Autumn Nature-Culture

Nature-culture is my way to live as part of nature; sharing my resources with those who share theirs (the bees and the birds, etc.); becoming more aware of nature's needs so I can be a better neighbor; changing my habits so I can cause less harm.

My working definition of Nature-culture is "Humans living in unity with nature: acting in ways that create shared spaces that mimic the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems."

As we move into autumn, I've set myself some simple goals.

Agenda:

1. Stay in touch with my fall ecosystem

2. Wildlife garden tasks for autumn

3. Regenerative food garden tasks

4. Set some fall goals for causing less harm

5. Bee advocate preparations

1. Stay in touch with my fall ecosystem

My goal is to stay in daily touch with my ecosystem and become a better neighbor to the wildlife that lives with me - observing and interacting, learning the names of the flora and fauna, and being mindful of the season and climate.

This fall my plan is to take a slow walk around the garden to greet at least 5 plants and insects by name each day. I'm going to take my bee ID book out with me to try to identify at least one bee each day, and make note of the birds I see.

2. Wildlife garden tasks for early autumn:

Snowberry in its new home.

I have a small wildlife garden with native plants which is helping to reverse some of the human-caused habitat destruction that is hurting wildlife. I'm keeping my fall goals for this garden simple and small:

1. Transplant all the snowberry to the lower street garden (along with some milkweed seeds)
2. Dig out the lilac roots and plant a red flowering current (Ribes sanguineum), which is beloved by hummingbirds in the early spring. Also, the foliage is eaten by Zephyr and other butterfly larvae. The berries are eaten by various songbirds and small mammals.

Also, as I clean up the garden for winter, I keep our bird and insect friends in mind. Most insects overwinter in the soil and hollow stems and leaves as larvae, eggs, or adults. Tips:

• I leave as many flower stalks and seed heads as I can until early spring, for the birds to dine on. 
• Those I need to cut, I will leave a foot of stem and chop and drop the rest for mulch, for the insects to nest in. 
• I'll also spread on a layer of leaf mulch, for the worms to dine on, and insect larvae to overwinter in.

3. Regenerative food garden tasks:

I also have a food garden, which I treat only a little differently. I'm using the same chop and drop method for clean-up, and covering all bare soil with leaf mulch, and then:

• Sow Cover Crops: Broadcast fava bean and winter rye seed to enrich and protect soil through the winter.

4. Set some fall goals for causing less harm

Part of my nature-culture practice is to live my indoors life as close to nature as possible, using less plastics and less processed foods, and causing less harm. My goal this fall is to research and write about plastics again, and find some new ways to reduce our plastic purchasing, and increase recycling.

I intend to work diligently on reducing my own plastic consumption, and write posts that share tips for reducing plastic production, consumption, and waste for my Meeting  community - a passionate witness of grief and hope - because integrity calls me to address the overwhelming problem of  plastic pollution on our planet, for the sake of the children and wildlife who are impacted most. 

6. Bee advocacy:

Another part of my nature-culture practice is to pay forward the benefits I receive from nature by educating others and advocating for nature. Today I did that at our Trout Friendly Landscape celebration. I got some free educational materials from the OSU bee advocate program, and shared them, along with some free advice!