Sustainable living is a lifestyle with the goal to reduce the usage of natural resources through a change in transportation, energy use, and food consumption. At this small farm in Costa Rica, sustainability starts in the home where free wind energy is used dry clothes. Another plus is the creation of a garden where food is harvested in the backyard. This lowers carbon emissions that come from food transport.
To begin my tour, I walked down the grass path that divided the gardens. Herbs and fruit trees including bananas were included in the gardens. Some of the different plants are Lemon grass, mint, bay, ginger, citronella, and yucca.
Above is a Bay tree. Commonly used to flavor soups and other dishes.
This bushy lemon grass plant is used in flavoring teas and marinades. It promotes digestion, is used as a mild insect repellant, and is said to relieve coughing and nasal congestion.
This solar dryer is used in drying herbs. It was very warm inside!
Bamboo poles are useful in creating raised beds for planting.
Professors at EARTH University oversee this project with different methods of container gardening.
This cool hanging container garden has holes for plants to grow out of and cups sticking out which act as a funnel in collecting water. The funnels are similar to an Aqua Globe with the way they slowly release water into the soil.
Animals on the property provide a local food source and income to keep things running. I chuckled as the duck jumped in an attempt to eat leaves growing on one of the trees. The ducks help reduce pests in the garden.
The Costa Rican woman who owns the property also has her own soap making business to provide income. Her property is a great example of sustainable living. Sustainable living can be modeled by a individual or even by a entire community. Sustainability is a way of life that can help make our planet cleaner and safer.
Check out some environmentally responsible changes you can make in your daily life at http://planetgreen.discovery.com/
Visit Turu Ba Ri's butterfly garden. That is comprised by an impressive 1,150-square-meter structure, which makes this one of the largest butterfly gardens in the country. Our butterfly garden boasts the country’s largest variety of species, with an average of 35-40 different species of butterflies, depending on the season. In this area, visitors can observe these creatures and learn about their entire life cycle
ReplyDeleteElizabeth- your blog is beautiful! you seem like a very special gal with unique passions. i pray the Lord blesses that! it was lovely meeting you at Capernaum. thanks for visiting my blog :) -Emily
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU for sharing these photos. I am very happy to see the unique vertical gardening on this post. I also experimented on many ways of maximizing the usage of a small garden. -- Lenn
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