With summer now behind us, it’s never too early to start planning ahead for next spring. If the thought of maintaining, manicuring and mowing your lawn is daunting, Earthwise Society just might have the perfect solution.
Imagine your high-maintenance lawn transformed by Earthwise experts into a beautiful, productive and ecologically-beneficial food garden.
In 2017 Earthwise piloted a project called Don’t Mow, Grow!. Earthwise is excited to announce that this fall the program will be reintroduced and expanded.
The program utilizes the society’s vast experience in organic growing and small-scale farming to transform lawns into ecologically-beneficial organic food-growing spaces.
Lawns are usually grown as a monoculture with limited ecological value and lawn care uses fossil fuels for mowing and fertilizing. By partnering with local residents to help them grow food at home, Earthwise will replace resource-hungry lawns with productive and eco-friendly food gardens that will benefit the community and the environment alike.
Don’t Mow, Grow! is based on a concept called SPIN farming, an innovative model for urban agriculture that makes it possible for almost anyone to be part of sustainable food production. In SPIN farming, instead of cultivating large farms, farmers use a number of smaller, individual plots, making unused land in urban areas more productive.
Added together the small plots in a SPIN farm may total less than one acre, but by using organic and highly productive growing methods, productivity per acre can be higher than larger conventional plots.
Programs like Don’t Mow Grow! increase biodiversity and pollinator forage in urban areas while connecting people with food through direct involvement and sharing. These programs can have a meaningful impact on local food security by increasing the availability of fresh, nutritious and organic produce for the community.
For homeowners, Don’t Mow, Grow! offers a huge time savings. Imagine not having to worry about lawn care all year long? The garden plots will be planted, maintained and harvested by Earthwise Society’s experienced staff, and proceeds from sales will help fund the society’s charitable programs. Homeowners are encouraged to get involved too.
In return, participants will receive a weekly share of the fresh vegetables grown through the program.
To get involved in the program, call 604-946-9828 or email
info@earthwisesociety.bc.ca. Gardens must be primarily sunny and have been free of any chemical maintenance for at least three years.
