Green 2.0: Learning to See, Part 2

Now that we’ve discussed how to use your windows properly, let’s talk about what’s beyond them. Have you ever realized that taking the first step out of your house/apartment/hovel is the beginning of endless possibilities? It can be daunting or exciting or both. Have a little adventure with me today and try one or all of the following ideas to jump-start a connection with what’s past your walls.

• Pause on your threshold and really look around. Is the view different than what your windows provide? What are the differences – slight or great – between experiencing your surroundings through them or this way?
• Find a safe spot and close your eyes. How many smells can you smell? What feelings and memories do they bring to the surface?
• Keep your eyes closed and count how many sounds you can hear. Are you surprised how many or what kinds of sounds there are compared with what you expected or tend to notice?
• Finally, feel the wind and sun on your face. How does the weather feel to you?
• Open your eyes and stroll around. Are you enjoying yourself? If not, that’s alright. Go inside and venture out another day. Maybe you need to go further afield, or try other things to spark some joy in nature.

These activities don’t depend on living in paradise. The concrete jungle has outdoor air, sunlight – even wildlife! (Just don’t try to feed the rats, please.) Part of learning to feel at home outside and to enjoy being there is recognizing how environments make you feel and what draws you in, as well as what makes you want to turn away. Knowing these things as a result of even a few moments outside can help you make positive associations with the outdoors.

Seen and Heard

Seen: A new element of style. Some creative folks in the Netherlands have created a font that uses up to 20% less ink. Get it free for your computer here. (Thanks to DailyCandy for the tip-off).

Heard: Imperiled bird songs. Audubon published a beautiful and frightening article about Canada’s endangered boreal forest and the North American birds that depend on it for survival. Read about it, and hear the birds sing, at the Boreal Songbird Initiative‘s important website.

Get the most out of your Christmas tree

The Old Farmer’s Almanac has some nice Tips for preserving the life of your cut Christmas tree–and, perhaps more importantly, how to use your tree once it’s reached it’s end.
Merry Christmas all!

Conservation Education On the Web

All this talk about getting outside is not intended to bash technology. Obviously, I embrace a little technology in my life. Here are two noteworthy websites that allow children and adults to learn more about nature through the internet:

WolfQuest is a video game, free to download on your computer, that illustrates wolf behavior and biology. Hunt, search for mates, and fight other wolves in an addictive format that’s competitive with other video games on the market today. The game has a multiplayer option, and players can talk to wolf biologists online to discuss what they’re experiencing through the game.

Developed by EduWeb, the International Wolf Center and the Minnesota Zoo, WolfQuest was designed as an edutainment tool for children in more urban environments who might not be able to visit large expanses of wilderness and gain nature appreciation that way. So far, it’s been a big hit, especially with girls (an oddity in video game-land). That being said, it’s great for adults, too. You can design your own wolf, down to the fur color, and hunt by scent tracks. What’s not to love?

Wildlife University, run by The National Wildlife Federation, is a set of free online courses for those interested in helping the conservation cause from home. Courses range from endangered species and their legal protections to how to encourage wildlife in your backyard. I’m taking the Leading Communities to Conservation set of courses right now, and have already learned much about how I can contribute to society by using my personal abilities and interests. Courses are self-paced and include do-at-home exercises. Why not take some free education when you can get it?

Anyone have more websites to share for nature-minded folks?

The Need for Trees

Quick Facts about the need for trees, from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (http://www.dnr.state.md.us/forests/forester/mdfacts.asp):

Landscaping, especially with trees, can increase property values as much as 20%.

One acre of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and produces four tons of oxygen. This is enough to meet the annual needs of eighteen people. USDA Forest Service

For every 10,000 miles driven in a vehicle that gets 20 mpg plant 15 trees to offset the CO² production.

Tree loss has a financial cost. Tree loss in the Baltimore-Washington region since 1973 has resulted in a 19% increase in stormwater runoff (540 million cubic feet) at a cost of $1.08 billion American Forests

Kids and Nature: What Really Counts

Since I wrote about Growing Nature-Loving Kids, I have become aware of an entire movement spurred by Richard Louv’s powerful treatise on the necessity of getting children into the outdoors. The author himself is chair of the Children & Nature Network, a network of regional groups dedicated to the cause. Several states have issued proclamations and plans to move kids outside during school, free time, and family time. The National Wildlife Federation is promoting a daily “Green Hour” of outdoor play. In short, it seems like everyone is jumping on this very worthy bandwagon.

I believe the reduction or elimination of recess and the increased structuring of children’s extracurricular time is a serious issue, along with childhood obesity and the widening gap between kids’ perceptions and the reality of the natural world. That is why I take great heart in these developments, the rallying to a call for more green childhoods. But I think we might lose the quintessential part in all the pomp.

If we are not careful, we will begin structuring this green time to the extent that children do not have the chance to learn from nature and experience the thrill and spiritual awakening that free exploration and natural wonders can provide. The most important point in all of the emerging research on the ill effects of nature deprivation seems to be that kids must be kids in the most kid-friendly environment there is, and that is the outdoors. No where else can a child have all the limitless variables with which to play, experiment, invent, dream, learn, and ponder. Indoor environments will always be contrived and lacking in comparison.

And so the most important thing that anyone–parents, relatives, teachers, mentors and friends–can do for a child is to get him or her outside for some genuine, unstructured, free and fun play. Who knows? The adults might realize that they needed the same thing, all along.

Less water is the ticket to conservation landscaping

If the first rule of conservation landscaping is to lesson your lawn, the second is to lesson your water use. This can be accomplished in a number of ways, with the most obvious benefit being a smaller water bill. Using less water will also reduce your impact on the earth and encourage another key part of greener gardening: the use of native plants. Plants that are native to your region usually require less water because they are adapted to the climate in which you live, with its unique weather pattern and annual precipitation levels. Let me repeat: the best plants for an environmentally friendly garden are not only native to your country but to your region, as well. Trying to plant a U.S.-native cactus if you live in New Hampshire kind of defeats the purpose.

The first way to reduce your gardening water use is to plant regionally native plants. If you live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (most of Pennsylvania, Delaware, D.C. and Maryland, with parts of New York, West Virginia, and Virginia as well), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a detailed photo-book of regional native plants available online. If you live in the Mid-West, check out the EPA’s Great Lakes Native Plants Factsheet. The WildOnes organization is a native plant resource also primarily for the Mid-West, but it has a few Eastern chapters and good information for all. For Westerners, visit the customizable Native Gardening Guide at eNature, which goes for everyone in the U.S., too. Everyone can also benefit from visiting the National Wildlife Federation and Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center websites, both of which have spotlights and lists on the native plants of specific U.S. regions.

Another great way to get into native plant gardening is to go directly to nurseries, greenhouses, and nature centers in your area and to ask if they have native plants available. If they do, take notes but don’t buy anything until you check out resources like those above and books at libraries to make sure the person(s) you spoke with know what they are talking about. I have personally experienced several instances where garden center personnel were happy to help but gave false or misleading information about which plants are native. The native gardening movement is growing in the U.S., but knowledge is lagging behind in the commercial horticulture industry. There are, however, some nurseries cropping up that specialize in native plants. Seek these out and support them with your business if you can. Here in Western Maryland, ElkRidge NatureWorks is a beacon of conservation landscaping, covering aspects beyond native plants for their customers.

Some of these aspects also reduce water use, and I want to mention two more: rain barrels and rain gardens. Both capture rain water, the former for your traditional watering use and the latter for the purpose of decreasing stormwater flooding and increasing groundwater infiltration (besides looking good!). More information and how-tos about both can be found in this pdf document from the Center for Watershed Protection. Be careful, again, if you do not live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, as the native plants mentioned may not be best suited for your region.

Now go and get your hands dirty with a greener garden; if not for the planet, at least for me, since I must garden vicariously.

Green backyards have more than just lawns.

It’s been a busy week for me as work gets into swing at the state park. And as more people in the northern U.S. finally catch up to summer, it’s time to talk about going green in your backyard.

Landscaping with native plants is often called xeriscaping (xeri meaning “dry”), because native plants are adapted to the region’s climate and soil conditions and therefore require infrequent to no supplemental watering. Xeriscaping is technically gardening with a focus on water conservation, however, so I like to refer to wholistically green gardening as conservation landscaping.

Though I don’t have a garden behind my city apartment, I did grow up with gardeners, and I had to do a large amount of research on the subject for a work project. So, I will share some useful links and tips on landscaping in a way that enhances the natural potential of your garden while offering habitat for wildlife and miles more eco-friendly benefits than traditional gardening.

The first and most important tip? Don’t obsess about having a green lawn. Lawns are artificial to begin with–the grass wasn’t here before Europeans were–and keeping them green to the current American standard requires more money, pesticides, herbicides, petroleum-based fertilizers, time spent mowing, gasoline, and water, water, water than Earth can stand. Cut back your lawn habit slowly by allowing it to go a little brown during drought periods and by reducing its size over time. The brown is a natural way for the grass to go dormant, and it will return. Meanwhile, replace the parts of your lawn which you don’t need with beautiful gardens of native plants, and watch the wildlife flock to your doorstep. And stay tuned for more on conservation landscaping.

Get Out!

The outdoorsy fun doesn’t stop with Earth Day. Express your love of America’s extensive trail system–or fall in love for the first time, or again–by attending a National Trails Day event near you. Find it at http://www.americanhiking.org/NTD.aspx. And show your local park service some love–it’s like an unofficial appreciation day for them, as well. (Yes, I work in a park. A little appreciation never hurt, right?)

UPDATE on 05/08/08: While you’re thinking about the great outdoors, consider signing up for NWF’s Great American Backyard Campout on June 28th.

Growing Nature-Loving Kids

In Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder (2005), Richard Louv suggests that children’s shrinking outdoor playtimes are harming their physical and emotional health. He cautions that this lack of memorable childhood experiences in nature may cost us our future environmental advocates. Whether you are a family that regularly spends time outdoors, or you barely set foot beyond your screened-in porch during the dog days of summer, try for a more fulfilling outdoor experience this year. Here are five tips on enhancing everyone’s wonder and fun in the world outside:

1. Put down the video game/TV/AC controller. A little-old-fashioned guilt-trip is especially needed in our technologically-saturated times. Tell your kids, “Don’t waste the summer away inside—winter will be here before you know it!” Then, whether that works or not, go outside with them. The best way to nurture nature-loving kids is by being one yourself. You might even get more work done on the garden—or on your best summer read—than you thought possible this year.

2. Scour the internet or library books for easy nature activities, and try one out next time the “I’m bored!” chorus resounds. A few “wow” moments may be all it takes before they warm up to the great outdoors.

3. Pitch the idea of a science-themed summer camp. Everyone wins with this one: they find non-tech ways to enjoy their youth, make new friends, and have a summer to remember. You have more time for, well, you.

4. Visit state and national parks for your summer trips, and be sure to stop by the visitor and nature centers, which offer free exhibits, informational materials, and (often) interactive nature programs and experiences led by park staff. Check out what’s on offer when planning your trip by visiting the park’s web site.

5. Catch the fever and share it with your kids. Get them involved in gardening with small tasks that allow opportunities for watching wildlife and learning about how plants grow. Visit nearby public gardens, arboretums, natural history or children’s museums and environmental learning centers. Go hiking on summer afternoons. The bottom line: your children really want to emulate you, so if you’re not having fun, chances are they won’t, either. Show your children that loving nature has its own exciting rewards, and then watch the awe unfold.