📝 In This Week’s Nutty Goodness
This Week’s Focus: What Keeps You Motivated When Living Sustainably Gets Difficult
This Might Suit Your Fancy: Seeds, deep raised beds & the best but least expensive compost & mulch.
Where The Roots Meet The Soil: My Kids Were My Motivation, What’s Yours?
Inspirational Stories: Restore A Native Woodland, Untrammel Wilderness, and GIANT restoration in Arizona
I've got a packed newsletter full of insights, stuff you should think of doing or getting, upcoming events, and inspiring stories.
🐝 This Might Suit Your Fancy
Seeds For Southwest US, True Leaf Market (large selection, heirlooms, etc), Botanical Interest (large selection), High Desert (high desert CO), SeedsTrust (high desert), Terrior Seeds (AZ based), San Diego Seed Company (regionally adapted)
Deep Raised Beds, Vego Raised Beds, deep, beautiful and they have a variety of shapes and sizes.
Pesticide-Free Mulch & Compost, Arizona Worm Farm, this place has been my lifeline and really helped me turn things around. They hold in person classes (sign up online), and sell only veggie, flower and succulent starts that thrive in the Phoenix climate. Plus they are worm composters on a next level scale!😍
🎙️Where The Roots Meet The Soil
My Kids Were My Motivation, What’s Yours?
I was in graduate school studying Ecology & Sustainability when I first found out I was pregnant. Learning about all the toxic chemicals where we don’t want or shouldn’t have them and the seemingly unsolvable issue of climate change.
When I found out I was pregnant, there was a mix of emotions. Thrilled and excited that I would finally be able to have a child of my own.
And at the same time, horrified at what kind of world would I bring my child into.
Since there was no turning back for me, I turned instead to figuring out what we could do.
Start Simple Or Small, Preferably Both
Up to now, in the US, we’ve pretty much done it out of own initiative to create a better world or at least to stop messing up the current one.
I strongly suggest starting small and then taking advantage of times when you have more initiative to make the bigger changes.
My point being sustaining larger changes is more difficult.
I think that’s why we don’t see more change, because when any of us hit a hard we start questioning our own sanity.
Numerous times during my backyard transformation I deeply considered the consequences of quitting.
🔖Did you miss last week when I talked about 3 Ways Your Garden Can Impact Climate Change For Good
When I’ve Wanted To Give Up
If you’ve watched my videos on YouTube, you may have seen the various projects, flooding events and trying to do things in spurts to avoid the intense Phoenix heat.
What you didn’t always get to see was when the frequent strong downdraft would wreck a shade cloth setup.
Or when the native trees I initially planted weren’t “treeing.”
They were flopping over onto the other young tree next to it (Mexican Bird of Paradise), stopped growing or continued growing but didn’t have the ability to stand up on their own.
There have been times when I didn’t feel like recycling or trying a different type of trash bags. And because I’ve worked to bring environmental compliance in the Oil & Gas industry for 13 years sometimes I’ve felt like I deserve a pass.
I’ve had to remind myself that it’s not one big win that changes everything, it’s millions of tiny steps that break through and I want to contribute a few.
I want my kids and grandkids to have a better, healthier world to live in.
And I remind myself that if I don’t grow at least some organic fruits & vegetables for my family our choices are limited by what’s in the stores and farmer’s markets.
What To Do Instead, How To Keep Yourself Motivated
That’s why I recommend starting small, but not so small it’s not worth putting in timered watering. Doesn’t have to be a full sprinkler system, just the small timer kits with tubing so you aren’t guessing or forgetting your watering.
Then plan out the space you control and where you can plant native trees and perennials that will bring in pollinators, provide additional food and / or medicinal value.
Natives don’t need to be the only plants you grow but they can provide a critical base and structure that help your other plants to grow.
It can be a lot of hard work to get things started but you don’t have to do it all at once.
I recommend starting in one section, one raised bed or just getting the natives planted. Then working your way around so if something doesn’t work one way you don’t have to redo everything.
🦋 Stay Inspired
Organizations Around The World Are Staging Eco-Interventions
Native Warm Season Grassland Restoration Project: Stone Barns Center For Food & Agriculture
Native Grassland Recontructions For Wildlife: Missouri Prairie
From Invasive Shrubs to Grassland: UAZ Science
Till next time,
Elisa Navarette
P.S. Was this useful? Have ideas on what I should publish next? Tap the poll or reply to this email. I read every response.