permaculture

[Heide Hermary <heidehermary@pacificcoast.net>]

Hi Michael, nice to "meet" a kindred spirit  so close by!

Just to set the record clear: last year's watering ban was caused by a 
draining of our municipal water reservoir in November, with then, for 
the first time in history apparently, insufficient winter rains to fill 
it to capacity. A sign of changing weather patterns? Who knows. Last 
year we were initially not allowed to water our lawns at all, even if 
thirsty trees stood in the middle of them.  Eventually towards the end 
of summer, as many trees died,  the water board relented and allowed 
trickle irrigation of trees.That, of course, was a joke: way too little, 
and way too late.  Hundreds of trees died, many of them, of course, 
already previously stressed, but others just simply not adapted to a 
mediterranean climate that does not supply any summer water. And no, we 
were not allowed to hand wash our cars, but amazingly, automated car 
washes continued to operate, and in fact none of the water wasting 
industries were in any way restricted. Interesting priorities.

We certainly had plenty of rain the following winter.  The prospect of 
not having enough water was a real shock to a population used to have 
unlimited supply, and is causing many people to  rethink the 
appropriateness of their ornamental landscapes. A boon for organic 
landscapers.

I often encounter the attitude that ornamental landscapes are frivolous 
and really "don't count" when we talk about sustainable systems, 
permaculture, etc.  Frankly, "ornamental" landscapes comprise the 
largest green spaces in cities, where street trees, many parks and most 
gardens are purposely planted. This does not preclude food production, 
but big cities cannot function without trees and other perennial 
vegetation just providing "green space". Country dwellers take this for 
granted.

These areas do not easily support native vegetation because of the 
changed climatic, drainage and soil patterns in urban areas. And 
pollution, of course.  Designing these vital oxygen producing, and 
sanity maintaining,  greenspaces to be flourishing agroecosystems is a 
challenge, to say the least.  It requires a deep understanding of how 
ecosystems function. Never gets boring.

Heide

Michael Carpenter wrote:

> Hi Heide and everyone. As I recall, the ban in
> Victoria excluded hand-watering your garden and
> washing your car. Just thought people on this list
> might appreciate the priorities of a first world
> nation and how politicians appease the masses. 
>
> I'll introduce myself: My name is Michael and I live
> 100km north of Victoria in Nanaimo - the great void of
> progressive thinking on the Island ;) I work at the
> College here as a Web Developer but recently graduated
> from the University of Northern British Columbia with
> a degree in Environmental Planning. We have been
> incorporating permaculture into our 0.09Ha rental
> property - reintroducing salal, oregon grape,
> thimbleberry, bracken fern on the shaded moist
> NorthEast side of the house where some large cedars
> currently grow, uncovered an herb garden and have
> added alot to that, pruned the apple and pear trees,
> uncovered the previous overgrown garden, overturned a
> large portion of the lawn and planted potatoes and
> beans, converted another large section into garden
> beds and erected a small 8'X8' greenhouse for peppers
> and eggplant. We've just been here since February so
> have alot to go, but it's been a great summer for
> growing so far. We've started some fall planting and
> have alot more to do but it's been alot of fun. 
>
> I have also been in contact with the City Planning
> Dept. as current zoning does not permit me to keep a
> single chicken or rabbit on a property under 1
> acre(although there are provisions for up to 50 racing
> pigeons) (?) I'm trying to make a case for hens and
> poultry for sustenance. In Victoria there are only
> limits on roosters within the city.
>
> Regards,
> Michael
>
> > In addition the shade created by trees prevents the
> > evaporation of water 
> > from soil and grass landscapes.  We could see this
> > clearly here in 
> > Victoria, Canada last year, when we had a total
> > watering ban on lawn 
> > areas due to a water shortage: 
>
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