Birds may take migration pit stops to boost their immune system Researchers once thought that when birds took breaks on long migration routes, they were stopping to build up their fat reserves for the rest of their journey. New research, however, suggests another reason: They’re refreshing their immune systems. (Saturday March 18th, 2023 — Washington Post - Washington DC USA)

RSF Social Finance invests $5 million in Sunwealth for community-based solar projects RSF Social Finance has provided a $5 million debt loan to clean energy investment firm Sunwealth. The financing will support a portfolio of 26 community-based solar projects across five states. More than one-third of the portfolio directly benefits low- to moderate-income (LMI) communities. (Thursday March 16th, 2023 — Solar Builder - Brecksville, Ohio USA)

The bizarre but also beneficial methods that make biodynamic wine Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email [email protected] to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour. https://www.ft.com/content/565bacd8-be0a-4d0d-9e5c-d869d0e01eb0 Biodynamic growing is a step beyond organic viticulture, whose adherents simply forswear agrochemicals. Bauer is an avid follower, which means being guided by the phases of the moon, burying homeopathic doses of special “dynamised” (stirred) preparations in cow horns at propitious times and other bizarre rituals. But all over the world producers of some of the most admired wines follow biodynamic principles, with a demonstrably beneficial effect. (Saturday March 11th, 2023 — Financial Times - UK)

Bees solved puzzles to get a treat – then taught their friends, too A new study from researchers at the Queen Mary University of London shows that members of a bumblebee species were able to learn from one another how to finish a puzzle — a sign that the buzzing critters could have a “capacity for culture.” (Friday March 10th, 2023 — Washington Post - Washington DC USA)

Bees teach their babies how to dance Honey bees perform a tail-wagging waltz to let others know where nectar is. Now a new study suggests young bees need to learn the steps from more experienced dancers. (Thursday March 9th, 2023 — Washington Post - Washington DC USA)

Biodynamic Agripreneurs Are Set to Trigger an Organic Farming Trend in Nepal “I started this farm ten years ago for sustainable farming and conservation of soil and microorganisms,” explains Sudarshan Chaudhary of Spiral Farm House. “We make eight different types of biodynamic composts which not only help revive the soil and give us wholesome food that helps maintain good health.” (Wednesday March 8th, 2023 — The Good Men Project - Nepal)

Many backyard beekeepers aren’t in it for the honey “Beekeeping is a really meditative practice,” says Meredith May, an author and fifth-generation beekeeper, who helped her grandfather tend his hives when she was 6. “You have to move slowly when you’re doing it, so you don’t get stung and so that you don’t upset the bees. It’s very quiet, and you typically do it alone. And bees are just fascinating.” (Tuesday March 7th, 2023 — Washington Post - Washington DC USA)

A step beyond organic: Two Nebraska farms embrace biodynamic agriculture While organic farming mainly focuses on farming without synthetic chemicals, biodynamic agriculture takes it one step further. “For the certification for biodynamic, you look at the whole farm,” Lunquist said. (Sunday March 5th, 2023 — Lincoln Journal Star - Lincoln, Nebraska USA)

Was Wassily Kandinsky Influenced by Hilma af Klint? [Rudolf] Steiner was a well-known figure in Europe and the United States, touring both continents with a series of lectures. Hilma af Klint attended at least one of them in Stockholm. It was soon after the lecture that af Klint wrote Steiner a letter inviting him to her studio to see her paintings. Guided by the invisible forces, af Klint nevertheless had little understanding of how to interpret her own works and needed spiritual guidance from someone more experienced. (Friday March 3rd, 2023 — TheCollector)

Winners of snow sculpture contest showcase creations at Anchorage Fur Rondy Eight kids from the Anchorage Waldorf School came up with the idea for the winning sculpture in the schools’ category, “The World Is In Our Hands” and carved hands holding planet Earth almost levitating above. (Monday February 27th, 2023 — Anchorage Daily News - Alaska, USA)

Environmental Hero: Leydy Pech Born and raised in Hopelchén, a city in the Mexican state of Campeche where beekeeping is an essential part of the Mayan culture, Leydy Pech learned about her ancestral legacy when she was young and started taking care of the land. The practice of beekeeping for rare native bee species goes back 3,000 years and is what protects the Campeche forests. She is a member of an agroforestry cooperative run exclusively by Mayan women. (Friday February 24th, 2023 — BBC online)

The Benefits of Teacher Looping Moving up a grade together can benefit both teachers and students. (Friday February 24th, 2023 — USNews.com)

Upper Black Eddy Teacher Celebrated for Her Unique Methods of Teaching Language River Valley Waldorf School, located at 1395 Bridgeton Hill Road in Upper Black Eddy, is celebrating one of their educators for their teaching methods. Ivone Martinez, known as “Profesora Martinez” by students and staff, teaches Spanish to her students and uses fun and engaging teaching methods to instill important lessons. (Friday February 24th, 2023 — BUCKSCO.Today - Bucks County, Pennsylvania USA)

How Eco Terreno Is Bringing Wine Country To San Francisco With Its New, Upscale Urban Tasting Room Mark Lyon, founder and owner of Eco Terreno Wines and Vineyards, one of the few leading Biodynamic and organic certified vineyards in the US, launched the Eco Terreno brand in 2012 (Thursday February 23rd, 2023 — Forbes)

david altrath photographs 'villa mediterraneo' gazing over ibiza through bamboo screens ‘Villa Mediterraneo', a dwelling in Ibiza designed by Italian studio Metroarea Architetti Associati. The house is built to harmonize with its site while paying tribute to its architectural influences from the Roman villa, Spanish, and Arab heritage. It is designed with a contemporary expression that honors the natural lexicon of Italian expressionism, an homage to renowned architect Rudolf Steiner. (Monday February 20th, 2023 — Designboom)

Midstokke: Education outside is part of a holistic solution There is nothing surprising in the recent raft of studies reaching the same conclusion: Education in the outdoors (time in nature, green space, green bathing) improves educational, physical and mental health outcomes for children of all ages. What is surprising is that we have policy and practices that actively reduce the availability of and access to these methods of education. (Thursday February 16th, 2023 — The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Washington USA)

Get your garden in tune with the environment by going biodynamic “It’s part methodology, part philosophy,” says Maggie Hyde, co-owner of Wisconsin’s Petal Back Farm, which incorporates biodynamic practices in growing its floral crops. “The biodynamic garden should be thought of as an organism. The idea is to create a diverse ecosystem, which creates resilience, and to give back more to the ecosystem than you take out.” (Wednesday February 15th, 2023 — Washington Post - Washington DC USA)

Scientists tangle over ‘wood wide web’ connecting forests and fungi The discovery of these mycorrhizal connections yielded a booming new body of research on what the academic journal Nature once called “the Wood Wide Web.” Studies from British Columbia, Switzerland and elsewhere have suggested that trees use mycorrhizal networks to exchange messages and share resources with struggling seedlings. (Tuesday February 14th, 2023 — Washington Post - Washington DC USA)

Natural Wine May Be Better for You Than Regular Wine—But Only Slightly The report states that biodynamic wines are very similar to organic in that they both require sustainable farming practices, but biodynamic is allowed to have a higher level of sulfites than an organic wine. Grapes used in biodynamic wines are also not allowed to contain any roundup, a common herbicide. (Saturday February 11th, 2023 — Eat This, Not That )

Biodynamic agripreneurs are set to trigger an organic farming trend in Nepal Sudarshan Chaudhary notes that in Nepal, soil degradation is caused by practices such as intensive cropping, heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and mechanized farming. Sudarshan Chaudhary of Spiral Farm House in Saptari district proudly displays his harvest of cauliflowers. Sudarshan Chaudhary of Spiral Farm House in Saptari district proudly displays his harvest of cauliflower. Image via Nepali Times. Used with permission. The compost at Spiral Farm House has been doing wonders for the farm. ... The need of the moment is to broaden the adoption of biodynamic farming in Nepal and make its products more accessible. And Nepal’s pioneering “agripreneurs” like Chaudhary, Shrestha and Gurung are at the frontlines of this transformation. (Friday February 10th, 2023 — Global Voices, Stichting Global Voices, Amsterdam, The Netherlands )