For nearly 50 years people have come together on April 22 to celebrate Earth Day. It’s done in many ways, from tree-planting festivals to family outings in nature. Earth Day serves as a good reminder of just how splendid our environment really is, and how we might want to take care of it better by acting in more eco-friendly ways such as following the 3Rs of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. But, one eco-friendly behaviour often forgotten is the art of building community.
What does community have to do with the environment, you ask? Well, just about everything. Nature is continuously and abundantly building and supporting communities every day. Nature’s communities are virtually everywhere, busily providing support networks for life both above and below the surface of our little blue planet third from the Sun.
What do you think happens when a tree in a forest community becomes weakened or ill? The rest of the trees in the forest come to the rescue, that’s what. Trees too weak to stand on their own may find they are well supported by a thick network of intertwining roots running underneath the forest floor, all courtesy of surrounding trees. The same goes for trees with compromised health issues. Nearby trees are often willing to share their nutrients with neighbours in need of a little TLC. A forest also provides services for all kinds of life forms aside from trees. Like creating high-value habitat, the kind with lots to eat and drink and cozy places to nest and den. Like holding soil together so it won’t slide down a hillside during heavy rains. This soil-holding capability also helps keep water bodies and waterways from getting mucked up which, in turn, helps keep fish and other aquatic life healthy.
A forest is far more than a stretch of land covered by trees. A forest is a community, one just as complex and supportive as any community you or I will ever call home. Just like a forest, growing a supportive community takes time, effort, and commitment – it doesn’t spring up overnight!
Which brings me to the matter of how building community can be a very green thing to do, although it’s best done every day, not just on Earth Day. It’s not just on one level, but on many levels. It’s like slowly and deliberately weaving a delicate, intricate, and resilient spider’s web.
New parents understand how a supportive community is critical for the health and well-being of their baby. Whether it’s child-rearing advice, babysitting, or help outfitting a nursery with borrowed baby paraphernalia, it’s their community which can provide all this and more. As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child.
When it comes to enjoying a good standard of living, who helps keep your water clean by participating in annual river cleanups? Who builds parks and looks after green spaces where you live? Who comes to the rescue when disaster strikes? It’s ordinary people, just like you and me, living and working in the community. With all our knowledge, skills, and resources we are the web I’ve been talking about.
No matter how you cut it, investing in building community is both a wise and green thing to do. Your commitment of time, effort, and money is most likely to come back in positive social, environmental, and economic returns. This kind of investment weaves a social network of a different kind, the kind with a safety net instead of an Internet.
Joining together in the green act of building community to celebrate Earth Day every day – now that’s in our best interest.
For more in your best interest, follow Sheelagh @sheesays or visit www.ideagarden.net.
