My son and daughter are growing up in a changing world, and my wife and I want them to be able to provide for themselves. That’s why we have explicitly set out a mission for ourselves to “meet our own needs while improving the ability of future generations to meet their needs”. This is based on a definition of sustainability, “to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” [1], but it goes a step further; we want it to be easier for our kids.

We don’t want to just sustain, we want to regenerate.

What defines regenerative practices? To be regenerative, a design must provide for human needs, improve natural systems, and use resources in such a way that the system continues into the future. Summarized as people care, earth care, and future care, these requirements define the ethics of permaculture. Permaculture is a design system, that is based in science, guided by ethics, and inspired by nature, to create a regenerative human habitat.

What does permaculture actually look like on the ground? It can look like a homestead with chickens, vegetable gardens, rainwater being captured off the roof, and a food forest of plums, gooseberries, hazelnuts, and so much more. Permaculture’s goal is to use what would be regarded as waste as a resource and provide for all of the needs of the system from within the system, so organic material is composted, “waste” water is utilized, and power comes from renewable sources.

But our mission extends beyond our immediate family to all future generations. So, we want to share the lessons we have learned, help others design regenerative systems that meet their needs, and build a community of abundance.

Together we can design a flourishing future for all.

1. https://www.un.org/en/academic-impact/sustainability

(Originally published as part of the Faith in Action Climate Series at St. Mary’s Anglican Church in April 2023.)

Often, taking climate action sounds expensive: get solar panels, insulate the house, buy an electric car. But did you know you can have an impact and save money at the same time?

Here are examples of environmental actions that can help the planet and your wallet. The graph shows possible actions, and the impact of each in kilowatt hours per day (1 kWh/day is the amount of energy it takes to run an incandescent light bulb for 24 hours).

1. Stop flying (35 kWh/day).
2. Put a sweater on and turn down your heat by 4oC (7oF), turn off the heat when no one’s home, and do the same at work (20 kWh/day).
3. Bike, walk, and take the bus instead of driving. When you do have to drive, drive slower, more gently, and carpool (20 kWh/day).
4. Buy less stuff and avoid packaging (20 kWh/day).
5. Eat vegetarian six days a week (10 kWh/day).
6. Keep using old computers and cell phones, don’t replace them early (4 kWh/day).
7. Wash laundry in cold water and hang on a clothesline to dry (1 kWh/day).

These actions are drawn from “Sustainable Energy – without the hot air” by David JC MacKay, and the exact savings depend on your habits prior to taking a given action.
• Just switching from the dryer to the clothesline makes a difference. But switching from meat to vegetarian six days a week will save you money on groceries, and can have the same impact as putting solar panels on your roof!
• Cutting out one short return flight per year (e.g., Fredericton-Toronto) will save 35 kWh/day; cutting a longer flight per year (e.g., Fredericton-Paris) saves 10x that much (385 kWh/day)!

These are just a few examples. The more actions we commit to, the greater our impact will be. It just takes commitment and a sense of enlightened self-interest, and it doesn’t have to be expensive. But as environmentalist Bill McKibben says, the best thing an individual can do to fight climate change is stop being an individual. Tell your friends and family about what you are doing to save money and they might do the same!

By working together as a community, we can make a brighter future for all the beings we share this planet with.

(Originally published as part of the Faith in Action Climate Series at St. Mary’s Anglican Church in April 2022.)

It’s Friday afternoon. I’m driving home in a car that smells like that food left at the back of the fridge. Gibson, our four-year-old, pinches his nose and asks me to roll down the windows.

The smell comes from food scraps collected from Gibson’s daycare. The kids are learning about composting, and we’re bringing the food scraps home to our compost bin.

We may think that soil is pretty inert other than some bugs and worms, but nothing could be farther from the truth! Healthy soil has an entire food chain of microorganisms that actually provide nutrients for plants – between 100 million and 1 billion in each teaspoon! [1] These microbes eat organic matter, get eaten by other microbes, and excrete organic matter to continue the cycle. Plants tap into this cycle, absorbing nutrients before it gets eaten by something else. Since these microbes don’t wash away, this cycle of life and death continues to recycle organic matter and provide nutrients for plants.

By contrast, industrial agriculture uses chemical fertilizer to provide nutrients for plants. The chemicals disrupt the soil food web and then the plants become dependent on the chemicals. When chemical fertilizers get washed away by rain, they pollute waterways and fuel algae growth, killing fish and other sea creatures. And finally, we waste a lot of food (almost half of what is produced! [2]) in grocery stores, restaurants, and the back of our fridges! Food in the landfill breaks down without oxygen, creating methane gas, which is 25 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide. [3]

What can we do in the face of these overwhelming issues? A simple first step is composting.

Organic matter from rotting food builds the living soil food web. Feeding the soil microorganisms feeds the plants, and we eat the plants. What we don’t eat goes into the compost bin, closing the loop and allowing natural processes to create life from death. Even if you’re not growing food, composting captures carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere. [4]

Composting is one of those everyday miracles in this incredibly well-designed system we call nature. When we compost the food scraps – from our own kitchen or from Gibson’s daycare – we are doing our part to give back to the soil microbes who enable us to grow the food we eat everyday.
For further reading:

1. https://web.extension.illinois.edu/soil/SoilBiology/bacteria.htm
2. http://www.unep.org/thinkeatsave/get-informed/worldwide-food-waste
3. http://www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane
4. https://www.treehugger.com/benefits-of-composting-5179483