Changing Environmental Attitudes

Apparently Tulsa, Oklahoma didn’t receive the memo on sustainable gardening and environmentally conscious landscaping. If they had, maybe they wouldn’t have bulldozed one of the city resident’s edible and medicinal herb garden of over 100 different plants. The garden owner repeatedly told city officials her garden was used to feed her family and treat her arthritis and high blood pressure, but was told, “we don’t care”. Needless to say, the owner has since filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Tulsa. With all the press that sustainable gardening and farming is getting now days it makes you wonder how something like this can still be allowed to happen. Unfortunately, food gardening and edible yards are still considered to be in that niche hobby realm. While numerous American are trying to wean themselves away from water, fertilizer, and pesticide dependent lawns, it seems many of the nation’s city governments haven’t kept up with the change in environmental attitudes and rising participation in home and community gardening. Society’s mindset on what constitutes a beautifully landscaped yard is changing; governing entities need to keep up.