I am familiar with that order and what they do, but the symbol on the cover refers to something else and is not the same symbol.

I am in the process of turning my front yard into a perennial food forest using drought-tolerant native plants. I am adding more edibles in my back yard. I am converting the xeriscaping back into something that things grow on. I am changing the topography of the backyard and frontyard to incorporate dryland rainwater harvesting techniques. I will end up getting the front yard certified as a wildlife refuge to get my neighbors off my back. I have secured seeds cultivated by the Hopi and will be attempting to use their traditional planting method that does not use irrigation. I have onsite composting and have plans to add biochar and vermicomposting. Since I started eating a lot of mushrooms, there are possibilities to cultivate then in the kitchen cabinet; I don’t have the acerage to inoculate deadfall like I hear some folks doing this. I have plans to get some kind of greywater system going.

All of that is to separate the carbon cycle from the hydrological cycle. I am actively planting on the yard I have for food resiliency, and as a side effect, carbon sequestering. The amount this small ecosystem will sequester will increase once I get biochar into the mix.

There is already a slight cooling effect happening. I am looking for ways to plant in a way to shade the house during summers. If I were able to build from scratch, I’d try for earthship designs or at least use rocket mass heating/cooling, which would minimize the amount of solar cells needed to provide electricity.

We have already reduced meat consumption for health reasons. I have already been working remote for years before the pandemic, so no commute. We already got the house to energy-star certification, got the solar, got a high-efficiency ac unit, upgraded the windows … but there are far better things we haven't tried. I had already practiced minimalism before I met my wife.

When my child grows old enough, I am looking for ways to participate in the community. The local high school has a gardening club and one possibility is to join it as an advisor to introduce polyculture, companion planting, composting, etc.

Another is joining or creating groups working with food pantries to introduce perennial food forests. Or get a master gardener certification and start teaching this stuff locally.

Being able to grow locally — and it doesn’t get as local as the backyard — does not just promote food resiliency and shorten supply chain, it can help rebuild the soil.

I posted that book because it teaches frameworks on what someone can do in their own life to make a difference without needing heroic effort, or activism even. The actual things I am doing are what permaculturists are doing right now.

I am not trying to get brownie points. I am practicing articulating the worldview and practices to the HN tech crowd. Your feedback is appreciated.