Plant Well
There’s a reason that the movement to solve the climate crisis is called “green.” Every leaf on every plant absorbs carbon dioxide from the air during photosynthesis, which helps reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Plants also help cool the air, provide habitats for wildlife, and foster biodiversity. So, whether it’s indoor plants purifying the air or native outdoor species supporting local ecosystems, everything you plant and grow is a sustainable step for the planet.
Here are some steps to get started:
Plant Native Species
This can be your whole garden, or just some selections scattered throughout. The main reason is to support pollinators: most insects will ignore foreign plants — they don’t consider them a food source. Native plants, on the other hand, attract bees, butterflies, birds, and support a thriving ecosystem. Native plants are also (in general) much hardier — they’ve adapted to thrive in the conditions they’re native to, and won’t need nearly as much maintenance to keep them alive and thriving.
- Include native plants in your outdoor garden.
The David Suzuki Foundation runs a program called The Butterflyway Project, where local communities can join forces to create pollinator pathways in urban areas across Canada. Check out their interactive map to see if your community is already involved. If so, grab some seeds and a sign and get on board! If not, consider becoming a Ranger for your neighborhood in 2025 — it’s a great way to start the conversation with neighbors about climate change, and to take a sustainable step for the planet.
Play With Houseplants
When my daughter was 8, she bought a Venus fly trap with her allowance, and she’s been jungling up our house ever since. I used to kill everything green I touched, but I wanted to help her keep her new friends alive, so we began to research the distinct kinds of care that each kind of plant wants. We usually default to this comprehensive care guide from our favourite plant store, Frondly. It feels really cool to be able to keep a plant alive for more than one season.
- Own a houseplant.
One of our favourite creative projects is to make new plants with our propagations to share with friends. Our kitchen is a bit of a wild mess because of it, but it’s the kind of messy we both enjoy.
- Propagate a plant from a cutting.
Water Wisely
Of course you’ll need tap water sometimes (or most of the time), but the less we use, the better. Two cool ways we’ve learned to conserve it, both of which benefit the plants, are:
Collect rain water. Tap water usually has chlorine and fluoride, which can stress your plants’ root systems in high doses. Rain water is naturally soft and free of both of those elements. It’s also often slightly acidic (ever think acid rain would be a good thing?), which can help plants absorb nutrients.
You can also — if you have a fish tank — save your water when you change it. Fish waste is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus — so using tank water is like adding a natural fertilizer that’s amazing for your plants.
- Collect rainwater (or fish tank water, or anything else that waters plants with repurposed water).
Pro Tip: We learned how to water from this groovy post from JOMO.
Compost Food Scraps
Not only will you get a nifty soil enricher, but composting your organic waste instead of putting it out with the trash lowers greenhouse gas emissions. Even curbside green waste collection uses resources trucking it and processing it, but if it ends up in the landfill, food decomposes and releases methane, a greenhouse gas that’s over 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Instead? Use that uneaten fruit to fuel a compost pile, and your soil both indoor and outdoor will thank you.
- Compost food scraps.
We’re happy with our Canadian-made composter (manufactured with post-consumer recycled plastic to boot). It’s durable — survived a bear attack on its third night out, which launched it down a steep rocky hill — though we’ve since moved it to an enclosed deck.
We’re also eyeing the worm composter from the same company. Our friends swear by the worm tea it produces as one of the best indoor plant fertilizers out there.
Continue the Conversation
Choosing Sustainable Pots for Your Plants: A Guide for Indoor Gardening
My daughter and I have crashed into the indoor gardening scene recently, turning our house into something resembling a jungle. To contain our new habit, I’m shopping for simple, sleek, sustainably crafted pots to make it look like we brought these into our house with purpose. I opened the question on Facebook about where to…
