Hellooo my nature friends!
Whew boy it's been a scorcher of a week here in SE Florida! Though I'm sure
where ever you are in the world you're probably experiencing some serious heat right about now just like us. I think we tend to forget that not only do we humans feel the effects of
these extreme hot weather seasons but so do our planets animals, plants & ocean life.
So much so that mature trees can die in just a handful of months given heat stress & drought. And while most animals can at least move to find a more suitable habitat not all are successful in their relocation efforts. Especially if they are a migratory species that rely
on specific habitats for mating or food sources throughout the year.
So what can we do to help our current state of ecological affairs?
Even though the task can feel daunting & we may feel helpless that we aren't doing enough...
don't fret my friends, even the smallest contribution you do can make an impact.
Plus by being a role model &/or teaching others what you know &/or have learned is a huge help in making our world a better place not just for us but for our flora & fauna as well. Think of it this way, if it weren't for our extremely complicated ecosystems that make this planet habitable...
we would not be here!
Let's get into it shall we!?!
The first few are easy actions everyone can do. Our voices, freedom of speech & our right to vote is our #1 friend. See where I'm going with this, hee hee. By being vocal to our local, state & national governments. Let them know how important our public lands, parks, greenways, green spaces are to keep habitats alive for our flora & fauna. They need to hear how much value there is in preserving our green places which in turn will help our planet keep us alive. There are so many creative ways we can make small incremental changes that can keep within a city's annual budget. Because you know that'll be their first excuse. Ask them to outlaw artificial turf which is full of PFAS (forever chemicals). And in case you didn't know, it actually increases the temperature of your yard up to 40% to 70% hotter than the actual temperature. So if it's 90 degrees outside, not only will your kids & pets will be playing on turf that is approx. 120 to 160 degrees (third degree burns) but your yards temperature will be just as hot. Some cities have created micro ecosystems even if it's the tiniest of spaces, even if it's a parking lot or an abandoned lot or a street median. Every place and space counts, less concrete/pavement/synthetic turf the better.
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Another way is to donate to some of our amazing international, national & local organizations that rely on our financial help to enable them to be able to get in front of our government for environmental policy changes. Some of you may not feel comfortable being vocal, so let these valuable organizations be your voice by supporting them with a donation. Most of them are non-profit so financial donations are the key to continue their work of protecting our environment from disappearing.
Here's a real challenging yet very important one....reduce the amount of plastics/petroleum products in your life. Now this one is certainly not as easy as it sounds but starting small is the key to success. Also by shifting our mind set as to how we purchase food, store food and our daily use items will also make it easier to embrace change. We definitely had our challenges with this one but we started with the things we knew we could successfully accomplish and afford. For example, I bring my own non-plastic reusable bags to the grocery store. We purchased glass food containers to store food in the cabinets and refrigerator, so when I get home from the store I'll remove the food item from the plastic container & transfer it into a glass one. We use a combination of snap-lock containers, ball jars & saved jars from other foods like honey, pasta sauce, etc that I can reuse. Use ceramic and glass dishware & glassware (I know with little kiddos it might not be viable). Buy products in paper or glass containers that can also be recycled. Buy renewable grown products like items made from bamboo or recycled products. Email or write to the companies you use to let them know how you feel about them using petroleum products for their packaging. If their sales go down they listen. We purchase fruits and vegetables not wrapped in plastic. We changed our bedding to all cotton & make sure to purchase clothes made of cotton. We try to purchase wood furniture, no more Ikea crap. No black plastic kitchen utensils, only wood or certain silicone based non PFAS ones. Now with that said, some of the big items that we struggle with are kitchen garbage bags, toothpaste, toothbrushes, certain food items and certain clothes like bras and shoes. Of course there are things that are full of plastic that are almost impossible to get away from; cars, computers, garbage cans, kids products, furniture, kitchen utensils, detergents, ugh the list goes on. The less forever chemicals & microplastics in our bodies, in our children, in our plants and animals the better! I'm not sure what the alternatives are if any, since our lifestyles are so imbedded in some of these. I'm sure some of you have some great ideas to share here.
Another way is to start a gardening club if there isn't one in your area or join an existing one or create a gardening social event or a plant swap or a vlog/blog or a social media platform. Host these events in a park, I bet others in the park would be mighty curious to learn more. These are all things you can do whether you live in a house with a yard or an apartment with a balcony planters or a community garden or even if you have none of these. Imagine all of the conversations that can take place at these events, a meeting of the minds, hee hee. A great way for like minded people to build a movement that can spread out to teach others about how important saving our ecosystems are. Imagine all the great ideas as to how we can change the way we are currently doing things into a better way of living for our future selves & generations.
Get involved in your local government! What a great way to make a positive impact in your community. Vote out the leaders that continue to sell out your community. Throw your hat in the ring for a seat at the table. Show up to the commissioner meetings, city council meetings, county agenda meetings, your state even, let your voices be heard, bring your gardening friends! Have a pre-garden party before a commissioner meeting to get the juices flowing. Make sure your city has practical & Florida Friendly Landscaping ordinances; i.e. homes & business should have a certain amount of trees, palms and shrubbery, less sod & no artificial turf. Ask your city officials for a meeting to discuss ideas for environmental changes. When we lead by example, others will follow. Especially when there is proof in how the new change is working for the better.
The fact that our local & state government continues to allow the overdevelopment of our state and nation is absolutely despicable and frustrating to watch them gladly get away with it. They slash and burn native habitats to the ground, habitats that might be the only one left of its kind...for what another Walmart?! Yes, Miami-Dade county let that happen adjacent to the Miami Zoo despite huge efforts by the community, scientists/ecologists & organizations to stop this from happening. That unique rare habitat is now lost forever to cheap Chinese plastic products. Palm Beach county, Broward county & Miami-Dade county have all sold out to track home developers that are currently building in our Agriculturally designated areas. Areas zoned only for agricultural. Guess how that happened? When people complain how expensive food has been over the past 8+ years, a huge reason is because Florida is no longer a leader in our farming industry. We import most of our fresh food due to this kind of selfish unsustainable development. But don't loose hope, we can make a change in how we view the world, how we view our lifestyles, how we support certain corporations trying to do good, how we support regenerative farming practices (support our farmers in general). We can do better, we know what the right thing is and we have to hold the ones that are larger than ourselves accountable for their bad behavior every step of the way. Our children are also a hope of an ecologically sustainable world for us & our planet. The more they learn how important how a healthy planet is, they'll create new ideas, new ways of thinking & create the change that needs to happen. To replace the old with the new! Yay, that get's me excited! When we shift our current lifestyle to a more sustainable one, only then will our planet will reward us with keeping us healthy & alive.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts...let's keep this conversation & action going!
As always best wishes & happy gardening,
Sheri
xoxo
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