LOUISIANA FARMERS CLIMATE CONVENING
CHICOT STATE PARK, JANUARY 2024
We were invited by Sprout Nola to host a nature walk and conversation on the benefits of incorporating plants into one’s land with farmers at the Lousiana Farmers Climate Convening. Below are our talking points as well as a list of relevant resources that you may find interesting!
Jan. 21 Nature Walk 3:15 pm
Nikki Krieg, Introduction
Nikki Krieg + Jess Cole… part of Sweet Fern + Meadow Creek Native but [more than anything] two friends, both naturalists, deeply immersed in the native plant world and honored to talk about it with you all
Introduction + brief description of the habitat before us
Winter is a most excellent time to venture into the woods to learn + observe. It's quiet. the leaves have dropped so you can see through the woods
Examples of major tree species in the area + understory species
Look for nests and other signs of life
Wild hogs and why they are such a huge problem for our native herbaceous plants and wildlife that lives on the forest floor.
Dormant plants: What does this mean? Why is this a good time to transplant?
Jan. 22 Lunchtime Chat 1:00 pm
What is a native plant? A term to describe plants that existed in a specific region before European exploration.
Why we will never be “Native Plant” purists. People and animals have been moving plants around long before Europeans began to record them. The theory of native plants can get caught in fundamentalist/colonial thought.
It has been proven that Native Americans had highly functional and complex systems of agriculture and trade long before Europeans' arrival. They have been altering our well before European arrival.
To stay zeroed in on this European idea of native plants is to see the world within a narrow lens/a photograph in time
Some could argue that before the descent of European agriculture, the Americas were actually more abundant in cultivated foods.
Still, we value these plants (natives) for the many benefits they provide to wildlife that have evolved alongside them. Without a doubt, these plants have been here a very long time…growing alongside other flora and fauna to create beautiful symbiotic relationships that benefit all.
How can native plants help you?
They will attract pollinators to your crops. Native plants have not been hand-bred for specific human desired purposes (is. Long flowering season, specific colors, etc.).
Native plants have instead existed, hand in hand, for hundreds if not thousands of years evolving alongside other flora and fauna into symbiotic relationships that benefit most around them.
Creates a more well-rounded ecosystem to prevent damage to crops. (Predatory insects able to control populations of pest insects). Full cycle. Diversity = Life!
Native plants differ in their needs, like any other plant, but if the right characteristics are capitalized on, there is a potential for native plants to aid in water resources, erosion, and beyond… they can be used for problem-solving.
Our Desire today… A Call to Trees!
Many people overlook trees when they think of planting native, but trees are, arguably, the most important of native plants. They supply food and shelter to far more insects and animals than smaller plants can. Often the dramatic flower display of native perennials overshadows our native trees.
Trees provide us humans with numerous food sources too. We can transition to trees for food production instead of field crops. Native perennial crops vs. traditional European-inspired annual farm crops. Something interesting to ponder. Think hickory, pecan, and oak trees… all the nuts + acorns! Sassafras, native persimmon, red mulberry, huckleberry, mayhaw, yaupon and more. The ways in which one could make a living farming native trees is endless.
Incorporating more trees (where applicable) into your farms, landscapes, etc. would help restore soil fertility, reduce runoff, increase carbon sequestration, and create healthy habitat.
Trees, often, are more apt to make it through extreme drought, excessive water, and more unstable conditions than perennial or annual herbaceous plants… therefore perhaps making them more sustainable than any other plant/crop.
Native Plants + Climate Change
Native plants are well adapted to the areas where they grow, still climate change can potentially have some negative effects… take 2023 for example. On my property alone, I watched well-established native magnolias, horse sugar, big leaf magnolias and more suffer and potentially die from our summer droughts.
Our weather patterns seem to be growing more erratic and more extreme. Our plants cannot evolve as rapidly as our weather patterns are changing. Perhaps an opportunity to utilize some “non-native plants'' in the future. Some exotics that can handle drought, hard freeze + our wild humidity.
As humans, we have tremendous amounts of power within our direct sphere. How can we own this and think outside the box?
Resources + Inspiration:
J Russel Smith, Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture
Samuel Thayer, Various foraging guidebooks, excellent blog + a champion for nut trees
Akiva Silver, Trees of Power, Ten Essential Arboreal Allies… logical ways to align yourself with trees
Charles Mann, 1491…Thoughts on the Americas pre-Columbus
Masanobu Fukuoka… “Do Nothing” farming, fruit trees!
In the natural world… There are no rules, no “one” way, no straight lines…
“Caring for soil is like a religion: Everyone thinks their way is the right way. Just as there is more than one way to connect to the universe, there is more than one way to approach caring for the soil. Whatever you read and hear about soil, pick and choose what you want. You don’t have to believe what soil scientists or other gardeners have to say. Over time you will create your own set of evolving practices and beliefs about what is happening underground.”
- Akiva Silver