Sustainable Gardening
Streaming Video
Evolution of Organic
EVOLUTION OF ORGANIC brings us the story of organic agriculture, told by those who built the movement. A motley crew of back-to-the-landers, spiritual seekers and farmers' sons and daughters rejected modern chemical farming and set out to invent organic alternatives. The movement grew from a small band of rebels to a cultural transformation in the way we grow and eat food. By now organic has mainstreamed, become both an industry oriented toward bringing organic to all people, and a movement that has realized a vision of sustainable agriculture.
From Seed to Seed
When Terry and Monique left the opera to pursue their true passion—ecological, small-scale farming—their story of community and resilience took center stage. FROM SEED TO SEED follows their young family and a diverse group of farmers in Southern Manitoba, for a season of challenges and rewards. Scientists are working with these farmers using a blend of ancient traditions and cutting edge science to develop improved methods for growing food ecologically and in a changing climate. This hopeful story provides a Canadian perspective on a global social movement that regenerates the land, farming, and communities toward a healthier future for us all.
Living the Change: Inspiring Stories for a Sustainable Future
This documentary explores solutions to the global crises we face today – solutions any one of us can be part of – through the inspiring stories of people pioneering change in their own lives and in their communities in order to live in a sustainable and regenerative way. Directors Jordan Osmond and Antoinette Wilson have brought together stories from their travels, along with interviews with experts able to explain how we come to be where we are today. From forest gardens to composting toilets, community supported agriculture to timebanking, the film offers ways we can rethink our approach to how we live.
Cultivating Kids
On South Whidbey Island in the state of Washington, a school farm involves children from kindergarten through high school in every phase of raising organic vegetables as part of their school experience. Supported by local non-profits, community volunteers, and the school district, it shows that a garden can be a valuable addition to a school curriculum, while encouraging children to eat healthy food. The school farm sells local, organic produce to the school cafeterias and also supplies the local food bank and community nutrition programs with fresh organic produce throughout the growing
Homecoming: Indigenous youth return to the land
Many of the Indigenous youth in Indonesia have left their communities to study in the cities. Yet after their studies they have chosen to remain there rather than return home to their traditional lives. But the threat to their communities posed by deforestation, pollution, and land grabbing is giving rise to a homecoming movement. Their concern is that if the youth do not protect and manage their territories, who will?
As they return, they are bringing with them plans to use the land for herbal gardens and organic farming. As a result, land that had lain dormant could now be farmed in a new way. At the same time, their communities are exploring ecotourism, coffee plantations, keeping sheep, and replanting damaged forests with new seedlings. This new generation is aware of global warming and the harm it poses to their way of life and future generations, and they recognize how important it is to protect their territories and the planet.
Rise of Vertical Farming
Our food system is currently organized very inefficiently. Our food travels for many kilometers, uses an excessive amount of water, is wasted on a tremendous scale, and also contaminates the environment. And yet, the 7 billion residents of planet Earth—all mainly living in large cities—must be fed. In an attempt to achieve this in a sustainable manner, food production must, for the most part, be integrated into the urban infrastructure. Food flats and city agriculture are important alternatives for this.
Insects To The Rescue
Are biopesticides - micro-organisms that fight pests naturally – the promise of a chemical-free agriculture? Farmers all over the world are converting to biopesticides, stimulated by scientific research that is opening up new perspectives. But is the technique risk-free for the environment? Invertebrates, insects, mites, fungi, bacteria, viruses … these living mini-organisms that scientists are studying in great detail worldwide, will here make light work of pests. Today they are our best hope of a pesticide-free agriculture that is so harmful to man and the environment. So are biopesticides revolutionary? In Europe, Brazil and India, millions of farmers have already adopted bioprotectors. Today, the agro-chemical industry is investing heavily in the sector, but promising as it is, the technique is still far from being infallible, and is not entirely devoid of risk to the ecosystem.
America Outdoors, LA: It's a Vibe, Combatting Outdoor Inequity
Trees are scarce in poorer neighborhoods. Florence Nishida works to change barren lots in West Adams into urban farmland. The community garden has no fence and contains over 115 fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Nishida discusses her connection to gardening. Distributed by PBS Distribution.
Going Green
Nicki Shields hosts Going Green: Part I, featuring ordinary people from around the globe making extraordinary differences in their communities. She tracks the Whitechapel Fatberg from the London sewers to Argent Energy, where it is converted to biofuel, and taken back to the city to fuel public buses. Experience the Ramsey's journey on the Mongol Rally route, traveling 10,000 miles and producing no emissions. Meet Anton Mzimba, a wildlife ranger that risks his life every day to protect endangered wildlife. Watch Ugo Vallauri, co-founder of the Restart Project, teach others how to repair electronics. Learn how Mary Mattingly's SWALE project aspires to convert New York city's public spaces to community gardens. See Mr. Sariban, Trash Vigilante, pick up garbage and preach environmental activism on the streets of Bandung.
Protecting pollinators : nurturing sustainable communities with pollinator gardens
Without pollinators, like bees and butterflies, the world would be a dull and bland place. How can we make sure these creatures are always fluttering, soaring, and buzzing around us? And how does their presence make our communities more sustainable overall? Join us for a conversation about turning areas historically dominated by invasive species into vibrant pollinator habitats. See why these pollinators are so important not just to our natural world, but to our local neighborhoods as well. And, get perspectives from project leaders that successfully created thriving pollinator gardens in their local communities.
My Garden of a Thousand Bees
A story of surprise and revelation. A wildlife cameraman spends his time during the pandemic lockdown filming the bees in his urban garden and discovers the many diverse species and personalities that exist in this insect family.
Ebooks
A Beginner's Guide to Terrarium Gardening by ISBN: 9780804854078Publication Date: 2021-05-18Transform your space with A Beginner's Guide to Terrariums -- Your go-to resource for creating stunning DIY glass container gardens! Explore over 230 inspiring photos and easy-to-follow instructions to decorate your office, bookshelf, coffee table, or dorm room with charming mini ecoystems. Learn the basics, including plant selection, combining elements for the perfect look, choosing the right container, and caring for low-maintenance plants like succulents and air plants. With 52 projects, from open-air bowls to hanging decorations, discover how terrariums can be a whimsical, easy, and budget-friendly addition to your home!
Community Eco-Gardens by ISBN: 9781476683010Publication Date: 2020-12-18Part how-to, part personal narrative, this book provides a practical guide for creating native-species ecogardens. It chronicles the author's 20-year journey of environmental awakening. With the help of the greater community, a neglected five-acre condominium landscape is transformed into a stunning range of multi-seasonal prairie, woodland and wetland micro-habitats. This illustrated account describes the process of ecological reconciliation and traces his discovery of the higher self along the way.
The First-Time Homesteader by ISBN: 9780760372357Publication Date: 2022-09-20The First-Time Homesteader has all the essential information you need to start a homestead in the city, country, or suburbia, including advice on gardening, raising chickens, keeping bees, starting a home dairy, and living more resourcefully.
A Gardener's Guide to Botany by ISBN: 9780760374450Publication Date: 2022-12-06Ever wonder if plants sleep or why their leaves are shaped a certain way? The inner workings of the plants you love are revealed and celebrated in this guide by botany expert Dr. Scott Zona. *2023 American Horticultural Society Award Winner* A Gardener's Guide to Botany is not just another book on how to grow plants. Instead, it's a lushly illustrated botanical journey into what makes plants tick, delivered in layman's terms that are easily understood and appreciated by both advanced gardeners and first-timers. It's the chlorophyll-infused science behind the plants you know and love, whether you grow them indoors or out.
Grow Bag Gardening by ISBN: 9780760368688Publication Date: 2021-03-16Grow Bag Gardening is an easy-to-follow guide to growing fruits, vegetables, and herbs from seed to harvest in eco-friendly, reusable fabric planting bags.
Grow Green by ISBN: 9781787135727Publication Date: 2021-04-13Approaching organic gardening can sometimes feel overwhelming. It can be hard enough to keep on top of the weeding without having to worry about using less plastic, avoiding pesticides and using too much water. Grow Green is a practical guide and tackles a topic close to Jen Chillingsworth's heart - growing sustainably. Packed with easy tips and advice, this little book reveals how to adjust your outdoor space and create a wildlife haven, while reducing your impact on the environment as you grow your own cut flowers, fruit and veg. Drawing on her wealth of knowledge, Jen will hold your hand as she takes you through all the gardening essentials, teaching you how to get started - no matter how small or big your space might be. From making your own fertilizer with leftovers, planting in pots, reducing energy consumption and conserving water, to dealing with pests and diseases, Jen removes the stress and simply shows you how to garden green. Whether you are a first-time gardener or have seasoned green fingers - discover how to get the most out of your space with Grow Green by gardening with intention. Live simply. Grow Green.
Growing Gardens, Building Power by ISBN: 9780813589008Publication Date: 2022-10-14Across the United States marginalized communities are organizing to address social, economic, and environmental inequities through building community food systems rooted in the principles of social justice. But how exactly are communities doing this work, why are residents tackling these issues through food, what are their successes, and what barriers are they encountering? This book dives into the heart of the food justice movement through an exploration of East New York Farms! (ENYF!), one of the oldest food justice organizations in Brooklyn, and one that emerged from a bottom-up asset-oriented development model. It details the food inequities the community faces and what produced them, how and why residents mobilized to turn vacant land into community gardens, and the struggles the organization has encountered as they worked to feed residents through urban farms and farmers markets. This book also discusses how through the politics of food justice, ENYF! has challenged the growth-oriented development politics of City Hall, opposed the neoliberalization of food politics, navigated the funding constraints of philanthropy and the welfare state, and opposed the entrance of a Walmart into their community. Through telling this story, Growing Gardens, Building Power offers insights into how the food justice movement is challenging the major structures and institutions that seek to curtail the transformative power of the food justice movement and its efforts to build a more just and sustainable world.
The Healthy Garden by ISBN: 9781419754616Publication Date: 2021-11-23Part-gardening bible, part-call to action, award-winning authors Kathleen Norris Brenzel and Mary-Kate Mackey present advice, tips, and how-tos for gardeners seeking better health, increased happiness, and stronger communities A gardening book for the times we live in, The Healthy Garden combines practical advice for starting a garden with a rare view into how home gardening builds resilience, personal happiness, and community strength. Filled with savvy tips from dozens of experts, each chapter celebrates the many ways gardening works to build health. These professionals and passionate plant people offer lively insights into landscape design, soil science, nutrition, and plant choices. With its can-do, Victory Garden approach, The Healthy Garden is essential for anyone seeking to live closer to nature in their own backyards.
Into Green by ISBN: 9781524868147Publication Date: 2022-01-04Hold the joys of a wild, secret garden in the palm of your hand with Into Green, a pocket garden of inspiration to soothe the soul and harness the creative powers of nature. From the founders of Studio Ro Co in London, this inspirational primer is the perfect companion for any nature lover, from urban jungle curators to backyard gardeners. Filled with dreamy illustrations, reflective stories, and enticing interactive prompts, this pocket garden is for plant lovers looking to bring the outside in. From the myriad of ways that plants enrich our lives, from cleaning the air to sparking creativity and forging lifelong friendships and connections, Into Green will inspire and delight.
Micro Food Gardening by ISBN: 9780760369838Publication Date: 2021-04-20Micro Food Gardening introduces very compact plant varieties and step-by-step projects for growing food in small spaces, such as on balconies, decks, porches, and tabletops.
New Naturalism by ISBN: 9780760368190Publication Date: 2021-02-16In New Naturalism, horticulturist Kelly D. Norris shows readers how to design and plant eco-friendly, naturalistic home gardens that are resilient and sustainable, distilling complex design principals down for the average homeowner.
No-Waste Composting by ISBN: 9780760368701Publication Date: 2021-04-27No-Waste Composting includes step-by-step plans for multiple small-scale indoor and outdoor composting systems that turn repurposed household items into containment systems for composting kitchen scraps and yard waste.
Planting for Wildlife by ISBN: 9781787136755Publication Date: 2021-05-18Making a haven for wildlife doesn't require acres of land in the countryside. If you get the habitat and planting right, then even the tiniest of urban gardens can host a variety of creatures from birds and bees to hedgehogs. Covering everything from going organic to making a pond and turning your green space into a wildlife haven - this book is for gardeners who want to apply a more holistic approach to gardening and create their own urban sanctuary. Through a collection of simple projects that can be easily adapted for a variety of gardens and planting guides, this book will help you to re-connect with natural world on your own doorstep. Jane Moore will draw on her 16 years of experience of creating an urban sanctuary in the heart of the city as she lays out the simple ways in which you can approach making even the smallest patch of land a haven for wildlife, great or small.
Recycling in the Garden by ISBN: 9781399001830Publication Date: 2023-02-08People are becoming more aware of the environment and their impact on it. Over the past decades we have become an increasingly consumerist based society. From a world in which recycling was common, single use became the norm. This throwaway society is unsustainable.Sustainable gardening results in the creation of an environmentally friendly area in which natural predators thrive and soils are naturally replenished.Discover innovative and simple ways of recycling everything from water to materials in the garden. Practical examples show recycling in action turning unwanted items into useful features such as bottle edging, footpaths made from tires, garden forks into table lamps, broken pottery to mosaics and tree roots into lush garden stumperies.Recycling, reusing and upcycling in the garden can make a difference helping you save money by using less water, making your own compost, choosing energy efficient equipment and by giving everyday items a totally new function.Instead of a throwaway society, we are increasingly looking at ways of reducing our use of increasingly scarce resources, turning plastic into paths, using solar energy and conserving water. Natural recycling of plant material and sustainable gardening is increasingly popular. This book helps search for creative ideas that can conserve resources, and save you money.Water is no longer cheap, so the book suggests many ways that you can reuse water and get free rainwater.The book helps you with places you may not think of looking for free and cheap material, such as reclamation yards, factories, restaurants and hospitals.Let your imagination run free without needing much skill and without breaking the bank.
Sustainable Gardening by ISBN: 0760370362Publication Date: 2021-03-16Sustainable Gardening puts gardeners on the eco-friendly path by providing all the necessary guidance to create and care for a stable, resource-savvy, and gorgeous landscape.
The Urban Garden by ISBN: 9780760373019Publication Date: 2022-04-12The Urban Garden features dozens of ways city dwellers can creatively grow food, flowers, and fun, no matter how much-or how little-space you have.
Vertical Gardening by ISBN: 9781570678349Publication Date: 2019-08-05A vertical garden can run the gamut from a simple arrangement of flowers in a large container on a deck to an elaborate display of strawberries and geraniums amid climbing peas and vines of small squash growing up a backyard fence. Any upright structure that can support vegetables, fruits, herbs, or flowers, whether these plants are in containers or in the ground, can be used in vertical gardening. Although vertical gardening is of particular interest to apartment dwellers and to city residents with limited yard space, it's also used by suburban and rural gardeners to grow vining plants up supports, so valuable space can be freed up for root crops. Gardening expert Jason Johns offers examples of many types of vertical gardens and gives suggestions for the most appropriate plants to grow vertically. He also gives tips for how to plan a vertical garden to take advantage of sunlight, allow for easy watering and care, and provide protection from wind and insect damage. Included are many photographs illustrating innovative and creative vertical gardening containers and arrangements.
Wildflowers of Michigan Field Guide by ISBN: 1647551005Publication Date: 2021-07-06Learn to identify wildflowers in Michigan with this handy field guide, organized by color. With this famous field guide by award-winning author and naturalist Stan Tekiela, you can make wildflower identification simple, informative, and productive. There's no need to look through dozens of photos of wildflowers that don't grow in Michigan. Learn about 200 of the most common and important species found in the state. They're organized by color and then by size for ease of use. Fact-filled information contains the particulars that you want to know, while full-page photographs provide the visual detail needed for accurate identification. Book Features 200 species: Only Michigan wildflowers! Simple color guide: See a purple flower? Go to the purple section Fact-filled information and stunning professional photographs Icons that make visual identification quick and easy Stan's Notes, including naturalist tidbits and facts Plants typical of the Upper Peninsula and Lower Michigan This new edition includes updated photographs, expanded information, and even more of Stan's expert insights. Grab Wildflowers of Michigan Field Guide for your next outing--to help you positively identify the wildflowers that you see.
Zero Waste Gardening by ISBN: 9780711262331Publication Date: 2021-06-01A gardening book with a zero-waste twist, this is the only growing guide anyone will ever need! Plotting out all the basics, The Zero-Waste Garden focuses on unique yield maths to maximise space, taste and minimise waste.
Gardening Opportunities
Seed Library, WMU LibrariesWMU University Libraries provide our community with free flower, vegetable and herb seeds to demonstrate our commitment to sustainability and well-being. University Libraries is a member of the Michigan Seed Library Network.
Volunteer at GibbsThe Gibbs Site is home to the Gibbs Permaculture Research and Demonstration Site. The site serves as a living laboratory for students to implement their sustainable design solutions and projects. Located on Parkview Avenue adjacent to Western Michigan University's College of Engineering and the expansive Asylum Lake Preserve, the site features a developing permaculture landscape full of resources and projects. Jobs on the site enable students to conduct research and implement projects throughout the year. Past student projects have included black soldier fly larvae, post consumer food waste research and a compost hot water heater to heat the hoop houses. Current student projects include vermicomposting demonstration, aerated composting, pollinator way-stations and more.
Join a Kalamazoo Area Garden ClubMost garden clubs meet monthly and offer a wide variety of educational programs to their members. Topics might include: the study of birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects and how to attract them; organic gardening and composting; landscape and floral design; creating ponds and water features; pruning shrubs and trees; gardening techniques for annuals and perennials, vegetables and house plants; and conservation issues and environmental education, to name a few.
