Community Projects Consumerism Demonstration Sites Food Shortages Peak Oil Plant Systems Village Development

An Experiment in Back Yard Sustainability – and a Revisit, Four Years On

Anthea Hudson March 7, 2012

5 Less than a minute

Part I

Scott McGuire</a> of ‘White Sage Gardens’, Janaia Donaldson’s guest for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOaPFt_ajvU" target="_blank">this episode</a> of Peak Moment, asks the question: What would it look like if we were to really start feeding ourselves?</p> <p><span id="more-7190"></span></p> <p>In this first year of his experiment he planned to find out how much yield is in what he is growing, and how long it will feed his family. And it’s not only about food, he points out, but growing medicinal plants and feed for our animals as well, if you want to become more sustainable.</p> <p>Seed stock is another aspect he discusses, which to him is of foremost importance — for diversity of what you can grow, preserving seed genetics, and to be used as a form of exchange or currency in future times.</p> <p>"People talk about emergency preparedness", says McGuire. "You know, for an emergency you’ve gotta have your flashlight and sleeping bag out. If we’re in a long emergency, as Kunstler frames it, what are you going to pack for your long emergency? And number one on my list is seeds, even if you don’t plan on growing them."</p> <p>Creating balance in our gardens is so important too, he tells us, especially within the insect populations. Humans have basically waged chemical war on the insect kingdom and we need to let them be, and create habitats which enable them to re-establish balance within their own populations.</p> <p>"You do end up sharing some of what you grow." he says "I think it’s an unrealistic expectation to think that you are going to get 100% of everything you grow. It’s arrogant to want 100% of everything you grow."</p> <p align="center"><img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.permaculturenews.org/images/Scott-McGuire.jpg" width="521" height="394"/></p> <p>McGuire explains that humans have lived close to the land for most of their existence, but right now we are living in the bubble, the tiny blip of time where machines have granted us the dubious privilege of being separate from the earth.</p> <p>"And that’s what’s missing", McGuire adds. "We buy all of our food and our food is grown in a toxic soup and its de-mineralised soil. So it’s really linking up all of these essential factors of health. Even if there wasn’t peak oil pending, it’s a better way to live- to get your own food from your own place."</p> <p>Watch the episode above to hear more of what Scott McGuire has to say and follow him and Janaia on a tour of his wonderfully productive garden.</p> <p>Definitely food for thought!</p> <p><strong>Part II – Four Years Later…. </strong></p><div class="g g-3"><div class="g-dyn a-34 c-1"><style> @media (min-width: 350px) { .infeed { height: 90px; margin:auto; } @media (min-width: 500px) { .infeed { height: 90px; margin:auto; } } @media (min-width: 800px) { .infeed { max-width:729px; margin:auto; height: 90px; } } </style> <script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script> <ins class="adsbygoogle infeed" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="fluid" data-ad-layout="image-top" data-ad-layout-key="xxxxxxxx" data-ad-client="ca-pub-4709140704829756" data-ad-slot="5264186828"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></div></div> <p>Janaia Donaldson revisited Scott McGuire four years after his experiment began, to find out his thoughts.</p> <p align="center"> <iframe loading="lazy" width="520" height="382" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uDqfNcrxLG4 </p> <p>The original experiment asked the question — "How much food could I actually grow, in that backyard, to feed my family?"</p> <p> “In my experiment that I did in backyard sustainability we tried to look at that — what is the nature of a backyard food supply?” says McGuire “And what I found out is that it’s not an individual thing. It’s a group thing. You can’t have a local food supply by yourself. A local food supply has to be done with other people. The only way to get at it is to feed each other.” </p> <p>He explains that in trying to grow enough of anything, you have to build in a buffer, in case of failed plants, so you usually end up with an excess which you can then trade with people who have what you don’t. “Self is not the sufficiency level. Somehow the neighbourhood community tribal grouping is where food supply is resilient.” He goes on to say that we need to stop thinking of ‘my’ everything, but instead ‘my food supply is our food supply.’</p> <p>From the abundance of food he grew, McGuire started a mini CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) scheme and supplied eight families with his excess produce… just from his backyard! He also began teaching people basic gardening skills, which have been lost by so many, but now sought with renewed interest. Since moving to a new location, he has taught a class at his local community college called ‘Eat Your Yard’ which covers the transition from an ornamental garden to an edible one. He teaches the basic ‘nuts and bolts’ but also tries to reach people who have been gardeners for quite a while. “What is it that’s going to deepen your relationship with the plant kingdom? That’s really the question I’m trying to answer for the class.”</p> <p>McGuire shares with us a little of his co-creative gardening ideas. “How do we basically communicate with the intelligence of the elements in your garden?” He also talks about the loss of so much indigenous knowledge of plant systems, and how never before have so many people been reliant on an industrial food supply. “We need to develop an indigenous horticulture… an indigenous way of relating to the plant kingdom.”</p> <p>He speaks of balance — of so-called <a href="https://www.permaculturenews.org/2008/08/12/which-came-first-pests-or-pesticides/">pests that are really just populations out of balance</a>, of <a href="https://www.permaculturenews.org/2009/02/05/colony-collapse-disorder-a-moment-for-reflection/">bees being in trouble</a>, <a href="https://www.permaculturenews.org/2010/06/17/the-story-of-soil/">soils depleted of natural fertility</a>. “You pull at one thing, you’ll find it connected to everything else”, he says, “but we’re so disconnected from everything as our culture….”</p> <p>He sends out a hopeful vision to those who feel lost, who don’t know what the future holds for them. Grow food, he tells us, and goes on to make us aware of the tremendous value in feeding people, as without food nothing else really matters. “In a way, it’s a very high calling to feed people.” he enthuses.</p> <p>He impresses on us the great importance of becoming more involved with our food supply. Even if we can’t all grow lots of food, we need to rebuild the network, to know our farmers and growers like we know a mechanic or dentist.</p> <p>McGuire urges us to cease living in little boxes of time and to re-frame our lives around the growing season. “Part of being in a plant culture, being a plant based people, is living your life grounded in the growing season of your place. If the growing season of where you live defines your life, then it’s gonna be a pretty rich life!” </p> <p>I asked host, Janaia Donaldson, for her thoughts on her conversation with Scott McGuire: “For Scott, the two things that stand out are the relationships he makes with the plants — as living, intelligent beings, and his keen awareness of peak oil and the need to prepare together, in mutual support.”</p> <p>There is so much more in this episode than I have room to go into here. Some very interesting and unusual concepts and ideas, to feed more than just the stomach, in this thought provoking episode. Be sure to watch it for more of Scott McGuire’s wisdom and unique vision.</p> <p>Scott McGuire has a 2 DVD set available for sale called <em>Backyard Sustainable Gardening</em>, which would be well worth purchasing if you’re interested in learning about Scott’s techniques.</p> <div class="g g-1"><div class="g-dyn a-34 c-1"><style> @media (min-width: 350px) { .infeed { height: 90px; margin:auto; } @media (min-width: 500px) { .infeed { height: 90px; margin:auto; } } @media (min-width: 800px) { .infeed { max-width:729px; margin:auto; height: 90px; } } </style> <script async src="https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script> <ins class="adsbygoogle infeed" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="fluid" data-ad-layout="image-top" data-ad-layout-key="xxxxxxxx" data-ad-client="ca-pub-4709140704829756" data-ad-slot="5264186828"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></div></div></p> </div> <div id="post-extra-info"> <div class="theiaStickySidebar"> <div id="single-post-meta" class="post-meta clearfix"><span class="author-meta single-author with-avatars"><span class="meta-item meta-author-wrapper meta-author-415"> <span class="meta-author-avatar"> <a href="https://www.permaculturenews.org/author/anthea%20hudson/"><img alt='Photo of Anthea Hudson' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/827200d1886fdfb4ec144a993fc48625?s=140&d=mm&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/827200d1886fdfb4ec144a993fc48625?s=280&d=mm&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-140 photo' height='140' width='140' loading='lazy'/></a> </span> <span class="meta-author"><a href="https://www.permaculturenews.org/author/anthea%20hudson/" class="author-name tie-icon" title="Anthea Hudson">Anthea Hudson</a></span> <a href="mailto:antheah@adam.com.au" class="author-email-link" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" title="Send an email"> <span class="tie-icon-envelope" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="screen-reader-text">Send an email</span> </a> </span></span><span class="date meta-item tie-icon">March 7, 2012</span><div class="tie-alignright"><span class="meta-comment tie-icon meta-item fa-before">5</span><span class="meta-reading-time meta-item"><span class="tie-icon-bookmark" aria-hidden="true"></span> Less than a minute</span> </div></div> </div> </div> <div class="clearfix"></div> <script id="tie-schema-json" type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","dateCreated":"2012-03-07T22:20:49+11:00","datePublished":"2012-03-07T22:20:49+11:00","dateModified":"2012-03-07T22:20:49+11:00","headline":"An Experiment in Back Yard Sustainability – and a Revisit, Four Years On","name":"An Experiment in Back Yard Sustainability – and a Revisit, Four Years On","keywords":[],"url":"https:\/\/www.permaculturenews.org\/2012\/03\/07\/an-experiment-in-back-yard-sustainability-and-a-revisit-four-years-on\/","description":"Part I","copyrightYear":"2012","articleSection":"Community Projects,Consumerism,Demonstration Sites,Food Shortages,Peak Oil,Plant Systems,Village Development","articleBody":"Part I\r\n\r\n ","publisher":{"@id":"#Publisher","@type":"Organization","name":"The Permaculture Research Institute","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.permaculturenews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Permaculture-research-institute-logo.png"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/permacultureglobal\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/PRIaustralia","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCuMqPxtWBj86FREJCHB75_A"]},"sourceOrganization":{"@id":"#Publisher"},"copyrightHolder":{"@id":"#Publisher"},"mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.permaculturenews.org\/2012\/03\/07\/an-experiment-in-back-yard-sustainability-and-a-revisit-four-years-on\/","breadcrumb":{"@id":"#Breadcrumb"}},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Anthea Hudson","url":"https:\/\/www.permaculturenews.org\/author\/anthea%20hudson\/"}}</script> <div id="share-buttons-bottom" 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href="mailto:?subject=An%20Experiment%20in%20Back%20Yard%20Sustainability%20%E2%80%93%20and%20a%20Revisit%2C%20Four%20Years%20On&body=https://www.permaculturenews.org/2012/03/07/an-experiment-in-back-yard-sustainability-and-a-revisit-four-years-on/" rel="external noopener nofollow" title="Share via Email" target="_blank" class="email-share-btn " data-raw="mailto:?subject={post_title}&body={post_link}"> <span class="share-btn-icon tie-icon-envelope"></span> <span class="screen-reader-text">Share via Email</span> </a> <a href="#" rel="external noopener nofollow" title="Print" target="_blank" class="print-share-btn " data-raw="#"> <span class="share-btn-icon tie-icon-print"></span> <span class="screen-reader-text">Print</span> </a> </div> </div> </article> <div class="post-components"> <div class="about-author container-wrapper about-author-415"> <div class="author-avatar"> <a href="https://www.permaculturenews.org/author/anthea%20hudson/"> <img alt='Photo of Anthea Hudson' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/827200d1886fdfb4ec144a993fc48625?s=180&d=mm&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/827200d1886fdfb4ec144a993fc48625?s=360&d=mm&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-180 photo' height='180' width='180' loading='lazy'/> </a> </div> <div class="author-info"> <h3 class="author-name"><a href="https://www.permaculturenews.org/author/anthea%20hudson/">Anthea Hudson</a></h3> <div class="author-bio"> </div> <ul class="social-icons"></ul> </div> <div class="clearfix"></div> </div> <div class="prev-next-post-nav container-wrapper media-overlay"> <div class="tie-col-xs-6 prev-post"> <a href="https://www.permaculturenews.org/2012/03/07/how-to-make-a-worm-mansion/" style="background-image: url()" class="post-thumb" rel="prev"> <div class="post-thumb-overlay-wrap"> <div class="post-thumb-overlay"> <span class="tie-icon tie-media-icon"></span> </div> </div> </a> <a href="https://www.permaculturenews.org/2012/03/07/how-to-make-a-worm-mansion/" rel="prev"> <h3 class="post-title">How to Make a Worm Mansion</h3> </a> </div> <div class="tie-col-xs-6 next-post"> <a href="https://www.permaculturenews.org/2012/03/08/permaculture-resiliency-project-with-the-san-bushmen-in-the-kalahari-vergenoeg-namibia/" style="background-image: url()" class="post-thumb" rel="next"> <div class="post-thumb-overlay-wrap"> <div class="post-thumb-overlay"> <span class="tie-icon tie-media-icon"></span> </div> </div> </a> <a href="https://www.permaculturenews.org/2012/03/08/permaculture-resiliency-project-with-the-san-bushmen-in-the-kalahari-vergenoeg-namibia/" rel="next"> <h3 class="post-title">Permaculture Resiliency Project with the San Bushmen in the Kalahari Vergenoeg, Namibia</h3> </a> </div> </div> <div id="comments" class="comments-area"> <div id="comments-box" class="container-wrapper"> <div class="block-head"> <h3 id="comments-title" class="the-global-title"> 5 Comments </h3> </div> <ol class="comment-list"> <li id="comment-279421" class="comment even thread-even depth-1 has-avatar"> <article id="div-comment-279421" class="comment-body"> <footer class="comment-meta"> <div class="comment-author vcard"> <img alt='' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ccf6a12b4375de5dfd562965728d343f?s=70&d=mm&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ccf6a12b4375de5dfd562965728d343f?s=140&d=mm&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-70 photo' height='70' width='70' loading='lazy'/> <b class="fn">Aapo Leinonen</b> <span class="says">says:</span> </div> <div class="comment-metadata"> <a href="https://www.permaculturenews.org/2012/03/07/an-experiment-in-back-yard-sustainability-and-a-revisit-four-years-on/#comment-279421"><time datetime="2012-03-09T01:13:47+11:00">March 9, 2012 at 1:13 am</time></a> </div> </footer> <div class="comment-content"> <p>I wouldn’t purchase DVDs of this quy, if his main techniques include designing gardens by talking with plants. Permaculture, polycultures and sustainable gardening can and should be aproached scientifically. </p> <p>This man talks a lot of sense. But in these issues he “hits his axe into a stone”, as we say in Finland. If he has had succes I can hardly believe it is due to “life energy” or talking with plants. Permaculture doesn’t problematic assumptions of energy meridians. Vitalistic theories won’t do much good for permaculture movement.</p> <p>Then for other issues:</p> <p>I agree with mr McGuire about the nature of feeding one-self, when addresses the point that it is not an individual but community thing. I would go even further, and say that it can be between communities, and in some cases, even over long-distances. </p> <p>Of course, the necessary elements of food and energy should be produced as locally as possible. But some times, in order to stay healthy, one might have to suplement one’s diet with something brought from elsewhere.</p> <p>For example, before the era of plentiful foreign food and synthetic fertilizers we used to have a lot heart diseases in Finland. People (who could afford) sometimes travelled abroad, even to mediterranean, to cure these diseases, and often benefitted from this. They accounted if for the climate and sea air. Nowdays we know that Finnish soil is generally poor of selenium (and magnesium). Lack of these minerals is bad for the heart. It is possible that the people who travelled abroad didn’t benefit as much for the climate than for the micronutritients available in the local food. (And of course of sunlight-produced D-vitamin, which most Finns lack even today during the winter and early spring.)<br /> After foreign grocries became widely available and the use of mineral fertiliziers (because they are added selenium, which is also added to industrial animal feed) increased hearth problems have declined.<br /> This is not a defence speech for industrial agriculture. Synthetic fertilizers cause a lot of problems (and are going to become scarce in the future). But I think we should alternativelly consume some foreign selenium-rich groceries even in the case that world would become very “permaculture” or alternatively add mineral selenium or mineral selenium and charcoal mix to soil via compost.</p> </div> <div class="reply"><a rel='nofollow' class='comment-reply-link' href='#comment-279421' data-commentid="279421" data-postid="7190" data-belowelement="div-comment-279421" data-respondelement="respond" data-replyto="Reply to Aapo Leinonen" aria-label='Reply to Aapo Leinonen'>Reply</a></div> </article> </li> <li id="comment-279424" class="comment odd alt thread-odd thread-alt depth-1 has-avatar"> <article id="div-comment-279424" class="comment-body"> <footer class="comment-meta"> <div class="comment-author vcard"> <img alt='' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5d74ddf8ca790297d21ea35e2c18ed56?s=70&d=mm&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5d74ddf8ca790297d21ea35e2c18ed56?s=140&d=mm&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-70 photo' height='70' width='70' loading='lazy'/> <b class="fn">Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor</b> <span class="says">says:</span> </div> <div class="comment-metadata"> <a href="https://www.permaculturenews.org/2012/03/07/an-experiment-in-back-yard-sustainability-and-a-revisit-four-years-on/#comment-279424"><time datetime="2012-03-09T01:17:08+11:00">March 9, 2012 at 1:17 am</time></a> </div> </footer> <div class="comment-content"> <p>Agreed on all counts Aapo.</p> </div> <div class="reply"><a rel='nofollow' class='comment-reply-link' href='#comment-279424' data-commentid="279424" data-postid="7190" data-belowelement="div-comment-279424" data-respondelement="respond" data-replyto="Reply to Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor" aria-label='Reply to Craig Mackintosh PRI Editor'>Reply</a></div> </article> </li> <li id="comment-279498" class="comment even thread-even depth-1 has-avatar"> <article id="div-comment-279498" class="comment-body"> <footer class="comment-meta"> <div class="comment-author vcard"> <img alt='' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/827200d1886fdfb4ec144a993fc48625?s=70&d=mm&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/827200d1886fdfb4ec144a993fc48625?s=140&d=mm&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-70 photo' height='70' width='70' loading='lazy'/> <b class="fn"><a href='https://earthwiseharmony.com' rel='external nofollow ugc' class='url'>Anthea Hudson</a></b> <span class="says">says:</span> </div> <div class="comment-metadata"> <a href="https://www.permaculturenews.org/2012/03/07/an-experiment-in-back-yard-sustainability-and-a-revisit-four-years-on/#comment-279498"><time datetime="2012-03-09T04:28:11+11:00">March 9, 2012 at 4:28 am</time></a> </div> </footer> <div class="comment-content"> <p>Scott certainly has some rather ‘interesting’ and controversial ideas. It seems he often evokes rather strong reactions… either for or against his theories. I’m steering clear of that debate. :) </p> <p>Hopefully once people watch the episode, they will have an idea of what his techniques encompass, and can then decide if they fit in with their beliefs or not, and therefore decide whether his DVD’s might be of use to them… or not.</p> </div> <div class="reply"><a rel='nofollow' class='comment-reply-link' href='#comment-279498' data-commentid="279498" data-postid="7190" data-belowelement="div-comment-279498" data-respondelement="respond" data-replyto="Reply to Anthea Hudson" aria-label='Reply to Anthea Hudson'>Reply</a></div> </article> </li> <li id="comment-279971" class="comment odd alt thread-odd thread-alt depth-1 has-avatar"> <article id="div-comment-279971" class="comment-body"> <footer class="comment-meta"> <div class="comment-author vcard"> <img alt='' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/b7d3b4ab0495447b3f9af7ee747f7611?s=70&d=mm&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/b7d3b4ab0495447b3f9af7ee747f7611?s=140&d=mm&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-70 photo' height='70' width='70' loading='lazy'/> <b class="fn">marita kuzey</b> <span class="says">says:</span> </div> <div class="comment-metadata"> <a href="https://www.permaculturenews.org/2012/03/07/an-experiment-in-back-yard-sustainability-and-a-revisit-four-years-on/#comment-279971"><time datetime="2012-03-09T20:42:17+11:00">March 9, 2012 at 8:42 pm</time></a> </div> </footer> <div class="comment-content"> <p>hello from my Turkish Aegean backwater village – Scott McGuire’s musings are all very commendable but Blindingly obvious to most of the rest of the world which lives with one foot in a pre-industrial culture while concomitantly driving their cars to the<br /> shopping mall – talk about re-inventing the wheel! Everybody outside the big cities cultivate a large garden all year around and trade their surpluses with their friends and neighbors – that’s what defines the village ethos per se. Foraging for food also goes into the mix – i colllected and traded over 40 kgs. of wild chanterelles this winter for a friend’d avocados, and do a roaring trade in wild herbs and oils in the summer. That one must provide coursework to extract the ‘me’ for the ‘we’ in the equation is a testament to how estranged and oblivious modern global citizens are to the rest of humanity inhabiting this besieged planet.</p> </div> <div class="reply"><a rel='nofollow' class='comment-reply-link' href='#comment-279971' data-commentid="279971" data-postid="7190" data-belowelement="div-comment-279971" data-respondelement="respond" data-replyto="Reply to marita kuzey" aria-label='Reply to marita kuzey'>Reply</a></div> </article> </li> <li id="comment-282113" class="comment even thread-even depth-1 has-avatar"> <article id="div-comment-282113" class="comment-body"> <footer class="comment-meta"> <div class="comment-author vcard"> <img alt='' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/827200d1886fdfb4ec144a993fc48625?s=70&d=mm&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/827200d1886fdfb4ec144a993fc48625?s=140&d=mm&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-70 photo' height='70' width='70' loading='lazy'/> <b class="fn"><a href='https://earthwiseharmony.com' rel='external nofollow ugc' class='url'>Anthea Hudson</a></b> <span class="says">says:</span> </div> <div class="comment-metadata"> <a href="https://www.permaculturenews.org/2012/03/07/an-experiment-in-back-yard-sustainability-and-a-revisit-four-years-on/#comment-282113"><time datetime="2012-03-12T15:35:18+11:00">March 12, 2012 at 3:35 pm</time></a> </div> </footer> <div class="comment-content"> <p>Thanks for commenting Marita. I think people like yourself and others who still do many of these things as part of everyday life will have so much more ingrained richness of knowledge and practical skills to fall back on than us ‘westernised civilisations’. This will be of immense value to you in the challenging times to come. </p> <p>Indeed it is somewhat sad that our supposedly ‘evolved’ cultures have to now be taught how to live again in the world. We have lost so much ‘quality’ for our race for ‘quantity’. And I for one am anxious to find quality and balance with the planet again.</p> </div> <div class="reply"><a rel='nofollow' class='comment-reply-link' href='#comment-282113' data-commentid="282113" data-postid="7190" data-belowelement="div-comment-282113" data-respondelement="respond" data-replyto="Reply to Anthea Hudson" aria-label='Reply to Anthea Hudson'>Reply</a></div> </article> </li> </ol> </div> <div id="add-comment-block" class="container-wrapper"> <div id="respond" class="comment-respond"> <h3 id="reply-title" class="comment-reply-title the-global-title">Leave a Reply <small><a rel="nofollow" id="cancel-comment-reply-link" href="/2012/03/07/an-experiment-in-back-yard-sustainability-and-a-revisit-four-years-on/#respond" style="display:none;">Cancel reply</a></small></h3><form action="https://www.permaculturenews.org/wp-comments-post.php" method="post" id="commentform" class="comment-form" novalidate><p class="comment-notes"><span id="email-notes">Your email address will not be published.</span> Required fields are marked <span class="required">*</span></p><p class="comment-form-comment"><label for="comment">Comment</label> <textarea id="comment" name="comment" cols="45" rows="8" maxlength="65525" required="required"></textarea></p><p class="comment-form-author"><label for="author">Name <span class="required">*</span></label> <input id="author" name="author" type="text" value="" size="30" maxlength="245" required='required' /></p> <p class="comment-form-email"><label for="email">Email <span class="required">*</span></label> <input id="email" name="email" type="email" value="" size="30" maxlength="100" aria-describedby="email-notes" required='required' /></p> <p class="comment-form-url"><label for="url">Website</label> <input id="url" name="url" type="url" value="" size="30" maxlength="200" /></p> <div class="gglcptch gglcptch_v2"><div id="gglcptch_recaptcha_1576626748" class="gglcptch_recaptcha"></div> <noscript> <div style="width: 302px;"> <div style="width: 302px; height: 422px; position: relative;"> <div style="width: 302px; height: 422px; position: absolute;"> <iframe src="https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api/fallback?k=6LcCawoUAAAAAHWXT9dkkLv_EVjpgAn1NoklcxRE" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width: 302px; height:422px; border-style: none;">

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