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| THE CASUAL GARDENER, Shawna Coronado YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD! ONE STEP AT A TIME! = = = = = = = = = Dear Casual Gardener, I want to get started healthy gardening or volunteering in my community to improve the environment, but I don't know how I'd be considered qualified! I can't get my family to recycle. I don't do chemical free yard maintenance. I eat at fast food restaurants that devastate the rainforests. I don't drive a bio-diesel car. My house isn't on any type of sustainable power. Right now I'm drinking from a styrofoam cup, using a plastic spoon for my too much packaging yogurt. I had non-free-trade coffee on my way in to work. I'm going through reams of paper with my incessant printing. My clothes are made in third world country sweat shops. The meat I buy at the grocery store is from animals that decimate our country's rivers and streams. The vegetables and fruit at the store comes from other countries! My ecological footprint is an embarrassment to myself and to everything I believe in. I would feel like a complete hypocrite to try to point anyone in the right direction on ecology or a healthy world!!! Signed, Mary Menet, Aurora, IL = = = = = = = = = = Dear Mary, WHOA – slow down – you are not an environmental hypocrite. You need to take BABY STEPS! To begin you should take one step at a time. Before you perfect your ecological footprint, remember that every positive change starts with a single person who cares. I bet there’s some group in your town that could truly use a volunteer once a month. That’s do-able and not too hard. It doesn’t significantly change your ecological footprint, but it does get you started learning more about how to get yourself and your community healthy. Contact your local City Government or Chamber of Commerce and ask for their help! The organizations I volunteer with are desperate for people to come and help. I know there will be a place you will fit in which will help you to get started. Gardening is how I started. It’s gotten me healthier, I know a lot more about nature and it has introduced me to the larger garden and environmental community so I can learn more ways to accomplish positive environmental practices. My eco-footprint is far from perfect, but it’s coming along with gradual improvement. I encourage you to go to the Healthy Garden Philosophy Link on my website and learn more about how you can make the world healthier by conservation and make yourself less stressed and more empowered when working to improve that ecological footprint -www.thecasualgardener.com. Below is an excerpt from my “Conservation Plan.” My idea is to pick one (or more) of these suggestions and dive in: • Recycle! Recycling or reusing trash prevents increased landfill usage and community water problems • Buy recycled as well to help promote more recycling • Conserve water in the form of rain barrels, rain gardens, reduced usage and improved watering systems • Compost natural waste instead of throwing it away • Use perennials and native plantings in your yard to conserve soil and attract beneficial wildlife (bird and butterfly gardens as an example) • Participate in Food Co-Ops purchasing LOCAL GROWN produce • Try to use non-chemical solutions on plants on your property • Reduce electric and gas usage in your home so natural resources will not be used and wasted to bring these products to your home • Use Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs • Promote stewardship of the land by removing invasive species, chemical waste dumps and garbage from your property • Participate in community outreach programs for conservation Remember - keep it simple to start! By taking baby steps and learning as you go, you will soon be inspiring others to do important work which will be good for our world. Below is a famous quote from Harriet Tubman – a woman born into slavery, who played a significant part in freeing slaves and an integral part in American history by inspiring millions. She took on a monumental task, which was seemingly impossible, by accomplishing goals one step at a time: “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. “ I hope my readers will let Harriet Tubman inspire them and get started one step at a time to accomplish both positive environmental practices and have a healthier lstressed-reduced body! Please send your gardening questions for Shawna Coronado, The Casual Gardener to dearshawna@thecasualgardener.com or The Casual Gardener, P.O. Box 358, Warrenville, IL 60555. www.thecasualgardener.com |
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