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"Where does the rain go, Mommy?'
But if you had time, you would tell your ever-curious child that the water runs into the ground and down the drains, into a myriad of streamlets and channels which feed streams which swell into rivers that rush down to the sea, only to condense into clouds and turn into rain again! But the short answer is into the ground. And the short answer encapsulates the problem of development. While we like to think of development as an urban problem, any development alters the environment and any alteration has the potential to damage our fragile ecosystem. All of our little pink houses and our beautifully tended gardens can be just as much of a problem as the ubiquitous shopping malls that are covering our farmland with concrete. Urban runoff, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, is a prime polluter of streams. Because of buildings, parking lots, and other man-made structures, less rain soaks into the soil, and the water runs off quickly into streams, ditches, and storm drains. With the water, of course, goes anything that will float or dissolve, including litter, oil, and pesticides. Since the Walkerton tragedy, all Canadians are aware of just how fragile our water systems are. They need to be not only monitored, but protected. And each of us can work towards protecting our water by paying particular attention to what goes into the ground. I can't imagine anyone reading this piece deliberately pouring unused paint into a ditch or storm drain, or changing your car's oil in the driveway and letting the oil run into the street. But we need to take a close look at all our gardening practices, and make conscious decisions to protect our groundwater, and by extension, our water system. For instance, is it really necessary to spray weed killer and fertilizer on our lawns twice a year? We know that weed killers and pesticides can also kill animals, plants we don't want killed, and beneficial insects. We also need to remember that these chemicals are washing right into our groundwater and ending up in our streams and rivers. If we don't want it in our yard, why would we want it in our water? Fertilizer runoff is especially noxious in streams because it causes excess weed and algae growth, reducing the available oxygen for fish and other aquatic life. A personal decision to hand-pull weeds is good exercise and a good way to demonstrate your environmental commitment. Insecticidal soaps are an eco-friendly alternative to pesticides for getting rid of destructive insects. Hand-picking pests is ideal; while it's time-consuming, you destroy only the specific pests that are destroying your plants, and it does the least environmental damage. I combine hand-picking with techniques such as using beneficial insects and attracting as many birds as possible; I feel good and in most years, the gardens look good! Go To Page: 1 2 |
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