Taking Action: Simple Ways to Combat Climate Change
Emily Ellis
Perhaps the biggest and most important challenge we face as a society is fighting climate change. Although tackling the climate crisis is a monumental task, there are countless ways, large and small, for citizens to step up and protect the planet for future generations.
At the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, conserving and supporting our environment - as well as minimizing the environmental impact of our activities - is a major and ongoing goal. The theme for Earth Day 2020 is Climate Action, and in honor of the 50th anniversary of the holiday, we’re listing several of the actions we’ve taken on our site to benefit the environment and contribute to the climate change fight - all of which many homeowners can do in their own backyards. Scroll down to learn more.
Grass growing long behind the Oak Spring Garden Library.
Go easy on your grass. A sleek, green lawn comes with a high environmental cost. The gas-powered tools, like mowers and weed whackers, that we use to keep our yards perfectly groomed are a major source of carbon pollution in the United States, according to a study from Environmental Protection Agency. America’s lawns – which, if gathered together, would cover an area approximately the size of Florida - also require billions of gallons of water and millions pounds of pesticides a day to keep them looking green and fresh.
So what are the benefits of letting your grass get a bit scraggly (or replacing some of it with a more sustainable alternative)? In addition to reducing your use of gas, water and pesticides, longer grass creates important shelter for wildlife: many animals, birds, and insects require tall grass ecosystems for nesting, feeding, and protection, and freshly cut four-inch fescue doesn’t cut it. Even leaving one or two acres of your property un-mowed for a year can bring an amazing variety of native wildlife to your land.
At the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, we work hard to manage our grasslands sustainably. In addition to working to replace some of our gas-powered vehicles and tools with electric ones, we’ve reduced the number of grass acres we keep manicured by over 40 percent in the last three years – the result of which has been a marked increase in grassland bird sightings, including threatened species like the Northern bobwhite quail.
A screech owl nesting box, recently installed by the Arboriculture, Conservation, and Landscapes (ACL) team.
On that note – support native wildlife. One of the most obvious, disturbing effects of climate change is the displacement and decline of many of the world’s animal species. Warming temperatures result in the loss of important habitat and food sources, change the patterns of seasonal migration and mating, and increase the risk of disease among animal populations, among other consequences. Numbers of pollinators like bees and butterflies, as well as many bird species, have taken a particular plunge due to climate change and other related factors: for instance, a 2019 study from the Audubon Society found that two thirds of North America’s bird species are at risk of extinction due to a global rise in temperatures.
A bluebird enjoying one of the nesting boxes installed by the ACL team.
So what can you do to help out vulnerable native wildlife? Make sure that you’re providing food and shelter for these important critters – and that you’re minimizing any potential threats. Limit the use of pesticides on your plants, and keep murderous pets (such as cats) indoors.
Installing nesting places for bees and birds is another way to make your home a safe haven for at-risk species. At OSGF, we install multiple nesting boxes around the site – all designed to attract different bird species, including owls and purple martins - as well as honey bee hives. Making a small-scale “bee hotel” to place in your yard or garden, or reading up on bird species in your area and the nesting boxes they prefer, are both great ways to welcome new buzzing and fluttering friends onto your property.
Young native hardwoods planted last year by the Arboriculture, Conservation, and Landscapes team.
Plant a tree (or several.) You’ve likely heard that planting trees – which absorb carbon dioxide and put out oxygen, thus removing the greenhouse gas and purifying the air - can help fight climate change. While there is some debate among scientists as to how effective large scale reforestation could be at combating global warming, effective tree-planting has numerous environmental benefits beyond carbon-trapping: they create vital habitats for wildlife, support sustainable agricultural practices, reduce erosion, and provide shade that cools down environments, just to name a few.
As with most things in life, it’s a good idea to do your homework before diving headfirst into a tree-planting project: pick species appropriate for your environment, and research their soil and space requirements (the Arbor Day Foundation has a great guide on choosing the right tree.)
At the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, we’ve planted thousands of native hardwoods in an effort to reforest parts of the property and reap some of the environmental benefits these amazing plants give us. Even if you are unable to plant trees on your own property, consider supporting organizations that do - and help contribute to an overall healthier global environment.
Students from Skidmore College’s Environmental Studies and Sciences program visited Oak Spring earlier this year to test our soil for carbon.
Don’t be toxic. The use of chemical substances in horticultural practices – including fertilizer, herbicides, and pesticides – can have devastating environmental impacts, particularly on a large scale. Aside from contaminating food and water sources that many animals depend on (including bees,) pesticides such as fumigants can contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases, and fertilizers that run off into watersheds can devastate fragile wetland ecosystems already threatened by rising temperatures. OSGF, which has restored wetlands and other bodies of water on site, does not use fertilizer for this reason.
While using chemicals on your property can be hard to avoid in some cases, taking a largely organic approach to managing your land can be enormously beneficial to the organisms that call your property home (here are some great organic pest management tips to get you started.) Such methods, including mixing compost into your soil and mulching to suppress weeds, can also have the added perk of pulling carbon out of the atmosphere and into the soil – further helping to combat climate change.
Biocultural Conservation Farm (BCCF) manager Christine Harris and BCCF farmer Nick Sette tending to vegetables in the greenhouse.
Eat (and grow) local. Large-scale agriculture is a major contributor to global warming, bearing responsibility for 10% of the U.S.’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2018, according a report from the Environmental Protection Agency. Such industry requires vast areas of deforested land (particularly for livestock,) heavy use of gas-powered equipment, liberal quantities of harmful pesticides and fertilizers, as well as other environmentally detrimental practices.
So what can you do about it? Get some of your groceries from small, local farms that engage in sustainable agricultural practices - and try to reduce your meat consumption by shifting to a plant-based diet. Growing your own vegetables can be a great way to practice organic growing techniques, replace some of that high-maintenance lawn with a lovely garden bed, and reduce your carbon footprint (our Biocultural Conservation Farm team can help you get started!)
Want to learn more about what you can do to contribute to the climate change fight? Educating yourself is the best way to start - NASA has a lot of great resources for adults, educators, and children on climate change. You can also consider supporting an organization working to fight climate change, and this list of 101 ways to fight climate change includes actions that can work for people with a variety of budgets and lifestyles. Remember, we’re all in this together!
Cover image: Arboriculture, Conservation, and Landscape team members John Harrell and Mike Wright giving the planet - and each other - a helping hand by planting trees last fall.
Special thanks to TJ Sherman, OSGF Head of Project Management and Planning, for his help with this blogpost!