Nature.is

The House and the environment

Our home is one of our most cherished possessions. There we can take refuge from the vicissitudes of daily life. We can rest there and renew our physical and mental well being. Our home is the nucleus of the “global village.”Controlling environmental issues at home is the first step toward controlling environmental issues of the world as a whole. If everyone would take proper care of his home it would set a precedent for how we should care for the local environment, and a lot of good could come from this. The house is, therefore, the key to both the ecological lifestyle of the family and a step forward in solving the environmental issues of the world.

Inside the House and in its environment there are 12 spaces. If you click on an outside space or a room and then on any item of interest inside, you get information about how that item affects the environment and your health. This way the House becomes a data base on environmentally friendly lifestyle and a key to the home’s environmental solutions. Bear in mind that an environmentally friendly lifestyle also saves money and in the long run is much more economic for mankind as well as nature.

The Contryside

Land outside the urban centres is usually called the countryside. There we have an opportunity to get into touch with nature and the lifestyle that has sustained people in Iceland for centuries. The Icelandic countryside is actually the fantastic realm of nature in all it´s magnificence and glory. Glaciers, mountains, lava fields, beaches, deserts, lakes and rivers all constitute a part of the landscape. The ecosphere consists of flora (trees and wild herbs/flowers), and fauna (mammals, insects, birds and fish).

People in the countryside live a different way of life than city folk. Life is quieter and the tempo is slower than in the big city. Furthermore, in the country, people often live off the products of the land, and from what can be made from them. Cultivating vegetables, flowers and trees, however, is practiced in gardens both in the towns and the countryside.

The garden is for the city dweller a green breathing space and a substitute for the countryside on a daily basis. However, the need for being out in the pristine Icelandic natural environment drives city folk into the countryside all year round. The building of numerous new summer houses and cottages during recent decades, describes our need for being in the country for at least some part of the year.

Stöðnun í landbúnaði

Íslenska landbúnaðarkerfið heldur aftur af eðlilegri þróun búskaparhátta. Kerfið snýst fyrst og fremst um sauðfjárrækt og nautgriparækt og stuðlar að því að bændur haldi áfram að framleiða þar sem framleitt hefur verið. Þetta segir Daði Már Kristófersson, dósent í hagfræði við Háskóla Íslands.

Daði segir miklar breytingar framundan í landbúnði, á Íslandi og í heiminum öllum, meðal annars vegna hækkandi matvælaverðs. Frá árinu 2000 hafi matvælaverð hækkað - í fyrsta skipti frá lokum seinni heimsstyrjaldar. Hærra verð, kynbætur og loftslagsbreytingar, valdi miklum breytingum og bæti samkeppnisstöðu jaðarsvæða eins og Íslands. hér séu stór tækifæri í landbúnaði. En núverandi kerfi styðji ekki við nýjungar.

Hlusta hér á viðtalið við Daða Má á vef Ríkisútvarpsins.

Ljósmynd; Kindur í réttum, Guðrún A. Tryggvadóttir.

The Countryside - Cultivation

There are about 10,000 types of grasses worldwide. Among them are the types of grain e.g., oats, barley, wheat, rice and corn. Around 10,000 years ago as the value of seed was discovered, mankind started using those plants as food. From then on they have been the mainstay of the human diet. Since the settlement of Iceland, dry hay has been used as winter feed for sheep and cattle. The grasses in the summer and the hay in the winter are converted into meat and milk that has been so important for keeping us alive.

Gardening does not have a long history in Iceland. It was only late in the 18th century that experiments were made in growing potatoes and other vegetables in this country. However in England, in the old days, farmers wouldn‘t dream of buying any vegetables, or eggs or ham for that matter farmers did gardening for themselves, also raising poultry and pigs.

The mechanization of agriculture has, however, changed the way it is carried out since it has became, by enlarge, an industry.

For a period private gardening was not “in fashion”. It was done mostly out of sight, but now gardening, even in the private household garden or on the farm, is becoming very popular again, so popular that people are even competing for feasible plots where they can grow vegetables for the household.

In Iceland, greenhouses are used for growing tasty tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables. Icelandic vegetables are usually especially tasty because of the purity of our Icelandic spring water which is amongst the best water in the world.

Information about how to plan and cultivate the kitchen garden can be found here in the section about The Kitchen Garden. Furthermore, how to use the various herbs and vegetables can be learned from Nature´s Nature-Nanny feature.

Sweet grass and holy grass

He who finds holy grass growing (often in big clusters) can be considered lucky. In spite of its name sweet grass is not as fragrant as holy grass. Once you have found it mark the spot and either take pictures or draw it in your notebook. After that you can visit there year after year, gather it into a bundle, dry it and place it in your favorite drawer. Thus, by doing just as your foremothers did, your clothes will be fragrant and fine smelling throughout the winter.