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It's
been said so many times that it's become a cliche?: "Think
Globally, Act Locally." The problem most of us have with
this concept is figuring out what actions we can take to really
make a difference. It's easy to think about the big issues,
but what can we do tomorrow?
Consider
our own back yards. The design and management of landscaping
is changing and there's a lot of good news out there. Professionals
and homeowners are abandoning many of the wasteful practices
of the past and are embracing a new ethic of Sustainable Landscaping
that saves time, money and effort, looks better and is a lot
kinder to the environment.
There has been quite a bit wrong with landscaping up to now.
It has been consumptive rather than productive, wasteful rather
than conserving and less attractive than it could be. Consider,
for instance, the size of plants. It's been our habit to plant
things that grow much larger than the space allocated to them:
junipers in the narrow strip between the curb and the sidewalk
for example, or trees like Pittosporum that are asked to perform
as shrubs. Because these plants have a genetic destiny to
grow to a certain size, they are cut back repeatedly and the
trimmings are hauled to the dump. This is a waste of effort,
it uses fossil fuel to operate power tools and trucks that
haul the decapitated plant parts away, it generates greenwaste
that clogs our landfills and it removes from the loop the
valuable nutrients and organic material that are locked up
in the plant tissue. Fertilizer, usually derived from fossil
fuels, has to be hauled in to replace the lost nutrients and
the cycle begins again as the plants resume the production
of more doomed biomass.
This is just one example of how a single bad decision leads
to waste on many levels. It's also completely unnecessary,
since plants come in all sizes, and so if we would only choose
something with a mature size that is more in keeping with
our intentions, we would have none of this to worry about.
That's simple, isn't it?
It seems
true that one shouldn't have to be a good gardener to have
a good garden. The fact is, most of what we call "maintenance"
is an unnecessary derivative of bad design. The conventional
landscape is hard to live with because it is inherently unstable,
whereas the sustainable landscape is just the opposite. It's
easy to build stability into the system; it's just that nobody's
thought about it much until now.
We've done pretty well with some aspects of landscaping, such
as water conservation. Two droughts led to the development
of the Xeriscape movement, which concerned itself with how
to develop and maintain landscaping so that it used less water.
Californians, and especially Santa Barbarans, became adept
at the use of drought-tolerant plants, drip irrigation, and
mulch. They reduced lawns to a more reasonable size and learned
how to fine-tune their irrigation practices. It's been a long
road and we can be justifiably proud of our accomplishments.
But it's not enough.
A truly sustainable landscape doesn't look at just one issue
like water conservation. It embraces a much larger complex
of issues including reduction of greenwaste, elimination of
chemical fertilizers, use of beneficial insects and low-toxicity
pesticides, mitigation of fire hazards, preservation of natural
areas, enhancement of wildlife habitat, use of trees for climate
control around buildings, reduction of the use of fossil fuels,
harvesting of rainwater, use of on-site materials, reused
materials and recycled materials, selection of pest- and disease-resistant
plant varieties, to name just a few of the things that we're
considering these days.
Now we need to go farther and ask more questions.We need to
stand conventional wisdom on its head. Why do we use non-renewable
resources first instead of last? Why do we bring out the insecticide
before we've tried beneficial insects? Why do we spray herbicides
on weeds when two inches of mulch or a better planting design
would solve the problem more reliably and more beautifully?
Why do we create so many problems for ourselves, so much work,
so much waste?
A truly sustainable landscape minimizes negative impacts and
maximizes positive ones. It keeps rainwater and greenwaste
on site as much as possible, and makes minimal use of things
brought in from outside. The materials that are brought in
will be minimally processed, durable and self-maintaining.
Many more kinds of materials could be harvested from the waste
stream. Why, for instance, aren't we making more use of broken
concrete for paving and retaining walls, organic waste for
compost, leftover materials from construction sites for garden
art and building projects? Why aren't we harvesting the lumber
from urban trees instead of chipping it up?
A sustainable landscape also minimizes off-site impacts by
considering the source of materials. Is our landscape truly
sustainable if we are strip mining a distant mountain to obtain
decomposed granite for our walkways? No one has thought much
about the off-site impact of landscaping, but it's time to
do so. If we're pillaging nature to make symbols of sustainability
in our back yards, we're still doing things wrong.
Finally, a truly sustainable landscape could even exceed sustainability.
Unlike the rest of the built environment, the landscape is
naturally solar-powered and is capable of being productive
rather than simply less consumptive.
There
are still many questions to be answered. We need to re-think
landscaping from top to bottom if it is to become what it
should be. Maybe it's time for you to become a part of the
solution. It's an exciting journey and one that will make
your life better, right away, while helping the community
and the natural world. Well-done landscaping can be a vital
element in the development of a truly sustainable society.
So, consider
this a call to arms. Take up your pitchforks and your pruning
shears. Build a compost bin in the back yard. Get rid of the
arsenal of chemicals in the garage. Plant things that will
attract beneficial insects. Mulch your soil. Kill your lawnmower.
Then sit back and enjoy your garden rather than slaving over
it.
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