Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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From Wasteland to Wonder – Easy Ways We Can Help Heal Earth in the Sub/Urban Landscape

This presentation by Basil Camu, author of the book From Wasteland to Wonder – Easy Ways We Can Help Heal Earth in the Sub/Urban Landscape , addresses how we can implement on our properties practices that help heal Earth based on first-hand expertise developed at Leaf & Limb ( leaflimb.com )

He will begin with the easiest concepts, like planting saplings and saving mature trees. Then he will move to some more challenging, more impactful approaches, like planting pocket forests and replacing our lawns with Piedmont Prairies. Finally, for those who want to help shift paradigms even more, Basil Camu will discuss how we can use the Project Pando model to work with our community to gather native seeds, raise them into trees, and give them away for free.

The way we currently manage the suburban and urban landscape is creating a wasteland and harming the well-being of Earth. We pave over forests, use giant machines to scrape away healthy soil, and turn thriving grasslands into dead lawns. Rain is unable to soak into the ground and instead rushes downhill, causing erosion and flooding. We repeatedly soak the land in toxic chemicals that kill life. There is little food for the birds, butterflies, and bees that need it. These efforts are costly, time-intensive, and increase CO2 in the atmosphere.

Fortunately, we have an alternative path: we can work with natural systems instead of working against them. By doing so, we can help heal Earth. We also save time and money because we perform fewer tasks and use fewer products. Caring for trees, soil, and the well-being of Earth can yield a more beautiful world than what we have experienced previously. It can fill our lives with joy and purpose; joy because we experience so many moments of wonder, and purpose because we feel empowered to help solve big issues using the spaces where we live, work, and play.

See this Youtube Video on this topic: youtube.com/watch?v=KLTHi9vqCkQ&list=PL9kdU-zPIhtT9m1LmcLP803JTIe-Dc5eH