on gardens + hope
Recently I saw Doug Tallamy speak. He's an entomologist who's done a lot to encourage people to grow native plants in their yards. This was the gist of his talk:
For humans to survive, we need to retain at least 50% of earth's land as "nature" (healthy ecosystems).
50% of the earth's land is already being used as agriculture, and humans live on a lot of the rest of it.
Thus, the way for humans to survive is to landscape in a way that creates healthy ecosystems (I.e. planting native plants.) The bulk of land in the U.S. is owned privately. Thus, we need to focus our conservation efforts on native plant landscaping on private property.
His talk was funny and, dare I say, inspiring. I don't tend to harbor a sense of "hope" for our general future, but after I left the talk, I noticed that as I was driving, I started seeing all the manicured spaces and grassy lawns as potential habitat rather than ecological devastation.
Suddenly, it seems so easy. If every person planted native plants on their private property, we might just be ok. It's doable. Can we do it?
This year, I still don't have a Locust Light teaching garden. But, for the first time, I can landscape around my home and grow a personal herb garden. I was already excited to plant native plants around my home, and now I'm even more excited and I have a bit more understanding of how to plant them most effectively. It's exciting to feel like I can do one small thing to promote life in my patch of land. Certainly, it's better than wallowing in despair.
So, I'm gearing up for a lot of gardening this year. Have I gotten started? No. But it's been a cold spring; I've still got time.
yours in mild optimism,
Amanda
Become a confident home herbalist in 4 months without memorizing anything.