Almost a year ago I had travelled to Hawaii and been impressed with local sustainability realities. The experience awakened a desire to share sustainable travel experiences, but the global pandemic impacted this intention. And so, a year from then I am not travelling but looking at making my own small patch of the world more sustainable
In Hawaii I had the chance of staying with a self-identified hippy, in a home built with recycled materials in food garden that resembled a jungle. I tasted bread fruit for the first time and some berries that strangely recalled a peanut butter flavor. I exchanged ideas of what living sustainably meant with the host, and lived more freely than I had in a long while. The experience however was not overly appreciated by my ornithophobic boyfriend who was traumatised by the numerous free roaming chickens (but stoically overcame the fear for my sake).
Whilst I look forward to exploring sustainable realities when travelling in the future, I now am challenging myself with turning my small garden into a greener space. Planting wildflowers for bees, composting, accepting co-habitation with London’s foxes and trying to create a vegetable garden for the first time.
As it is my first time and the garden is not my own (relatable situation for many Londoners I am sure), I am learning about Container Gardening and rejoicing in knowing that plants will find a way to grow in (almost) anything. Container gardening is accessible, and if not exactly easy, doable. It still allows to live by the season, learn about soil nutrients, mark the passing of time, appreciate the weather changes and live a bit more in tune in nature.
This last aspect is so important as many are turning to nature during the pandemic as a way to decompress. A meta-analysis published in 2017 by Soga et al linked gardening to health benefits. The authors were able to provide robust evidence of the positive effects of gardening on health, indicating a reduction in depression, anxiety, as well as increases in life satisfaction, quality of life, and sense of community.
Having access to nature is also part of a broader social justice discourse. For instance Natural England and the National Statistics’s 2019 report on people and the natural environment presented divisions in how people from lower socio-economic backgrounds and minority groups were most impact: from perceiving reduced access to green spaces, being able to make use of the space and visit National Parks (vast of majority of visitors had access to a car). This should be addressed as nature is beneficial to all and to overall public health. In fact, nature has a positive impact on people’s lives and studies, such as the Lancet’s 2019 review, have shown that people with access to green spaces tend to live longer lives. Access to nature should be for all and I appreciate the small charities active in North London that are trying to bridge the gap, from those making surplus yet healthy food accessible to those providing seeds for free, to enable everyone to have a try at growing their own green. Just like I am attempting to.
