Stories From

Bozeman & Beyond

Dr. Mark Nelson

Living inside Biosphere 2

Dr. Mark Nelson was a member of the eight person “biospherian” crew for the first two year Biosphere 2 closure experiment, 1991-1993. The project included pioneering regenerative agriculture and waste and water recycling.

Dr. Mark Nelson is Chairman of the Institute of Ecotechnics, head of Wastewater Gardens International and has worked for several decades in closed ecological system research, bioregenerative space life support, ecological engineering, restoration of damaged ecosystems, desert agriculture and wastewater recycling. Dr. Nelson was a member of the eight person “biospherian” crew for the first two year Biosphere 2 closure experiment, 1991-1993. The project included pioneering regenerative agriculture and waste and water recycling. In the 1970s, he planted an organic fruit orchard at Synergia Ranch, Santa Fe NM and has helped manage its organic fruit and vegetable farm for decades. Mark is an Associate Editor of Life Sciences in Space Research. His books include “Pushing Our Limits: Insights from Biosphere 2” (2018) and “The Wastewater Gardener: Preserving the Planet One Flush at a Time” (2014). A second edition of “Life Under Glass: Crucial Lessons in Planetary Stewardship” written by Mark and two fellow biospherians was just published by Synergetic Press.

Resources:
Biosphere 2 – An Architectural Singularity (You Tube video)
http://www.marknelsonbiospherian.com
www.ecotechnics.edu
Eating In: From the Field to the Kitchen in Biosphere 2 (Sally Silverstone)
www.wastewatergardens.com
Eden in Iraq Wastewater Garden Project
Oasis Design Art Ludwig’s resources on graywater reuse and more
Spaceship Earth (film) | trailer
“Worldwide Applications of Wastewater Gardens and Ecoscaping: Decentralised Systems which Transform Sewage from Problem to Productive, Sustainable Resource” (Mark Nelson, Robyn Tredwell et al)

Mark’s books:
Life Under Glass: Crucial Lessons in Planetary Stewardship (Abigail Alling, Mark Nelson, Sally Silverstone)
Pushing Our Limits (Mark Nelson)
The Wastewater Gardener: Preserving the Planet One Flush at a Time (Mark Nelson)

Mark’s recommended books:
Good Chemistry: The Science of Connection, from Soul to Psychedelics (Julie Holland)
The Future Eaters (Tim Flannery)
Guns Germs & Steel (Jared Diamond)
Technics and Civilization (Louis Mumford)

Recent Podcasts

EPISODE #100 - JOHN MCPHEE

on writing, teaching, exploring

John McPhee was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and was educated at Princeton University and Cambridge University. After seven years at Time magazine, he moved to The New Yorker, where he has been a staff writer since 1965. A Fellow of the Geological Society of America and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, he was awarded in 1999 the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction (Annals of the Former World).