What
does going green mean you? Recycling? Becoming a vegan? Not owning a
vehicle? Growing your own food? Harvesting rainwater? Buying Local?
Planting a tree? boycotting plastic? All of the above?
I am an arborist/horticulturist by trade and for the last ten years, I have spent my life making the outside world beautiful. I've mowed lawns, planted trees, amended soil and designed gardens. My priority has always been to enhance the aesthetic value of the landscape. Until recently, I would do that using harmful chemicals, loud, gas powered machinery and driving gas guzzling vehicles. I would come home and fret about whether it was better for the environment to buy organic chickens from Ontario or free range chicken from BC. I would feel guilty about buying organic blueberries from Chile instead of spending three times that on local varieties.
You see, I grew up watching The Nature of Things with David Suzuki on Saturday mornings; mesmerized by the big cats in Africa and the rugged wilds of North America. In my pre-teen years I wrote letters to my congressman. (I lived in Erie, PA back then) urging for stronger legislation regarding dolphin safety during tuna fishing. I spent my summers nursing wounded wildlife back to health. As I grew up, I became a contradiction. A single, urban dweller struggling to balance the realities of living in a metropolis burdened with an inherent desire to save the planet.
Eventually, I learned that pollutants from landscape and agricultural practices were one of the leading causes of pollution in freshwater systems - something I had been contributing to for years. I knew I needed to make a change. So I started asking questions and taking courses. It didn't take long before I was introduced to the concept of the soil food web and how important it is to have healthy soil in your landscape. I learned that in most urban areas, stormwater is still treated like a waste product even though we are coming up with creative ways to convert it into a resource. Through ecology and permaculture I began to discover how to assess ecosystems as one whole even when you are looking at an area the size of a residential urban lot.
I am an arborist/horticulturist by trade and for the last ten years, I have spent my life making the outside world beautiful. I've mowed lawns, planted trees, amended soil and designed gardens. My priority has always been to enhance the aesthetic value of the landscape. Until recently, I would do that using harmful chemicals, loud, gas powered machinery and driving gas guzzling vehicles. I would come home and fret about whether it was better for the environment to buy organic chickens from Ontario or free range chicken from BC. I would feel guilty about buying organic blueberries from Chile instead of spending three times that on local varieties.
You see, I grew up watching The Nature of Things with David Suzuki on Saturday mornings; mesmerized by the big cats in Africa and the rugged wilds of North America. In my pre-teen years I wrote letters to my congressman. (I lived in Erie, PA back then) urging for stronger legislation regarding dolphin safety during tuna fishing. I spent my summers nursing wounded wildlife back to health. As I grew up, I became a contradiction. A single, urban dweller struggling to balance the realities of living in a metropolis burdened with an inherent desire to save the planet.
Eventually, I learned that pollutants from landscape and agricultural practices were one of the leading causes of pollution in freshwater systems - something I had been contributing to for years. I knew I needed to make a change. So I started asking questions and taking courses. It didn't take long before I was introduced to the concept of the soil food web and how important it is to have healthy soil in your landscape. I learned that in most urban areas, stormwater is still treated like a waste product even though we are coming up with creative ways to convert it into a resource. Through ecology and permaculture I began to discover how to assess ecosystems as one whole even when you are looking at an area the size of a residential urban lot.
I want to share what I've learned with others and help them realize they can make the world a little healthier, too. And the best part is, that it
doesn't mean making big sacrifices or monumental life altering
changes. Most of the time it means taking a step back and
simply helping nature do what nature does.
