Author: jennynazak

(Example of neighbors getting together to adopt a resolution to ask local government to eliminate turfgrass from spaces that are not meant for foot traffic. And instead allow the region’s unique natural vegetation to be the default.)

Update Nov 2, 2023: My reading of the resolution at City Commission went well. I was particularly appreciative of Mayor Henry’s excellent question, which gave us such a nice opportunity to expand upon the aesthetic thing.

You can check out the video here. Scroll to the citizen comment section which is near the end, right after the official meeting ends. https://codb.civicweb.net/document/155216/?splitscreen=true&media=true

Update Nov 8, 2023:

Yesterday I read our “Greening the Beachside” resolution at County Council. The response was very positive! There was good commentary from commissioners at the end of the day regarding our proposal of replacing nonfunctional turfgrass with natural, beautiful dune vegetation that requires no irrigation or chemicals.

County council meeting yesterday — Tuesday, November 7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4ScykXWybk

I spoke during Citizens Participation period #1, at the beginning of the day; and again during Citizens Participation period 2, at the end of the day.

In the first comment period, I read the resolution out loud. The first general comment period for citizens is right at the beginning of the meeting. I can’t remember, but I may have been the fourth speaker?

The second general comment period for citizens is late in the afternoon. It’s before commissioner comments that wrap up the day. In the second comment period, I made some followup comments:

• Praising a couple of county public lands on the beachside that are great examples of dune vegetation. (Specifically, Andy Romano park; and the Kemp St pedestrian entrance to the beach.) 
• And, connecting our unnatural landscaping practices (excess mowing etc.) to the excess gasoline consumption that is driving demand for fuel tank facilities and other problematic stuff.

(Here is my Facebook post where I invited neighbors to participate in promoting the resolution):

Update: My reading of the resolution at City Commission went well. You can check out the video here. Scroll to the citizen comment section which is near the end, right after the official meeting ends. https://codb.civicweb.net/document/155216/?splitscreen=true&media=true

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A resolution on greening the beachside!

Hello Neighbors!!
At a recent meeting of Beachside Neighborhood Watch, members unanimously approved a motion to adopt a resolution that would eliminate the use of all non-functional turfgrass from city property and county property on the beachside.

Non-functional turfgrass is turfgrass that is not meant for foot traffic. Examples of non-functional turfgrass include median strips, and the edges of parking lots.

(Functional turfgrass is turfgrass that is meant for foot traffic. Examples include ballfields, event spaces, and dog parks.)

This change in our landscaping practices can be expected to save significant amounts of money and fuel, while reducing air pollution and noise pollution, and conserving water that is now being consumed to irrigate non-functional turfgrass.

Besides being beautiful, our low-maintenance beachside wildflowers, tall coastal grasses, and other natural dune vegetation are also drought-tolerant and require no chemical spraying to maintain.

This resolution will be a win for heat mitigation, stormwater absorption, resource saving, and unique regional beauty for tourists and residents alike.

I will be reading the BNW’s resolution aloud this evening, Wednesday, November 1, during citizens’ comment time at the Daytona Beach City Commission meeting. Other BNW members will be in attendance as well.

All are invited to attend. Whether or not you live on beachside, you are welcome to come and show your support. You can also tune in online via the city’s website.

These photos show examples of natural beachside vegetation that requires no irrigation, no chemicals, and no extreme maintenance practices.

(Here is the original text of the resolution which I read aloud to the City Commission and County Commission):

A resolution on greening the beachside

BNW requests that the city and the county discontinue the use of non-functional turfgrass on all their property on the beachside. Non-functional turfgrass is turfgrass that is not meant for foot traffic, for example, median strips and the edges of parking lots.

Nonfunctional turfgrass will die a natural death in the absence of chemicals and irrigation. Beach wildflowers would sprout up amidst the dead grass or tall coastal grasses and other native plants could be planted. The new growth should require no mowing, edging, irrigation, or chemicals.

BNW also requests that the city and county revisit landscaping requirements on commercial beachside properties. Too often required landscaping is more intrusive and less attractive than using native beachside plants that will thrive naturally.

These new styles of growth would conserve water, enhance the stormwater sponge, reduce pollution of our waterways, reduce noise pollution and fumes, and support beach wildlife. The more natural esthetic would showcase the authentic beauty of our beach environment for tourists and residents alike and it would save money, allowing resources to be redirected to urgent citywide heat-mitigation needs such as planting trees.

Our hope is the city’s and county’s example will motivate many private homeowners and business owners to reduce or eliminate turfgrass and use of non-native plants on their beachside properties.

By taking care of our beachside in this way, Daytona Beach and Volusia County would become a progressive actor in the nationwide movement to promote the distinctive natural vegetation of each region; we could help move the needle in a more beautiful and healthy direction.

These photos from my post on the BNW Facebook page show examples of natural beachside vegetation that requires no irrigation, no chemicals, and no extreme maintenance practices.

From Strong Towns: #TrickOrTreat as a barometer for walkability; community:

“It may seem that on the surface we are merely trading one place to hand candy to kids for another place. But it goes beyond that. The change is about our collective choices prioritizing cars without considering the consequences that impact a broader range of American life.”

— It’s also about the importance of kids having some autonomous activity time:

“It may seem that on the surface we are merely trading one place to hand candy to kids for another place. But it goes beyond that. The change is about our collective choices prioritizing cars without considering the consequences that impact a broader range of American life.”

— And it’s very much about our dysfunctional car-centric street design:

“We shouldn’t be changing our holiday tradition because of our dangerous streets; we should be changing our street design. This Strong Towns Approach goes beyond just Halloween. Traffic circles, street trees, curb extensions, and other traffic-calming measures can be installed to make our places safer all year round.”

Read the full article here: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2023/10/30/trick-or-treat-is-worth-saving

And, another StrongTowns article, this one from 2018: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/11/1/whos-afraid-of-trunk-or-treat

“The decline in trick-or-treating in recent years certainly isn’t because kids have gotten any less interested in free candy. But it may have something to do with a loss of social cohesion in our neighborhoods and cities—and that has plenty to do with the ways we’ve designed our built environment.”

This article touches on another major public-health issue as well:

“… a study that analyzed social connectedness and risk of heart attack. The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health and found that participants who lived in the areas identified as having the most social cohesion had a 67% less chance of having a heart attack than those who lived in areas with low social cohesion.”

Happy Halloween, Samhain blessings, felicitous Fall Festival, or whatever you celebrate!

We have had no trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood in some years. Tonight I’ll be headed to the citywide trunk or treat event with my little handcart bearing sweet snacks. We have to work with what’s available as far as creating community. And I appreciate that the city is doing this.

Update: It was a sweet, fun, beautiful event. The kind of thing that really makes me love my city. I bet there were a couple thousand people there. And some very creatively decorated cars along with all the great costumes.

“Literally no one is self-sufficient. Self-sufficiency is a myth.”

So true!! Thank you for this @Live in Love — And also thank you to @Local Food Movement which is where I found this post shared.

Most people who I hear talking about “self-sufficiency” are only focused on the material aspects of our human needs. Many people are completely ignoring community, self-expression, and other deep-seated human needs.

Yes, maybe there are a few people who could move out into the country alone and grow potatoes and survive somehow with no other people and no art, music, etc. But who would want to? If that’s all there is.

I actually think that whole trip about “wanting to get far away from all other people” is in most cases a trauma response and a white thing, but that’s a subject for another post.

(I’ve actually had some of my fellow white people in permie circles feel guilty about using resources to play music and make art, since we are supposed to be full-time focused on growing all of our own food by ourselves, right?) <scary-face emoticons>

And regarding the whole “rural” aspect, which I often hear in conjunction with “self-sufficiency” … Some people might legitimately belong out in the country, but most of us probably do not. We need to stop gentrifying and colonizing rural land, and repair the torn fabric of community reliance and human connection in our own neighborhoods!

Today’s NY Times online edition served up two articles highlighting the #footprint & other problems associated with high volumes of online shopping; cargo shipping.

Of course the best thing any of us everyday people can do is be very discerning about what, and how much, stuff we choose to purchase, be it online or in person.

1) “The City That Never Sleeps … or Shops in Person” (NY Times; Guest essay by freelance writer Sonja Anderson)

“A package enjoying its last mile on an e-bike doesn’t mean it hasn’t been made from plastic in another country, flown or shipped to this one using oil or coal and packaged in a plastic envelope or cardboard box. Waste abounds (even if recyclable, this material rarely finds new life). If we want to do better for the environment, we shouldn’t be taking steps to enable more e-commerce, but instead considering how much we could help ourselves by not buying online.
That seems simple, but our problem runs deep. Americans have been nursing a shopping addiction for a while, and e-commerce has only deepened our problem.”

2) “Shipping Contributes Heavily to Climate Change. Are Green Ships the Solution?” (NY Times; by Ana Swanson)

“The ship, commissioned by the Danish shipping giant Maersk, was designed with a special engine that can burn two types of fuel — either the black, sticky oil that has powered ships for more than a century, or a greener type made from methanol. By switching to green methanol, this single ship will produce 100 fewer tons of greenhouse gas per day, an amount equivalent to the emissions of 8,000 cars.

“The effect of global shipping on the climate is hard to overstate. Cargo shipping is responsible for nearly 3 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions — producing roughly as much carbon each year as the aviation industry does. …

“Shipping is surprisingly efficient: Transporting a good by container ship halfway around the world produces far less climate-warming gas than trucking it across the United States. …

“That incredible efficiency has lowered the cost of transport and enabled the modern consumer lifestyle, allowing retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Ikea and Home Depot to offer a vast suite of products at a fraction of their historical cost.

“Yet that easy consumption has come at the price of a warmer and dirtier planet. In addition to affecting the atmosphere, ships burning fossil fuel also spew out pollutants that reduce the life expectancy of the large percentage of the world’s people who live near ports …”

shopping; shipping; cargo

Housing is one of the key categories of overhead costs-of-living that we can benefit greatly by — as my friend and fellow permaculture activist Eric Brown puts it — “crushing.”

In my talks and writings, I have often talked about how I was able to creatively turn a one-bedroom apartment into a two-bedroom, in order to be able to get a roommate to share expenses with.

The roommate would get the real actual bedroom with the door, and I carved myself a little micro room out of the living room. The “walls” of my roomette were tall bookcases etc.

It was actually quite cozy and pleasant. I enjoyed the creative aspect, and there are certainly advantages to having pretty much all of one’s possessions at one’s fingertips!!

Nowadays, I live in a house, which I was fortunate to be able to purchase in 2018. But I get to continue to indulge my love of tiny spaces, while also providing a stable home for other people.

The photo on the right shows my current micro room, which I have in my house. It’s the tiniest room in the house at 6 1/2′ x 7 1/2′. It used to be a utility room but I don’t have a wish to have to deal with my own washer and dryer. I washed everything by hand, and the housemates use laundromats or laundry services. (I very occasionally use a laundry service as well, for large items.) 

My room is accessed from the kitchen. The entrance sign says “Jenny’s office,” but it serves as office, studio, and bedroom!

My housemates get the two large official bedrooms, while I get to continue to indulge my love of tiny cozy spaces!

You can see photos here on my art & design page on Facebook.

#housesharing #microdwelling #lowfootprintliving #DEEPGREEN #community #spaceefficiency

It struck me today: Never underestimate the potential for asynchronous following!

This is for all of you who are out there trying to help situations in the world by communicating via writing or any other medium; and who sometimes get discouraged when your efforts do not seem to be reaching very many people.

As someone who has only ever had a micro following, I sometimes feel disappointed and guilty that I am not really reaching people and not really being effective.

However, one thing I have been noticing is that posts, and radio shows and so on, often have a persistent existence. Many things are stored online. And oftentimes, I will notice somebody “liking” something that I have posted or has been recorded some months or some years back.

So, being that the real goal is not to have followers per se just to feel like a celebrity, but to actually make a difference, this is very encouraging and it’s something worth reminding oneself.

Audience reach is not just a thing in that moment; it’s a thing that extends over the axis of time as well.

(post topic tags: second home; goodwill; community-building)

Here’s another question that came “from the wild” this week. An Internet acquaintance posted this on FB, and I took it upon myself to insert my eco/permaculturist perspective even though I’m pretty sure the questioner is a civilian.

Q: “Any tips on winterizing a house? First time and going to be working on winterizing a house in Maine. Seems like a steep learning curve for someone from Florida.”

My initial response: “Why is a person from Florida winterizing a house in Maine if you’re not going to live in it? I know, I’m nosy but I just can’t help it! I guess what I would do if I were in that position is get help from locals.”

Their response to my response: “We are buying a second home.”

And my answer: “Oh. In that case, I would probably pay a local to do the winterizing work (and/or pay them to show me how), and also allow a local to stay on the property rent-free as caretaker.”