Climate Friendly Gardening. Site created by Jim and Molly and others as a resource to gardeners. As gardeners, we can Adapt to Climate Change, Reduce Gardening Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Store Atmospheric CO2 in Plants & Soil.
PBS Earth Emergency (you need to be an active PBS member). This revealing film examines how human activity is setting off dangerous warming loops that are pushing the climate to a point of no return - and what we need to do to stop them. With captivating illustrations, stunning footage and interviews with leading climate scientists as well as support from Greta Thunberg, "Earth Emergency" adds the missing piece of the climate puzzle.
Drawdown Climate Solutions 101. Climate Solutions 101 is the world’s first major educational effort focused solely on solutions. Rather than rehashing well-known climate challenges, Project Drawdown centers game-changing climate action based on its own rigorous scientific research and analysis.
Audubon Native Plant Database. In the United States, a native plant is defined as one that was naturally found in a particular area before European colonization. Native plants are the foundation of a region’s biodiversity, providing essential food sources and shelter for birds, especially those threatened by the changing climate. Since native plants are adapted to local precipitation and soil conditions, they generally require less upkeep, therefore helping the environment and saving you time, water, and money. The key to getting started is picking the right plants for your area.
Rain Garden Handbook. This handbook (from the Washington State Department of Ecology) will guide you through the following stages: PLAn, BuILD, PLAnT, and MAInTAIn. The handbook is written for conditions specific to western Washington, including appropriate plant selections and sizing recommendations based on regional soils and rainfall patterns.
Thrive Lot. Thrive Lot is on a mission to create a world of abundance. Their platform connects you with vetted service providers to design, install and sustain your own edible outdoor oasis. Beyond growing organic, nutrient-rich food, it creates habitat for wildlife, builds resilient soil, and rekindles your connection with nature.
City Fruit. City Fruit puts our urban orchard to its best and fullest use so that everyone in our community shares in the value of fruit. Urban fruit trees are a valuable community resource, yet often fruit goes unused because people are not sure when to harvest it, how to best use it, or they are put off by damage caused by preventable disease and pests.
PittMoss. Revolutionary, up-cycled peat-free potting mixes for outdoor and indoor plants! PittMoss manufactures revolutionary soilless potting mixes from organic, recycled paper. Carefully and locally sourced, their peat-free products are the result of decades-long research into the use of recycled paper fibers. The result? The best performing, most environmentally-friendly gardening mixes on the market, that also require less water!
reNature. Support farmers & corporates transition to Regenerative Agriculture. From home page: "We believe that nature and agriculture can cooperate instead of compete. We also believe that farmers and local communities across the globe deserves a long-term profitable future. That’s why we focus on Regenerative Agriculture. What does that mean? An agricultural system that is designed to ensure farmers with: soil health, food security, economic growth and climate resilience."
Ecology and Alternative Lawns. From PTLawn Seed: Reimagine your lawn as a diverse, green oasis that requires less care, water and fertilizer. Most mixes contain clover that naturally fixes nitrogen, feeding the lawn and improving soil structure. Many of our mixes also help create habitat for native bees, butterflies and other pollinators. Search here for environmentally-friendly lawn and meadow options for all types of greenspaces.
Resolve to Talk and Advocate for Change. From Paul Litwin's Blog (The Whole Geek): "January is the month of New Year’s resolutions. For week four of my resolution series, our last, I want to focus on talking about and advocating for change."
Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future. NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sixth Extinction returns to humanity’s transformative impact on the environment, now asking: After doing so much damage, can we change nature, this time to save it?
Saving Us.Called “one of the nation's most effective communicators on climate change” by The New York Times, Katharine Hayhoe knows how to navigate all sides of the conversation on our changing planet. A Canadian climate scientist living in Texas, she negotiates distrust of data, indifference to imminent threats, and resistance to proposed solutions with ease. Over the past fifteen years Hayhoe has found that the most important thing we can do to address climate change is talk about it—and she wants to teach you how.
Gardeners.com. “Gardener’s Supply is in business to spread the joys and rewards of gardening, because gardening nourishes the body, elevates the spirit, builds community, and makes the world a better place.” -Mission Statement since 1990
00:14:09 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): Here is where we post all of our conversations: 00:14:10 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): https://drawdownseattle.org/conversations/ 00:16:00 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): Welcome everyone, thank you for spending 90 minutes of a BEAUTIFUL Sunday with us! 00:26:07 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): Here are a couple of links from what Jim has spoken to…the PBS Special “Earth Emergency”: 00:26:08 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): https://www.pbs.org/show/earth-emergency/ 00:26:35 Anita Dygert-Gearheart: I think it is a fantastic intro 00:27:00 Jeff Thiel: too depressing! tell them we have all the solutions - we just need to use them.... 00:27:21 Suzanna Litwin: I think this is great for gardeners, I imagine many have not idea… 00:28:07 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): Climate Solutions 101 (to Jeff Thiel’s point about it being depressing and focusing on solutions): 00:28:08 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): https://drawdown.org/climate-solutions-101 00:28:39 Anita Dygert-Gearheart: We are working on a curriculum for adult Christian education in the UMC. Can we use this and I understand there will be a link? 00:28:52 Chris M: +1 Jeff, we do have the tools! 00:30:22 Anita Dygert-Gearheart: My personal experience is that I needed to hear the direness of the situation to be moved to action. Different strokes for different folks, I guess 00:33:18 Paul E Litwin: Anita: so true. Different things motivate different people. And most of us are at different points in our climate change/action journey. 00:35:48 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): Here is the link to the Native Plants Database: 00:35:48 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): https://www.audubon.org/native-plants 00:37:55 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): Rain Garden Handbook from the Washington State Department of Ecology: 00:37:56 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/publications/documents/1310027.pdf 00:39:36 Paul E Litwin: Jim: Why Mason Bees? 00:39:44 Chris M: +1 Jim Mason Bee rock 00:40:16 sheilalynch: They are solitary native bees, great for pollinating fruit 00:40:34 Chris M: @Paul, Mason bees are 'work horses' in pollination and are native, non-stinging. 00:41:12 Paul E Litwin: Cool 00:42:39 Sarah H: Do you think ferns will be particularly affected in the Pacific NW? 00:43:45 Paul E Litwin: You haven't talked much about food vs. non-food plants. Any comments on vegetable gardens, specifically? 00:44:32 Suzanna Litwin: We have a plum tree that has a major aphid infestation. We have added ladybugs to the tree to no avail. We hate that BUT what we noticed is that the insects and the birds come and feed on the aphids. So maybe it’s a good thing? It’s own ecosystem…? 00:48:35 Jeff Thiel: if you are considering an overhaul of your yard to have less lawn and grow more food, I encourage you to check out Thrive Lots: https://www.thrivelot.com/ 00:50:33 Becky: Wont our natives be affected eventually by climate change? Vineyards are dying in places they once thrived and places that aren't known for growing wine grapes are now thriving (disturbing!). 00:50:38 Pauline Bowie: I added a drip watering system to my yard last July and saw a dramatic response from my plants. Definitely decreased the stress they were in. 00:52:39 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): City Fruit: https://www.cityfruit.org/ 00:53:13 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): https://www.cityfruit.org/great-seattle-fruit-harvest 00:54:31 Paul E Litwin: +100 on no gas powered! 00:55:32 Paul E Litwin: And of course reducing or removing your lawns help too! 00:55:58 Jalal: slides have a problem ? 00:56:58 Paul E Litwin: Just say no to peat harvesting! 00:57:01 Chris M: Yes, use biochar and ecochar instead of peat. 00:57:12 Jeff Thiel: here's a replacement for peat moss made from waste cellulose: pittmos: https://pittmoss.com/ 00:59:25 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): Some info on peatlands from the UN arm - Food and Agriculture Organization: https://www.fao.org/in-action/micca/knowledge/peatlands-and-organic-soils/en/ 00:59:37 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): “Peatlands cover only three percent of the global land area, but they store 30 percent of the world’s soil carbon.” 01:00:19 Becky: Is peat or other substitutes even necessary to grow plants (obviously I'm not one to grow from seed tho when I do it's straight into my existing garden soil). 01:03:14 Xyre(they/he): Thank you! Look forward to the recorded talk. I have to sign off today. 01:08:07 Kyle VanderLugt: A company doing good work in this area is reNature 01:08:08 Kyle VanderLugt: https://www.renature.co/ 01:13:16 Paul E Litwin: We replaced our lawns with rain gardens 01:13:29 Jeff Thiel: I tried replacing my lawn with a ptlawnseed mix. big job. results not very good. 01:15:43 Chris M: important to charge your biochar, I learned this the hard way last spring. go to youtube and search charging biochar. 01:16:11 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): From PTLawn, here are some alternative lawns to the traditional lawn: https://ptlawnseed.com/collections/eco-and-alternative-lawns 01:18:32 Paul E Litwin: I am reading Saving Us. Great book! 01:19:18 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): Dr. Hayhoe’s book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Saving-Us/Katharine-Hayhoe/9781982143831 01:22:02 Paul E Litwin: Yes! https://thewholegeek.com/2022/01/25/resolve-to-talk-and-advocate-for-change/ 01:22:41 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): https://www.climatefriendlygardening.org/ 01:23:01 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): Slides are here: https://www.climatefriendlygardening.org/slideshow 01:25:17 sheilalynch: I got a cold frame this year, basically very small greenhouse. Great for getting small plants through the winter in much smaller commitment. 01:27:24 Becky: All of this info available on the meetup group site? 01:27:27 Paul E Litwin: Thanks, Sheila 01:27:51 Scott Henson (Drawdown Seattle): Some inspiration: https://www.biggestlittlefarmmovie.com/ 01:28:21 Paul E Litwin: Becky. The resources will be emailed to everyone who RSVP'd 01:28:37 Becky: Thank you 01:30:15 Paul E Litwin: Sheila: which one did you purchase? 01:30:30 Jeff Thiel: I'm really enjoying the book "Under the White Sky" :https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DMWR6BP/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 01:30:48 Paul E Litwin: I just read that book, Jeff 01:31:57 Paul E Litwin: A great book about science and trees I just finished: Lab Girl 01:32:16 Sarah H: Looking forward to sharing the recording with some of my gardening friends! 01:33:23 Kurt Hanish: Thanks!! 01:33:53 Paul E Litwin: Thanks, Jim! 01:34:00 sheilalynch: Paul - I got one from gardeners.com, I had to put it together but it wasn’t difficult. 01:34:08 Paul E Litwin: THanks 01:34:30 Paul E Litwin: https://www.meetup.com/SeattleClimateChange/events/283780867/ 01:36:47 Jalal: thank you ! 01:36:49 Suzanna Litwin: Thank you Jim! 01:36:52 Chris M: thanks Jim! 01:36:57 Becky: Thank you so much!