Much of California is a Desert

 

Close up shots of the school garden at Stonehurst bear remarkable resemblance to photos of school gardens and family gardens in Tindouf, Algeria. Alice, Mr Bohland and I talked about reciprocal learning benefits between students in California and Northwest Africa.

Standing on a sauna bed of mulch in Sunland, surrounded by dry parcels of land and shrinking plants for a brief moment our little patch of Los Angeles was transported to Africa! Well, it wasn't quite like that. But the specter of California drought cloaked every thought we had about efficient use of resources and conservation.

Governor Schwarzenegger has appointed two "water czars", one in charge of conservation efforts and the other of transferring water. When we flush a toilet, it's easy to forget that a lot of water in California is imported.  Much of our state is a desert and a great deal of the rest are dry lands. Our modern water delivery infrastructure acts as a daily foil in our efforts to conserve water. It's so easy to turn on the tap and forget that the source isn't infinite, that it's more than just pipes.

In the small sense of the word, "czar" can refer to someone in charge of a special activity. Mr. Bohland can be called "soil science czar" at Stonehurst and Alice a "garden czar". He and Alice mentioned terracottem several times as we brainstormed about Project Stonehurst: Soil Science. Alice had read about terracottem on my blog and Dr. Van Cottem's Desertification blog, she  was interested in using it for it's water stocking capabilities.

Mr. Bohland and Alice's concerns are shared by everyone at the California School Garden Network I spoke to,  they're all diligent about efficiency and conservation. We're not just thinking about school gardens here.

California is the largest agricultural state in the United States, we're one of the top ten economies of the world and we're the world's twelfth largest source of carbon dioxide. What happens here has national and international consequences.

California also tends to be a trend setting state in everything from education, technology to legislation. In 2006, we passed the Nation's Toughest Global Warming Bill (Union of Concerned Scientists, UCS).

"With this groundbreaking legislation, California politicians have come together to lead the nation in taking action on global warming," said Dan Kalb, California Policy Coordinator for UCS. "This bill is a valuable template for other states and the federal government."

Clean California Overview from UCS , "California's population size, the strength and diversity of its economy, and its progressive history on environmental issues place it in an ideal leadership position on the issues of global warming and air quality."

Now, California is tackling drought and climate change at the local and state levels.

Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa unveiled a 20 year water plan, “This plan makes a basic promise to our kids: We are going to recycle and conserve enough water to meet 100% of new demand.” His "Green L.A." plan calls for structural and behavioral changes; and literally "greening" key points throughout Los Angeles, "unpaving paradise" includes working with schools to build more parks in their communities.

Working with school gardens through The California Garden Network is a great way to compliment an existing infrastructure. Recycling and water conservation can be taught experientially and children have little green zones right in their schools. Or is that too elegant of a solution and not a radical enough structural change for a bold bullet point? 

Mayor Villaraigosa worked with Los Angeles Community Garden Council to build a community garden in South Los Angeles. He could also work with another existing infrastructure,
University of California Agricultural Resources and Natural Resources, Common Ground Garden Program with the added benefit that they're also connected to the California School Garden Network with regional chapters working with local representatives. They're also an existing link to community gardens in terms of education and outreach.

Governor Schwarzenegger proclaimed drought earlier this month and called for immediate action to conserve water. There isn't anything immediately apparent in the Governor's plan  specifically about drip irrigation, water retaining mulch, or water stocking soil conditioners; although they could be implemented under one or more of the bullet points.

Mayor Villaraigosa is considered a political trailblazer on many issues, he's a Californian after all. He also made a promise to our kids for a greener Los Angeles. He could blaze a trail right to soil science czar Mr. Bohland and garden czar Alice, educators who are already conducting research and field work at the micro level of day to day contact with children, where conservation education and efforts can have the biggest impact.

Governor Schwarzenegger's proclamation of drought was an "urgent call"  for a $12 billion bond proposal for radical structural changes and upgrades to California's water infrastructure; more canals, more reservoirs, and more water transferring. So far, recycling and conservation efforts are attached like accessories, a pair of clip-on earrings.

Recycling is nice, but we can also use better materials from the start. The current generation of "eco" packaging commonly uses food crops such as corn and potato starch as components of biodegradable resins.

Eco is such a friendly word, "organic" has a similar halo effect, what's they're not to love? But there's no post-petroleum magic green bullet nor is there a meta-answer to growing plants or anything else for that matter.

Figuring out different ways of consuming, throwing away and extending the life of disposables are good things. We have to start somewhere and there's no need to throw out the good in search of the perfect.

New technologies in biodegradables and biofuels (made from non food crops), convenient and efficient collection of recyclables, transportation, processing, fabricating new products involves a long chain of events and players.

On an individual level each of us can ask, "why so many containers?".  I'm not proposing a crash diet from consumerism, just less of it. There was a time in America when we weren't attached to water bottles like clip on pacifiers, we drank water from fountains and water coolers. Taking a few steps backwards can help us move forward with larger conservation goals.

At the school community level there are people like Mr. Bohland and Alice, czars in the small sense of the word; who are trying to conserve resources, using them more efficiently, and fulfilling promises to our kids, instead of just making them.