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
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
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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