Homesteader Depot

Tag: environment

  • What Is Guerrilla Tree Planting?

    What Is Guerrilla Tree Planting?

    A lot of people out there would love to live a more sustainable lifestyle. One in which you give back to the environment from which we take so much. If you live in a city or suburb, or even if you’re homesteading, it might feel like there’s only so much you can do to make a positive impact on our natural world beyond your own small life.

    When it comes to living a greener life, there are so many great ways you live more in a more sustainable and self-reliant way. Whatever your views on environmental policy, I think everyone would agree that being a good steward of the earth we live on is not only moral, it is prudent and efficient.

    For this reason, many people are motivated by considerations of future generations when they try to live in a more sustainable way.

    But there is a very cool, and easy way, to spread your good intentions around to others, beyond your own front door or homestead.

    It’s called guerilla tree planting. 

    Remember Johnny Appleseed? He was definitely on to something. Wherever you live and whatever seeds you’re able to get your hands on, you too can leave something awesome for the next generation by planting seeds stealthily and wherever you can.

    One option would be to simply save your apple seeds, or stone fruit seeds, avocado pits, nuts, whatever you’re able to get your hands on. Of course, consider the climate you live in or will be visiting, and plant what makes sense to plant there. Food trees are a wonderful gift to give back, for sure, but don’t feel limited to edible plants. Try to save the seeds and pods from wonderful shade and wood trees as well.

    If you want to go a step further, you could even start seedlings in your backyard, and disperse these throughout your community. Take them to the park, to vacant lots, hiking trails, friend’s property, wherever you can find a patch of land in want of more trees. If you have children, they’ll love joining in, and returning to visit these trees to see how they grow as they themselves grow up.

    Give a little back to the amazing creation that sustains you!

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  • Life In The Country Is Free of Pollution….Right?

    Life In The Country Is Free of Pollution….Right?

    It is a very common assumption that urban centers tend to be much more toxic and polluted than rural communities or wilderness. And there’s good reason to think this. Cities have far more toxic emissions from the many vehicles that go in and out of the city every day, the high concentration of factories, plants, and refineries, the shere volume of people densely populating our nation’s major urban centers.

    It is true that there is much pollution in cities, as anyone who’s ever overlooked the Los Angeles basin on a sunny day can attest. Cities produce a huge amount of exhaust, fumes, sewage, debris, and require a high amount of energy to power.

    So, many people desire to live a simpler life in a rural area for this reason. It certainly seems like one of the many benefits to living in a much less populated area would be to live in pristine, untouched wilderness. And in many ways, you will be exposed to less pollution if you live in the country, certainly.

    But this isn’t always the case. Sometimes, sadly, rural areas are exposed to high concentrations of pollutions that city dwellers aren’t. For example, many rural areas can have highly polluted water tables, either from agricultural runoff or waste from a chemical plant, factory, or refinery.

    There is also the very serious issue of polluted lakes, rivers, and streams. Pollution produced in more urban areas often gets dumped in rural areas, unfortunately. Lawmakers tend to live in cities, and don’t mind passing legislation that puts country dwellers at more risk of exposure to pollution than their urban constituents.

    So is life in the country just as toxic?

    It all depends.

    Before you decide to move to a certain area, do your research. These days, there are many organizations that research national pollution levels, and you can also easily gain access to information regarding what sorts of factories or refineries there are in your area. Check with local environmental groups in the areas you are considering to find out what sorts of pollutants you’re up against.

    At the end of the day, there are still so many benefits to living in the country. Being away from high levels of radiation, crime, city ordinances against raising animals or gardening, etc., are just some examples. The peace, freedom, community, and self-reliance might all be worth it to you, and hey, there’s always going to be less smog in the country. That’s a guarantee.

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  • All About Bees (Infographic)

    All About Bees (Infographic)

    Bees are under serious threat lately, and if the bees die out, it would seriously disrupt life on this earth. I’ve always wanted to keep bees but never have, so I don’t know that much about how they work, but I love learning.

    This infographic from HobbyFarms.com is totally awesome and I learned so much about bees in such a short time! It breaks down their social order, their life span and life stages, their anatomy, fun facts about bees, and even what is threatening them in the environment. This really makes me want to plant as many bee-friendly plants as I can and look into keeping them one day, to do my part to keep these important workers of nature alive and well!

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  • How to Reduce Waste in Your Kitchen

    How to Reduce Waste in Your Kitchen

    Our kitchens can produce tons of waste. Food scraps, packing, plastic bags, used napkins, and paper towels. Unfortunately, all this waste just ends up in a landfill somewhere, after being hauled away, of course.

    If you have any kind of desire to be more self-reliant, off-the-grid, and self-sustainable, waste removal is going to be an issue. So reducing waste in the kitchen is a great way to get started addressing this issue, and get you thinking about long-term waste solutions for your home or homestead.

    Here are some ideas for quick and simple ways you can reduce waste in your kitchen.

    1. Compost

    So much of what we throw away in the kitchen is food scraps of all kinds. Spoiled food, vegetable trimmings, egg shells, etc. Building a small compost pile or worm bin is a great way to harness all of these scraps for your garden.

    2. Get pigs or goats

    Pigs and goats will help you reduce kitchen waste as well, as they’ll eat virtually any food scraps, pigs especially! Pig slop is perfect for all those awkward portions of leftovers you don’t know what to do with or rotten food you hate throwing away. If you raise pigs or goats for meat, this is like recycling your food!

    3. Opt for cloth

    Getting or making reusable cloth towels, napkins, shopping bags, and produce bags is a great way to reduce waste. You’d be surprised how easy it is to get by with dish rags rather than paper towels, cloth napkins rather than paper, reusable shopping bags rather than plastic, and cloth produce bags rather than plastic as well.

    4. Buy in bulk

    Not only does it save money to buy in bulk, it requires less packaging as well! Dry goods and meat can be purchased in large amounts, and you can divvy out into glass containers or reusable vacuum-seal bags for storage.

    5. Cook from scratch

    The less processed, packaged foods you use, the less waste you will produce. Not to mention you’ll probably lose weight and be much healthier as a result! Cook using whole ingredients like fresh produce, whole grains and meat from the butcher.

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