The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) tells South Africans to prepare for the coming hardship of drought with El Niño predicted to be sweeping through early in 2025. We may have dodged Day Zero, but now more than ever, we need to create resilient landscapes and gardens capable of withstanding and rebounding from extreme weather conditions.
This will involve looking with new eyes at our cities and urban landscapes and reconsidering traditional garden practices and aesthetics. We can learn from natural ecosystem processes and consider environmental stress as an asset. Imagine if the new goal was to create green outdoor spaces that thrive solely on rainfall, that support maximum biodiversity and function ecologically?
Guest Editor for this edition, Marijke Honig, shares her insight on what local gardeners can do to help fight climate change.
HOW CAN SUBURBANITES TAKE ACTION?
There are many practical ways you can help to counter global warming:
• Maximise the infiltration of rainwater on your property • Plant trees and vegetation – this creates shade and humidity, it has a cooling effect • Plant local indigenous • Welcome biodiversity on your property – this adds resilience • Embrace natural processes such as decomposition: Recycle / compost all your garden refuse, allow logs and fallen leaves to rot and feed your plants
