" Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

                                  Brundtland Commission of the United Nations, March 1987

We can all make a difference by incorporating these practices:


• Work with the conditions on your property.  Choose the right plant for the right place.   What plant will grow in that soggy/clayey/dry spot?
• Build your soil.  Use  organic  fertilizers and compost. 
• Avoid pesticides.  Insecticides kill beneficial as well as destructive insects.  Some insect damage is normal and may not need intervention.   Pests usually attack plants that are stressed.  Could this plant be in the wrong spot?   If you need to take action, use integrated pest management techniques.  If you really need to use an herbicide, then spot apply  only where it is needed.
• Zone your yard for water use and care.  You don't have to give up gardening.  Just arrange the  planting areas differently.   Amend and irrigate the beds near your house where you can easily enjoy them.   Plant the beds farther from the house with drought tolerant hardy shrubs.
• Conserve water by planting drought tolerant plants and using water conserving irrigation practices.
• Incorporate native plants.  Native plants will benefit our native birds, butterflies and  wildlife. 
• Retain rainwater on site.   If possible, allow  your rainwater to infiltrate your soil on your property.  Create a rain garden if your site allows it.  Look at standing water with different eyes.  It's fine to have standing water as long as it does not harm your structures or impede on your use of the area.
• Plant trees to shade your house,  sequester carbon, and to create  wildlife habitat.
• Revision lawn.  Reduce the lawn to a size that is really needed .  Plant drought tolerant grass mixture or let the grass go dormant in the summer.   An hour of mowing with a gas mower is equal to driving 20 miles in a car.  Switch to an electric mower.​