In this series we are asking doomer optimists to give us a little taste of the kinds of actions they are taking in the face of the doom. The idea here is to start to map the breadth of the available activities out there that could get one started on a path toward something optimistic.
Just like our mini-manifestos, we all don’t have to agree about the best activities to pursue, or the ways in which we pursue them. What we agree on is that we should all be taking steps toward action.
It’s a coincidence that doomer optimism shortens to DO, but it could be our mantra, “do!”
Part 1: Small lot urban edible garden by Prasan (dhanuraashi@)
Part 2: How to start a micro-nursery for free by Sim
Part 3: Introducing Parents’ Nook by Parents Nook
Part 4: DIY decentralized water supply and treatment by Josh
Part 5: DO Perennials by Grant
Part 6: Growth Through Death by James Strand
Productive Urban Landscapes
By Tres Crow of Roots Down
Wanna know how you turn a $30b cost into a $70b public benefit?
So every year, state and local governments spend around $30b on landscaping services. This can include a wide range of services, but the vast majority of it is spent on building and maintaining traditional mow and blow landscapes.
What I mean by traditional mow and blow? You know what I'm talking about. The types of landscapes we see everywhere: Big, sprawling lawns Non-native shrubs and bushes Annual flowers (sometimes) A bunch of pine straw in the spring You know, places like this:
While most of us have lived in these types of public spaces for so long we’ve been trained to see them as, if not beautiful, then at least the “proper” way to do landscapes. We’ve become immune to how non-functional and wasteful they are.
Hiding in those clean edges and leafless lawns is one of America’s darkest ecological secrets. Every leaf blower, riding lawn mower, and herbicide application is contributing to a growing ecological crisis, where soils are impoverished, water is polluted, and communities poorer.
Mow and Blow landscaping causes or contributes to:
- More atmospheric carbon
- Flooding issues
- Soil erosion
- Polluted waterways
- Increased rates of asthma
- Noise pollution
- An alarming rate of biodiversity loss
Basically, every year state and local governments spend $30b to make climate change worse, pollute waterways, degrade soils, create worse health outcomes, and contribute to the biodiversity crisis.
What if instead our public landscapes could feed people, fight climate change, and create green jobs, all while:
- Sequestering carbon
- Increasing biodiversity
- Saving water and building soil
- Eliminating pesticide/herbicide use
- Reducing fossil fuel use?
Well they can. Instead of Mow & Blow landscapes, we can convert public spaces to Productive Urban Landscapes, spaces that:
- Use native plants
- Incorporate food-producing trees and shrubs
- Use all-electric equipment
- And never require herbicides
This is how you take a $30b cost center and turn it into $70b+ in community value, through food, recreation, youth education, green jobs, and community engagement. A small change makes a huge difference. This is the work of Roots Down.
We’re growing more Fruitful Communities by shifting the paradigm of public landscaping. Through our Fruitful Communities initiative, we’re showing local govs and unis how to turn landscaping budgets into drivers for sustainable, popular, & effective social programs.
Like right here in DeKalb County, where we’re working with County Commissioners @tedterry1 and @meredadjohnson and the great folks in the Facilities Management and Library Departments to convert the landscaping around public libraries into centers of community pride.
And the best part? There’s room for everyone in the Fruitful Communities initiative. No matter who you are, there's something you can do to fight climate change and feed people in your community.
Want to get plugged in and support our work? Consider becoming a Roots Down member for just $79 per year. We need people like you!
For more information visit: https://www.rootsdownga.com/membership