A Farm for the Future - a Documentary

The BBC series Natural World focuses on wildlife around the globe.  One 45 minute episode, titled A Farm For the Future, delves into the idea of low energy farming as compared to our current high energy model, and the reasons why an immediate change in agricultural methods is necessary.  In my opinion, it's a well-developed film that provides not only a clear wake up call for farmers and consumers, but also tangible solutions for the future.  Here is the BBC's synopsis:

Wildlife film maker Rebecca Hosking investigates how to transform her family’s farm in Devon into a low energy farm for the future, and discovers that nature holds the key.

With her father close to retirement, Rebecca returns to her family’s wildlife-friendly farm in Devon, to become the next generation to farm the land. But last year’s high fuel prices were a wake-up call for Rebecca. Realising that all food production in the UK is completely dependent on abundant cheap fossil fuel, particularly oil, she sets out to discover just how secure this oil supply is. Alarmed by the answers, she explores ways of farming without using fossil fuel. With the help of pioneering farmers and growers, Rebecca learns that it is actually nature that holds the key to farming in a low-energy future.

Check out there first ten minutes of the film below.  View the full film here.

The documentary goes on to explain that a food system based on permaculture can not only eliminate the detrimental effects of conventional farming, but also, if done correctly and with care, be more productive with less effort in the long run than conventional agriculture.  That notion may seem a bit far fetched until you start to think about the power of nature.  Conventional farming today is so labor intensive in large part because it works against nature instead of with it.  It takes a lot of time and energy to force a forest into pasture, for example, but it requires a much smaller input to work with that same forested space to produce an equal quantity of food in a manner more consistent with how the forest would have grown in the first place.  Nature does an excellent job growing plants and raising animals, so why not use that to our own agricultural advantage instead of fighting with it?

To ensure an agricultural model that can feed all of us in the near future, it is essential that we all become informed farmers, gardeners, and consumers.  If you watch the film and agree with the argument it makes, share it with your friends.  Let's start looking at agriculture from a new perspective, and be open to the more sustainable possibilities that are available to us.

Have a great weekend!
-Melissa

Wisconsin Woman Taken to Court Over Her Lawn

In Shorewood, WI, Louise Quigley, who has been living in her home for over twenty years, is being taken to court over her native lawn.  In an effort to deter schoolchildren from using her lawn as a shortcut coming home from school, she decided to plant prairie grasses, goldenrods, milkweed, and butterfly weeds, citing the ecological benefits of such a planting.

“They are less work, they come up every year, they are pretty," she says.  "Native perennials have all kinds of environment benefits because the native plants feed the native bugs, feed the birds; it’s the bottom of the food chain.  You can promote the survival of our ecosystem and our biosphere if you plant native plants.”

However, despite Louise's astute decision regarding local ecology, her prairie yard happens to violate an outdated neighborhood ordinance that her community has begun cracking down on.  The ordinance states that native lawns can't exceed six inches in height, and when Louise refused to comply with the ordinance she was summoned to court.  Louise has since been trying to push village officials to get the ordinance changed.  She argues, "(The ordinance) is about lawns and it isn't about native plant communities.  It was drafted way back and wasn't about 21st century aesthetics or a 21st century ecological understanding. I don't have a lawn, I have a prairie. They are using a lawn regulation to harass me about my prairie."

 Read more about the Shorewood community and Louise's battle here.

Have a great day!
-Melissa

Sustainable Yards Simplified

Native Landscape

The Santa Monica, CA Office of Sustainability and the Environment recently finished installing Garden-Garden, a demonstration landscape that provides a side by side comparison of two landscape strategies, the sustainable approach and the traditional non-native approach.  The project compares two adjacent yards in terms of aesthetic appearance, water usage, yard waste, and maintenance hours, and draws a concise and clear conclusion about which option is easier, cheaper in the long run, and better for the local ecosystem.

 
In this case, the numbers say it all. 

• The native garden cost $16,700 to install compared $12,400 for the traditional garden. Despite its higher initial cost, the native garden’s lower maintenance requirements translate into $2,200 per year in cost savings.
• The native garden uses 77 percent less water, produces 66 percent less waste, and requires 68 percent less labor than the traditional garden. 

Not to mention that the native garden looks beautiful and provides native habitat for indigenous fauna like butterflies and ladybugs.

Traditional "Mow and Blow" Landscape

Santa Monica currently imports over 90% of its water from Northern California and the Colorado River, and as these water sources are more than 400 miles away, their continued use in Santa Monica  can hardly be considered sustainable.  Traditional gardens in the area utilize exotic plants from wetter climates, and employ the use of standard sprinkler irrigation systems that distribute water over all plants regardless of need.  This translates into an incredible water demand that has already put regional ecosystems and communities under increased stress.

Additionally, traditional gardens require frequent applications of fertilizer and pesticides that leech into the city's water supply during rainstorms, causing pollution and aquatic habitat disruption.  When considered on a large scale, this is a huge problem as the average home gardener uses 10 times more toxic chemicals than a farmer.

Overall, the choice is a no-brainer.  Native gardens are an all-around amazing solution to Southern California's water shortages, as well as a sustainable alternative to landscapes steeped in exotics and pesticides.  In my opinion, education is the logical next step, so spread the word about what sustainable landscaping can do for you and your community!  Check out the full report here and tell your friends!

Wishing you all the best,
-Melissa

Upcoming CT NOFA and OLC workshops

Permaculture Workshop

Connecticut NOFA is hosting a Permaculture Wokshop from 5:00 to 8:00pm on Monday, August 8, 2011 at the Center for Sustainable Living on 90 Cabbage Road in Bethlehem, Connecticut. 

What is permaculture exactly? The Permaculture Institute defines it as an ecological design system for sustainability in all aspects of human endeavor.  It teaches us how to build natural homes, grow our own food, restore diminished landscapes and ecosystems, catch rainwater, and build communities and much more.  The Center for Sustainable Living is transitioning from a conventional greenhouse operation and home garden to a homestead designed according to permaculture principles.  They grow most of their own fruit and vegetables and are planning a chicken coop attached to a greenhouse for mutual benefit of each of those.

The workshop will commence with a short introduction to permaculture and a presentation of the written/drawn plan developed for the site.  The workshop will focus on the plan for an edible forest garden and maintaining a mostly wooded site by growing specific products like mushrooms, ramps, goldenseal, etc.  The Center is also developing a coppiced woodlot, water catchment and integrated garden area.  You can learn more about the center’s work and plans at their blog http://connsoil-totallysustainable.blogspot.com/.

The registration is $25 for CT NOFA members and $30 for non-members.  If you are interested, please preregister by calling the CT NOFA office at 203-888-5146, printing and mailing this form or registering online here: http://www.nofa.org/store/product.php?StoreID=2&ProdID=CTWORKSHOPPERM11

There is also one more Organic Land Care Workshop this summer!

The OLC workshop is titled “Compost Tea: First Defense in Organic Land Care” and is scheduled for August 23, 2011 from 9 am until 4 pm at the New York Botanical Garden (2900 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10458-5126). 

Peter Schmidt of Compostwerks, LLC will lead land care professionals and advanced gardeners through the environmentally cutting edge process that can reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides.
An understanding of how roots, biology, and soil influence plant health is critical in managing a landscape. The workshop will comprise both classroom time and a staff-guided site visit to the Botanical Garden’s compost tea facility. Topics to be examined include compost production and its specific uses, the relationship between soil and plants, and the role and importance of organic matter and soil structure.
Students will come away with practical diagnostic tools and the knowledge of how to brew compost tea.
Peter Schmidt is a certified Soil FoodwebAdvisor,  a certified arborist, and founding partner of Compostwerks, LLC. He has worked in the horticultural industry for 25 years.

Registration Fees are:

Peter Schmidt of Compostwerks

General Public: $200

AOLCPs, NOFA and or NYBG members: $185

AOLCPs who register by August 2^nd: $150

To register please call our office at 203-888-5146 or register online here: http://www.organiclandcare.net/education/advanced-workshops#Reg