Land Medicine
A site specific nutrient reclemation project by
Sheila Novak and Johannes Lehmann
2023
Land Medicine (Fischer Old-Growth Forest)
soil (leaf and root litter, decaying plant residues, producing root exudates, fauna (earthworms, spiders, nematodes, collembola etc.), microbes (bacteria, fungi, archaea), microbial and faunal necromass, microbial exudates and enzymes, sand-silt-clay, pebbles and rocks, water, air containing CO2, N2O, CH4), fine and coarse roots, leaves, one week of urine, water, gelatin, copper leaf, maple frame
Land Medicine (Rosen Brothers Scrapyard/Dump Superfund Site)
soil (leaf and root litter, decaying plant residues, producing root exudates, fauna (earthworms, spiders, nematodes, collembola etc.), microbes (bacteria, fungi, archaea), microbial and faunal necromass, microbial exudates and enzymes, sand-silt-clay, pebbles and rocks, water, air containing CO2, N2O, CH4), fine and coarse roots, leaves, soil contaminants (Trichloroethane, Dichloroethane, Dihydroacenaphthylene, butane, methylnaphthalene, Methylphenol, nitrophenol,Chloro-3-Methylphenol, 9H-Carbazole, 9H-Fluorene, Acenaphthylene, Acetone, Aluminum, Anthracene, Antimony, Aroclor, Arsenic, Barium, Benzene, Benzo-fluoranthene, Benzoic Acid, Benzo[A]Anthracene, Benzo[A]Pyrene, Beryllium, Bis(2-Ethylhexyl)phthalate, Butyl Benzyl Phthalate, Cadmium, Chromium, Chrysene, Cobalt, Copper, Cyanizde, Di-N-Octyl Phthalate, Dibenzo(A,H)Anthracene, Dibenzofuran, Dibutyl Phthalate, Dichloromethane, Dimethyl Phthalate, Ethylbenzene, Fluoranthene, Indeno(1,2,3-Cd)Pyrene, Lead, Manganese, Mercury, Methoxychlor, N,N-Diphenylnitrous Amide, Naphthalene, Nickel, P,P'-Dde, Phenanthrene, Phenol, Polychlorinated Biphenyls (Pcbs), Pyrene, Selenium, Silver, Tetrachloroethene, Thallium, Toluene, Trichloroethene, Vanadium, Xylene (Mixed Isomers), Zinc), one week of urine, water, gelatin, copper leaf, maple frame
Project Statement
Near Ithaca, two sites manifest distinct human-ecological relationships: a superfund site, still toxic after 25 years of cleanup, stands juxtaposed to the Fischer Old Growth Forest, one of the only forest ecosystems in the region that has not been logged.
Despite their opposing histories, these sites hold a shared past: human presence on the land. The superfund site illustrates Western ontologies that posit the separation of humans and land: here the human presence on the land is harmful. Yet the old-growth forest, despite its age and health, has not existed outside of human presence. The forest, which is believed to represent pre-contact forest ecosystems, illustrates indigenous ontologies where human presence stewards the health of the land.
How can we cultivate reciprocal relationships with the land? How can we shift the dominant culture to understand human existence as supporting rather than depleting the land? Soil scientist Johannes Lehmann has a clear proposal for one method of reciprocity: nutrient and carbon recycling. Locally, the excreta recycling movement has taken hold in large part due to work such as those of Johannes and thanks to the art and science collaborations of the Soil Factory. And yet the cultural shifts that allow us to view land as ‘resource’ or ‘kin’ mirror the cultural shifts required to see our excrement as ‘waste’ or ‘nutrition’.
Here, urine is medicine. Not only do the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilize the soil, but urine is presented as a glowing form, a golden cube, a treasure.