"It's the little things citizens do. That's what will make the difference" - Wangari Maathai
In this section, you will find simple ways that you can contribute to mitigating the impacts of climate change in your own life. If enough people implement these changes, it could have a large impact on saving insect populations and sequestering carbon in the soil.
Because eating is not optional for us, the way we grow and distribute food will always have a huge impact on the environment. By supporting farms that use regenerative practices and supporting local farmers, you can directly fund the changes that we need to make to ensure a better future for everyone.
Below, you will find some databases for locating local farms. You can also talk to your grocery store about where they get their meat and produce, encouraging them to support local farms. Farmers' Markets, Coops, and CSAs are also great places to find local and regenerative food and to talk to farmers about their practices.
Whether you live in the city, the suburbs, or in a rural landscape, community gardens can turn vacant lots and unproductive land into healthy soil that feeds pollinators and sequesters carbon. In some areas they can also provide important nutrients for local human communities who live in food deserts.
Akira Miyawaki developed a technique for rebuilding strong forest ecosystems quickly in small spaces. His technique involves selecting native species, planting trees close together, and managing weeds for 1-2 years. His micro forests have a higher survival rate than other reforestation methods and work in spaces as small as an empty lot. Citizens all over the world are planting micro forests in the small spaces around them.
Grass has become a monoculture in our suburbs and rural areas, leaving little for pollinators like butterflies and bees to eat. Plus, when grass is kept short, the roots don't penetrate deeply into the soil and the soil microbiome begins to die.
By simply not mowing your lawn, or leaving a section of it unmowed, you will allow local flora and fauna to thrive, strengthen the soil, sequester carbon, and feed the birds and bugs that provide an important part in the cylce of your ecosystem.
Many insects live and reproduce in your backyard. Fireflies and other insects have been nearly wiped out by the use of lawn fertilizers and pesticides throughout surburban areas in the United States. By avoiding using chemical fertilizers, we may be able to bring them back.
Many insect species require leaf cover through the winter for their reproductive cycle. These species often lay their eggs in the fall, where the eggs hibernate for the winter and then a new generation emerges in the spring. By leaving your leaves on the ground through the winter, you can ensure that these species continue to survive.
Native plants have formed symbiotic relationships with native wildlife over thousands of years, offering food and shelter that exotic plants simply don't. Native plants are also more likely to be resistant to dramatic climate changes like those we're already seeing in many parts of the world today. Planting native can reduce water usage in dry areas and help manage flooding in places experiencing extreme weather events.
A plant is considered native if it has occurred naturally in a particular region, ecosystem, or habitat without human introduction. Exotic plants that evolved in other parts of the world or were cultivated by humans into forms that don’t exist in nature do not support wildlife as well as native plants. Occasionally, they can even escape into the wild and become invasive exotics that destroy natural habitat. Be careful about what you plant and plant native species when you can.
When you flip the switch in your bedroom, where does the energy come from? Until you know where your energy comes from, you can't really know the kind of impact you're having on the planet.
For most homes, installing a wind turbine is unrealistic but solar panels might be an option for you. Many states have incentive programs to help home-owners off-set the initial costs of installing solar panels because they know that solar panels pay off in the long-run.
There are many learning opportunities both online and through formal educational institutions. Maybe you want to study sustainable engineering, or environmental law. Maybe you want to attend Sterling College, an undergraduate facility exclusively dedicated to training students in Environmental Science. Or maybe you're not focused on a degree and just want to learn skills. Organizations like Ecosystem Restoration Communities and The Soil Health Academy train everyday people in how to restore degraded land. No one knows how to solve all the problems that are coming our way due to our changing climate. Educate yourself, maybe you have the answers we need.
