The Real Dirt

The reach of The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is global, with projects that range from pristine habitat preservation in Equatorial Africa to promoting regenerative agriculture in Northwest India to protecting old growth forests in Clayoquot Sound in British Columbia.

While much of California has a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters, there are many distinct microclimatic variations within our state. A microclimate is defined as a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area.

Last week in this column we suggested creating a swale in your home garden to capture rain and practice effective water conservation. If you have been inspired to start planning a swale, you may be looking forward to the fun of selecting plants for this garden feature.

Whew! At last we are getting some serious rain in the North State this season. We all agree that rainwater is preciousso why do we try so hard to move it off our property? On city and suburban lots, we channel rainwater from roof gutter downspout to street gutter storm drain as directly as possible.

For 47 years the Butte Environmental Council (BEC) has been instrumental in initiating, supporting, and teaching sound environmental practices in our area.