Saving Our Planet with Gardens

Throughout my life, I have often strayed from the typical way of doing things. I have simply never wanted to follow the regular flow of life that people often mean for us to follow. The moment I turned 18, I drove across the country to take a job working on a farm. I stayed for about 3 months, and then went back home. A few months later, I decided to do it again at another farm. This got me thinking about something. People are so focused on jobs, money, etc, that we don’t focus on the little things. Such as how much a plastic water bottle could ruin the environment, and even then, our concern only lasts a week or two. Remember how everyone wanted to switch to metal straws for awhile, but no one talks about it anymore? Yes, things like that are exactly the problem.

Telling yourself that you’re saving the environment for doing little things isn’t enough. While it’s better than nothing, I’ll be honest. People like you need to be doing more. Volunteering in your community is one of the biggest impacts you can make, and it’s on your own community! Gardening is also a simple and delicious way to help the environment. The more people become sustainable in their own lives, the more our environment will benefit. Think about how many fruits and vegetables have plastic packaging. Think about the labor that goes into processing foods, the pollution from the factories, just think about it. I’m not saying you have to be self-sufficient in terms of food, but what I am saying is that if you are able to grow those tomatoes yourself, you’ll be doing the environment one hell of a favor.

Ever heard of a victory garden? They’re gardens that were usually on private residences, sometimes parks as well, that grew food for troops during wartime. People were encouraged to grow food for troops, and it was wildly successful. If people had the same mindset for gardening for themselves, it could genuinely help the environment.

Another thing to mention is that growing heirloom fruits and vegetables increases biodiversity in the area, and growing things native to your area is great if there’s a need to reintroduce certain plants. Planting trees or shrubs is beneficial to birds as well. Doing research into what your area needs is the key. People always think too big when wanting to help the environment. Unfortunately, most of us are not billionaires who could put lots of money into organizations. So, we have to do the work ourselves, and that starts in our own community. I know things like this can be daunting, but start small. You don’t need to travel to South America to plant trees to make a difference, just plant trees in your neighborhood! It’s not necessary to travel or donate lots of money to help the environment, although traveling is fun, think about how much of that money you could put into something locally, rather than spending it on a flight somewhere.

I have made it my goal to be completely self-sufficient, and although I’m not quite there yet, it’s better than nothing. I grow a majority of my fruits and vegetables, and for the winter, I pickle my vegetables. I keep my own chickens for eggs and for meat, and I’ve been planning on buying land so I can keep cattle and sheep as well, and have a larger garden. I’d love to live off the grid too. I’ve even planned to get a bike so I can bike to work instead of driving every day! Reducing your carbon footprint isn’t easy, but it’s possible, and should be encouraged to do so. Following a fad for a week isn’t going to fix things, it requires you to genuinely pay attention to how you treat the environment. Even things like not littering are important.

I think the most frustrating part about all of this is that it truly does take a lot of people to make a difference. One person out of billions reducing their carbon footprint isn’t enough. Which is why it’s imperative to share stories like this and teach our children that the Earth matters, it’s the only world we’ve got.