Earth Day

 

What that means to me has changed over time.

We all kind of make a collective nod to the planet once a year for all of its supporting services.

And then we return to business as usual.

But over the past few decades I’ve been immersed in projects in the realm of

environmental education, which has given me a deep understanding of the

scale of the challenges in opposition to our preference that “everything will be OK”.

For the past few years I’ve been much more involved in teaching people how to

grow food at home. It has forced me to distill the various layers in that process.

And a couple things stand out.

 

1) Our collective future is dependent on coming to grips with the fact that the eco-services the biosphere provides are critical for basic survival, and that those systems are under incredible stress right now.

2) The more we align with how natural systems work, the better off we are in this journey.

3) When it comes to healthier food production, water conservation, reduction of CO2 in the atmosphere, and a host of important goals, healthy soil is the baseline necessity to get there.

 

Soil, — dirt — the ground — Earth.

 

For all the great accomplishments of humankind,

we owe it all to 6 inches of topsoil and the fact that it rains.

There is a universe of microorganisms in the soil, much like in our bodies, that science is still just beginning to understand. But we know that the more we support the conditions that allow it to thrive, the better things grow in it. A big part of the future of humans will be involve the regenerative quality of soil.

Growing food on a personal scale is one of the oldest of human habits. We’ve done it for over 10,000 years.

Now, more than ever, we can re-connect with the patterns of the natural world by nurturing our patches of soil at home. Even though that in itself will not change everything, it is a personally accessible action that has meaning and leads to a healthier individual, and collectively, healthier communities.

I have interwoven the pattern of food production into my life for the past 16 years. I’ve become respectful of what’s required of me to align with the annual cycles of growing in rich living soil. It has made me appreciate how the small microcosm of a food garden done well models the same answers we are all seeking in the wider arena.

When we align with the systems that have been here for billions of years, we are all better off.

Happy Earth Day.

Dirt First!

Tom Bartels

GrowFoodWell.com

P.S.

I’m just finishing the new workshop on organic compost. It should be ready next week at some point. I’ll send you a note when i get it uploaded.

Cheers