Most people in Louisiana have understood by now that we are very vulnerable to climate change and that we have to take action to slow down subsidence and reduce the risk of flooding. “We” means clearly “all and each one of us.” Hopefully even congressman Garrett Graves understands, after questioning climate activist Greta Thunberg, that we can’t blame others anymore for warming up the planet. Like Greta, I also come from a small country. Switzerland. A small space with a high population density, not less vulnerable to climate change than New Orleans. We will talk more about this at an event at Studio in the Woods in November. Meanwhile we have plenty of time to take action. Taking action though still often sounds like a chore. Maybe you can help me to find a different term for it. Every morning before going to work  I spend a moment in my garden. It always feels cooler in my garden. There are so many plants providing shade so that the soil doesn’t dry out and doesn’t heat up as much. Everything is mulched or covered. I water the plants with rain water from my rain barrels. I have ten rain barrels providing 500 gallons of water in times of no rain and the same amount of water retention in times of a lot of rain. The trombomcini gourd I harvested today weighs 3.5 pounds. The soup will be delicious. Two bishop bell peppers will get some heat into the soup, I will cut some basil for the caprese salad and harvest a papaya for desert. Dinner is ready! A few eating bananas for lunch and there is also ginger, turmeric, and elder berries for my health. Did I mention the plantains I used for a yummy plantain bread for breakfast? All I need to buy is some flower from Bellegarde Bakery down the street plus a little bit of cream and a tomato from Made Grocery. Most of the food for the day has traveled less than 30 feet. The cream is from Mississippi and the flour might have traveled a little farther but is stone milled locally by Bellegarde. My friend Dana from Stay Local will be excited about this!

The environmental impact is minimal. Fertilizer comes in the form of compost and chicken manure and there is no tap water needed for irrigation. I enjoy the financial benefit and the health benefit but most of all I am having fun! And at the same time I take action! Yes, a small part. But you already know what Green Light stands for. Small action repeated thousands of time means a big impact.

Green Light members are always welcome to visit my garden and next month I will tell you what I am planting once the heat is gone. And I invite you to join me to ….well, I don’t have another word yet…..take action!

Best!

Andreas Hoffmann
Executive Director

You can reach Andreas Hoffmann at andreashoffmann@greenlightneworleans.org