Thanks Monica! Ooh its been a while since I had to explain my thesis in a sentence. Basically, how parks and other natural areas in cities can help increase social and ecological resilience -- for example, by providing space for psychological restoration, community building and environmental conservation/restoration. What did you study?
We need you in my town. They are planning on developing the last big area of forested land/nature trails/haven to dogs & their people. Daily dog-walks have been my solace in these turbulent times. Your thesis is what this town needs to hear!
My favourite memories from when i used to live in the city was a remnant piece of bushland around the corner that i used to walk my parents dog in. Its tenure was a road reserve for a highway that had been stalled by politics, meaning we were technically trespassing (which added to the thrill!). Such spaces are sadly becoming rarer and rarer. I see the ongoing push to remove nature from urban areas as being tied into the same Smart Cities/transhumanism paradigm that the majority of our decision makers are caught up in. Nature is a convenience at best, a hindrance to economic growth at worst. Hopefully, one silver lining of our impending economic crisis will be the inability of Governments to fund further development of natural areas!
Used to be what kids did- spending time outside in fresh air and sunshine, exercising, communing with (real life) friends…Seems everything that’s natural, healthy or spiritual is being corrupted in one way or another, getting ever closer to transhumanism. One thought I had is, will this mass depopulation agenda quell the need for the ceaseless urban development and ever rising housing costs, and will the economic outfall bring us closer to nature? Will we be forced away from consumerism, more focused on surviving, which inherently leads us to the land? Perhaps it’s my eternal optimism but I believe that society as it is has to reach a breaking point in order to get back to what really matters: dog walks on trespassed land! 😋
Hi Isaac. Interesting question! Well, in a nutshell I described many new species of highly host-specific fungal parasites on arthropods. For my master's, I studied root rot fungi and forest pathology. At the moment, I am wanting to restart a business producing a therapeutic vaccine that holds much promise for for cancer, autoimmune disease, and chronic infections (known as Coley's toxins). :) That's it in a nutshell! You are a great communicator. Love the lighthearted feeling of this newsletter.
Timely and useful article. Yes, we need community leaders/organisers, but maybe we need to create a new word to take the place of the old ‘politics’ which hopefully will no longer be relevant. Or just not have politics at all now, so have no word for it?!
Mar 4, 2022·edited Mar 4, 2022Liked by Isaac Middle
Yes - we are a part of eternal cycles, of ascent and descent, destruction and renewal, evolution and devolution, etc... The challenge indeed is how to keep cool in the mayhem, keep a lid on the anger and expression of it which is felt at what is perceived at unjust - that’s where I struggle at least. I try to frequently revert my thinking to the ‘bigger picture’ perspective, which in the heat of the moment, can be tricky - like when we had a dinner reservation at a certain Sydney bowling club last Sunday, and could not provide the required ‘papers’ to satisfy their requirements to dine! All I ended up blurting out was hopefully worth something, but maybe not my somewhat lasting retained anger. Must keep telling myself that all that is happening is part of the necessary climactic destructive phase of this current evolutionary cycle...
Re the politics, I was never much interested, but hopefully we Australians can effect some positive change in that arena soon with the upcoming elections, though I remain a little cynical still.
I love this. What's your PhD in?
Thanks Monica! Ooh its been a while since I had to explain my thesis in a sentence. Basically, how parks and other natural areas in cities can help increase social and ecological resilience -- for example, by providing space for psychological restoration, community building and environmental conservation/restoration. What did you study?
We need you in my town. They are planning on developing the last big area of forested land/nature trails/haven to dogs & their people. Daily dog-walks have been my solace in these turbulent times. Your thesis is what this town needs to hear!
My favourite memories from when i used to live in the city was a remnant piece of bushland around the corner that i used to walk my parents dog in. Its tenure was a road reserve for a highway that had been stalled by politics, meaning we were technically trespassing (which added to the thrill!). Such spaces are sadly becoming rarer and rarer. I see the ongoing push to remove nature from urban areas as being tied into the same Smart Cities/transhumanism paradigm that the majority of our decision makers are caught up in. Nature is a convenience at best, a hindrance to economic growth at worst. Hopefully, one silver lining of our impending economic crisis will be the inability of Governments to fund further development of natural areas!
Used to be what kids did- spending time outside in fresh air and sunshine, exercising, communing with (real life) friends…Seems everything that’s natural, healthy or spiritual is being corrupted in one way or another, getting ever closer to transhumanism. One thought I had is, will this mass depopulation agenda quell the need for the ceaseless urban development and ever rising housing costs, and will the economic outfall bring us closer to nature? Will we be forced away from consumerism, more focused on surviving, which inherently leads us to the land? Perhaps it’s my eternal optimism but I believe that society as it is has to reach a breaking point in order to get back to what really matters: dog walks on trespassed land! 😋
Hi Isaac. Interesting question! Well, in a nutshell I described many new species of highly host-specific fungal parasites on arthropods. For my master's, I studied root rot fungi and forest pathology. At the moment, I am wanting to restart a business producing a therapeutic vaccine that holds much promise for for cancer, autoimmune disease, and chronic infections (known as Coley's toxins). :) That's it in a nutshell! You are a great communicator. Love the lighthearted feeling of this newsletter.
Timely and useful article. Yes, we need community leaders/organisers, but maybe we need to create a new word to take the place of the old ‘politics’ which hopefully will no longer be relevant. Or just not have politics at all now, so have no word for it?!
Yes - we are a part of eternal cycles, of ascent and descent, destruction and renewal, evolution and devolution, etc... The challenge indeed is how to keep cool in the mayhem, keep a lid on the anger and expression of it which is felt at what is perceived at unjust - that’s where I struggle at least. I try to frequently revert my thinking to the ‘bigger picture’ perspective, which in the heat of the moment, can be tricky - like when we had a dinner reservation at a certain Sydney bowling club last Sunday, and could not provide the required ‘papers’ to satisfy their requirements to dine! All I ended up blurting out was hopefully worth something, but maybe not my somewhat lasting retained anger. Must keep telling myself that all that is happening is part of the necessary climactic destructive phase of this current evolutionary cycle...
Re the politics, I was never much interested, but hopefully we Australians can effect some positive change in that arena soon with the upcoming elections, though I remain a little cynical still.
Well said. It has been a constant test of restraint and detachment!