Reflection

My goal with this project was to physically implement the practices I have been learning in my courses. I did this through using sustainable soil practices which I learned in my soils class and by installing a compost bin and water barrel which I learned in my resource conservation course. With my background knowledge and passion for the environment, I wanted to change the landscape of our backyard to become more sustainable. In doing this project I noticed ecological change throughout the seasons. There were butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds buzzing around. Birds built nests in our trellises, bunnies had babies in our hay which attracted foxes. With just changing our backyard landscape to a lush greenery the food web started to heal. It was inspiring to see how our efforts were working to help the environment. Along with admiring the beauty of our backyard, this project strengthened my gardening skills which will help me in my future career.

For my future, I want to start my own regenerative farm, and with this experience I have a better understanding of the amount of planning that goes into starting a garden, the work it takes to maintain it, and how I can use the produce to be self-sufficient. With this experience, I hope to educate and inspire the people around me to start growing their own food in an environmentally conscious way to help mitigate climate change while building human and ecological health.

We all need to act to help restore the natural environment we live in, and through this project my family and I have taken a great step into becoming more sustainable and self-sufficient. If we all come together to make small changes in our daily life decisions, we can make a big change in the world around