Climate Grief

by Justin Ferko

Climate grief is a personal or community response to the human-influenced negative impact on climate, biomes, humans and all life forms, such as melting glaciers, natural disasters, species extinction, deforestation and pollution. It affects all aspects of mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health.

WemightexperiencefeelingsofanxietyoverthefutureoftheEarth andfuturegenerations,andgriefatthelossoflifewaysconnected tothelocalenvironmentandbiodiversity.Withfewculturalsupports inplace,thoseexperiencingclimategriefmayfeelaloneintheir experiences,buttheyarenot.

Research shows that indigenous communities, people working in environmental-related fields, youth and children may be most impacted. Due to natural disasters, some may experience food insecurity and lack of housing. According to the American Psychological Association, climate grief represents a growing mental health concern in which trained mental health professionals can provide important support. Today and on Earth Day, April 22, reflect upon climate grief and explore some of its ramifications.

Talk with a healthcare provider about concerns over anxiety or depression. Be part of a new dream for humanity’s relationship with the Earth. Joanna Macy’s The Work That Reconnects is an important free, open-source resource to explore (WorkThatReconnects.org). Connect with Earth via barefoot walks, meditating outdoors and forest bathing. Connect with your culture and spirituality and what they teach about caring for the Earth. Form or join a climate grief support group. Support environmental justice organizations locally, nationally and globally. Vote.

Justin Ferko Ed.M., MTS, is a spiritual counselor, forest bathing guide and owner of Wild Spirit Paths, LLC, in central Pennsylvania. For more information, call 717-220-5034, email Justin@WildSpiritPaths.com or visit WildSpiritPaths.com. See listing, page 38.

Campisi Property Service Promotes Sustainable Landscaping

by Linda Sechrist

Tony Campisi, one of the four owners of Campisi Property Service, LLC, a sustainable landscaping company in Dover, is on a mission with his team to make sustainable landscaping the new normal by helping homeowners and landowners make the connection between their own property or the properties they manage and the health of the environment. Busy converting yards, properties and open spaces into sustainable gardens and beautiful meadows where biodiversity can thrive, Campisi makes time to give lectures, educational seminars and workshops for homeowners and landowners.

In what he refers to as the “environmental enlightenment age,” Campisi often captures the attention of his audience with quotes from one of his heroes, Doug Tallamy, the co-founder of the Homegrown National Park movement, a grassroots call to action for regenerating biodiversity and ecosystem functions by planting native plants and creating new ecological networks, who says, “We humans have taken 95 percent of the natural world and made it unnatural.”

Introducing Homeowners to Sustainable Landscaping

Campisi explains that Tallamy’s goal of 20 million acres of native plantings in the U.S., is only half of green lawns of privately owned properties. “In addition to anyone with a yard or with influence over a space of open ground, we are appealing to commercial properties such as schools, churches, municipalities and nonprofits, because they are the greatest leverage we have in helping the natural world and greening our future. If you have a heart for the natural world and want to be a part of restoring it, we’re here to provide wildlife habitat creation, storm water management, invasive species management/removal and environmental education,” he says.

The world needs more biodiversity. “We can only accomplish this if everyone takes to heart that conservation is their responsibility. We can’t pass the buck,” says Campisi. “When I address interested homeowners in my lectures, I frequently start with the question, ‘What is sustainable landscaping?’ I follow that with, ‘What are some things you can only get from the natural world that you can’t buy in a store?’ The answer given most often is ‘We are 100 percent dependent upon the natural world for our original source of water, air food and shelter.’ It’s always an eye-opener to realize our dependence on something that is quickly disappearing.”

A Win-Win for the Natural World and the Homeowner

Open spaces and the lawns of residential properties can be converted almost immediately. “For example, when people read an article about the value of native plants for pollinators, they can immediately stop the negative behavior of spraying synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and immediately start the positive behavior of working with nature. In planting pollinator habitats, installing rain gardens and bioswales, people are helping to reduce the pollution in stormwater entering the watershed and supporting clean, safe and healthy food production. In an agricultural setting or commercial setting, rarely can changes be made that quickly,” advises Campisi.

Find offers, coupons, reviews, events, articles, videos and photos from these and other businesses in the Online Directory and Local Guides at NaturalCentralPA.com

Benefits of Sustainable Landscaping

Converting open space or a parcel as small as 1,000 square feet translates into lower maintenance, less synthetic fertilizers, fewer pesticide applications and less weeding. “What you apply to your lawn doesn’t stay on your lawn. Most of the fertilizers—60 percent—end up in the groundwater, streams, rivers, lakes and oceans. If we intend to drink, breathe, eat and exist, we should be stewarding the natural environment with sustainable landscaping,” emphasizes Campisi.

Campisi Property Service, LLC, has been serving York, and surrounding counties since 2009. For more information, call 717-586-5522, email CampisiPropertyservicellc@gmail.com or visit Facebook.com/ CampisiPropertyServiceLlc. See ad, page 3

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