One Small Step to a Better World
It takes the first piling to build a bridge. No piling, no bridge. When contemplating trying to help the whole environment be righted, the task is far too big. The sheer enormity of the problem of pollution and climate turmoil leads to individuals feeling hopeless.
What can one person do?
An 11-year-old sees things differently.
Ned Heaton often went with his family to Moreton Island, Queensland (a haven for turtles, dugongs, and fish), spending the school holidays camping. Walking the beach, they spent a day collecting plastic bits from the island’s beaches. One of the items he most discovered was plastic toothbrushes. Ned told SmartCompany, “By 2050, scientists predict there’ll be more plastic in the ocean than fish”.
On entering a youth business competition to make a business product for $20, Ned decided to design a bamboo toothbrush. He sold the toothbrushes door-to-door and made $1,200. The Heaton family’s business is still going amazingly well. The Turtle Tribe has achieved an average of 100% growth year-on-year, with national supply contracts. (1)
It’s a big problem, but they made one small step towards a better outcome.
Tackling Multivariate Problems with a Simple Plant Ecosystem Solution
A problem you may not have heard of is nutrient pollution. The cause is chemical fertilisers, containing nitrogen and phosphorous, and pet/wildlife wastes, which when leached into waterways and oceans, often cause excessive algae growth.
This in turn leads to oxygen loss in the water, and then the fish, crabs, oysters, and other aquatic animals start dying.(2)
The sad thing about the problems in the Murray-Darling River basin and other places where you hear water has gone bad and fish are dying, is that modern farming practices like chemical fertilising (a leading cause of river pollution) can be done differently, for far lesser cost.
Ecological farming is a way of encouraging plant life to enrich and build the soil through natural processes and soil organisms. Poor drainage, droughts, and nutrient deficiencies in crops have spurred some farmers and gardeners to look at more organic farming methods.
A plant and insect-friendly ecosystem displaces the need for constant application of weedkillers and pesticides, relying instead on natural methods of motivating insects and birds to control bugs.
One way is to plant flowers between the vegetables or fruit. Dr Wendy Seabrook of Learning From Nature says this reduces our fertiliser, pest control and other input costs.
The outcome: crop yields improve after experiencing higher nutrient availability in our soils, and there are fewer impacts from pests and diseases.
Funnily enough, plants and dead leaves contain nutrients, not just stuff sold in giant expensive bags. When the leaves, twigs and weeds break down, the soil organisms turn it into organic matter.
When you bio-repair the soil and encourage insects, it also fixes nutrient deficiency and poor drainage.
“Soil organisms control soil pathogens and soil-derived plant pests and diseases.” (LearningFromNature)
Imagine if all crop farmers used ecological principles to boost their crops and maintain their land. It reminds us of all the unnecessary products that humans have made to ‘boost’ gardens artificially, or eradicate weeds and bugs, killing everything when they wanted to kill one thing.
What’s one small step you could take today for a better tomorrow?
Mine is taking out my compostables and poking it down into the soil, among the plants.
#oneactiononeplanet #learningfromnature #onesmallstep
Sources:
(1) SmartCompany Plus newsletter, July 2023. (Members only).
(2) National Ocean Service, What is Nutrient Pollution? https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/nutpollution.html#:~:text=Nutrient%20pollution%20is%20the%20process,and%20garden%20fertilizers%20are%20used.
(3) Learning From Nature, Australian soil scientist Dr Wendy Seabrook. https://www.learningfromnature.com.au/what-is-healthy-soil/
