(posted just now in big Facebook groups of my county/region):
Here in Volusia County we bemoan the new development that is driving the clearcutting of forests and destruction of wetlands. And we are right to protest and fight this destruction of natural beauty and our life-support systems.
But at the same time, we tend to overlook a huge opportunity to add vegetation back in to existing developed areas, around the buildings and roads that are already there.
Too many of our aerial views in this county & other parts of Florida (and many other parts of the USA as well from what I can see) look like the “Before” pictures below. (These photos actually show a one-acre property in Australia where people bought a home & in a few short years transformed the deforested ground into a mini oasis containing 500 fruit & nut trees.) See photos here in this post on Limestone Permaculture FB page.
Time to retrofit some vegetation around our buildings! And introduce nature-friendly landscaping practices. HOAs, apartments, schools, churches, municipal buildings, commercial buildings don’t have to be surrounded by a flat shadeless expanse of ground! Our developed areas can look a lot more like the AFTER pictures! 💚🍀
We’ve heard of “urban redevelopment” — what about “urban reforestation”!
THIS is actual “smart growth”!
Vegetation and buildings can coexist! Much to everyone’s benefit.
Stormwater absorption
Drought buffer
Shade
Privacy
Noise buffer
Biodiversity; Habitat & food for wildlife
Fresh food for humans too!! Improving our local food security
#permaculturedaytona #greencitynotesfromjennynazak