Our Yards: A “Last Frontier” for Wildlife & Biodiversity?

In the past couple of years, I’ve come to believe that voluntary conservation efforts in residential yards and other private lands may be our best hope at protecting biodiversity and tree cover. I call my idea “Infill Reforestation,” analagous to the concept of “Infill Development.” My conviction about this has only intensified with the rollbacks of Federal environmental protections for wetlands and riverways.

The voluntary aspect of conservation — harnessing people’s innate passion and compassion for wild nature — is what’s going to be the lifesaver and the dealbreaker. Here in my home state, the Florida state legislature has overturned the ability of local governments to regulate tree removal on private property. (This is part of an overall disturbing trend of the dismantling of home rule here in Florida, and maybe in your state too.) Now that we can’t keep property owners from removing even old-growth trees, the conservation efforts of those of us who recognize the value of wild biodiverse spaces become all the more important.

Over the past few weeks, several articles have reached me via my social-media newsfeed, that reinforce my idea that there is a lot you and I can do, and must do as much as we are willing and able.

The state of Minnesota is paying residents to transform their lawns into bee-friendly landscapes: “Minnesota just allocated nearly a million dollars in incentives for people to transform their lawns into bee-friendly wildflowers, clover and native grasses. The state is asking citizens to stop spraying herbicide, stop mowing so often, and let their lawns re-wild into a more natural state. … The loss of native prairies and forests across the country has made pollinators more dependent on urban and suburban lawn flowers, says James Wolfin, a bee habitat researcher at University of Minnesota.” (from ReturnToNow.net)

• And another one to give you moral support: Evidence that land clearing leads to rainfall reduction (something that a lot of us land-carers have known or at least suspected for years now). “A team of water experts has identified a correlation between widespread land clearing and a decline in rainfall in Western Australia’s South West region.” This is “something that also individuals can assist with on their own vacant land or on farms and unproductive land.” (Thanks to ABC Australia for covering this issue.)

“How To Re-Oak Your Neighborhood.” Enumerates the rich benefits of native oaks, and offers tips for reintroducing them into our neighborhoods. Although the article From Los Altos Online is targeted at California residents, Florida conservation gardener Ginny Stibolt comments that “To have a more sustainable & climate-wise landscape plant more trees, but all trees are not equal when it comes to shade, transpiration rates, and carbon sequestration. Live oaks are the best choice for many reasons. This article is for California, but it applies equally as well here in Florida” (and in other states as well, I would add).

Worry About Your Own Property, That’s Where Conservation Happens: “Despite widespread habitat destruction that shows no sign of abating, regular home gardeners can make a difference for insects by growing the right kinds of native plants.”

Declining Insect Populations Threaten Birds: Intimidated by HOA rules and other pressure from the turfgrass mafia? Use this article to remind yourself that you’re doing essential work by preserving biodiversity at all levels. “Do we ignore insect declines to our detriment, or change some of our most destructive day-to-day routines, which seem to be modifying our world into a more sterile place?”

• And finally, another gem shared by Ginny Stibolt: 10 Garden Ideas To Steal from Superstar Dutch Designer Piet Oudolf. “Landscape Designer Piet Oudolf has greatly influenced the definition of what a beautiful garden should look like. He uses mostly native plants, which are allowed to grow to their own shapes. This article summarizes 10 ideas that we can adapt and use in our own yards and in our communities.”

I hope you find the above articles helpful. At a time when bird populations are drastically declining, and pollinators and other wildlife are disappearing rapidly, it is in our best interest to expand our standards of what’s beautiful in a landscape. Our aesthetics, especially here in Florida, have come to favor a landscape of sharp edges, extreme pruning, spraying, and de-diversification that is ultimately bad for all of us.

Right now, natural gardening on the household and neighborhood scale has much potential to help turn the situation around (as well as adding much-needed charm and shade to our streets). Let’s turn residential landscaping into a real art — one that honors our unique bioregions, and is firmly rooted in science and nature.

Book Launch Coming Up

Hey DEEP GREEN troops! On Friday, February 14, I will launch my first work of fiction! A novella with a sci-fi/Permaculture/TEOTWAWKI -type theme. While inspired by serious topics such as climate change, social alienation, and the dangers of overreliance on social media, the novella has a humorous tone.

The power of story to make a difference in the world has been well-established. What better time to launch my story than Valentine’s Day. Stay tuned for updates.

Freedom To Do the Work You Want To Do

In the course of reducing my footprint for environmental purposes, I found that low-footprint living was also a great way to reduce my financial overhead. This was great for me, since the work I am passionate about and feel committed to doing (eco activism; eco education) has not generally been a major source of income for me.

At times, my annual income has been as little as $7,000, before taxes. Most of the time it’s been around $13,000-15,000.

So how do I manage? Here are some of the main ways:

– Always have roommates or housemates. With roommates/housemates to split costs, my expense to keep a roof over my head has never been over $400 a month for my whole adult life (with the exception of a period of a few years when I was living more of a “typical middle-class” lifestyle). And at times, that expense has been as low as $250 or $300. (Right now it’s about $300.)

– Don’t own a car. Living in a walkable or at least bikable area is a deal-breaker for me. Always get jobs near where I live, or work at home. By cutting out the car I eliminate enormous hassle, and an expense that for most people typically ends up being several hundred dollars a month one way or another (be it from a car payment, repairs, or both). I spend maybe a hundred dollars a year on Uber rides or putting gas in a car borrowed from a friend for a trip I can’t do by foot, bicycle, or bus.

– Don’t use air conditioning. The human body is actually very physiologically adapted to heat, more so than cold. Since I live in Florida, I can get away without using heat too. Some people I know have heating/AC bills that are 100, 200, or even several hundred dollars a month.

– No cable internet bill. I have a phone with unlimited data for $50 a month. If I really wanted some TV or movies, I could sign up with Hulu or Netflix for a few bucks a month.

– Clothing: I enjoy fashion, but a little goes a long way, and I get lots of good stuff for cheap at the thrift shop. As it happens, I also like to sew, knit, etc., so I buy old clothing items and “edit” them to my unique tastes.

These are the main big overhead costs of USA-merican life, in my experience. By cutting these, I greatly reduce how much money I need to earn to live well, and get to do the work I feel truly passionate about and committed to doing.

Of course, even if you have a high income, you can benefit greatly by minimizing your overhead. Think what you might do with all the money you free up. Start a side business or charity? Become a supporter of the arts in your community? Buy a piece of vacant land in your city and create a public food forest? The possibilities are endless.

Now, many people have large ongoing expenses such as medical bills or student-loan debt. My heart goes out to you. And, living a low-footprint life in the way described above can help you not only get free of debt faster, but also not be so squeezed in the meantime.

I encourage you to pursue the work you feel passionate about, whatever it is. Do what it takes to minimize your overhead so you have some breathing room. Not only is it about getting to have your freedom; it’s also about making your highest contribution to the planet.

On the subject of increasing one’s prosperity by reducing one’s footprint, today I discovered a book called Go Green, Live Rich, by financial writer David Bach. I bought a copy today and have just started reading. Here is a review of the book on TreeHugger.

Becoming a Local Investor – 4

In this installment, I’m starting a list of investments that might be worth making even if you don’t reap a monetary return, or even any kind of direct material return.

Here are a few examples:

-Plant rye, clover, or other regenerative groundcover on a denuded empty lot that has suffered wind and water erosion from excess mowing or other degenerative landscaping practices.

-Invest in a local farm.

-Invest in a local grocery store.

-Ditto: local welding shop.

-Sponsor a mural in a blighted ethnic/historic neighborhood.

-Devote time to neighborhood marketing — helping people find stable living arrangements by connecting them with owners of houses or apartments in your neighborhood that are currently unoccupied.

-Invest in your own training/education to gain knowledge and skills that you know will benefit your household and community even if it doesn’t produce a monetary return in the form of a higher-paying job, etc.

When deciding where and how to invest our money, we have to be brave. We have to remember that monetary returns are just one tiny piece of the equation. Money won’t do any of us much good if we allow our communities to continue to be afflicted by loss of tree cover; degraded soil; tattered social fabric; insufficient coverage of basic human needs; skills-drain.

What would be on your list? What would you add to the list above?

Becoming a Local Investor – 3

In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series of posts, I offer some suggestions for investing your money locally. One of my suggestions was to start a business that allows you to earn a livelihood while also helping your local community become more vibrant and resilient. Looking around at my own community, I can list a number of businesses that (at least in my opinion) are desperately needed:

Bicycle repair shop*

Courier; delivery service

Knife-sharpening shop (the only guy in town who was doing this died, and no one took over the business)

Grocery store* (ideally a co-op! or at least an independently owned store rather than a chain). Check out this brilliant vision that a friend just described to me: “Get every farmer withing a hundred miles a steady income. Hold classes in the store during open hours on organic backyard gardening to sell back to the store, keep two or three aisles open for 100 percent local produced, kombucha, honey, soaps, etc etc etc. On-site aquaponics, rooftop gardens and beehives, all the local fishermen bringing us their catch etc etc.” Now THAT would be a grocery store to aspire to!

Laundromat; laundry service

Landlords (LOCAL, and ideally living on the premises, not absentee) for small multifamily unit buildings (2-4 units) that are up for sale in the neighborhood

Welding shop

Composting business

Recycling business

Indie bookstore

Native-plant nursery

Tailor/alterations

A year-round pedicab company (the only one we have right now operates only seasonally, and mainly in the touristy area of town)

Small urban farms

*(Asterisks indicate that such businesses exist in my general geographic region but not within walking distance of my neighborhood.)

This is just a very short list off the top of my head. Look around your area; what unmet needs do you see that you might turn into opportunities?

One of my favorite examples of a local business in my area that is earning its proprietor a livelihood while truly serving a need in the community (multiple needs, in fact) is Midtown Laundry of Daytona Beach. This laundry pickup and delivery service hires formerly incarcerated individuals who would otherwise have trouble finding work. The employees are very dedicated because they want to keep their jobs. It’s a major win-win.

Civics note: When it comes to assessing what businesses are needed in a neighborhood, and filling those needs, the residents themselves know best. By their nature, governments and the people we call “developers” are not the ones best equipped for that task. If we want to have a say in the commercial development of our communities, we have to step up and be proactive.

Further Reading:

Can’t find any local investment opportunities right now? No problem!

I’ve been meaning to share with you this outstanding article “How I Am Investing To Save the Planet” from one of my top go-to resources, Laura Oldanie (Triple Bottom Line Financial Independence). Like me, Laura is a staunch advocate of “moving one’s money from Wall Street to Main Street”! Although the investments she writes about in this post are not all local per se, they will allow you to have peace of mind, knowing that your money is benefiting people and the planet while earning you a decent return. (I was impressed with the 10% return on one of the investments!)

I also hear that Terracycle, the worldwide enterprise that accepts pretty much every category of manufactured waste for recycling, is offering investment opportunities, with a minimum investment of $700. I am seriously considering investing.

Instant Affordable Housing for All

A few years back, I stumbled on a book “Unlocking Home: 3 Keys to Affordable Communities” by Alan Durning. This book has really expanded my thinking about why so many cities struggle with reasonably priced housing. Basically, a lot of housing that used to be provided naturally by informal arrangements in the free market has been outlawed. 

The 3 keys Durning mentions in his book are 1) easing restrictions on number of roommates/housemates; 2) allowing Accessory Dwelling Units (garage apts, backyard cottages, etc) to be rented out by right; and 3) re-legalizing SRO’s/rooming houses.

In my city, Daytona Beach, we currently have a limit on the number of unrelated people who can live under one roof. Many cities have a limit of 4 people; our limit is just 2 people! Meanwhile, we have a housing crunch.

Even just doing 1) easing the occupancy limit, would go a long way to increase the supply of housing for students, senior citizens, and people who simply prefer to spend less money on rent and/or choose not to live alone.

If this idea makes sense to you as it does to me, here are some talking points that might help you enlist support from your local leaders, neighbors, NIMBY folks, etc.:

– Roommates/housemates offer many benefits besides the financial. They can alleviate social isolation (which has been dubbed the #1 public-health crisis); as well as allow sharing of tasks such as childcare.

– The Daytona Beach News-Journal has a front-page story in today’s paper, reporting an explosion of upscale apartments coming to the Daytona Beach area despite weak wage growth. Although construction of higher-end rental units has been found in many cities to free up lower-priced units for people who really need them, luxury housing cannot by itself ease the crunch on everyday-people housing. The article points out that, because of land costs, construction costs, impact fees, and regulations, it has become nearly impossible for developers to build new residential units for people of modest means. Easing the restriction on roommates/housemates is a free, instant way to help alleviate this crunch.

– The fact that we have groups of students renting houses in gated golf-course communities (yes!! we actually have that situation here!! Crazy huh?) is a sign that there are not enough appropriate housing options for students and other single people of modest means. Many of the traditional demographic of residents in these places are understandably upset about what they refer to as “dorm living,” and the noise and car-clutter it brings. But retaining excessively strict, citywide roommate limits is not the solution here. HOA’s have their own existing rules regarding car-clutter, noise, etc.; they should be able to use those rules to manage their communities. Another point: Gated golf-course communities and the like are not ideal places for students to live; it’s a bad fit for both the students and the traditional demographic of residents. The city could instead proactively market the apartments and other options that are available; maybe interface with the student-life office of each college to make students more aware of the more viable housing options for them. Maybe some of these students, were they to move to apartments located near major retail complexes as well as closer to their schools, would even be able to live car-free if they wanted.

– Families and their living arrangements are changing. Families are smaller, and more people are creating ad hoc adopted families, blended families etc. Biological family members don’t always live near each other, and many houses and apartments are too expensive for just one or two people to manage.

– It’s not just students and young people but also senior citizens who are seeking out group living arrangements. This is for social as well as economic reasons, and is a major national trend.

– Daytona Beach (like many other towns and cities across the USA) has lots of gorgeous old houses with 5, 6, or more bedrooms. It only makes sense to fully occupy them; the alternative is blight and decay, which then become the city’s expensive problem on many levels. 

– We need to try some tiny-house developments, such as the concept of 4 mini cottages on one lot, sharing one car. 

– Regarding students living in sheds and other inadequate shelter: We can’t just kick them out and shut down the landlords without offering them an alternative. If we want students to come to our excellent colleges, and ideally remain after they graduate, we have to provide a well-rounded housing menu including plenty of options that are friendly to students and other people of modest means. 

– We could work with landlords to help them turn unfinished sheds into proper cottages. It not only makes practical sense, but also is the compassionate thing to do.

– Also, artists and other creatives who are typically considered desirable to a city’s economy and social fabric depend on low-priced housing options. In fact, many creative types prefer slightly rustic, less fancy housing as a matter of taste. 

– We need to get to the real root of “roommate elitism” by pointing out that a lot of it is rooted in old restrictions targeting minorities, single women (who historically were suspected of prostitution), etc. 

– In my neighborhood, a family was able to find a house they could all share. There are 10 people including grandparents, daughter, grandkids, great-grandkids. They had previously been in 3 separate apartments paying a total of $3,000 in rent. Now they are all living in one beautiful old house they love, paying $1100 and there is always someone to watch the kids. They share 2 bathrooms and 4 bedrooms. This is a desirable situation and there is no reason why unrelated roommates should not be able to do the same. Excess cars are curbed by parking limitations, 2 parking passes per household.

– If we went through the city right now and rooted out every house or apartment with more than 2 unrelated people living in it, we would theoretically have to evict a large percentage of people; some folks might be surprised how pervasive the situation is! 

– On a personal note … For some years here in Daytona Beach, I was hanging by a thread economically. Roommates have been a key part of what has allowed me to stay here, be a contributing citizen, and, over time, piece together enough paying work to sustain the civic and environmental activism that is my main occupation.

– Expanding max number of occupants is possibly the quickest, easiest, and cheapest way to ease the crunch on modest-priced housing. 

The Unlocking Home book is very helpful; I hope you get a chance to read it. Also check out another of my top resources on this topic of freeing up the affordable urban housing marketplace, StrongTowns.org — search for articles about “missing middle” housing, ADUs, duplexes/triplexes. 

I think that’s it. If I think of any more ideas I will write them out for you. I thank my city leaders for caring about this issue and setting out to formulate a workable rule! 

Dumb Growth

In yesterday’s post (and on my radio show linked in the post), I shared some thoughts about smart growth. Here are a few examples of dumb growth. Note, the point is not to chastise or shame. Rather, calling out dumb growth can help us avoid the same mistakes in future. It also can serve as a guide for introducing smart green retrofits into our existing built environments.

Examples of dumb growth:

– Building a retirement community in such a manner that the only viable mode of transport is the personal automobile.

– Building any housing development in such a manner that the only viable mode of transport is the personal automobile.

– Grading and draining wetlands, which provide natural stormwater mitigation, then spending millions to build and maintain retention ponds, which are inferior not only in terms of function and cost-effectiveness (it’s hard to beat Mother Nature’s free ecosystem services) but also in terms of beauty and biodiversity.

– Widening a road that goes through a residential area, past a school, etc. Even with crossing guards, kids should not have to attend school next to a four-lane “stroad.”

– Widening roads inside cities in general. Only widen a road if you want to speed traffic through a place. Save arterials for the edge of the city, to send through-traffic on its way. If you care about local business, quality of life, public safety, and social cohesion, avoid widening roads that run through town. (Some cities that have at one time widened a road that runs through town, are now turning those roads back into narrower, slower-speed streets.)

– Letting old usable buildings crumble and decay to the point where they have to be torn down, and then a whole new building has to be constructed, with all the expense and eco footprint, and loss of local history and character, that entails.

– Unduly restricting home-based businesses, which enable residents to earn a livelihood while serving their neighborhoods.

– Continuing to build sprawl developments while making it costly and time-consuming to get building permits within the historic city limits.

– Demolishing large swathes of woods and meadows, and removing the topsoil, to construct a residential development, then planting high-maintenance turf grass and non-native plants.

– Disregarding signals that the menu of housing options is inadequate for all segments of the population. For example, a bunch of students are renting a house in a gated golf-course community. The other residents are disturbed by their six or seven cars, coming and going at all hours, and their parties. Meanwhile it’s hard to imagine students, or any young single people, being happy in such a place. This situation (which is a real-life example) should be taken as a sign from the marketplace to add more student-friendly housing options.

– Removing housing that is considered “low-class” in the name of progress. Mobile-home parks, RV parks, Single Room Occupancy buildings all serve different demographics of residents, including many blue-collar workers, students, artists, single parents, and others who help make up a vibrant community. When we remove these dwelling options, we raise the barrier to accessible housing. The resulting drain of brains, elder wisdom, oldtimer perspective, creativity, and labor only serves to downgrade a community.

– Tearing down a building (or evicting everyone and then letting the building crumble) because of drugs or other illegal activity happening there. This is not progress; this is actually negative growth. And the drugs or whatever we were trying to solve, just move down the street.

– Removing benches, shade, and other amenities from parks to “solve” the problem of homeless people in the parks. Ditto cutting down shrubs and trees because homeless people camp there. This is not growth; this is backward movement because it downgrades public amenities for all of us.

– Only focusing on growing a limited slice of the economy such as tourism or office jobs. Not supporting local agriculture, for example. Failing to plan for a community’s local resiliency in general. Food supply, water supply, skills, social capital, entrepreneurial ecosystem.

– In the name of “progress,” imposing uniform standards for development (typically Anglo, middle-class, “bougie” standards) that end up squashing, tamping down, diluting, abolishing the distinct character and deep-rooted homegrown economic vitality of the various historic, ethnic, and cultural neighborhoods in a city. And reifying social norms that favor this tamping-down. Reifying meaning we act as if these social norms are REAL — inherent good sense or laws of physics, instead of simply social norms made up by a subset of humans. (This last bullet item merits more comment; will come back and add to this later, or maybe create a separate post for it.)

Can you think of any more examples of “dumb growth” to add to this list?