Ophelie Damblé - Living Green in the City: 50 Actions to Make Your Surroundings Greener

Hi there! My name is Ophlie, and Im a total clich: a thirty-something city dweller who one day decided to ditch her bloke, quit her job in advertising and learn how to grow vegetables. After taking some courses, getting work experience with market gardeners and doing a bit of wwoofing (WorldWide Opportunities on Organic Farms)... I came back to the city to grow things in places you wouldnt think possible. I set up my Ta Mre Nature project in the city. Today I work in urban agriculture and I experiment with all kinds of content to show you how to grow lots of fantastic stuff practically anywhere. This change of life didnt happen overnight of course; it came after years of thinking about climate change and about the world of agriculture, lots of reading, endless discussions with friends, and occasional bouts of rage and anxiety too. The world is changing, for better or for worse ... we will have to wait and see. The important thing is not to stand idly by, and do what we can to tip the balance the right way. The way of solidarity, joy and wild grasses.

The UN forecasts that by 2050, 70% of the worlds population will be living in urban areas. For economic, cultural or social reasons, the city still attracts people like bees to nectar, despite its many flaws. Heres a short list of those flaws, just for fun:

THE ARTIFICIAL NATURE OF THE GROUND. In the city, the earth is smothered in asphalt. This lack of soil leaves hardly anywhere for nature to grow and thrive, and it creates problems with rainwater retention as well as reducing the ability to absorb carbon.

DECLINING BIODIVERSITY. Buildings, roads, tunnels, hoardings, carparks ... these are all obstacles that restrict movement and reduce breeding places for flora and fauna. The way they break up the space threatens many species, and doesnt leave us with much space for picnics on the grass either.

THE SAUNA EFFECT. With global warming, the rise in temperatures is felt even more strongly in the city. We talk of urban heat islands that not only make things very uncomfortable for us, they also affect other species, which are unable to adapt to these big changes quickly enough.

LIGHT POLLUTION. On top of what comes out of exhaust pipes think about light pollution. Artificial lighting affects nocturnal fauna such as bats and moths. Not to mention noise pollution that stops us sleeping like contented babies and also disturbs animals that use sound and vibrations to be able to reproduce, find food or even protect themselves from predators.

SOCIAL INEQUALITIES. The concentration of humans in cities doesnt seem to have prevented social ties from gradually disintegrating either. Whose fault is this? Yours + mine + everyone else who wants things. This society is all about individualism, overconsumption and the survival of the fittest.

So there it is. Can you feel it? That little ball of anxiety rising gently in your throat? Well, that was the aim.

Do we sit on our sofas with our fingers in our ears yelling, I cant do anything, I dont know how and Im just staying put, or do we say stuff that! and go off and build our own little cabin and raise baby llamas in the sticks? If the second option is on your bucket list perhaps give it a few years (and I wish you the best of luck with that), but there are a whole host of other possible initiatives in the meantime, and they begin right now, at home.

Where did this myth come from that some people are born specialists in plants and others arent? In a world poisoned by the need for success, Im telling you once and for all: nothing teaches you more or better than failing! Get things wrong, mess up your seed sowing, kill your cacti, but dont give up the first time you fail learn from your mistakes. The only people with green fingers are the Incredible Hulk, Shrek and that strange man on the sweetcorn can.

It was when I spent time weeding in the fields that I learnt to take notice of the young shoots around me. Since Ive been working with plants, I see nature everywhere, even when Im not really looking. Along roadsides and embankments, in the cracks in walls and other tiny spaces nature pushes its way in everywhere. By becoming aware of its existence, we can protect it and help it grow. Take a look, there are treasures just inches from your feet.

Whether its human, plant or animal, its time to make biodiversity your best friend. Fighting against uniformity is saying NOT IN MY NAME to the globalised conformity that turns us all into annoying little clones. By diversifying our habitats and what we chose to plant, we help cultivate ecosystems and new ways of seeing things. This will help us avoid ending up like dried-up crab sticks, both physically and mentally.

While the authorities hide behind inertia and arguments about growth, living things are dying and inequalities are deepening. Gardening can itself be an act of resistance: it helps to expand your knowledge, reclaim space for nature and challenge authority. Gardening can even be a form of civil disobedience when it involves taking action over a neglected area or preventing a green space from being tarmacked over. We are not defending nature, we are nature defending itself.

Come on now you dont have to carry all the weight of the world on your shoulders. Gardening, watching the birds or throwing seed bombs are all really fun things to do, and they help you reconnect with the joys of childhood. If I shout from the rooftops just how brilliant plants are, its because I get so much out of spending time with them.

AAARGH! POLLUTION We tend to talk about pollution as though it were just one thing. In fact, there are many contributing factors and we face more enemies than we realise. Like many good adversaries, these pollutants are often unseen. Heres a list of prizewinners in a beauty pageant of common noxious substances that were all up against in our own homes:

Ms Chemicals household products, cosmetics and even our clothes all release fine chemical particles into the air.

Ms Electromagnetic Radiation household electricals, such as TVs, computers and smartphones, emit electromagnetic fields.

Ms Biological Contaminants we all contribute to these through dead skin cells, hair and sweat. If youve got a dog, cat or any other furry pet, then its open season for all kinds of allergens.

If you want to say bye bye, for good to pollution, heres what I suggest.

LET IN FRESH AIR
More efficient than growing an Amazonian rainforest in your own home, all you need to do to refresh the air in your apartment, and blow away any volatile organic compounds, is to open some windows.