Smokin’ Design At Inglewood Fire Station OFG
Posted on 15. Mar, 2012 by pamela in Compost Tea, Fire Station 171, G3 Blog, G3 Community, G3 Design Studio, G3 Partners, Living Soil, Los Angeles/South Bay, Rain Gardens, Resources, Surfrider Foundation, Watershed Notes, West Basin
Spring has arrived a trifle early at the West Basin Ocean Friendly Demonstration Garden Project at Inglewood Fire Station 171. G3 Founding Member, Marilee Kuhlmann’s planting design is beginning to fill in and start its non-stop blooming, despite the slow start from an extremely dry winter.
This garden, populated entirely by all-native or close cultivars, was completed in November 2011 with the expectation that the rainy season would help the plants to become established. Thank goddess for that healthy, mycorrhizal fungi-filled soil G3 created on site through multiple applications of Aerobic Compost Tea from G3 Associate, Sherri Powell (a.k.a. Compost Teana) on relatively young compost produced by Las Virgenes MWD from biosolids derived from their water treatment facility.
Fungal Soil From Compost Tea
Alas, not much water has been able to gather in the rock-filled swales that capture storm water runoff from the adjacent hard surfaces like the decomposed granite pathway and existing sidewalks.
Groundcovers like pink yarrow (Achillea millefolium ‘Island Pink’) and coral bells (Heuchera maxima) already are filling in the gaps between California native oaks (Quercus agrifolia) and sycamores (Platanus racemosa), which are just beginning to bloom or show their leaves.
Salvia and Calylophus heat up garden
Red autumn sages (Salvia greggii) and yellow sundrops (Calylophus hartwegii) give that hot blast of color so appropriate for spring at a fire station. This Ocean Friendly Garden already is proving that Marilee’s painterly approach is a perennial crowd-pleaser. Once again, G3 demonstrates that an Ocean Friendly Garden is the right stuff for public and commercial properties and is just as appropriate in your own front yard.
There Is No Life Without Living Soil
Posted on 07. Feb, 2012 by pamela in G3 Blog, G3 Media, Living Soil, Video, Watershed Notes
What a wonderful and succinct discussion of the importance of Living Soil from a farmer who understands that we humans are from soil and will return to her at the end.
CA Ag Increases Matricidal (Mother Killing) Practices In 2010
Posted on 03. Jan, 2012 by pamela in Environment 911, G3 Blog, Living Soil, Watershed Notes
EAT LOCAL ORGANIC!
A new report by the CA Dept. of Pesticide Regulation announced today that total pesticide use in California increased substantially in 2010 after posting a decline during the previous four years. Most of this pesticide use is in commercial agriculture. But, there is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when people see others doing a bad thing and getting away with it. Instead of outrage, the intrinsically human thrill of “Not Getting Caught” is triggered, and the result is people begin to copy the bad behaviors. This phenomenon is what concerns us the most. Helping regular folks break bad habits in their landscapes is tough enough without huge agribusiness flaunting their eco-destructive practices in our face. This spring, try to concentrate on getting your clients, friends, and neighbors off ALL pesticides, herbicides, and other “cides.” Remember “cides” are killers. And we consider the act of using these toxins in agriculture and landscape to be MATRICIDE (mother-killers).
Also, does anything seem weird about this increase? What exactly is the strategy being employed by commercial ag that necessitates further destruction of the soil ecosystem to require more fertilizer and GMO pest-resistant seed? Feels eerily like the hand of Monsanto and its (will not use a human pronoun for this company) evil band of brothers.
Here at G3, we put our money (and yours too) where our mouth is by insisting that our event hosts serve only organic food, sourced as locally as possible. So when you attend a G3 event, your head can remain in the game, instead of wondering about what might be poisoning you on the table. Check out this Press Release and Accompanying Data. Pesticide Use CA County 2010
Matilija Ojai School Yard Habitat
Posted on 23. Dec, 2011 by pamela in Build Habitat, G3 Associates, G3 Blog, G3 Community, G3 Design Studio, G3 Media, G3 Partners, Living Soil, Ocean Friendly Gardens, Rain Gardens, School Yard Habitats, Ventura County, Video
G3 Qualified Trainer, and NEW Ventura County Regional Coordinator, Renee Roth, has been working with the Matilija Junior High School in Ojai, CA for more than two years to transform a pesticide-adled lawn area into a US Fish & Wildlife School Yard Habitat.
Renee Roth at Matilija Ojai SYH
Renee gave G3′s Pamela Berstler a tour to show off the sheet mulching, grading, and drainage that already has been done. An examination of the mulch pile, made as G3 recommends, with fresh tree trimmings, yielded a couple of surprises including the iPod video (above) and millions of FUN-GUYS (mycorrhizal fungi) building their soil-food-web.
Renee has secured funding for this transformation from a US Fish & Wildlife School Yard Habitat Grant. School personnel and students contribute time and energy to move the project along. The objective is to have a completely CA native landscape that absorbs all of the rainwater generated by adjacent hardscape surfaces. So this project is also an Ocean Friendly Garden!
For more information about the Matilija Ojai School Yard Habitat, check out Renee’s website. http://matilijasyh.com/home/
Oxnard Residents Learn HOW To Lose The Lawn
Posted on 13. Dec, 2011 by pamela in Build Habitat, G3 Blog, G3 Community, G3 Design Studio, G3 Education, G3 In The News, G3 Media, G3 Partners, Homeowner, HOWs, Living Soil, Ocean Friendly Gardens, Rain Gardens, Sod Story, Speaker Series, Surfrider Foundation, Ventura County, Video, Watershed Notes
Oxnard's Newest Ocean Friendly Garden
G3 led a series of Hands-on Workshops (HOWs) sponsored by the City of Oxnard, to help people understand how to transform their lawn into an Ocean Friendly Garden using significantly less water, with healthy, living soil supporting CA native plants, and retaining the rainwater from the adjacent roof of the home. Ten homeowners followed the series from the Watershed Basics Class (held in a classroom), through the Site Evaluation, Sheet Mulching a.k.a. Soil Lasagna, ending with Planting & Irrigation.
Making Soil Lasagna In Oxnard
The resulting Ocean Friendly Garden, or “Sponge Garden,” is an inspiration to the entire neighborhood and all residents of Oxnard, demonstrating Surfrider Foundation’s tenets of C.P.R. – Conservation (native plants, no chemicals used to remove turf, drip irrigation), Permeability (healthy, living soil created through sheet mulching), and Retention (downspouts re-directed into the landscape sponge).
The City of Oxnard Ocean Friendly Garden is located at 2820 Hill Ave., and is visible from the street. Please do not walk on the property. The garden is best viewed from the sidewalk.
This Oxnard Lawn Will Soon Be Gone!
