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Sustainable Living is Possible.

© Bob Ewing

Saturday we planted our first plant guild in a local Park with the cooperation of the Thunder Bay Parks Department. A plant guild is a group of plants deliberately chosen to imitate a natural plant community. Formally defined, a guild is a harmoniously interwoven group of plants and animals, often centred around one major species that benefits humans, while creating habitat. (P.148, Gaia's Garden)

The plant guild that we created was based upon the jack pine, a common member of the local boreal forest community. The guild included, paper birch, high-bush cranberry, blueberry and strawberries. We will monitor the guild over the Summer and make adjustments, if necessary, when we do a second planting in the Fall. This is the first step into introducing the urban food forest into the City. While the actual food forest may evolve on another site, this demonstration site enables people to see what could be done and also opens the dialogue on the concept of the urban food forest. This is one significant step towards enhancing local food security as it provides a local source of readily available food. There are a number of issues that need to be resolved but we have to begin somewhere or the conversation never takes place. So in order to get the ball rolling, we decided to plant and go on from there.

Now speaking of getting the ball rolling, I want to introduce you to an important book: "Solviva: How To Grow $500,00.00 On One Acre & Peace On Earth." An ambitious title, you may think that before opening the pages of Anna Edey's work, but once you begin reading you will see that while it is ambitious it is not boastful but a detailed plan that can assist individuals and communities to reduce the demand they put upon the earth and live sustainably. Yes, sustainably. I insist on using the s word, despite the fact that it has been misappropriated by so many organizations, governments and so on to further their own agendas. Sustainable living is possible and Edey's book offers us a way there. I define sustainability as a systems ability to regenerate itself, that is it does not use itself up but replenishes itself so that future generations will also be able to enjoy what the system has to offer. I will close this week with a quote from Solviva, next week we will delve deeper into this important resource.