Landscaping
Green your space!
Many social benefits are linked to landscaping. These include health, conservation, biodiversity and landscape aesthetics.
Herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers are a serious health issue, affecting us and our pets through direct contact, as well as through contamination of the water table and food chain. They’re also responsible for the dramatic decline of pollinators. Instead, remove weeds by hand and use compost or organic soil to keep plants healthy. Ideally, on-site composting reduces waste and “closes the nutrient loop” by providing plants with nutrient-rich organic compost.
Noise pollution can also be a problem: Gas-powered landscape equipment such as leaf blowers or chain saws typically produces 85 db to 100 db of noise—enough to cause permanent hearing damage to anyone nearby, and stress to those within hearing range. Hand-powered tools are best, but electric ones are great alternatives. If a gas-powered tool is imperative, then opt for a four-stroke engine, rather than the noisier, oil-burning and much more polluting two-stroke.
Southwestern British Columbia has a very distinct climate—long, rainy winters and dry summers, with temperatures typically ranging between 0°C (32°F) to 30°C (86°F) — so choosing native plant species ensures maximum plant resilience, and protects the local biodiversity. To conserve water, install a drip irrigation system set on a timer, and collect rainwater: it’s free and abundant! An even lower-maintenance, eco-friendly alternative to plants that uses no water at all is the installation of gravel, pebbles or pavers, particularly the water-permeable kind, allowing the water to drain into the soil, thus restoring the water table, and relieving the storm sewers on rainy days.
Finally, a landscaping committee composed of building residents and/or members of the strata council might discuss landscaping options, and even recruit individuals to help out with the gardening. There are also many professional ‘eco’ landscaping businesses in the Metro Vancouver area. Link
More information on green gardening: