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Hello and welcome to the:
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A few weeks ago, I started working on what ended up being a two-part newspaper story about preservation in Easton, Connecticut. And kind of like an uncharted bendy river, the experience took me places unexpected.
For one thing, I felt really confounded and a tad indignant that my writing actually had to explain to people why preserving our natural resources matters.
It also made me recognize just how important the work of conservationists remains today.
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Some brook trout run through it
Back in the 1990's, I was living in the small New England town of Easton, Connecticut. I did not know many people there. I wasn't writing for the newspaper yet and was not involved in any groups. But, even I knew about efforts being made to preserve two areas in town -
Trout Brook Valley and The Four Corners.
I remember feeling such a sense of pride to be living in a town where people fought so hard to preserve open space.
Always a nature lover, this was the first time it "hit home" for me that a place as beautiful as this bucolic little town could lose its luster. After all, nature had been there my entire life. And it mattered.
Several groups working together did ultimately save both Trout Brook Valley and the intersection in town known as The Four Corners.
Flash forward to June, 2015.
Easton, Connecticut, where I now know tons of people and write for the local newspaper (The Easton Courier) is facing divisiveness over whether or not to preserve another parcel of land - called The South Park Avenue property.
It brought me back to the 1990's. To the emotions of the time and the spirit that permeated preservation efforts. I wanted to write about that accomplishment as historical context - to shed light on why some people in town care so much about open space and saving land for the next generation.
As Mark Twain said, "Buy land, they're not making it anymore."
True.
What I stumbled on was a new part of the story of the land known as Easton. And of our unspoiled lands everywhere.
It had to do with locations where fish in general and brook trout in particular breed in the wild and what that means.
Trout Brook Valley >>>
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If we each saved just one river...
Trout Brook Valley and the South Park Avenue property belong to one of only 10 remaining class 1 wild trout management areas in Connecticut. This designation indicates that trout can breed all on their own. Other streams have trout that is raised by the state and put into the water.
And what this means on a deeper level is conditions in these areas are as nature intended.
And that is water wilderness!
In all our infinite zeal to beat nature into submission and own places on our planet, we have not yet planted a flag in these sections of earth.
A while ago, I started reading, Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer's take on the adventures of Chris McCandless as he left civilization and made his way alone into wilderness. He was woefully unprepared and did not make it out alive. However, his journey is one that I think a lot of people long for in the recesses of their minds. In those stressful moments when the world is closing in on them. A refuge - getting lost places uncultivated, raw.
Wilderness is where we find out who we really are in many ways. Just nature and us.
A different book and movie - Wild - is more recent and tells the story of a woman going off the beaten path. She makes it but the natural world changes her.
That, to me, is what wilderness is about for nature as well. Perpetual motion which is real.
Water in the wilderness is unaffected by our inventions, pesticides and other pollutants - and just the every day things that our species discards and discharges.
It is what it was born to be and always pure in that way.
People long to get back to that state for themselves. For their psyches and physical well-being.
So, a dream many carry is to go out and seek the very thing we destroy with development.
Crazy, huh. It's like we can separate ourselves from the natural world.
When we just turn on a faucet and get instant clean water... When we are able to stock up on bottled water with a trip to the local store... It's easy to take it for granted.
We can all agree that we're only here for a brief time. So, why can we not agree that we do not have the right to destroy what has been here for tens of thousands of years?
\/ \/ Hemlock Reservoir, Easton, Conn. \/ \/
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Click on the links to read my "Preserving Easton" two-part newspaper story.
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And now that we have figured out how to preserve the water supply, here's a look at consuming it....
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Cold-brewed
tea!
by Alicia Ghio
How much water should a person drink in a day? Well, the general rule of thumb is called the 8 x 8 rule, which means drinking eight 8-ounce glasses a day. Of course a more technical calculation is based on your size, weight and activity level. Regardless, the idea is to stay hydrated. Being properly hydrated is key for healthy skin, bones, muscles, and digestion. Keeping hydrated allows our bodies to flush out everyday toxins. Obviously, water is the best option, but fruit and vegetable juices, milk, herbal tea, and even caffeinated drinks like coffee can contribute to your daily water intake. I pretty much drink 60 or so ounces of plain filtered tap water every day. Sometimes though, I just need something with a little taste. Unsweetened herbal tea makes a refreshing flavorful alternative to my daily water habit. Plus, a glass of iced tea just seems to fit so well with summer days. Fun fact: Technically, herbal teas are actually tissanes. Only brews made with actual tea leaves are truly considered tea.
 So, let's talk tea. Sunny summer days always bring discussion to, of course, sun-brewed tea. There are some concerns that brewing tea in the sun can harbor bacteria. It can happen because the water gets warm enough to provide a friendly environment for the bacteria but doesn't get hot enough to kill it. To minimize bacteria risk, use a thoroughly clean container. Don't leave the tea to steep for more than a few hours. Only make enough for the day. Keep refrigerated after brewing. If the tea becomes thick or syrupy, then toss it. Another method, which is a big trend right now, is cold-brew. It's not just for coffee; you can in fact cold-brew tea as well. This process takes a bit longer but removes some of the bacteria concern - sort of. If you are brewing straight up tea, then the bacteria concern is removed. However, with non-tea ingredients like herbs, they haven't gone through the same high-heat processing as tea leaves, which kills bacteria. Thus, there is a risk of bacteria with herbal cold-brews. To minimize the risk in this case, give your herbals a hot water rinse before you cold brew. Cold brew or sun brew? It's really up to you. To be honest, I like both methods. I find cold-brewing involves less fuss. With dried and fresh herbs from my garden I can brew up a variety of herbal teas without much effort. You can, too. Here's a recipe for one of my favorite combinations - lavender and mint. Cold-Brew Lavender Mint Tea Makes 4 cups Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh orange mint leaves
- 2 tablespoons dried lavender flowers
- 4 cups water
 Directions
- Briefly rinse the mint and lavender under hot water.
- In a quart-sized mason jar add the dried lavender and fresh mint.
- Pour in cool water. Seal with the cap. Give the jar a few turns to mix the water and herbs.
- Place in the refrigerator for 4 to 10 hours (depending on your how strong you want it to become).
- When the brew has reach your desired strength, strain and serve.
(Photos by Renato Ghio)
Alicia Ghio is a passionate home cook on a mission to inspire people to know where their food comes from, to know what's in it and to savor the flavors of fresh ingredients. She is founder and editor of the multimedia blog, Local Food Rocks (
localfoodrocks.com), and has appeared on network television as an expert on local food.
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World Trout
"Preserving trout also means preserving our last pristine cold water wildernesses. And.... I think preserving clean water is a pretty important thing given that we need water to live." ~ James Prosek
Watch this video featuring James Prosek fishing his native streams in Easton, Connecticut and talking about trout and their clean water habitats.
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charity:water
A non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations! So many of us take water for granted for drinking.
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And finally...
If not for rivers, The Grateful Dead would not have written about discovering the wonders of nature down by the riverside. (Spoiler: They weren't picking berries.)
One of my favorite Dead songs, Sugar Magnolia inspired the project I did for a film animation course one summer at Columbia University - and was the soundtrack. The film was a continuous sunset using different types of animation. Not that I was a big Dead Head or anything!
So, if not for nature, I might have done a film about, say, concrete.
Here's the song (not my film) -
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Thank you!
The future of our planet is in your hands.
Laura Modlin
Founder and Publisher
A Return to Simple
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