Sustainability

Environmental Issue: Sugar maple trees are unique to North America and only grow naturally in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Maple trees are abundant in northwest Pennsylvania and are important for lumber as well as for the production of maple syrup and sugar.

Native Americans first discovered how to make maple syrup, collecting sap in containers made from birch bark and boiling it by putting hot rocks into it. They could not store the syrup, so they boiled it longer to make maple sugar, which was used to sweeten food or added to cold water for a sweet drink. Native Americans taught the first Europeans who came to North America how to make the maple syrup. Production of maple syrup and sugar remains today and has been a part of Pennsylvania's history for over 200 years.

In the late summer and fall, a sugar maple tree virtually stops growing and begins storing excess starches throughout sapwood. The excess starch remains in storage as long as the wood is colder than 40 degrees Fahrenheit. When the weather is warmer, the starches change to sugars and then pass into the tree sap. Around springtime, the trees are tapped by drilling a small hole into the bark of the tree and placing a bucket under the hole to collect the sap. The sap then goes to the sugarhouse where it will become maple syrup and sugar. The maple syrup season usually lasts from mid-February to early April, though it can begin earlier and end later.

Wooden Nickel Buffalo Farm

Environmental Issue: Buffalo, also known by their scientific name, bison, once roamed the plains of the Midwest in great numbers. Around the time Christopher Columbus landed in America in 1492, there were 40 to 60 million buffalo in North America. Buffalo were very important to the Plains Indians, providing them with food, clothing, and shelter and playing an important role in their culture. They also were important to the settlers moving west. However, by the 1800s, they were very close to extinction due to over-exploitation. In the late 1800s, there were about 1,000 buffalo left in North America. Through the efforts of early conservationists and ranchers, the buffalo are not extinct today and have again become and important part in the lives of some Americans. Buffalo meat is low in fat compared to beef and is a valuable source of nutrition. Bison usually live for 25 to 30 years and can adapt to almost any climate. A buffalo weighs 1,500 to 2,000 pounds at the mature age of 6 to 8 years.

Environmental Issue: Sustainable agriculture aims to produce food and fiber in an ongoing manner that minimizes environmental damage. The goal of sustainable agriculture is to make farming and food production a just and lasting business. Some methods are developed through scientific research and some are rediscovered in traditional cultures that may have been forgotten. These practices include contour plowing, strip farming, and terracing. In contour plowing, farms plow across a hill rather than up and down, reducing soil erosion. In strip farming, different kinds of crops are planted in alternating strips along the land contours, so when one crop is harvested (usually a row crop that is tilled), the other crop (such as a grass that is not tilled) remains to protect the soil and keep water from running straight down hill. Another idea is that of planting perennial species, plants that grow for more than two years. Some other practices are no-till farming (planting crops without plowing the soil) and planting cover crops. Crops grown with little tillage use water more efficiently, increasing the holding capacity of the soil, reducing erosion, and improving soil health.

Getty Farm

Environmental Issue: The key to the Getty farm is that the use of traditional, low-input agricultural methods, the way all farms were run when there was less technology. Now, many farms are run by large corporations that use new scientific technology. For example, computers track milk cows, and each one will be given an individualized diet, antibiotics, and hormone injections according to its growth rate or milk production. The computers make production faster, though the injected hormones can have dangerous consequences. Many dairy cows are injected with bovine growth hormone, which causes the cows to produce more milk and has been found to cause an immune response or allergic reactions in humans. Some farmers have continued or are reverting to traditional methods of farming such as allowing animals to live in pastures and forgoing use of injected hormones. Although production may be lower, costs are reduced for this type of farming. It also preserves small-scale family farms and the rural culture.

Meadville Market House

Environmental Issue: Corporate farms over the years have overtaken small farms in Pennsylvania and across the United States. Small farms are more likely to use sustainable practices and grow healthier produce. Most places, like the Meadville Market House and other types of farmers markets, sell local produce grown by local farmers. Often, this produce will also be grown organically, which means the food was grown without using synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers. By supporting such places as the Market House, people are supporting their community and helping to keep the local economy healthy.

Look here to learn more about soil erosion.

A second issue is pesticide use and the dependency on pesticides, termed the pesticide treadmill. This occurs when pests become resistant to applied pesticides. Stronger or newer pesticides must be constantly applied, hence continuing the treadmill. One solution to this problem is the implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

More about the pesticide treadmill.

For more information on IPM, check out the National IPM Network.