By Leslie Watkins

Most gardeners share a deep regard for nature. We enjoy living a good life with the freedom to pursue our dreams and we love to see our gardens thrive. That love often extends beyond our own gardens to nature around the world.  Everything depends on a healthy environment to work from and hopefully pass on to future generations. Each day we make powerful choices that affect the overall health of our beautiful planet. And we have access now to more knowledge than ever before. Here are some easy things we can do collectively to benefit the earth, reduce green house emissions and save money at the same time.

Be more efficient when you drive your car. Schedule shopping days and errands in the same areas and plan ahead. Buy storable and bulk items on sale to cut down on trips. Keep shopping lists so you don’t have to go back—and also to keep from overbuying. Carpool and use public transportation when possible. Bring a friend along to cut your fuel consumption in half. Walk or bicycle when you can. Mow your lawn a little less often. It’s better for the lawn, will provide dandelion and clover flowers for pollinators and save you time and money.

Invest in a vest. Wearing an insulated vest is a great way to stay comfortable during the cold seasons. Get your body acclimated to cooler temperatures by setting the thermostat a little lower than you are used to. Just a couple of degrees can really add up over time to decrease your fuel consumption. Exercising can help to keep you warmer even when you are not active.

Learn a couple of delicious plant-based recipes that you can serve friends. Have all-veggie potlucks to share your dishes and learn new ones. You’ll be healthier, feel better, save money and have fun all at the same time. Compound your benefits by growing your own vegetables.

Bottled water is filtered water: buy your own filter and you won’t need to buy plastic water bottles. If you have well water, consider having it re-tested. The quality can change over time. Using less plastic and reusing what you have helps to keep it out of landfills and oceans. Get creative with using natural alternatives in packaging, building and storage materials. Look to the past, our ancestors had some good ideas. Buy fresh and local when possible.

There is an old Japanese saying that “everyone should have a child, write a book and plant a tree”. The tree-planting part is the easiest. We use billions of trees for building, fuel and paper goods. We need trees to clean the air and water, and to keep us cool. There are alternatives like hemp and bamboo that are fast-growing and remarkably versatile. Look for these renewable products as replacements for everyday items like paper towels and toilet tissue.

Give Mother Nature a hand. Help support the wildlife in your yard by growing native plants. Many ornamental hybrids can be replaced with natives that in addition to beautifying your property will also help provide food and shelter for the birds and bees. The birds will help with insect control. The bees will help pollinate food crops. As a bonus our native plants require less care giving you more free time to enjoy nature. Set aside an area for a home compost pile. It will lessen the amount of garbage brought to the dump and feed your soil. Coffee grounds, egg shells, vegetable waste, leaves, grass and trimmings break down fast into plant food. Your flowers and vegetables will flourish, and so will you.

The 3 R’s: reduce, reuse, recycle. Consumerism is way out of control. Our thrifty ancestors would be shocked to see how we waste time, money and resources. Before you buy, consider: is it a need or a want? Think about ways of sharing the abundance with others who need help or have creative solutions on up-cycling items. The throw-away fashion industry is an area of particular concern. The distribution and manufacturing of garments is a major polluter of air, water and soil.

These are critical times to be conscientious about our actions. To solve these problems we all need to work together and the best way to start is at home.

Green Actions

• Drive less
• Turn down the thermostat
• Eat less meat
• Get a water filter
• Use less plastic
• Be bird- and pollinator-friendly
• Plant a tree
• Plant native shrubs
• Compost
• Reduce, reuse, recycle