window hydroponics.

Today in wood shop our middle school class will use our woodworking tools to assemble a hydroponic window garden from plastic bottles. Our students and their teacher have been visiting recycling centers to get uniform powerade bottles. Improved plastic water bottles have become too flimsy as the amount of plastic in them has been reduced. They will not take the twisting strain that comes from drilling a hole in the bottom.

We can hope that the human love affair with non-degradable plastic ends soon, as we are literally drowning in it. In weight and volume, the amount of plastic in the oceans is nearly equal to the weight and volume of fish. The fish are losing, plastic winning, and the planetary consequences dire.

I must note that how we raise and handle our food is a "Wisdom of the Hands" thing. Do we prepare food with attention and love? And are our foods, that come from the generosity of nature, responsibly acquired? So far, the folks on this small planet are not doing our best in providing for the long term. To do so requires that our children be raised in sensitivity and consciousness.

My lower elementary school students will exercise their consciousness for another day of making wheeled animals. Now that my testing is complete, I'll begin writing my review of the Leigh Box Joint and Beehive Jig. The results are shown in the photo. I hope that with the Box Joint and Beehive Jig, many new bee hives will be made. Like so many other living things, Bees are in dire need of care and we've done far too little to protect them. The chemical companies have well funded lobbies in Congress. Bees do not.

Make, fix, and create. Provide for children to learn likewise.