Snow may be lingering on the ground, but garden season is around the corner.
Residents who rented a plot in 2020 can reserve their plot again from Thursday, March 4 to Friday, March 19 by going online or calling 319-356-5034. There will be no in-person registrations this year.
For those who have not rented a plot before, Iowa City’s Community Garden Plot program will open for online registration at 7 a.m. on Thursday, April 1.
More information on garden locations and fees is available at www.icgov.org/gardenplots.
On Saturday, March 20, Green Iowa AmeriCorps will kick off a weekly bird walk series. The walks will cover many of the key groups of birds (like raptors, wading birds, and owls) and their vital role in the environment, all while exploring several of Iowa City’s beautiful parks.
Registration is free, and participation in all 10 walks is not required. Residents may sign up for as many walks as they like, though each walk is capped at 10 participants. Masks and social distancing will be required.
For more information and to sign up, follow this link.
Mohsen Vahidzadeh, Iowa City Resident
What do you do for climate action?
My wife and I have made some changes to our household to be more sustainable. To name a few, we recycle as many products as we can, buy from local stores or from grocery programs that have a mission to decrease food waste, go paperless for our bills, turn off lights and unplug electronics when we do not need them. My wife likes to use every item in the fridge before it goes bad. Additionally, we carpool, bike or use the Iowa City transit system to commute.
We have also been buying some of our groceries from a local CSA. There are a number of great CSAs around Iowa City that offer delicious vegetables during the spring, summer and fall. We choose to buy meat from known sources that sustainably grow and process animals. The next step we’d like to take is to start composting, which apparently Iowa City makes easy to do!
What can others do to take climate action?
I believe in the power of individuals. Any small change we can make to our lifestyle in order to be more sustainable contributes to the preservation of our world. Plus, if I make a change, I could incentivize my neighbor to follow.
In our society, convenience usually wins. But how else can we approach our day to day choices? One way to change our perspective is to start asking where our comforts, conveniences, and necessities come from. For example, where are our clothes made? Where did that hamburger come from? If we can increase our own awareness of the source of day to day conveniences, then we can start making small changes.
Why does climate action matter to you?
Climate action is important to me because I value nature and a healthy environment. I want future generations to have access to the same beautiful forests, prairies, clean air, and water that we do today. Climate change poses a huge threat to the future of our planet, especially in the Middle East where I come from. There, water is already scarce, and global warming is only going to make the matters worse. In 50 years I’d like to visit my hometown and see people thriving among the same trees and beautiful landscape I grew up with.
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