Dear Editor,
Thank you for your articles on the subject of environmental stewardship, biodiversity and sustainable concepts that must be embraced at every level.
Personal experience has shown that these principles and practices have (to date) had much more traction in the urban centered regions, so it is refreshing and, in my opinion, overdue to find you writing in a more rural, agriculture-centric market.
I encourage you to continue to expand your efforts to educate landowners at every level. As a professional (retired) with deep experiences in this field, I suggest the following as fields of research for future articles:
1. How and why is the “groomed” lands ethos so ingrained in our society and culture, and a discussion of the pros and cons of same (You’ve already touched on this, more psychological input is needed).
2. What are the barriers at the municipal and provincial levels to the implementation of practices (sustainable design and maintenance) and our own pre-requisites (eg. bylaws and current regulations in force).
3. An exploration of the comparative (short and long term) implementation and maintenance costs for a typical residential lot/property, manicured versus bio-diverse.
4. Where are some regional examples of projects on a larger scale implementation of sustainable design and maintenance? Real world applications?
5. “Back to Education”- How can we be assured that these “Best Practices” are not simply “greenwash”- a feel good environmental ethic for the middle class, which will fade away with the next serious economic recession?
Hope some of this inspires/challenges.
Regards,
GR Laroque, Metcalfe
