Ocean Book of the Month
Every month, The Ocean Project highlights a book focused on our blue planet or environmental sustainability. Books for all age groups will be covered, non-fiction and fiction, prose and poetry. If you have a suggestion, please let us know.
On Guerrilla Gardening:
A Handbook for Gardening without Boundaries
by Richard Reynolds
On Guerrilla Gardening provides a comprehensive, thought-provoking, idea-generating book for community actions that can be taken to beautify abandoned lots, road medians, unused lawns, and neglected land in urban places. As Richard convinces us that the motivations for guerrilla gardening, as well as the locations and methods, are as diverse as nature itself, we are likely to resonate with parts of the book if we have any inate connection with nature, or, if we develop a stronger connection while reading.
Taking responsibility for neglected land, the actions of guerrilla gardeners are represented well in the book's many stories and photographs from quick and dirty gardening projects to a 15,000 square foot guerrilla garden in New York City. Should the stories and pictures motivate you to get your green thumbs busy, the manual in part two is very helpful for recommending plants for a variety of scenarios: drought-tolerant, fragrant, colorful, and combatting invasive species propogation. No detail is ignored as Reynolds makes recommendations for tools, clothes, water, timing, and transportation — the latter, of course, includes a recommendation that you "choose a location that you can easily get to" so that you can visit often and cut down on your carbon load when visiting frequently.
As Brent Aldrich states in his review for the Englewood Review of Books:
"I am convinced in the way Reynolds tells his stories and shares his wisdom that he loves his gardens, and would see others take up guerrilla gardening alongside. This book has propagated plenty of new ideas in my mind as to just what and where is in need of a garden in my neighborhood, and I think it could do the same for many places."
Supporting gardening supports the ocean when improving water quality and restoring local habitat. Reconnect yourself with all the information you need to be a better participant in your community's active and emergent gardens.
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Find out how you can help do more at the Seas the Day action pages.
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Check out the author's website for more gardening information.
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If you are interested in reading this book but also want to be a conscious consumer, please visit your local library and check it out.
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If you have any suggestions for a future "Ocean Book of the Month", please let us know. Send us your favorite recent or not-so-recent read so we can share it with all!
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If you're interested in purchasing this book, and then perhaps passing it along to a friend to spread the word, we encourage you to buy locally and from an independent bookseller. Please click on one of the two logos below to purchase a good read and help The Ocean Project.
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