Episode 69

[FOCUS] Why Not Convert Your Lawn Into a Food Forest?

Episode Summary:  This episode is an excerpt from a past episode with Inma and Olabanji discussing the many benefits of a food forest and how to grow your own food forest in your backyard

Why not convert your lawn into a food forest? 

In this 2-part conversation, Olabanji and Inma talked about the many benefits for the environment, the animals and your finance of getting rid of your lawn and growing a food forest instead. 

In the 2nd part, Olabanji and Inma shared some tips and personal experiences of growing a food forest in Nigeria and in Scotland.

Listen to the full episode here 

For more information on the project and to order your copy of the Carbon Almanac, visit thecarbonalmanac.org

Want to join in the conversation?

Visit thecarbonalmanac.org/podcasts and send us a voice message on this episode or any other climate-related ideas and perspectives.

Don’t Take Our Word For It, Look It Up!

You can find out more on page 210, 213, 202, 122, 121, 120, 119 and 90 of the Carbon Almanac and on the website you can tap the footnotes link and type in 108, 250, 218, 599, 600, 579, 067, 069 and 034

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Olabanji is from Lagos Nigeria, He’s a Creative Director and visual designer that helps brands gain clarity, deliver meaningful experiences and build tribes through Design & Strategy. He founded Jorney - a community designed to help people stay productive, accountable, and do their best work. 

Imma is from Cádiz in the South of Spain, living in Aberdeen, Scotland. Imma is a sommelier, a poet, a podcaster, a mother, a slow food advocate, and an animist activist.

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The CarbonSessions Podcast is produced and edited by Leekei Tang, Steve Heatherington and Rob Slater.

Transcript
INMA:

Apparently cutting, the, , the loan is one of the things that I wouldn't think

INMA:

about it, but apparently it gets quite.

INMA:

a lot of carbon in the atmosphere.

OLABANJI:

it does.

OLABANJI:

, I think I read a study that says, okay, if you do the plus and minus of the

OLABANJI:

carbon that goes into maintaining the lawn and the gardens, and then the carbon

OLABANJI:

that it traps, it's not equivalent.

OLABANJI:

Right.

OLABANJI:

It's as good as boring you something.

OLABANJI:

And then I come take it back eventually because you plant.

OLABANJI:

To take the carbon, but then you come with a lawnmower to, to take it out.

OLABANJI:

You have fertilizers and water system and all that stuff that have really huge

OLABANJI:

carbon footprints to maintain the gardens.

OLABANJI:

So it's as good as it's not effective at all.

OLABANJI:

It's not any use.

OLABANJI:

. INMA: And I, we were

OLABANJI:

We were talking the other day about leaf blow that blew my

OLABANJI:

mind because I had no idea.

OLABANJI:

Well, first of all, I had no idea.

OLABANJI:

People use those things.

OLABANJI:

and secondly, uh, together with the, with the long, owners are really,

OLABANJI:

really, \ , taking back whatever \ that is beneficial for, for the atmosphere.

OLABANJI:

Yeah.

OLABANJI:

Yeah.

OLABANJI:

And so get the food.

OLABANJI:

I mean, if you have a garden, if you have a backyard, you have an

OLABANJI:

environment that allows you to do that.

OLABANJI:

Why not seeds are, they're not so expensive.

OLABANJI:

Get some seeds, start from the shrubs, get some land covers,

OLABANJI:

um, plant some trees, some

INMA:

Yes, definitely.

INMA:

Definitely

OLABANJI:

with the

INMA:

get, get, get, our hands dirty working with the soil.

INMA:

How amazing is.

OLABANJI:

Yeah.

OLABANJI:

That's so cool.

OLABANJI:

I think that's the coolest thing ever.

OLABANJI:

Um, and it's therapeutic.

OLABANJI:

I don't know how, but it is.

OLABANJI:

I mean, you go into nature at its fullest and then you absorb it.

OLABANJI:

That's so good.

INMA:

I think when you have a garden, uh, has to be manicured.

INMA:

It's like you are controlling.

INMA:

It is a way of relationship that is control over, over whatever is growing.

INMA:

When you have a food for on the other hand, you're not controlling, just,

INMA:

just having a relationship with, with whatever is there that wants to grow

OLABANJI:

Yeah.

OLABANJI:

And on the long run, it's actually cheaper.

OLABANJI:

It's cheaper because you don't do maintenance.

OLABANJI:

Yeah.

OLABANJI:

And then you get food and fruits.

OLABANJI:

Why not?

OLABANJI:

Oh my God.

INMA:

Yes.

INMA:

It's

INMA:

it is all pluses.

INMA:

All pluses here.

OLABANJI:

So do it, do it

INMA:

Yeah.

INMA:

Just do it.

INMA:

If you can do it, just do it.

OLABANJI:

yeah.

OLABANJI:

When I was, when I was younger, , my granddad had a really, , like a

OLABANJI:

food forest and we never bought planting bananas anywhere else.

OLABANJI:

Cause we had them in excess.

OLABANJI:

We had them in

OLABANJI:

excess.

OLABANJI:

wow.

OLABANJI:

Yeah.

INMA:

cool.

INMA:

And if you have it in excess, you can give it to the

OLABANJI:

yeah, we give it to people sometimes when it's

OLABANJI:

so much, we even sell them

OLABANJI:

and, and make money from them.

OLABANJI:

And so

INMA:

Well

OLABANJI:

it's cool food forest all

OLABANJI:

the

INMA:

it's so many, yeah.

INMA:

All the way, all

OLABANJI:

all the way

OLABANJI:

all the way.

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