We farm biodynamically at St. Anne's. I bring the ideas and practices of biodynamics to the children in simple ways over the course of the seasons and their four years with me.
One moment we shared recently involves this lovely Ceanothus bush. It is teeming with blooms right now. Each year I look forward to riot of bumble and honey bees that feed on the periwinkle blossoms.
My routine is to stop with the children next to the bush and let our eyes take in the show. First the children see one bee, then three, then five and then they lose count. The students zoom in to watch one bee at a time gathering nectar or pollen, then I remind them to listen. The roaring buzz of the bush is magnetizing. The children can hardly believe it. We listen and smile.
Then, before we move on, I urge them to step back and scan the air above the bush and garden. Their eyes unfocus and with that the atmosphere comes alive with movement. Bees and bugs flying everywhere!
"Ahhhh", I say. "Just look at all that life in the air. That's a sign our garden is happy."
Each day when I'm in the garden, I pause to scan the air to take the pusle of our garden community. In biodynamics we gardeners tend and nourish the life forces of our land. Air that is full of insects and birds flying hither and thither is a sign of biological diversity and liveliness.
