City

Chapter 15 - Urban Farms

  • Read how one mayor in Paris started the ’15-minute city’ concept and why the idea is now spreading around the world. Based on improving quality of life, it’s all about ensuring everything a person needs can be reached within fifteen minutes by foot or bike.

  • Start your own doorstep garden. Even if you don’t have a lot of green space around your home, planted pots can make a real difference–both your mental wellbeing and the bees will thank you for it.

  • Follow @urbanfarmstead on Instagram for tips and tricks for starting your own urban garden. You’ll find tips on transforming abandoned lawns into thriving veg patches, and more!

  • Help address historical racial land ownership disparity and donate to the Detroit Black Farmer Land Fund at detroitblackfarmer.com/donate. You can make a financial donation, or donate gently used equipment or even land!

    Chapter 16 - Bee Habitats

  • Plant a variety of native and bee-friendly flowers in your garden. Flowers help feed bees and provide great sources of pollen and nectar. Research the best native bee-friendly flowers for where you live, as that’s what bees in your area were designed to pollinate. If you’re in the United States, you can download the ‘Lawn To Wildflowers’ app to help you find flowers for pollinators in your state.

  • If you have to mow your lawn, do so less frequently. In the springtime, let bees feast on the clovers and dandelions, until other flowers have bloomed. Earn bonus points for transforming your lawn into a mini meadow and let it grow with an abundance of native wildflowers!

  • Set up a bee home in your garden! Now more than ever, bees need safe spaces to recover and re-populate. You can buy easy to set up bee homes online, or even build your own home and create a unique space for bees. You could get started by following Build for Bees (@buildforbees) on Instagram, and there’s even a tutorial on www.Build4Bees.com to make a home for bees out of an unwanted mug and some paper straws.

  • Leave out a dish of water full of corks or stones for bees to drink from. There's a reason being a 'busy bee' is a phrase. Those critters work hard. And like us, bees get thirsty after working all day. Filling up a shallow dish with water can help keep them hydrated and does wonders for our planet. Be sure to add cork or twigs for the bees to land on so they don't drown!

  • Buy local and organic produce when shopping. Pesticides do serious damage to the bee population. They impair the bees ability to navigate and reproduce and also weaken their immune system. Supporting local organic farmers who don't use pesticides is a great step to take to help save the bees. Plus buying local produce is better for the environment too!

    Chapter 17 - Flood Prevention

  • Get into rainwater harvesting by collecting rainwater to reuse and reduce your need for water from your main water supply. It also helps reduce bills too! Typical households reuse rainwater to irrigate gardens, flush toilets, wash cars, and do laundry. Treehugger has a really helpful ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Rainwater Harvesting’ on their website. (https://www.treehugger.com/beginners-guide-to-rainwater-harvesting-5089884)

  • Build a green roof or rooftop garden to make your house or apartment building more rainwater-absorbent. Since 1996, Portland, Oregon USA started a Do-It-Yourself EcoRoof guide (https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bes/article/492807) which later developed a stormwater management policy for the city.

  • Use climate-native grass and plant species in your garden. Make as many natural water-permeable areas as possible to collect and filter rainwater, like rain gardens and ponds. Don’t know which plant species are native to your area? Here are some free plant-identification apps to get you started: PlantSnap, iNaturalist, and PlantNet.

  • Clear debris from yours and your neighborhood’s drains, ditches, downspouts, and gutters. Details for this and other tips are available from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_protect-your-home-from-flooding-brochure_2020.pdf)

  • Reach out to your local governments to invest in climate adaptation strategies, like wetlands or open spaces, or non-structural policy measures like reducing development in flood prone areas. Also ask to have an improved flood warning system! Learn more about how to talk to reduce flood risk in your city on the C40 Knowledge Hub: https://www.c40knowledgehub.org/s/article/How-to-reduce-flood-risk-in-your-city

Chapter 18 - Greenifying public spaces

  • Head out for a walk in your local neighborhood. Are there areas where space can be utilized to plant trees and grow wildflowers–or can an abandoned car park be turned into a local garden? Think big or small, and reach out to the wider community and decision-makers to see what’s possible!

  • Check out the Ron Finley project, which is all about teaching communities how to transform food deserts into food sanctuaries. It all started when Ron realized his local area in LA struggled to offer fresh produce to residents. He began guerrilla gardening by planting vegetables in dirt patches next to the streets, and inadvertently kick-started a revolution.

  • Find your local community groups and see what environmental initiatives you can get involved with. Whether it’s joining a community-shared allotment group, or helping to raise awareness with education and petitions, there’s always something to jump into.