Contents Page
Home | What's New | Big Trees | Living Libraries | Topsoil | newsletter | programs | membership | chapters | legislation
The Champion Tree Project International — www.championtrees.org — updated: 11/1/2001
Elemental Earth Medicine
All through 1996 the Project grew and spread, attracting enthusiastic friends, strong support and powerful allies. Just when it seemed things couldn't go any better, David's son Jared stumbled on an exciting discovery they believe is a huge aide to restore depleted soils and give a natural boost to stressed forests.
Three years ago Jared transplanted some sugar maple saplings out of woods on the family farm to cultivate and sell them to raise funds for college. But growing trees is slow, and, at 17, Jared wanted to speed the process.
Jared read in "Secrets of the Soil" by Peter Tompkins and Chris Bird about a little known fertilizer called "Azomite". In spring 1996 Jared spread a pint around his trees. Results were astounding.
New growth on trees fed Azomite was three times normal. On average, untreated trees showed twelve new inches of growth in one season; trees given Azomite grew an average three feet. They're healthier, too. While normal leaf-tatter was present on untreated trees, Azomite-fed trees leaves were unusually robust and unaffected by insects.
The Milarchs believe Azomite's effect is simple: to grow well, trees need certain minerals. Plants use minerals to capture sunlight and spin solar rays into sugar rings, releasing oxygen. All animals depend on plants for this diet of carbohydrates and oxygen. Mineral is eaten by plant, which feeds animal.
Animal, Vegetable, Mineral
Originally, all the minerals were naturally abundant in soil—a treasury of nutrients left by the glaciers and volcanoes. But 10,000 years of leaching—especially the last 100+ years of intense human logging and farming—have depleted many critical compounds. Most of Earth's soil simply erodes away.
Chemical fertilizers, lime, pesticides, herbicides, acid rain, and air pollution all create growing soil sterility and nutrient deficiency, especially trace elements. Chemical-dependent farming causes a host of other serious side-effects, such as groundwater pollution.
But the Milarchs believe Azomite can turn back the tide of weakening soils, degrading ecosytems and turbulent atmosphere. By restoring minor and trace elements to soil, the full potentials of organic life are nurtured. Rockdust supplies the missing minerals.
"What do you think is special about Azomite?" I wondered aloud.
"It's from an old seafloor bed. That gives it a different energy and properties. I don't know, and I'm not sure anyone on Earth knows. I used Planters dust from U.S. Soils in Salida, CO on the same sugar maples as I used Azomite this summer, and didn't get such response."
"What effects have you seen, or do you anticipate," I led him on.
"For me the most exciting isn't growth rate. From a financial point, that itself merits excitement. But I think Azomite fires the DNA—the genetic code—of any plant it goes in. To stimulate, or fire, the DNA—the wisdom of the plants' immune system to endure the stresses I went through earlier—that excites me."
"How does dust cause these effects?"
"I think rockdust is a composite of tens of millions of years of Earth energies. You're releasing tens of millions of years into the environment of the root systems of plants and trees."
No Shit!
"But Azomite isn't the whole answer," David jumped ahead. "Or any mineral dust. You need manure—cow manure preferably—for the bacteria. Because if you study Rudolf Steiner's work, ethereal energies picked up in cows' intestines are unique in all this world."
"Well, manure is the animal aspect of the three way trinity of fertility," I offered.
"I can't begin to imagine what manure combined with rockdust does in soil, not only to raise bacteria counts. You literally combine heaven and earth with manure. Only higher intelligence can begin to explain what's going on."
"I believe the ideal combination is with cow manure because of the stellular energies picked up in the cow's intestine by the food being digested."
I suggested, "In scientific rhetoric, a cow is a walking bacterial host. It's rumen and digestive organs culture bacteria to give unique biological action. Just say 'manure stimulates bacteria growth.'"
"Right, but there's no bacteria in rockdust," David pointed out. "Rockdust enhances bacterial growth. Rockdust is a catalyst to make bacteria reproduce millions of times a day. It's bacteria in roots that eat minerals into protoplasm."
"I've seen rockdust trigger an explosion of flowering and seed formation," I reported, "a tremendous increase in reproductive vigor."
"Carry your thought one more step. What happens to bees that eat pollen of plants that are remineralized? Is this an answer for the catastrophic honeybee decline we're experiencing?"
Up the Food Chain
"Yes!" I exclaimed. "And bees are pollinators out in field and forest weaving DNA for all flowering plants!"
"If you remineralize a whole fruit orchard in heavy concentrations, and set out beehives, might this affect their natural immunity to parasite mites? Could it be a missing ingredient for bees' immune systems they get from pollen?"
"I wrote in "Why Beezz Buzz" how each flower has unique blends of trace minerals and essential oils, thus giving honey distinct flavors!" I was delighted.
He laughed, "OK, who's at the top of the food chain? Once we introduce it into the food chain, it will be introduced into our children. That also excites me."
"That's very far-sighted," I gratefully.
"For thousands of years. Ask your angels, or higher self, or whoever your wise counsel is, if that doesn't make sense. I say the quicker we get minerals from rockdust back in our food chain, we'll get amazing responses—not just from plants—but insects, including bees, that feed on the plants."
"So bees and all the other insects and animals that are in trouble will also get it in their food chain. I guesstimate we'd see a big reduction in cancers and other problems plaguing insects and animals."
"Rockdust is used as mineral supplement in animal feeds," I noted.
"So the quicker we get rockdust applied the better for all of us. The people I hear talk about rockdust and remineralization are pretty short-sighted. They don't see the whole big picture. All they see is phenomenal growth of plants, cover crops, food crops, or mahogany seedlings, or whatever. They don't take it far enough—up the food chain."
"How about applying remineralization on some inland lakes. What's will happen to the waters?"
"Remineralize the Earth journal has a new section on remineralizing our blood."
"Dr. Tom Johnson is doing that. He's begun making homeopathic preparations of Azomite—the quickest way to get minerals into our bodies, into our own genetics. You'll be amazed! The short-sighted work I've read doesn't carry remineralization up the food chain."
"Yeah. We can't see the ecosystem for the trees!" I joked.
David laughed, "Or the cash crops."
Forests of Champions
"How do you see using rockdust in the Champion Tree Project?" I asked.
"Real simple. When children have Arbor Day seedling sales—or nurseries sell the trees at Kmart or Walmart—a little bag of Azomite goes with the sale to use to plant these trees. We'll give it the name 'Tree's Best Friend.' So every seedling sold in America will have a small container to add to the soil of all National Champion clones."
"Use Eve, the earthworm for a logo," I urged, "saying, 'If you're not forest, you're against us. Plant a Champion.'"
After a chuckle, David went on, "The vast majority of Americans have no idea of remineralization. It's a brand new concept. It will be easy to get the benefits of rockdust into colleges and universities, as well as the private sector."
"At all universities, Champion Tree Project will insist in writing from day one they use rockdust on every Champion they plant. This will introduce it to universities across America to open their eyes. When they see results, they'll study it and find out what we already know."
"So we'll get remineralization starting a year from next spring when the first National Champion trees come. I think it's the way to raise the consciousness of people and our educational system."