“Canada” a huge territory with some of the freshest water in the world, ample amount of trees, vast mountain ranges with lush land. Yet we charge each other for it, we fight about how we use it, some claim ownership while other are stewards. We are separated by fictional borders when animal migratory patterns should dictate those, our lakes are less and less protected yet they sustain us like blood flowing in our veins. Imagine that having a surplus of a resource, yet we want to control it, hoard it and protect it to the point of an untouchable painting in an art gallery.
Land is to be lived on, gardened on, explored, rejuvenated, taken care of and shared. We can protect wildlife while cultivating sustainably. Imagine being able to garden for free in any forest, creating permaculture heavens. Our national parks could be grocery stores, everyone having a connection to the lland they inhabit. It not so hard to make happen, just a pen and a signature in the parliament. Obviously some basic laws would exist, detailed below.
Canada has a declining farm industry, reducing about 10% each ten years. How that a growing country with all these resources can this happening. One answer is farming is difficult & we don’t subsidize them enough, like the states. Also because of our season monoculture farming is challenging, that type of farming is not ideal compared to permaculture anyways.
Monoculture, meaning growing just one crop like only corn, is harming the planet tremendously, the idea of planting one type of seed is devastating. It sucks all the nutrients in the soil leaving lifeless patches of land. This then dries up and the only way to revitalise the earth is with heavy fertilisers and even importing water. Also worth noting bacteria and insect are wiped out, even in surrounding area they die due to all the dust. Massive farm lands have gone extinct from this, taking centuries to have nutrient rich soil again.
Permaculture is to have sustainable farming practices that are permanent, meaning they self regulate. The Iroquois and the Cherokee called corn, bean, and squash “the three sisters” because they nurture each other like family when planted together. These agriculturalists placed corn in small areas, planting beans around them and interspersing squash throughout of the field. Beans naturally absorb nitrogen from the air and convert it to nitrates, fertilizing the soil for the corn and squash. In return, they are supported by winding around the corn stalks. The squash leaves provide ground cover between the corn and beans, preventing weeds from taking over the field. These three plants thrive together better than when they are planted alone. They each have different harvesting times, and the byproduct(left-over) of each returns into the soil re-nourishing it. Animals are also seen participating, frogs taking cover under the foliage eating worms, encouraging worms to move and reproduce, then taking poops also adding nutrient to the cycle.
In permaculture you dont need large farming equipment, which ruins biodiversity by chewing up the soil. A permaculture method has been proven to provide up to ten times the amount of food per acre compared to monoculture farming.
Imagine we let all people go garden in the wild, for free. We could have busses take people out if the city each day, building community while connecting to the ground. Now I know some people are going to say, that ridiculous people will fight and ruin things. We could just make some simple laws like you can harm what’s already there, we can teach people how to do proper permaculture. We could make laws regarding not hoarding, needing to share, we could even provide basic tools and have our groceries filled with good local produce.
Some more permaculture examples are:
You can have your cows in the same fields as you vegetable, they can eat your berries trees promoting reproduction.
You could plant mushrooms on old fallen logs, and when you hike let spores fall from a cheese cloth hanging off you trousers.
We could harvest all the dozens of different berries that grow naturally and sell them in grocery stores, giving people income/jobs. People needing work or on welfare could feel productive and even help rehabilitate delinquents as a form of social work.
We could have community activities for young & old, building friendships…
I remember at a farm I worked at we would allow the homeless shelter to come and get our ugly potatoes, our squishy apples, our dented watermelons for free. It worked for a bit, until the government actually told us to stop because we weren’t monitoring the quality of the products taken, like maybe one could have been rotten. It was so surprising to see, as many farms have about 25-50% food waste because people want perfectly straight carrots. Even the food bank turned away our produce 🙁
