Managing Your Garden and Landscape: Our Planet and Pollinators Depend on it.
1. As more people recognize that what's good for the environment is also good for them and their families, there is growing interest in making gardens and landscapes better for the Earth. Used since the 1940s, synthetic (chemical) fertilizers and pesticides have been shown to be harmful to our air, water, soils, wildlife, and to people. Synthetic nitrogen leaches nitrates into groundwater and surface waters, causing massive algal growth that harms aquatic life and threatens human life. Synthetic nitrogen also releases nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. For soil fertility, use certified organic products, OMRI-listed products (Organic Materials Resource Index), or your own compost. Use mulch or ground cover to retain soil moisture,limit weeds, and to act as compost as it breaks down. While the use of peat moss is popular with gardeners, peat bogs are being destroyed by environmentally unsound practices that deprive unique ecosystems for birds and animals, as well as releasing vast amounts of carbon dioxide in the process. Instead, use coconut coir (also known as coco peat, or coir peat), which is the short fibers left over when coconuts are harvested and husked.
2. The interactions between animals, plants, humans and the environment form a complex web, and disruptions can have serious consequences for our own health. 80% of our agricultural food depends on pollinators, yet, according to the Xerces Society, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting invertebrates (insects) and their habitat, our chemically-driven way of producing food and managing our landscapes is catastrophic for the insects on which food production depends. You can provide habitat and food for pollinators by converting parts of your lawn to native plants that do both. To learn how, go to the NE ELCA Synod's ecofaithnetwork.org website (https://www.ecofaithnetwork.org/pollinator-project). The Xerces Society (https://www.xerces.org/ ) has up-to-date information on pollinator conservation, endangered species conservation, and reducing pesticide use and impacts. Your county Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) has an abundance of information and often is able to provide native seed mixes at no cost. Go to(https://bwsr.state.mn.us/soil-water-conservation-districts) to find your county's SWCD.
3. The EPA estimates that 9 billion gallons of water a day are used on lawns and 17 million gallons of gas are used in mowers every year. Expanses of lawns also require the use of broad-spectrum chemicals (such as neonicotinoids) that kill many bees, butterflies, moths, caterpillars, dragonflies and ladybugs, as well as contributing to the death of nestling birds when their insect food disappears. According to the National Wildlife Federation, fish and other aquatic organisms can succumb when pesticides end up in nearby ponds and lakes. By replacing all or part of your lawn with native flowers (National Wildlife Federation's Native Plant Finder at bit.ly/3vGsXz), you will mow less and provide plantings that will create a diverse and inviting ecosystem for beneficial insects such as dragonflies and damselflies that are voracious eaters of mosquitos. Turtles, frogs and bats, and many species of birds will also feast on the insects, and provide sustenance for their young. To learn how to grow the native plants that provide us with cleaner water and air, and wildlife habitat, check out the YouTube videos from the UM Extension Service.
4. Toxic, synthetic pesticides and fertilizers are popular because they have the ability to increase yields and reduce loss, though at great cost to the health of the soil and the living creatures who come in contact with the chemicals. Glyphosate, the synthetic weed- and pest- killing component in Roundup, is credited as the cause of cancer in Monsanto's costly and growing litigation, while neonicotinoids (neonics) are widely seen as destructive to all pollinators, many of which are helpful in controlling other pests in the garden. Nature-based solutions you can use instead are: NEEM OIL, made from the neem tree, which should be sprayed when you see the first adult bug; INSECTICIDAL SOAPS (you can make your own with 1 TBSP of dishwashing soap in a quart of water); and DIATOMACEOUS EARTH, a fine dust made from tiny aquatic organism fossils that contained silica can be used on plant leaves or as a powder around the bae of plants to discourage slugs. Find more tips at Green America.org, and search "Climate Victory Garden."

Laura Raedeke
EcoFaith Network NE MN Team
Lutheran Church of the Cross, Nisswa, MN
Northeastern Minnesota Synod