facebook and other social media. Groups can be attached to pages to become powerful, or they can stay independent of a page. A website could also be added, perhaps for a business or supporting nonprofit. Kind of like how this website links to my social media feeds, including my page for this blog. It has no Groups attached. You likely just have one focus. That’s overall better for a business or the not so dedicated Facebook addict. Find a niche. My most popular Group involved Cannabis (naturally lol), started back when it was called Marijuana, infected with Reefer Madness and attracted a lot of attention in Canada, particularly from Facebook and the law. I started it as a local community page at first, but it quickly grew to include Canada focusing on Northern BC. The ‘Legend in my Mind‘ figured I was a frontrunner in bringing legalization to Canada.

Once it’s created, fill it with content.

It’s not enough to just post randomly and expect people to join. Yea, they’ll still join but not frequently and you can sit on it for years with just over 200 members, people joining and leaving no matter how interesting your content, never talking. Some attract trolls with certain subjects and themes as the only conversations you encourage, time to change writing styles unless you run a protest page or group, but even then Facebook has its own standards of conduct. Establish rules for your Group or Page before the first member joins. Make the environment feel welcome and secure to joiners, establish a rapport with your members as they join too, stay and perhaps in a scheduled ‘Welcome to my Group’ post perhaps once a week or more depending on frequency of new members. This will help them post and comment and stay loyal to your Page or Group.

Page and Group Management

Will you have just one person as ‘Admin’ or would you fill each roll with another person? How do you encourage conversation from your Group? Do you promote inclusion? Have you read the ‘Help’ posts on Management? All Staff should study the pages Facebook offers, study them before creating for your best chance of success. This is a good read on the normal web. After that, once members chat, their friends will join. Well, there’s a better chance of that, anyway. It is sustainable and will feed your interest greatly. No guarantees, but even without the website attached, it could attract the number you want by being interesting and well managed. Oh yea, another way to build inclusion and community participation in FB Groups is with Rooms and Video Calls inviting the entire community to a ‘private’ chat that is secure.

 

Research

Research Generally

Ok. What is it? Basically, you ask a question common in many minds and discover the answer beyond doubt through research. If you wanted to know the frequency of the local bus transit route to determine if it keeps a regular clock work schedule down to the millisecond for one example, you would have to do research with perhaps some equipment to monitor all hours it operates in all weather, at the stop outside your window if it exists or another you can monitor 27/7/365 at bus times. I would say that over a year, you would get a pretty specific result. That answer became no, it has some flexibility at arrival times per stop. It often adjusts time along the way so they don’t arrive too early at stops found ahead between the transfer stations at a specific clock work schedule for departure. All times listed are departures from stops and stations. I forgot to mention this study also involved riding many individual runs from a transfer station back to the same transfer station and timing the stops and time at. There are also speed calculations etc, breakdowns, sudden trip emergencies, they cater to public transit where anything can and usually happen tragically so often. This is a type of Citizen Study someone like me would undertake. It could be anything. It could be you ‘Studying’. You could study your life condition from any angle you question, even as far as your medical life. It’s basically the same as studying your boss’s schedule or the bus. A question you have needed an answer. If you use a scientifically proven and creditable checkable and verifiable method of answering, you become a Citizen Scientist

My latest research, in case you didn’t guess it already…

Cannabis has been a lifelong study of misinformation sounding truths, and law-abiding Reefer Madness encouraged in many of the societies’ influences. Now more recently since about 2005 with Medical because of MS and Recreational since legalization, it kind of took new angles. I was growing up around it and a Reefer Madness infected father, towards the very end of the 1970s in a small Northen British Columbia Town. I had my first puff there, behind the pool room as an early teen. According to one thought I’ve had on it, that’s where my ‘Weeducation’ began. My ‘discussions’ with my father on the subject met animosity fast, so I became a rebel without a clue for a lot of years, discretion saved lots of arguments. Tobacco was OK past 16 though, dad allowed that after ignoring it since I was 5. I ended that ‘study’ at 39.

A sea of results

Cannabis is a diverse study. It has many results, no end. The biggest thing I discovered about Cannabis and its effects on my body was that we contain a very important system in our body called an Endocannabinoid System. It’s this system recently discovered in almost all animals that control so much in bodies from the spark of life to its end and cannabis affects it positively. Yea dad, smoking the Marijuana did way more than not kill me. It ended the tobacco addiction in my body that was killing me 39 years after, actually longer. You and mom smoked tobacco when I was born 56 years ago as I type all MS’ed up now enjoying life as best I can. More than a huff and puff puts smiles on my face, I am free of Tobacco. It caused the Multiple Sclerosis and mental health challenges; That I figure resulted from the Tobacco and Alcohol studies I did with negative results that ended before my 40s.

Weed and human evolution?

Weed in the beginning

Weed. Ganga. Refer. What do you call it? Would you think it could be a part of human history before ‘recent’ history? Perhaps even before the Egyptian empire? It was. Plus, it wasn’t just Cannabis. Many plants, mushrooms give similar feelings. Some give strength and tolerance beyond normal capacities. Their major selling feature was to ease pain due to conflict or a hard life. They were almost certainly used for religious events. They influenced the body as they mimicked naturally occurring chemicals in the body. But did they start human evolution?

Weed and other drugs in the very beginning

As discussed in previous posts on this server, Cannabis developed on land during the time of the dinosaurs or before, perhaps waiting for life to crawl from the seas. It’s a basic weed, as tolerated by biodiversity as Dandelion and improving soils with its life cycle uninterrupted. Most life today has an ‘Endocannabinoid System today because of it. We came across the plant early in our evolution, and then life branched out in our direction over millions of hard years. Also, as a species that became us, we came across other plants with different reactions in the bodies that would later become us. Animals also have other hormones and chemicals in our bodies that other drugs mimic, such as Opiates that are made artificially or changed from natural overwhelm the receptors for it. They came about to fit into our ‘receptors’ in the same way.

Stoned Ape Theory

There is a thought that all life on land developed from fungus. Lets look at Mushrooms, the very first form of life on land as proven by ‘fossils’ of mushroom found in ancient lava, preceding all plants by a billion years or more. They come in a variety of forms today. Some are good for consumption, adding flavor and nutrition and fiber in many recipes. Many more will kill you. There are some that are used medicinally for the vaccines, as many of the same diseases and viruses ravish both species of life on this planet. Fungi has been here much longer dealing with them. Some will make you high. Religious leaders through history have used them in ceremonies and rituals. Perhaps the following video will help explain it better.

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In Conclusion

Drugs, like Opium derived naturally from poppies, help pain without cause and effect unless overused to overwhelm the system in sensitive areas. Religion has surly been influenced by Cannabis, Mushroom and opiate influences. Even pure oxygen can kill us, it slowly kills our cells as we age mixed as it is in our atmosphere. Meh. Moderation and function, the ancients knew how to use the plants without too many if any non natural additions. They knew the limits, as they used some against enemies for a win to a conflict. I know for a fact Mushrooms considered ‘Magic’ in particular and even more so Cannabis just now becoming mainstream in North America post the year 2000 were commonly used by influencers of the past, nation and empire building leaders. We have much to learn for sure about addictions and even death I feel. We need the laws to relax, and research all the drugs we now criminalize.

Prior to legalisation and public sales, this sight brought fear into the hearts of recreational Tokers and still does for all drug users of all ages. Does nothing to help addictions except to increase stigma, causing more use

Nature is natural

Nature in the beginning

Nature. When a tree falls in the forest, and no one, no animal is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Perhaps it does, maybe in practice, or perhaps it saves the sound for a listener to keep them out of the way of the falling tree. Only Mother Nature can answer that question with credibility. She’s been doing this since it grew the first trees on our planet before humans or animals were there to learn the dangers of falling trees and hear the warning sounds of Ms. Nature. Falling trees are not the only danger. New forests with diverse plants grow in stages small and fast-growing plants, soft broadleaf trees to slow growth with larger, more dense wooden plants such as trees like Pine, Spruce and Douglas Fir in the Forests. No one knows for certain, but large trees may have been preceded by Wild Cannabis and shrubs, which were likely the first plants on this planet. It was likely once part of nature on the entire planet.

Fishing, peaceful activities can be found in nature. We should all respect it and work to preserve its beauty.

Nature’s tools

When plants like trees grow, they drop seed as they mature. Some tree species like Aspen will spread out by their root systems with just one method of reproduction. When one tree drops the root system and the fallen trunk provides ‘starter material’ as it decays with branches that take root and grow with the root system. A single thick stand of aspen may be thousands of years old, perhaps even Millions years old. Large herbivores like Moose and Deer control the species that eat leaves and small saplings. They are the start of a forest construction along with the bushes and shrubs with seed and fruit for the smaller ‘workers’ like birds, squirrels and mice. Those animals eat seeds, nature employs them. They never stop eating. They are not really particular, munching on a diverse range of seeds. Predators eat vast amounts of seed eaters and some eat both animals and seed. The seeds survive the digestive tracts of consuming animal. Most animals poop, and that provides a good fertilized pile for the seed to grow in. The resulting plants condition the soil for larger plants like trees, most grown by seed themselves.

Nature’s way of regeneration

Well, we’ve already explained the ‘Poop cycle’ of natural workers to create new forest but there are other regeneration methods used naturally. Fire is one way. Pine trees have cones that contain seed.  Through their life, which could span eons, it drops seed in these cones.  Some of that seed is eaten, as some animals can eat cones and pooped all over the forest. The cones open naturally in heat drop seed.  Pine produces a powerful scent when it gets hot. That aroma is flammable and will ignite naturally. Often, nature will provide the spark with lightning, but more recently, humans have caused many wild fires in a forest, either by carelessness or industry. Human-caused fires can grow dangerously hot, making land sterile and seeds hard to grow naturally. Many times, it takes human intervention to regrow the natural forest quicker after a huge hot human caused wildfire.

Humans and Nature

Recreation

There are activities that support nature and are sustainable. We drop lines for fishing in our rivers, lakes and streams. We hunt game in the forests, as we are predators and herbivores. There are several berries, edible plants and some mushrooms we collect to consume. We can find holiday decorations and trees for Christmas in a forest. A walk in a quiet forest is mentally stabilizing for everyone, particularity those with challenges. It teaches the human child of all ages to respect nature.

Industry

Several activities occur in the forests that immediately don’t seem good for nature. Many seem to be conducted to collect wealth from the forest and nature takes a few generations to recover. Logging happens with clear-cutting and most times, the natural forest’s diversity is replaced with a monoculture of merchantable single tree species, Pine and Spruce mainly.  This practice must stop. It’s totally not natural. The trees use fire to regrow naturally, clean out dying and dead matter clearing soil for recent growth. A monoculture of trees that use fire to regenerate concentrates the heat so it completely burns the soil and there are no firebreaks like broadleaf plants to slow or stop it. Monoculture stands are suspected of being one cause of huge infrastructure fires seen in British Columbia during the summers of 2017 and 18 and could be a reason for declining animal populations. It is the most destructive use we have of the forest, but other activities like oil and gas, as well as mining also have an impact, but mostly those try to make the land natural after work is finished.

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