| Organic gardens' seeds of success
1 Soup up the soil. The key to gardening more naturally, Tyson says, is to build the nutrients in your soil and boost its organic matter. You can do this by making your own compost or buying a premade organic soil builder.
It's easy to make compost in a free-form pile or in an outdoor container in your own yard. Just find a sunny spot, use lawn clippings and tree leaves as the foundation, and then add your daily kitchen vegetable scraps, a handful of soil and occasional water to the pile.
Once the compost has turned into rich, fertile soil (about four to six months), add it to your garden. Don't have the time or the inclination to compost? Allison Palmer of Palmer's Garden & Goods suggests using a low-cost soil builder such as Greenleaf mushroom compost to enrich soil or mix it with your own compost to repel bugs.
'Green' Student Group Formed
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A new campus group wants to make every day Earth Day. From purchasing local produce to powering the UA campus with solar and wind energy, the Students for Environmental Sustainability hope to effect changes both small and large that make a difference. "It's all about changing habits, and change is not easy," said Lauren Bennett, a senior communication major. Keeping your car tuned, turning off computers at night, and unplugging appliances that charge phones and MP3 players are just some of the actions that save energy, she said. Bennett and long-time friend Shannon Wallace, a third-year landscape architecture student, cofounded Students for Environmental Sustainability this spring in response to the Campus Climate Challenge, a Washington, D.C.-based coalition.
Carcassonne to hit XBLA in Summer 2007
Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) title Carcasonne will be available on shelves this summer, announced Sierra Online – the game's official developer. Designed for two to five players, Carcassonne is set in a medieval landscape made up of 72 tiles. Players start from a single tile and then draw from a pool of remaining tiles to create a growing landscape and gain points for ultimate victory. Carcassonne will feature multiplayer modes both offline and online allowing players to compete against up to five players on Xbox LIVE and four players on a single Xbox 360. .
Motorbike tracks damaging landscape
Motorbike tracks around Lake Emma are destroying the visual image of DOC land and reducing landscape values in the area. It's not hard to understand the enthusiasm trail bike riders and others might have for the undulating challenges of the area, but in reality, it's a misplaced sense of fun that could better be achieved out of sight from visitors to the area. That such an expanse of ground is indeed out of sight might encourage riders to approach DOC to ascertain if some kind of deal can be agreed. DOC's interest is in the naturalness of the area, and in the protection of native plants, and contrary to what many might think, it's a government department that is not administered by a bunch of grumpy old buzzards intent upon spoiling all fun. Indeed, I'm aware the tracks around Lake Emma have triggered a comment or two about the need for youth to enjoy New Zealand and not to be barred from every corner ...
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