Land Use & Loss
Introduction to Land Use and Loss:
The way land is used has profound impacts on the health of communities at all scales. Largely, the government plays a significant role in controlling how the land they govern over is used. The extensive and extractive ways that much of habitable land has been utilized has created multifaceted and interconnected issues such as soil nutrient loss, erosion, and a continued tactic of genocide. Indigenous people have long been protecting the land, and they must be included in conversations for planning land use.
Global Scale
Globally, 50% of habitable land is utilized for agriculture (Ritchie). Many critical old growth forests worldwide have been, and continue to be clear cut for industrial agriculture, which further destroys soil health which in turn destroys air health and causes copious amounts of CO2 and methane emissions which are strong greenhouse gases contributing to climate change, affecting the global population. Decreasing food and agricultural sovereignty as a whole has been used by imperialist governments to control and destroy indigenous/aboriginal lands and food systems as a form of genocide.
National Scale
According to CIA.gov, the current (2018) land use for the united states sits at 44.5% for agriculture, 16.8% arable land, 0.3% permanent crop, 27.4% permanent pasture, 33.3% forest, & 22.2% "other," which includes freshwater bodies, built-up land and barren land. The majority of cropland is used for stock feed, leaving little for actual food grown for human consumption. The current dominant food system in America current is built on genocide; it actively promotes corporate control of crops and food, making many people dependent on industrial agriculture.
Local Scale
Most of Michigan's forests were clear cut during the logging boom, which was detrimental to the land. Michigan's agricultural land makes up for about 61% of the total land area. Much of GVSU's green space is taken up by regular lawn grass, which is a monoculture that requires lots of mowing and fertilizer for upkeep. The land use at the SAP itself is quite efficient, but it is not easily accessible for most GVSU students and not well promoted well across the university.
Important Practices For Regenerative Agriculture and Food Security
Agroforestry
Agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems to create environmental, economic, and social benefits.
Polyculture
Polyculture includes cultivating a a variety of plants within the same bed. It is crucial for naturally discouraging pests, disease, and crop failure.
Permaculture
Permaculture is a multifaceted design system modeled by and around nature. Reduces long term human input by creating landscapes that are mostly, if not fully self-regulating.
Background Research on Land Use and Loss at GVSU
The steep hillsides of the ravines that GVSU was built near are currently experiencing rapid erosion, down cutting, and widespread slope instability (GVSU). It is likely that the increased rate of erosion is this erosion is due to an increase in storm water runoff, which is directed to the ravines from impermeable surfaces such as parking lots and sidewalks, and the flat grassy lawn areas that take up much of GVSU'S green space are easily flooded. While the SAP currently has a small garden of raised beds outside of Au Sable hall, it is not enough to build up those strong root structures that build soil health. Strong vegetative communities can slow water movement over the soil and, along with the established root structure, increase infiltration and soil structure while minimizing soil loss, as well as helping to establish a sustainable plant community and minimize life cycle costs. Both soil and vegetation are important factors for meeting or exceeding storm water quality requirements. Together, they can reduce runoff, reduce soil loss, and increase water quality (CalTrans). Additionally, trees must be planted in optimal locations, and possibly included in on campus garden beds, known as agroforestry.
Implementation Plan for the Sustainable Agriculture Project
We suggest that the SAP should start to look into building more community garden beds closer to and on the Allendale Campus, especially in locations that are easily accessible to students. We recommend that the blueprints of the Au Sable beds would be an easy and efficient way to start these due to them already existing. It will be necessary to contact whomever to must get approval from for changing land use on campus. Between Allendale and Pew Campus, there are a total of 1,391 acres of land, which to start this project, it would only be about 5-15 total acres and if the project is successful, then move on to more areas if successful. Once approved, the soil will need to be tested. Creating a new class or adding this duty to an already existing class that could fulfill requirements for applicable majors, allowing the students to work on the garden will provide the necessary labor. Getting these students to do hands on work creating these garden beds will not only benefit their education and drive their passion, but it will make the implementation process cheap and effective. At the appropriate planting time, acquire seedlings or seeds to plant in the beds. Volunteers and/or students of applicable classes will tend to the beds regularly in their first year. Hopefully, as the beds become more established, they will become somewhat of a community garden for students living on campus, where money is not the most important factor. We hope for this to be a collaborative project that provides fresh, healthy food for students building community collaboration and mutual respect. Below are some suggested locations on the Allendale Campus to start these garden beds.
*Fertilizer and Tool costs are added in case SAP isn't able to provide enough resources.
*Miscellaneous included in budget for if items break or need to be replaced.
Prices gathered from the Burpee Seed Catalog.
A view of what one of the gardens across campus could look like.
Estimated Costs
On paper, it may seem like a project like this would be too costly, especially with professional help. In reality though, it can be possible to begin a garden on a manageable budget, especially with school funding. Considering that it costs $100 per acre to mow lawn grass, the reduced need for mowing would offset some of the costs to start the gardens. The image on the top left corner of this section includes all costs necessary per total acre for the gardens. Luckily, the SAP does make their own compost and recycles the soil, which can fill the garden beds at little to no cost, and with our current estimates, the SAP should be able to provide enough compost for the extra gardens in the beginning. If using raised beds, it would be cost effective to acquire secondhand/scrapped lumber. If there isn't any suitable lumber able to be found, applicable retailers sell it for $20 per board on average at a length of 1in x 10ft x 10ft. A box of screws can be bought for less than $5 and cover the needs of 3 frames. The SAP already has many items and tools in their inventory that can be used to build and manage the new garden beds. We hope for these garden beds to ultimately be university funded, and student/staff worked on, but volunteers are more than welcome to help. The costs of potential plants/crops that would be viable to plant as part of this project, which have been chosen based on their hardiness for Michigan climate and their harvest season. People would be welcome to bringing their own seeds with approval from GVSU. In total if we include fertilizer, tools, and extra, it costs only $5,579 per total acre. Most are start up costs and would eventually be reduced once materials are gathered and stored for later use.
Tentative Timeline
Below is a tentative timeline for the first year of implementation.
If there were to be a class per semester to work on this project, as well as volunteers and certain summer classes to maintain throughout the summer. The project to become successfully implemented out of the trial stage would be close to three total years.
Triple Bottom Line Analysis
People
Planet
Profit
Having garden space on-campus would reduce food insecurity for students living on campus and encourage a healthier diet. Additionally, it provides the opportunity to build community collaboration and reduce dependence on exploitative corporations. Reconnecting with food can be, and often is, an extremely healing experience that has long term positive effects on physical and mental health. Changing the narrative and starting people on these kinds of community gardens are just the first step in global reformation for sustainable practices.
Sustainable agriculture is integral to reducing the effects of climate change. Additionally, replacing lawn with garden space reduces the need for mowing lawns, which use fossil fuels. Built up root systems reduce flooding and runoff, and therefore, reduce erosion, which is a problem that the local land faces. In reducing our reliance on major corporations for food, it will overall reduce the demand for products from them and reduce the overall emissions produced.
The reduced need for gasoline in the mowers would cut expenses immensely. Those saved funds can be used to build the gardens. Over time, the students of Grand Valley, especially those living on campus, will save money on groceries as they could instead grow their own produce right outside of their dorm building. It could in turn also reduce trips to the grocery store and reduce personal spending and emissions. On a more global scale, implementing a plan like this will help save in the context of the billions of dollars lost in the economic costs of climate change.
References
Alpha Nurseries Inc. (2021). Alpha Nurseries, Inc. http://www.alphanurseries.com/broadleafsmalltreespagetwo.html
CIA.gov. (2018). Land Use. The World Factbook. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/land-use/
CalTrans. (2010, November). Key Concepts Of Sustainable Erosion Control. https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/programs/design/documents/erosion-control-technical-guide-v2-a11y.pdf
Curtis Talley Jr., Michigan State University Extension. (2021, July 29). Michigan irrigation costs and supplies enhance farm sustainability. MSU Extension. https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/michigan_irrigation_costs_and_supplies_enhance_farm_sustainability
Engels, J. (2016, June 3). Why Our Lawns Are Bad for the Environment and How to Change Them for the Better. The Permaculture Institute. https://www.permaculturenews.org/2016/06/03/why-our-lawns-are-bad-for-the-environment-and-how-to-change-them-for-the-better/
Fixr. (2021, October 29). 2021 Lawn Mowing Prices | Cost of Lawn Service. Fixr.Com. https://www.fixr.com/costs/lawn-maintenance
ResearchGVSU Geology. (2017, April 27). Ravine Research at GVSU - Geology - Grand Valley State University. GVSU. https://www.gvsu.edu/geology/ravine-research-at-gvsu-12.htm
Ritchie, H. (2019, November 13). Land Use. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/land-use.
USDA. (2019). Agroforestry. USDA. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://www.usda.gov/topics/forestry/agroforestry.
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/land0819.pdf
https://www.move.org/storage-units-cost/
Meet the Team!
Laura Sutherland
Laura is an Environmental & Sustainability Studies major. She is very passionate about regenerative agriculture and hopes to be an off-grid homesteader one day.
Devin LaFond
Devin is a Marketing and Entrepreneurship Double Major with a Minor in Environmental and Sustainability Studies. He hopes to one day open an energy efficient, 100% waste free coffee shop.
