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Gardening is Good for the Planet

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Michele Ogilvie

Jul 19, 2022

United Kingdom

Categories:

Climate Change, Gardening, Environment, Biodiversity, Resilience, Sustainability

The United States Environmental Protection Agency explains that the earth's temperature depends on the balance between energy entering and leaving the planet's system. The sun naturally warms the earth's surface, which can be reflected into space or absorbed by the earth. The planet releases some of the energy back into the atmosphere as heat. The solar energy reflected back to space does not warm the earth.


Certain gasses in our atmosphere absorb energy, slowing or preventing heat loss to space. These are known as "greenhouse gasses." They make the earth warmer than it would otherwise be. This process, commonly known as the "greenhouse effect," is natural and necessary to support life. However, a continuing buildup of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere from human activities has changed the earth's climate and resulted in dangerous effects on human health, welfare, and ecosystems.


Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an important heat-trapping (greenhouse) gas released through human activities such as deforestation and burning fossil fuels, as well as natural processes such as respiration and volcanic eruptions.


So what can we ordinary people do to help balance the carbon dilemma? Plant a garden, of course! A recent article from Future by the British Broadcast Corporation lays out the ways you can grow a garden and help the planet cool a little.


Nearly 100 years ago, the United Kingdom Ministry of Agriculture encouraged gardeners to "Dig for Victory" and grow their own vegetables to help feed the country. Allotments sprung up in private gardens and public parks. Today, we can use the garden to heal the earth with a few modifications from the past.


Here are a few activities that can help with controlling carbon:

Plant one medium tree and let it grow to maturity. If we all do this, the trees will store the same amount of carbon produced by driving 284 billion miles (457 billion km), the equivalent of driving 11 million times around the planet.


Compost. Let's say that every gardener produced just 419 pounds (190 kg) of compost each year (from the trees, leaves, and other offerings, for example.) This composting would save an equivalent amount of carbon produced by heating half a million homes a year.


An easy way to enrich your soil is by adding homemade compost. Healthy compost is a 50:50 mix of nitrogen-rich materials, such as grass clippings and vegetable peels, and carbon, such as woody stems and paper towels.


Let your lawn go natural: In the United Kingdom, gardeners were recently encouraged to let nature take its course during "No Mow May." Environmentalists say that lawns could become thriving wildlife hotspots (increasing biodiversity) if you just left them alone. The article argues that lawns cover an estimated 23% of urban land. So lawns have great potential to help fight the global biodiversity crisis.


Think about the soil: Healthy soil offsets emissions by soaking up carbon from dead plant matter. Soil needs a good balance of water, pockets of air, living organisms, such as fungi, and nutrients. The better the balance, the more carbon the soil can store. Gardeners maintain this balance by constantly adding organic material to their soil.


If left bare and exposed to the elements, the soil will degrade, and its carbon stocks will deplete. Covering the bare soil with plants, such as clover and mulches, does help.


Plant Diversity: While some gardeners might desire a uniform look for their flower beds and lawns, growing a wide range of plants is better. It transforms your garden into a small carbon sink. Plant diversity increases your garden's productivity and the amount of carbon stored in the soil.


Others: Trees are not the only plants that can help offset your garden's carbon footprint. Native grasses have extensive root systems. Planting hedges is another worthwhile investment. A well-grown hedge, rich in biomass, helps suck carbon out of the atmosphere and into plants and soil.


Happy growing y'all!


Photo by Morgane Le Breton on Unsplash.

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Catalog #:

0622.101.01.071922

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