Bryan Good
Sustainability Studies student
“In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing concentrations of substances produced by society.” (Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development; Sustainability System Condition #2)
In other words, society (mankind) continues to make things that aren’t natural and/or don’t deteriorate easily. Those things then build in concentrations in the landfills where it might maintain it’s identity as a “whatever” until it is subducted and melts under the surface of the earth, when that landfill reaches that point however many millions of years from now. Mankind has (mostly in the industrial age) radically changed the surface of the earth. To the point that some strongly feel hat he even has changed the atmosphere that he lives in.
While we can’t change the past, we can affect the future and my time with Unity Gardens is proving to be eye-opening. They are putting on classes like bee-keeping and children’s
programs have begun that will affect the future, maybe even generations. For about five years Sara has been bringing not only good food to the local area where the main garden is but she
also has been building partnerships with other gardeners and gardens.
By so doing, she has built an awareness in people who won’t have to go to the store to
buy fruits and vegetables in packaging of various sorts that will eventually get thrown away.
That is how Sara and my internship at Unity Gardens impacts system condition #2. Buy providing fresh food to the local community she helps save possibly hundreds of pounds of food packaging from going to the landfill.
But wait there’s more. 🙂
We even show how to not just toss the unusable parts away but rather compost them or as I prefer, feed them to chickens. Chickens are very eager to eat whatever you give provided it’s good for them. They then provide nourishing fertilizer that can be utilized in garden beds to nourish the plants you are eating from. Certainly I digress but I’m certain you can see the cycle being laid out in front of you. Interestingly, Unity Gardens has chickens…
So my job at Unity Gardens is to build the educational composter which will be one that
people can see the composting process played out right in front of them. Many learn visually and this will certainly provide an avenue for those to “see” composting in action.
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