Small Space Revolution: Planting seeds of change in your community
by Tayshan Hayden-Smith
DK Travel, 2024, 192 pages
As you all know, I'm a big lover of nature. I confess. I'm a tree hugger at heart! My bliss comes from spending time in forests, near lakes, and all wild and wooly places. I resonate with someone that feels the same way. Such is the author of this new book, Small Space Revolution.
Today, the wild and wooly places are fast disappearing as we build, encroach on nature and pave all over the place. But what if we could squeeze in green spaces into places that we've never dreamed possible before? This is the mission of the author and activist Hayden-Smith in this book and which he says is, "Packed with simple ideas and practical projects...to transform your own personal or community space." The book is filled with bite-size ideas that you can easily fit into your own life.
Some of the projects include planting seeds, thinking about growing your own food or becoming part of a community growing project, making a plastic bottle greenhouse, reusing things in unusual ways, making container ponds, vertical growing, planting a pollution barrier, planting a container tree and so much more.
My favorite spot inside this delightful book, besides the quick tips and beautiful photos and illustrations, is the section on Forest Bathing. He shares that it is a practice that both young and old can share, that is sure to ground you to nature and merely an embracing of the plants and trees and spending time with them. In Japan, it is known as shinrin-yoku. He states he didn't know that he had been doing it all his life without even knowing it. Shhhh....so have I! There are over 20 projects included, along with inspiration and tips. And you don't have to read it front to back. I skipped all over it and delighted in finding the nuggets of wisdom on the fly.
If you feel the need for a little fun upliftment, and ideas on how you can expand your green world, try this one out. An English footballer, Hayden-Smith has a passion for both football and gardening. After a tragic fire in Grenfell Tower in 2017, he turned to guerrilla gardening as a form of therapy and community healing. Tayshan states, "The word "growth" has been hijacked by economics---what about growth in ecology?". I couldn't agree more.
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