GARBAGE DIARY

I don’t think I am drawn to any certain kinds of packaging nor color, what I do care is the quality itself.

I realize that lots of my garbage are made of plastic, which could and really should be recycled since It takes years to dissolve plastic underground.

In conclusion, one thing that got me the most from this three-days documenting is I surprisingly realize that I’m actually living a healthy life!

BECOMING NON-HUMAN

For this Non-Human Project,

I chose to be a HAWK, like this guy ↓↓↓

 

And as a hawk, the first necessity I need to guarantee a nice living life is a home—-a qualified space for me to place my nest. It should be up on high in a tree and has a clear view so I can easily scout out prey. For instance, it should be somewhere like this:

Thus, I chose out some special area in Tompkins Square Park. This special spot in the center of the park has some really tall trees which enable me to examine every little detail in the whole park.

Now since I’ve chosen my spot, I can finally start building my nest….

COME CLOSER!

Except for my self-built nest, I also saw some interesting houses that some humans had made for me. Even though I didn’t move in because they don’t provide me as many comforts as my own nest, I still wanna say that I like these houses very much, and I appreciate them for trying 🙂

I know that being a vegetarian is trendy nowadays, but I have to commit that I will and can never be one in my life. As a 100% meat eater, my diet includes all kinds of different animals, from snakes to lizards; rabbits to grasshoppers; and fish to mice. Technically I also eat squirrels, but since the squirrels here in New York City are amazingly strong and extremely tricky (probably because they’ve eaten too many humans foods), I have to cross them out of my list.

And that makes mice become my primary choice:

 

Please don’t feel disgusted by it. In order to stay strong and breed my children, I need to take in enough amount of protein. Therefore, foods like mice are essential.

Mice in the city live on garbage produced by human beings. That’s why in order to catch more mice, I wish they can be exposed more often, thus enclosed trash bins like these can be really frustrating for me.

However, if one day that all the trash bins can turn into open bins like this, that will truly be my “dream comes true”

 

Okay…that’s enough for today. I’ll see you next time!

MYCO-FORM (Mushroom) WORKSHOP

I first mixed the sawdust together with the bran, then added water and stirred to make sure they are all fully moisturized.

 

BEFORE

Then I put the bag into boiled water and let it boil for an hour.

  AFTER

 

After an hour of boiling, I pulled out the bag and let it cool down for several minutes.

 

I mashed the mushroom spawn

 

I then put the mushroom spawn into the bag and tried to mix them as evenly as I can.

 

At last, I closed up the bag with a twist tie, stored it in my room and wait for the fungus to grow.

 

So far my mushrooms are growing pretty well! I will keep taking care of it and just wait & see till it grows out actual mushrooms.

 

 

 

Letter to the Climate

Dear Climate,

Stop Changing!

But still, I know it is not your fault but our human beings’.

It is because of our own desires that had made you suffered.

All we had seen for the past centuries were development.

We chased for economy development, so we built up factories to promote industrialization; we drove away animals to have more lands for skyscrapers; we expanded cities and polluted air.

We craved for supplements development, so we cut down trees for woods; we blasted earth for ores and minerals; we split off oceans for oils.

We sought for efficiency development, so we invented cars; we ran over mountains for more highways; we overused power and energy to accelerate.

And now, all the damages we had caused eventually came back to us. We finally started to realize how awfully wrong we had been.

Thus, dear climate, we human beings are now trying to make up all the ruins we had done. I know we haven’t done well enough yet, but this is a long-term process and I promise we can make it better and better.

 

With Regret and Respect,

Xingman

KOMBUCHA LEATHER

STEP 1: We followed the instruction and measured one gallon of water, boiled it to kill the bacteria.

STEP 2: After the water was boiled, we cleaned the container and poured the water in it.

STEP 3 : We added sugar and tea bags

STEP 4: We stirred it to mix better

STEP 5: Cap closed

We then placed the container and waited for days to add in the SCOBY. However, days after we found the water started to get really moldy. It was because the temperature was not warm enough, so we poured it out and redid it. We followed the exact same procedure and paid attention to the temperature. Luckily this time it didn’t get moldy so we added the SCOBY two days after. Right now we are still waiting for it to grow.

 

ONE DECADE LATER…….

 

Our leathers were finally in shapes! So we placed them carefully and wait till they dry.

 

ONE CENTURY LATER……

 

FINAL PIECES!!

Reflective Observation Report (MORUS)

  • The first thing that immediately caught my eyes was the toy-liked decorations on the fences of the community garden. To me, turning old used wastes into such amusing childish artworks is absolutely creative, and the idea of reusing stands out as well.

  • Inside of the garden, we then saw more installations that help to recycle or to reduce energy/sources waste. For instance, a tube on the top of a little pavilion can collect rain and transit it to some special containers under the pavilion, which can restore the water and use it for plant irrigation.
  • Even though the garden is run by the community, the two chickens seemed more like the actual masters of this place. You can tell that they’ve been nicely taken care of just from their shining beautiful feathers and the fats they’ve gained.

  • The composting system in the garden is very well and carefully designed. It proves to us that having a sustainable system doesn’t mean you need to put lots of money for advanced machines to support it. With your intelligence and some simple equipment, you can still manage to keep the system nice and sustainable.

        

        

 

  • The beehives in the garden are also standing out particularly. Bees are well-known to help plants reproduce so having not only plants but also bees in the garden does make it more like a self-supported ecosystem.

  • We then went to the rooftop of an old building, which was reconstructed by the community people and had now turned into a successful sample for reclaiming aged urban space. One of the most important parts of this sustainable system is the solar panels which can generate electricity by absorbing sun’s rays. By using this technology, the building accomplishes both saving energy/money and keeping power-independence.

  • I ignored this enclosure at first because I thought it had nothing special but served normal functions. However, later then I got to know how essential this normal-looking space is. It helps the heats in the building going out, which is very crucial because it prevents overheating and promotes air convection.

  • Another thing that I found very interesting and smart was these straws-weaved chairs. I especially appreciate the idea of recycling and reusing materials creatively. These chiars are easily made but still have their own uniqueness. It was a pitty that I didn’t give them a try to see if they are comfortable and strong enough to sit on.