Environment

[Super Rough Draft]

Things to place here:

• Why lawns of grass, while very pretty, are not always the best thing to have especially when spread across nearly every backyard of a nation.

• Studies that show the value of biodiversity

• How to balance a 'wild' look that supports biodiversity and a 'civilized' look of manicured lawns.  How Mother and I try to balance these things. 

• The different indigenous weeds in my yard that have great benefit in the local ecosystem, some of which I can eat and use. 

• How I use science and knowledge of nature in my mindfulness practice. 

• Collaboration with mother and she can provide many examples from her groups. 

• My yard

  • How I don't throw away autumn leaves but rather keep them to provide places for insects to overwinter

  • How I mow many leaves and then use those shredded leaves as mulch over the same area...it keeps the biomass within the same place and also looks prettier than just letting leaves be there.

  • How I allow goldenrod, milkweed, asters, wild violets, etc to grow in the yard. 

  • The different vastly beautiful insects who visit because of the biodiversity. 

• My business idea of having landscapers who are actually nature-spirtual practictioners. So they honor the trees they cut, they don't use powered equipment. They try to keep biodiversity and the biomass in the region.  They promote compost, etc. 

Within the depth of autumn, many of us have to tend to our yards.  I definitely appreciate those who keep gorgeous, well manicured and clean yards.  I would like to promote the idea that keeping a bit of wilderness is also deeply beautiful and meaningful.  Many insects, who are part of our larger family, are vital for the health of a biodiverse and thriving ecosystem and they depend on leaf litter to survive. For example, bumblebee colonies die as winter approaches and only the new queens survive by burrowing underneath the leaf litter to hibernate. For this reason I keep piles of leaves in my backyard for them to use during the winter.  This picture shows another option. To keep a clean looking front yard, I rake the leaves and then mulch them using an electric lawn mower which creates this extremely rich pile of leaf shredding.  I then sprinkle the leaf shredding across my lawn which, because they are small, does not suffocate the grass. I also put a thicker layer on my garden and my mother’s flowerbed which provides protection for overwintering insects and flower bulbs.  The additional benefit is that this keeps the biomass within the yard and creates great compost. By throwing out leaves every year, the yard suffers and is depleted of vital nutrients which many replace by using chemical-laced fertilizers and compost obtained from far away.  Finally, for me, raking is a deeply spiritual practice. Like combing someone’s hair, which is a way of showing deep care, I comb the Earth. It is part of my mindfulness practice where I try to deeply care for the land who nurtures me. It is also a good source of mild exercise and doesn’t spread noise pollution that leaf blowers can.  Thanks for reading :) <3 (photo credit: Stephen K.)

(Goldenrod, final part) Much of what my mother and I have been exploring is how to have a wildness of weeds that still looks good. As a first approach, is this elevated wooden 'boardwalk' which allows a person to hover above the weeds. This entire series was based on just a few minutes of observation, where I saw 10-15 different species of insects on the goldenrod!!! Much of this was possible because we have other flowering weeds throughout the summer and lots of leaf litter and rotting wood for these insects to use. The main themes I wanted to express was: 1. nature can be a bridge into the heaven of wonder and the blissfulness of meditation 2. 'messy' yards with weeds, leaf litter and rotting wood can lead to breathtaking biodiversity and beauty.