{"id":1221,"date":"2014-09-07T17:50:30","date_gmt":"2014-09-07T17:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ongardening.com\/?p=1221"},"modified":"2014-09-07T18:02:51","modified_gmt":"2014-09-07T18:02:51","slug":"gardening-to-save-the-planet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ongardening.com\/?p=1221","title":{"rendered":"Gardening to Save the Planet"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We are learning about humanity\u2019s many impacts on the near and distant future of our planet. Some people are in denial about these impacts, while others are concerned and ready to do whatever we can to ensure that our Earth will support future generations.<\/p>\n<p>To support and encourage such positive action, leading botanist Peter Raven will visit the UCSC Arboretum next week to meet with UCSC faculty and staff, and present a public talk, \u201cSaving Plants, Saving Ourselves.\u201d Raven will present an informed update on the increasing threats to Earth\u2019s environment, and emphasize the special role of public gardens in conserving plants that could be lost through habitat loss and climate change.<\/p>\n<p>Peter Raven has a long friendship with the UCSC Arboretum, and a national reputation as a conservationist and advocate of global biodiversity: Time magazine hailed him as a Hero of the Planet. His visit to the Monterey Bay area inspires us to reflect on the home gardener\u2019s unique role in saving the planet.<\/p>\n<p>Here are ten everyday practices that gardeners can apply to help sustain the environment and protect plant diversity.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Irrigate<\/strong> your garden wisely, using drip technology to deliver water only where needed, and mulch (organic or inorganic) to minimize evaporation and weed growth.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Recycle<\/strong> household water into the garden, using plant-friendly soaps and detergents.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Prune<\/strong> your acquisitions of consumer goods that bury our landfills and clutter our environment\u2026and that you really don&#8217;t need.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Propagate<\/strong> plants that Nature\u2019s pollinators (bees and other insects, bats and birds) love and need to survive. Clusters of flowering plants will enrich your landscape.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Conserve<\/strong> biodiversity by protecting endangered species and including rare and threatened California native plants in your landscape. (Visit the California Native Plant Society\u2019s website, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rareplants.cnps.org\/\">www.rareplants.cnps.org\/<\/a> for info.)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nourish<\/strong> your plants with organic fertilizers, and discontinue uses of artificial chemicals<\/li>\n<li><strong>Control<\/strong> plant-eating insects with insect predators and organic insecticides. Use physical barriers and non-toxic deterrents to control other plant-eaters, e.g., snails, gophers and deer,<\/li>\n<li><strong>Select<\/strong> plants that are native to California or other summer-dry climates, to enable their healthy growth, support wildlife and ease your gardening workload.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Compost<\/strong> the \u201ccarbon-rich\u201d fantasies of climate change deniers with the \u201cnitrogen-rich\u201d facts of the world\u2019s scientists to promote wise stewardship of the environment. (Alto, keep all biomass on the property by composting green garden waste!)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cultivate<\/strong> these good practices among your friends and neighbors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The UCSC Arboretum employs these practices regularly, and assigns high priority to its work in plant conservation.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1222\" style=\"width: 160px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ongardening.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/pt-sur-Austin-and-Tim.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1222\" data-attachment-id=\"1222\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ongardening.com\/?attachment_id=1222\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ongardening.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/pt-sur-Austin-and-Tim.jpg?fit=5184%2C3456&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"5184,3456\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;6.4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;Canon EOS REBEL T3i&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1355235405&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;21&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;100&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.004&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"pt sur Austin and Tim\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ongardening.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/pt-sur-Austin-and-Tim.jpg?fit=584%2C389&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-image-1222 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ongardening.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/pt-sur-Austin-and-Tim.jpg?resize=150%2C150\" alt=\"pt sur Austin and Tim\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ongardening.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/pt-sur-Austin-and-Tim.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ongardening.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/pt-sur-Austin-and-Tim.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=150%2C150 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ongardening.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/pt-sur-Austin-and-Tim.jpg?zoom=3&amp;resize=150%2C150 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1222\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Click to Enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\">This photo shows UCSC student Austin Robey and Arboretum volunteer Tim Forsell as they replanted endangered California native\u00a0manzanita shrubs on a steep slope near the Point Sur State Historic Park and Lighthouse. The Arboretum\u2019s Brett Hall coordinated the conservation project.<\/p>\n<p>Your practices in your own garden also could help to save the planet. A good start would be to attend Peter Raven\u2019s talk..<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>Registrations for the Peter Raven talk sold out quickly. To receive timely announcements of future events at the Arboretum, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/arboretum.ucsc.edu\/get-involved\/\">arboretum.ucsc.edu\/get-involved\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If you would like to sponsor an educational event at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, contact Jennifer Macotto, 831-427-2998 or <a href=\"mailto:jmacotto@ucsc.edu\">jmacotto@ucsc.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>For information on how you could help save a rare species: visit <a href=\"http:\/\/arboretum.ucsc.edu\/education\/plant-sponsorship\/\">arboretum.ucsc.edu\/education\/plant-sponsorship\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We are learning about humanity\u2019s many impacts on the near and distant future of our planet. Some people are in denial about these impacts, while others are concerned and ready to do whatever we can to ensure that our Earth &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/ongardening.com\/?p=1221\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[91,61],"tags":[51,52,89,10,96,79,53,27,49,71],"class_list":["post-1221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-essays-2014","category-fall-quarter-essays-2013","tag-bees","tag-butterflies","tag-california-native-plants","tag-cultivation","tag-drought","tag-fertilizers","tag-ipm","tag-low-maintenance","tag-public-policy","tag-sustainability"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2WCVL-jH","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1221"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1223,"href":"https:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1221\/revisions\/1223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ongardening.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}