A lot of people talk about the environment, and that's great. But sometimes it feels like we are drowning in information... and much of it is bad news.
But what can you do about it? You have control of very little space in this world. And, if you're like my family, you live on a small plot of land in a neighborhood of lawns. You feel isolated from nature, which is quickly disappearing just beyond the horizon. Sure, there's the positive effects of nature, that everyone can benefit from. But who has the time?
If you're like most people, you spend much of your time at home or in your own yard. But how do you use that space? Do you make it available to local birds and pollinators? Or do you have it chemically treated so it's nice and green but lacks the diversity it needs to support local wildlife? Does it produce food for your family? Or do you get all of your food from the supermarket?
Hands down, the largest contributor to deforestation is agriculture. And deforestation is still happening at 10 times the rate at which it can be replenished. What that means is that, every vegetable, fruit or egg you harvest from your own backyard can contribute to wildlife protection. It also saves the fuel used in food production and transportation.
Did you know that you can actually reforest your yard with edible plants? Is that a cool idea, or what? Imagine your shrubs were full of berries, your trees laden with fruit, and your groundcover filled with edible herbs and vegetables. It is possible; you just need to start thinking more like the edge of a forest.
Edges are the most productive places in nature. Think about the wall of vegetation at the edge of a forest, the crowding of plants along the edge of a road, or the rich diversity of an estuary. This can be good or bad, from a human perspective. Too many unnatural edges in the wrong places can lead to population explosions of opportunistic plants, like poison ivy or bittersweet. But, in a managed environment, like your backyard, you can use this effect to create an abundance of food.
There is now scientific evidence to suggest that exposure to nature can improve your health and state of mind - even just a little bit of nature can help. There is also reason to believe that exposure to healthy soil can significantly improve your mood. So doesn't it make sense to bring nature into your own backyard? Why not feed yourself at the same time?
A number of movements have arisen in the past several decades that can help you learn more about food forests. Here are links to a few resources to get you started:
The Permaculture Research Institute offers a number of articles and courses, both online and in person.
Food Not Lawns is a movement that can teach you how to turn your yard back into a natural paradise.
It would benefit you to do a year of research and observation before diving into such a big project. If you can't spare that much time, you should at least do some research and planning before investing in plants and trees that may be around for a generation: here is an article on how to get started.
Finally, if you are looking for a fun way to get some exposure to new plants and concepts, check out my Food Forest card game. Most of the profits from every purchase will be spent on reforestation projects around the world.
I'd be interested to hear how your project goes. I have just moved into a new home, where I intend to live for a long, long time. Over the next 5 years I will be transforming an otherwise unproductive lawn into a thriving food forest. Right now, I'm doing my observation and planning year. I'm drawing diagrams of the yard showing sun patterns, rainfall, human usage and soil quality. This year, my gardens will be mostly annuals but I'll be gradually adding perennial food plants into the mix until I have a regular jungle in my backyard!
I'll keep you posted on that...
