Tom Girolamo - Your Eco-Friendly Yard: Sustainable Ideas to Save You Time, Money and the Earth

Your

eco-friendly

Yard

SUSTAINABLE IDEAS TO SAVE YOU TIME, MONEY AND THE EARTH

Tom Girolamo

Copyright 2009 Tom Girolamo

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form orby any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storageand retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer whomay quote brief passages in a critical article or review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper, orelectronically transmitted on radio, television, or the Internet.

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700 East State Street lola,Wl 54990-0001
715-445-2214 888-457-2873
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Our toll-free number to place an order or obtain a free catalog is (800) 258-0929.

Neither the author nor Krause Publications assumes any liability for uses made of the metricinformation presented. All units are approximate.

Cover photography by Kris Kandler

Library of Congress Control Number: 2008941159

ISBN 13: 978-1-4402-0242-1
ISBN 10: 1-4402-0242-7
eISBN: 978-1-4402-1943-6

Cover design by: Heidi Zastrow
Interior design by: Rachael Knier
Edited by: Candy Wiza

Printed in China

Mission statement: Enjoy the simple things in life while you reduce, reuse and recycle.

Printed on 100% recycled paper

DEDICATION

To my wife, Kathy, who is a constant supporter of what I choose to do. Your thoughtful advice and suggestions have kept me out of trouble and off the streets all these years.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I want to thank the following people and businesses for their commitment to me as a true believer in sustainable living and for their generous support:

Candy Wiza, editor, Kris Kandler, photographer, and all of the staff at Krause Publications, for their trust in me and for taking the time and effort to help me, a new author, through the book writing process.

Terry Misfeldt from Simply Success in Green Bay, Wis., for helping me recognize the importance of lifestyle and personality in creating sustainable landscapes, creating the Lifestyle Pyramid and offering suggestions for some of my writing.

Rainy Day Worzella from ArtVillage in Stevens Point, Wis., for the finishing work on the Lifestyle Pyramid.

Jeanne McManus from Unirac, Inc., for supplying sketches for some of the solar equipment that is shown in the book.

John Hippensteel from Lake Michigan Wind and Sun, for providing the sketch for the solar lighting shown in this book and photos of Solar Flairs.

My past employees, family, friends and supportive customers, for helping me learn more about the evolving sustainable landscape. It wouldnt be the same if you hadnt participated.

University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, Trainer College of Natural Resources, for the education in natural resources that set me on this path. My continued involvement and contact with UWSP has helped me benefit from the work and ongoing research by the University and its students for sustainability.

Ive been re-energized by Permaculture experts, Geoff Lawton and Nadia Abu Yahia of Permaculture Research Institute, Australia and Darren J. Doharty of Australia Felix Permaculture. Classes and visits by these Australians were sponsored by Global Environmental Management (GEM) located in Stevens Point, Wis.

Jeffrey A. Thornton of International Environmental Management Services Limited, for his international perspective and his input and support of my alternative view of natural resource management.

LeAnn S. Colburn of Environmental Horizons, Inc., for her expertise regarding water and soil issues provided in this book.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

More Green for You

As I write the introduction to this special book, the financial markets have just collapsed, stocks are in the tank, and people who thought they had retirements, dont. It almost seems that we expect this sort of thing to happen. When we purchase a car, we expect it to depreciate by 50 percent a year. Our computers are outdated and worthless almost as soon as we take them out of the box. Lots of people are paying more for cell phone service and text messaging than they pay to heat and cool their home. Some new studies show that even good paying jobs end up earning close to minimum wage once the cost of work clothes, commuting and eating out is considered. Why are we working so hard when the biggest resource we have sits idle not earning a cent?

How many people do you know that make an investment, spend thousands a year maintaining it, actually work at reducing its value, never enjoy a penny of return and are fine with this happening? That investment is the biggest one you will ever make. Is this you?

The biggest investment youll ever make is not your home; it is the property that surrounds your home. The average suburban lot uses more pesticides, more water, more fossil fuel and more time for maintenance per acre than even the most intensely managed agricultural land. If you have a standard lawn and landscape, the amount of energy and time that goes into maintaining this landscape will exceed the amount of energy and time required to build your home as well as exceeding the ongoing maintenance costs of the home. How can this be? Because the value of the area outside the home has been ignored and misunderstood. Low-cost energy has allowed our society to make decisions about their property based on whims of the moment. Well, thats not the way it will work anymore theres no time to lose in making the change to an eco-friendly yard.

You can start right now with a sustainable landscape investment that you can see, use, smell, control and play in every day. You will feel safe in it, have the security of actually owning it, and know that you will make the best decisions for how it will be used. The best part is, no one can take this away from you.

Take your biggest asset, your property, and turn it into a powerhouse of benefits that you can use everyday. As long as you do it right, you will never use up this investment and it will flourish and multiply the whole time you are using it. But how do you do this?

This book is going to help you find those answers and help you create that eco-friendly yard and lifestyle that you have always wanted!