Scientists in Germany have trained dogs to sniff out people with coronavirus. And they are accurate 94% of the time, reports Bloomberg. The science comes from researchers at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover, Germany.

During tests, they found that eight Germany military dogs could correctly identify the presence of the coronavirus 94 percent of the time after only being trained a week, according to Bloomberg.

“We think that this works because the metabolic processes in the body of a diseased patient is completely changed,” Maren von Koeckritz-Blickwede, a professor at the university, said in a video statement posted by the university on YouTube. “We think that the dogs are able to detect a specific smell produced” by the metabolic process. See the video below.

Despite dogs being used to sniff out explosives, cancer, criminals and drugs, “people have not really realized the potential a dog could have to detect diseased from non-diseased patients,” says Holger Volk, head of the small animal clinic at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, in the video.

The method could be employed in “public areas such as airports, sport events, borders or other mass gatherings.

Since the COVID-19 samples were completely randomized, neither the dog handlers nor the researchers knew which samples were positive and which ones weren’t positive.The researchers therefore guarded against the “Clever Hans” effect, where animals can appear to be solving complex problems, but in fact are taking cues from their master, hard for people to perceive, but easy for animals.

“These preliminary findings indicate that trained detection dogs can identify respiratory secretion samples from hospitalised and clinically diseased SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals by discriminating between samples from SARS-CoV-2 infected patients and negative controls. This data may form the basis for the reliable screening method of SARS-CoV-2 infected people,” the researchers sum up in their online report.

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I wonder all the time about Covid 19. Why now? Why aren’t we stopping it? How did it get to invade us in such a quiet way, with such a profound impact on our lives? Most of us didn’t get the message with the planet heating up. Global warming was one message for the way humanity is scaling its growth on a planet that once seemed so giant, which now seems very small. But most of us didn’t listen. Covid-19 is now personal and it’s an important messenger when we link pollution exposure to lung health. 

A new study by researchers from Utah State University show that microplastics, the tiny bits of plastic that pervade our oceans and now the stomachs and bodies of marine life, and ultimately us –– has found a new route into our body: through the air we breath. And it’s everywhere. 

A recent study that looked at dust at 11 American locations from the Joshua Tree National Park in California to the Wind River Range in Wyoming found that up to 6% of all the dust collected at those locations were made up from microplastics. That’s scary since outdoor pollution causes about 7 million premature deaths a year in the world, and is associated with pulmonary disease. 

Could it be that microplastics in our lungs just makes it easier for Covid-19 to take over?

According to Janice Brahney, an assistant professor at Utah State, microplastics may be more toxic than other industrial pollution and dust. The fact is that we just don’t know. “That we can breath in microplastics has been known for decades,” she says in an opinion article in the NY Times, “we just haven’t fully appreciated the scale of the problem.”

Microplastics come from the cheap synthetic clothing we buy at H&M (they tried being sustainable once) and Forever 21. They come from the cheap plastic toys and floating unicorns you buy for the kids at the lake. They come from plastic bags and packaging that your baby cucumbers come in at the supermarket. They may be banned in cosmetics, but they come from car tires, Dollar Store toys, and basically most of the non-organic trash you throw away every single day. 

Bioplastics made from organic material

Of course we need sustainable alternatives, like advancing technologies that use non-plastic solutions. Like algae-based plastics, or plastics made from potato starch, or cocoa bean shells made by the Dutch duo designers Eric Klarenbeek and Maartje Dros. Leave it to the Dutch to be dreamers. They know how to plug away at practical solutions when facing adversity. Growing up in a Dutch household I was often told the story of our strength is as small as your thumb. You don’t need to be a giant to think about sticking your thumb into a hole to plug a leaking dyke. 

Other organic options include corn starch, straw, woodchips, sawdust, and recycled food waste. While cities around the world rush to ban plastics, very little happens after the feel good statement. It’s impossible to enforce plastic bans in cities where shops do what they want and then as an alternative sell the much more polluting and ugly plastic reusable bag that don’t stand the test of time and which just build up in your basement until you throw them out. Get some canvas options that look good and you will use less plastic.

So much of the plastic we use needs to go away and that starts with ending our addiction to takeaway and bottled soda, plastic bags for everything and packaging everywhere including on the fruits and veggies we eat. 

Those weird people that challenge themselves to be “carbonauts” or take low-carbon and zero-plastic waste challenges are running a waste-free marathon for themselves. They are doing it for us to show it can be done. 

Bioplastic producers include

• 3fD
• BASF
• BioApply Polymers
• Braskem
• Biofase
• BioSphere Plastic
• Cardia Bioplastics
• Purac

8 tips for cutting down on microplastics:

• Avoid shampoos and creams that have pearly textures. And polymer beads. The “pearls” are microplastics. The beads unless certified otherwise are likely plastic. Buy body care products at a health food store that hires knowledgable people. The mom and pop shops are usually the best. 
• Bring your own bottle and cool coffee cup. Find them in ceramics, with a silicon lid
• Buy cotton, better organic, and avoid synthetic throw-away clothing
• Buy second hand clothing at vintage and thrift shops
• Say no to plastic bags at checkout, and say yes only to cool canvas bags or backpacks –– easier to carry by bike or electric moped
• Give up synthetic gum, buy the real stuff instead at natural food stores
• Buy tea bags made with cotton, or just buy tea leaves (better, fresher)
• Say no to straws, glitter, Dollar Store plastic novelty items, cling wrap

The post Microplastics in our lungs linked to Covid-19 surge? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna Therapeutics has received fast-track approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273. The company’s chief medical officer, Tal Zaks, M.D., Ph.D., has become a ubiquitous presence on American news programs, explaining how the FDA action allows the company to swiftly proceed to Phase 2 testing of the vaccine, which is expected to begin in weeks.

Zaks explained that the company has had positive results from Phase 1 tests, which involve testing on a small number of healthy humans (about 45 people) to determine if a vaccine produces an immune response that protects against the virus.

According to Moderna, the vaccine proceeding to Phase 2 testing was developed within 42 days of the company obtaining genetic information on the coronavirus. By comparison, it took researchers more than 20 months to start human tests of the vaccine for SARS, an older coronavirus, according to a journal paper written by Dr. Anthony Fauci.

“By about the end of the year, the start of next year, there’s a reasonable likelihood that we’ll see this vaccine on the market, at least on the American market,” he said in a television interview from Moderna headquarters.

Moderna Therapeutics has been a pioneer in the development of messenger RNA (mRNA) Therapeutics across a range of therapeutic applications. mRNA technology platform, which aims to make drugs that direct cells in the body to make proteins to prevent or fight disease.

It makes use of messenger ribonucleic acid, a molecule vital to the proper functioning of the body’s cells. The mRNA approach can produce vaccines faster and more economically than traditional methods, according to UK health policy think tank PHG Foundation.

The Phase 2 studies will include approximately 600 healthy volunteers, half aged 18-55 years old and half over 55 years old, and randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or one of two doses of Moderna’s experimental vaccine. Each participant will receive two shots since early studies suggest two injections might be necessary to jump-start the immune system to generate protection against the COVID-19 virus. Each patient will be monitored for a year as the researchers track their immune responses.

Moderna president Dr. Stephen Hoge said the company plans to launch Phase 3, which is the final stage of human testing, when Phase 2 studies are complete this summer.

Moderna is not the only drug company hoping to find a viable COVID-19 vaccine. Pharma giants Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline are also working on vaccines, as are nearly two dozen U.S. companies and dozens more worldwide.

“Submitting this (investigative new-drug application) is an important next step in the clinical development of our mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, and we are moving rapidly to potentially address this global health emergency,” Zaks said in a statement.

Zaks, a former head of Sanofi Global Oncology, joined Moderna in 2015. He received his M.D. and Ph. D. from the Ben Gurion University in Israel and conducted post-doctoral research at the US National Institutes of Health (the NIH). He completed his clinical training in internal medicine at Temple University Hospital followed by a fellowship in medical oncology at the University of Pennsylvania.

Moderna is privately held and currently has strategic agreements with AstraZeneca, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, and Merck.

The post Israeli Doctor Announces First COVID-19 Vaccine to Enter Phase 2 Testing appeared first on Green Prophet.

Seems to be that Vitamin D deficiency is an underlying factor in those who suffer the most from COVID-19, or coronavirus. New crowd-sourced data, confirms the early and eerie side-effects: seems that not only smell, but taste and the inability to be phased by hot sauce, among the signs that a patient with the flu might be experiencing COVID-19.

A massive, crowdsourced-survey of COVID-19 patients from over 40 countries provides the greatest evidence to date of the link between COVID-19 and the loss of smell, taste and chemesthesis—the ability to perceive cooling, tingling and burning sensations from stimulants such as chili peppers and menthol.

These findings will help distinguish COVID-19 patients from those with common viral infections, such as the cold or flu, and help prioritize the limited supply of COVID-19 tests.

Professor Masha Niv, from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem is a leading member of The Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research (GCCR) which launched this survey on April 7, 2020.  They mined their database for initial findings and have posted their results on medRxiv.

Based on 4,039 COVID-19-positive participants from around the world, the group found that smell, taste and chemesthesis are significantly reduced during the illness.  Nasal blockage, aka a stuffed nose, does not appear to be associated with these sense losses, suggesting that these symptoms may be an important way to distinguish COVID-19 infection from other viral infections.

“Our findings show that COVID-19 broadly impacts chemosensory function and is not limited to smell loss, and that disruption in these functions should be considered a possible indicator of COVID-19,” explained Niv.

The ongoing survey asks participants who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 to quantify their smell, taste and chemesthetic senses both before and during the illness, and to report any nasal blockages.  This project is distinct from previous studies on chemosensory and COVID-19 in that it leverages a multinational, “open-science” approach.

The survey is available in 27 languages, including English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Arabic, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish.  To date, over 30,000 responses have been crowdsourced through traditional print, television, radio and social media.

“What’s needed to fight a global pandemic is a global approach. We’ve harnessed scientists, clinicians and patients from around the world to give us a better understanding of the disease’s impact on various populations and to provide us with significant clues towards better diagnosis and treatment of the COVID-19 disease,” concluded Niv.

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Cannabis news is high on our radar for coronavirus, as Israel is a medical cannabis pioneer dating back to the 60s thanks to Prof. Raphael Mechoulam. The Tel Aviv hospital Ichilov has already gone ahead started using CBD or the non-psychotropic parts of the cannabis plant against the novel coronavirus in a new study. And now we are told of a second study using CBD by a company called Stero – developing CBD into a novel therapy.

All cannabis plants have CBD and THC molecules in them, and about one hundred or more other active ingredients. Some parts of the natural plant can be isolated or simply synthesized for therapeutic effects. And this is how drug developers hope to make new inventions and make money.

The second study on COVID-19 is now being initiated by Stero Biotechs, an Israel-based, clinical-stage company focused on Cannabidiol (CBD) formulation research and development, in a collaboration with its main partner and shareholder, Mor Research Applications, the commercial arm of Israel’s largest health provider, Clalit.

Steros applies CBD and makes CBD products to help calm down lung and tissue inflammation in corona patients, reducing the use of and improving the efficacy of steroids. Steroids are critical for reducing inflammation in hospitals. I saw how they helped my dad when he was fighting cancer pain. Steroids are used to reduce inflammation. They reduce pain and make pain meds work better.

But extended use of steroids creates serious side-effects, like fragile bones or osteoporosis. One day my dad stood up and his femur just crumbled. His bones were disintegrating. If Steros gets fast-tracked for CBD use in inflammation in hospitals for corona specifically and later for cancer, that’s a silver lining.

Medical cannabis in Israel

Touted as a wonder drug by the medical cannabis industry, even though the well-funded medical cannabis company Syqe is starting to lay off employees, we will start to see more cannabis in hospitals as physicians scramble to assess how to treat COVID-19 with tools they have on hand. Cannabis is one of them.

Largely approved for medical use in the general population in Israel (it is not exactly easy to get a permit though), cannabis is widely accepted, if only quietly in the establishment. It is known that pain doctors treating cancer patients in Israel prescribe it. Or at least whisper to patients on how to find it.

The problem is that few doctors if any at all know how to prescribe medical cannabis correctly (take 3 gummies and call me in the morning?) and this is why we need novel drug companies who can understand dosing and therapeutic methods.

That’s what Stero aims to do. Their unique application is to enhance the effects of steroids, widely used to reduce inflammation of all kinds. There is a limit to how long steroids can be taken, as long term steroids are very destructive to the body. Physicians would like to use them less. Stero might have the way, using CBD.

Stero’s new 10-patient study, which is starting now will be a small-scale clinical trial taking place at the Rabin Medical Center in a Tel Aviv suburb called Petach Tikva. Pending final approval by the final Helsinki Committee the study will be a PoC or proof of concept study, a study that happens before wider clinical trials are initiated. PoC studies are the first step between a go and no go in a clinical study.

In the PoC Stero Biotechs aims to benefit and help hospitalized patients with COVID-19 infection. The treatment cycle will be for a few weeks with a subsequent follow-up period of the same length, the company reports.

“We estimate that our CBD-based treatment can enhance the current treatment of those patients who are in life-threatening conditions,” says David Bassa, the CEO of Stero Biotechs.

“Hospitalized COVID-19 patients are mostly being treated with steroids and our study is planned to demonstrate the benefit of a combined solution with Steroid treatments. We are hopeful that this study will lead to faster benefit for the growing number of COVID-19 patients in Israel and around the world.”

After the initial PoC, Stero plans to scale up and expand to a Phase IIa multi-center clinical trial, with an additional 40 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 Infections, under the usual US-governed FDA clinical trial guidelines and regulations. The FDA is based in Maryland and Israel has been working with the US in clinical trials for decades.

Stero was founded in 2017 to enhance the effects of steroid treatments. The company reports having a wide patent on CBD applications, covering over 130 autoimmune and inflammatory diseases by name, CBD from any source (synthetic or botanic), CBD in any combination, CBD in any dosage and in any delivery system.

Steroid treatment is usually the first or second line of treatment for hospitalized patients. CBD enhances the therapeutic effect of steroid treatment and treats the bio-mechanism affected by the virus.

The initial study will evaluate the tolerability, safety, and efficacy of the CBD treatment, for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 Infections.

While you could theoretically plants some high CBD cannabis strains in your garden and self-medicate, you may or may not know how to dose or take the treatment. For that you would need to ask an expert, still very hard to find in the science of cannabis as medicine. That’s why novel drug companies developing solutions get my support.

If you are interested in the first study on coronavirus and cannabis we reported on, you can find it here.

In other medical news from Israel, Israel’s Pluristem using stem cell treatments, seems to bring patients back to life.

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Israel is a biopharma and medical powerhouse. Earlier this week we reported on a NASDAQ traded company called Pluristem that brought dying coronavirus patients back to life and weaning off ventilation. Now, the Hebrew University from Jerusalem sends us a science breakthrough that speeds up testing results.

If you read the news you will keep hearing that we are out of reagents – the testing chemicals needed to check if someone is infected or not. Because we all can’t get tested fast and some of us return to a new normal, we continue to sit it out inside, away from work, away from our friends and families. Simply because thousands of people would be walking around sharing Covid-19 unknowingly.

The scientists at Hebrew University believe that hey have a solution that is faster and cheaper using methods that are easily found in any diagnostics lab.

Professor Nir Friedman and Professor Naomi Habib led the research. “The virus detection protocol we developed is four-to-ten times faster than the current protocol.  It’s based on magnetic beads and works both robotically and manually. The robotic protocol has already been tested at Hadassah Hospital [in Israel] and is now fully operational,” says Habib.

Testing for Covid-19 currently involves extracting RNA molecules from a patient’s mouth or nose swab sample to see whether they contain viral RNA that confirms the presence of the Covid-19 virus. The new method developed by Friedman and Habib can do the same thing, only faster.

Another advantage to this new testing method is its low price. The test relies on materials that are readily available and easy to manufacture locally, making it significantly cheaper than imported kits. Magnetic beads are the only item in the protocol that still needs to be imported from overseas. However, these beads can be recycled and used again and again.

Friedman says, “our Covid-19 test significantly reduces labs’ dependence on external factors. To date, we’ve tested hundreds of clinical samples from Hadassah Hospital and our results were identical to those found by the kits currently being used.”

The researchers’ next step is to develop a method that would allow for tens of thousands of samples to be tested simultaneously instead of the current rate of thousands of tests.  This feat would be based on genomic sequencing and the results, so far, are promising.  “We’re encouraged by preliminary—and positive indications—that this method will work,” added Friedman.

To complete their tests, Habib and Friedman have teamed up with 15 researchers and lab students from the University.  “It’s very moving to see a large group of researchers so dedicated to finding a solution to our current crisis, one that will get Israel—and hopefully the rest of the world—back to normal,” said Habib.

The research team includes Dr. Ayelet Rahat Dr. Masha Adam, Alon Chapelbaum, Dr. Ronen Sadeh and Dr. Agnes Kloschendler, along with two robotics experts, Dr. Uri Shabi and Dr. Moshe Cohen. The study was funded by the Caesarea Foundation.

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Lightning’s not supposed to strike twice. But here I am.  In New York City.  America’s Ground Zero for coronavirus. And I thought that surviving an escape from my office on the 82nd floor of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 was the last time I would be part of a Ground Zero tribe. And the gods laughed.

I am so fortunate.  I’m employed in a now-devastated industry (aviation) – by an “essential” agency which means that – although social distancing means I am working out of office – my paychecks (for now) and healthcare coverage continues. I’m part of the newly defined “1%”.  I have a job, a home, and to (cringeworthingly) quote my 89-yr old mother – I have my health.  Bubbe was spot on: health is everything.

I walk my old dog in my Astoria neighborhood, passing one hundred shuttered cash-based businesses. I think of the thousands of workers now three weeks without income and I could weep.  I can survive closed restaurants and bars, I can forego a Chinese massage. I never did go for a Korean mani/pedi.  The worst impact to me is an awfully overgrown hair style now that barbers and salons are all close.

I suspect that if this continues for months  – not the weeks broadcast by my President who predicted “a beautiful Easter” – it will be the death of the American middle class (burdened by overwhelming mortgage, credit card, and college tuition debt), and God protect those in the lowest income brackets.

The few open shops – a supermarket and drug store – are restricting customer access – staging entry and controlling 6 feet gaps in each queue.  Purchase of items is also restricted – one dozen eggs, one carton of milk.

Many disregard the Center for Disease Control recommendations – I see a gang of 8 men playing basketball at a local park, and the old men who previously sat outside our Greek coffee shops still convene with cigars and newspapers, enjoying (thanks climate-change) good weather just as they’ve done for years before. 

The lucky ones – older professionals in my demographic – have an option to retreat the vacant city for our vacation homes – in my case a seaside home that used to take 3 hours to drive to in congested metro traffic.  Yesterday I made the trip in 90 minutes., on a desolate New Jersey highway made famous by Simon and Garfunkel.

There’s no “counting the cars” on today’s New Jersey Turnpike.  I suspect everyone’s “gone to look for America”.  We ponder what this means for the November presidential election.

But these summer communities are not prepared to handle summer peak populations in off season, stressing police, fire protection, and hospital resources.

This post is a simple meandering of thoughts from New York.  Tell us what you are experiencing in your own zip code. Wishing all good health.  Please be safe, be kind to your neighbors, unplug from the news, and try to find something each day to make you laugh.

The post Coronavirus: Report from New York City appeared first on Green Prophet.

The coronavirus is spreading at a really alarming rate. There is no sign that this will stop, even if in many Asian countries the spread did slow down. Due to the current pandemic, many governments started to restrict travel. This is a normal way to tackle a pandemic but few people understand why this is the case. In order to highlight the reasons, we should talk about how risky it is to use public transportation in the current coronavirus setting.

Busses And Trains

The most common way for the virus to spread is when a person that is infected is coughing. This is when small droplets that are packed with virus content reach the air. People around the infected person breathe these in or infections happen as someone touches surfaces that the droplets landed on. Then, when the face is touched without washing one’s hand, infection appears.

The official government advice is to stay away from people, at a distance of at least 2 meters. This is why using trains and busses is very tricky. If these public transportation methods are crowded, it is practically impossible to maintain this distance.

When you travel on a bus or train that is quite empty, risks are much lower. However, factors like ventilation and the time spent on the train/bus do play an extra role. Train operating companies now run reduced services. These are offered for those that need to travel. Surfaces are more often cleaned and carriages are often checked.

Major bus operators also respond by cutting back service frequency. Better cleaning is also implemented and only those that need to travel by bus should actually use it. In London alone, over 40 tube stations were closed. This will keep growing if the pandemic continues.

Generally speaking, whenever possible, do all you can to avoid the peak transportation hours if you absolutely need to take the bus or the train.

Planes

With air travel, the biggest concern when the outbreak first appeared is that it can transport infected people from one country to another. As a result, most airlines actually suspended, rescheduled or consolidated flights. There are even airports that were shut.

Flightright, a company responsible for gaining flight cancellation compensation in value of over 300 million EUROs till now, has carefully monitored the situation. While cancelled flight compensation keeps growing due to the fact that air travel is delayed or cancelled, what is very important is to focus on health. Remember that flight cancellations only affect your wallet and there are firms like Flightright that help. Dealing with the coronavirus is much more difficult.

Flightright gives you access to the possibility of getting compensation for flights that were delayed even up to 6 years in the past. The coronavirus is not the only reason why flights are delayed or cancelled. If you had problems with any type of flight delay or cancellation, Flightright should be contacted to see what type of compensation can be obtained. 

Recently, we saw the UK government advising people to always avoid non-essential travel to another country. Residents were also encouraged to get back to the country as soon as it is possible.

In the event that you absolutely need to fly, there is this belief that there is a very high possibility to be infected since you breathe “stale” air. In reality, the air that is present on a plane is of a higher quality than what you find in the average business office. It is definitely a whole lot better than on a bus or on a train.

The big problem with air travel is that there are more people standing in a smaller square feet area. This is especially the case when planes are busy. This fact increases the risk. However, the air is changed faster. This means that you are much more likely to avoid being infected if you just avoid contact with other passengers. Although it might seem illogical to some, plane travel is safer than regular public transportation methods.

The post How Risky Is It To Use Public Transportation During The Coronavirus Pandemic? appeared first on Green Prophet.

They started during times of war when there was not enough food. Planted in lawns and in backyards. This one was planted in a bomb crater. A Victory Garden planted in a bomb crater in London. 

When a parking lot was bombed in London during World War II they planted a garden. When there was not enough food in America because the farmers were off at war, Uncle Sam told them to plant and Americans had food. Growing veggies in times of crises is not a new idea, as so-called Victory Gardens have been around ever since World War I.

Victory Gardens were popular in both world wars; and the produce grown in them not only helped to supplement war time food shortages for families, but were a great morale booster as well. And we dug up an amazing old handbook for those who might want to follow the 1943 US Government plan. 

The concept of home gardens has carried on to the present time, with both individual household garden plots as well as community garden projects such as the one I have been involved in for over a year now.

In my small 8×5 foot plot I grew large quantities of tomatoes, peppers, string beans, eggplant and other veggies like lettuce, kohlrabi and herbs like mint, lemon grass, parsley and thyme. You can also do this on your windowsill or at home, and here is a great list of medicinal herbs to start with. 

In fact, so much was produced last summer in my little plot that a lot of veggies were given away to family, friends and even neighbors.

This small plot is now producing winter varieties conducive to the milder winter climate found in Israel. These include kale, Swiss chard, various herbs, carrots, cabbage and broccoli. 

With the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) world pandemic crises now ravaging most countries, securing ample food supplies is turning out to be as serious as contracting the virus itself. As supplies of fresh vegetable produce become difficult to obtain, largely due to disruptions in supply lines, having a small Victory Garden is again making a lot of sense as it did for our grandparents during WWII. 

There is only one small problem, however. The continual increase of people becoming infected by the virus and the resulting stay-at-home directives by governmental authorities is now preventing amateur farmers from working their garden plots; especially at a time when these fresh organic veggies and herbs are needed most.  

Hopefully, the self-quarantine orders will ease soon, so we can plant our Spring and Summer crops. As I experienced last year, there’s nothing better and healthier than freshly picked garden veggies from one’s own plot. The rewards speak for themselves, as it did for our grandparents more than 70 years ago. In the meanwhile, if you can, dig in and get growing the old fashioned way. 

Download the Victory Garden Handbook here (links to PDF).

The post Download the Victory Garden Handbook, circa 1943 appeared first on Green Prophet.

Thank God for Sweden and Swedish forests. They can be as gnarly as Canada’s in the early summer. You need constant protection and refuge from the bugs. But if you have an adequate supply of netting and a comfortable cabin, building a small dream nest in the forest is a doable thing. Or if you live in a desert area or on a river, you can also do these just fine.

Another name for tiny home?

Now that we are isolating from each other it might be time to think about gearing down a bit and building a new future reality.

Cabin Porn’s founder Zach Klein built a small community for his high-tech and media friends in Upstate New York that they call Beaver Brook. Check them out. They are idealistic in their cooking, building, and DIY approach. They had the call of the wild.

If you are renting in a big city or stuck with a mortgage, I am sure you have heard the call of the wild. Now might be the time to start building a nook in the woods, and I have the perfect plan for you. I was searching for a perfect and low cost A frame cabin blueprint for years. Then I saw the lifestyle and cabins of the folks at Stedsans in the Woods in Sweden. They run a forest to table restaurant and getaway deep in the woods.

I love the off centered, non conforming, off centered placement of the panels and the frame of their cabin. This gives it a “super human” in the woods feeling, that I can only compare to a revered Japanese ceramic tea cup used in a tea ceremony. It just gives you that feeling of perfect harmony in all its off centeredness.

I have a property in Canada, some 200 acres of thick and intelligent forest and although there is an old farmhouse on it, I have been dreaming about building a smaller cabin, like the one I found at Mette’s Swedish forest retreat.

Stedsans In The Woods is built by couple Mette Helbæk and Flemming Hansen, who sold their Copenhagen home and rooftop restaurant, Stedsans ØsterGRO (Stedsans in the Woods), and moved their family just across the water to an 18-acre plot of forest beside Lake Halla in West Sweden.

The focus of Stedsans ØsterGRO is to make guest experience hyperlocal fresh ingredients and simplified forest cooking. Visitors there find an idyllic, food-centred experience. Kickstarter helped make it happen. 

Beyond the food one of the big attractions at Stedsans is the floating sauna. That’s what first found me on Instagram. I was looking for simple A frame cabins for building a writing retreat and everything they did at Stedsans in the Woods caught my attention and made me say, wow: I want to be there. For isolation, and maybe even forever? 

In Swedish Stedsans means “a sense of location” and at their retreat guests eat in tents and sleep in simple A frame cabins and tents under the stars. 

Among the activities you can do there is foraging expeditions. Find mushrooms like gigantic ceps (get our forest mushroom vegan cookie recipe here) and taste the food from their small permaculture farm, which includes a healthy insect hotel and a range of medicinal plants.

Chefs prepare you food from what you see, with meat roasting on the fire, or herbs ground in a mortar and pestle.

We all need a lot more going back to the roots right now. Don’t you feel it too?

::Stedsans in the Woods

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