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  • From: Heide Hermary <heidehermary@pacificcoast.net>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] "thirsty " trees....
  • Date: Wed, 04 Sep 2002 10:47:25 -0700

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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