Sunday, February 21, 2010

Review: Sustainability Symposium 2010

This day-long event at Cleveland Botanical Garden on Saturday, February 6th, focused on sustainability for gardeners, or for anyone managing outdoor spaces.
The keynote speaker was Joe Lamp’l, “Greening Your Garden While Protecting the Planet”. He is author of The Green Gardener’s Guide/ Simple Significant Actions to Protect and Preserve our Planet. He has been featured on television and is working on a new show, “Growing a Greener World”, that is to debut May 15th (not sure if we will receive it in our area). His main points were:
  • Ways to eliminate water waste/drip irrigation the most efficient
  • Reducing, or eliminating, use of chemicals on lawns and gardens plants
  • Mulching safety and efficiently (look for mulches certified by Mulch & Soil Council)
  • Selecting the right plant for the right place/avoid monocultures/eradicate invasive alien plants
  • Understanding the tiny proportion of "bad bugs" vs. "good bugs" and safe management of insect pests
  • Controlling weeds with corn gluten/layered newspapers excellent weed barrier
  • Protecting air quality/hand tools best, electric tools sometimes needed, gas tools worst
David Beach of GreenCityBlueLake, was the next presenter. I liked the way he addressed global warming. He described “Settled Science” as changes that almost all scientists would agree upon; there have been changes in climate that are not disputed. He posed “Unsettled Science” as what not all would agree upon, like: how fast changes will take place, just what will change in any particular place, exactly what the human costs may be, the best ways to respond, and what policies will have best effect without unacceptable harm to economy and society. He emphasized that there are a lot of “No Regret Strategies” that will have many other benefits for people and the planet; he shared the “Funny Times” strip attached: “What if it’s a big hoax and we create a better world for nothing?”. He predicted that climate change in our area will probably mean that heat tolerance will become more important than cold tolerance in the plants that will grow here. The kinds of plants that grow in natural areas will gradually evolve to different species. David stressed that it will be important to advocate policy changes at all governmental levels.

Victoria Mills, Doan Brook Watershed, reaffirmed what had been said by the first two speakers, but gave a very local flavor to her presentation by featuring ten area residents and what these individuals had each done for more sustainable gardening. I recognized Beau Daane’s name as someone many Green Team members know; his wood pile and gardening for pollinators were key for him. One gardener from Cleveland Heights has 139 varieties of native plants!

Brad Masi, The New Agrarian Center in Oberlin, outlined how “Permaculture” renews natural resources and enriches local ecosystems. He contrasted the “Extractive Landscape” against the “Regenerative Landscape”. He described how successful design can create sustainable systems.

Charles Behnke, OSU Extension (retired), focused on working well with the soils we have in our area. He stressed how working the soil when wet destroys the aggregates of our soils, altering the structure negatively.

Shawn Belt, Green Corps Farm Manager, CBG, gave a primer on raising plants from seed, saying “sustainability begins with your wallet”.

I heard much to reinforce what I’ve learned over the past decade and learned some new things too, so I would recommend next year’s symposium to anyone wanting to work with land and plants in more sustainable ways.


Cornelia Ryan


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