ADAPTING CITIES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE Usually we talk of pollution and the way our forestry areas that are close to cities are being destroyed in search of energy. Today l want to talk about how we can adapt our cities for climate resilience starting at household level. Information is power and the best way of conveying it is through our actions. Let us adapt new methods of ensuring that as we expand without compromising our environment. First the inclusion of bonsai forests in our daily diet. Instead of focusing on huge forests that our cities cannot accommodate, let's add bonsai. They are good in that since they require grooming we end up taking time and learning more of our indigenous trees, even their history and the current situation. Exotic trees have been proven to be beautiful but most of them have shown high levels of competitiveness against our indigenous trees so l highly recommend going indigenous. There is a genetic imprint in plants that enables them to survive climatic conditions and adapt better without eliminating other species. Trees to consider for these bonsai forests are 1 ficus species 4 acacia
2.celtis Africana
3.erythrinas
5 the baobab which makes the best bonsai
Even in small spaces one can have their mini forest without worrying about space as they do not take up much space. But can be propagated in pots. .We have for some time enjoyed the way gum trees grow and provide us with forestry resources and have forgotten to look at the long term effects of them for example their ability to dry up water bodies near their area of propagation in a period of 10 years. The trees planted along roads and in parks are good but not enough. So we do what we can even with the small spaces that we have. Where there is no space we can use other methods like staking as l like to call it. It works not only in gardening but also in conservation issues. Flowers are a good addition to our collection. They encourage insect population which at the moment are depleting. Boosting their populations creates a healthy ecosystem and since they can travel far their multiplication can also increase even in our vulnerable areas. Knowledge is power Let us equip ourselves with the history of our local areas so that we are able to correct the wrongs that have been done to our environment. Wetlands have been in existence since time in memorial and it is always a temptation to plant either near or in these areas especially in cities where we do not have plots. It is not recommended because these purifiers will lose their functionality and then these climate issues will not get better but worse. Not only that but also the issue of water now not being purified meaning the water now needs to be manually purified with chemicals and other processes which is not healthy for the natural environment especially the fish. The animals will suffer and the food web will be altered which will become a challenge for us who are higher up in the food web. So at the end of it all, we benefit from this whole process more than we can ever anticipate.
