Second annual Home & Garden Challenge Addresses Food Security, Water Conservation, & Climate Change

May 1, 2012 - PRLog -- The second annual Transition Home & Garden Challenge, for the month of May, returns, encouraging thousands to transform homes and gardens by taking practical actions to save water and energy, increase local food production, and reduce greenhouse gases. Last year, the challenge inspired 1,503 home and garden actions in 37 states and 4 countries! Projects included installing 21 grey water systems and transforming over 500 lawns, erecting clotheslines and teaching gardening or energy efficiency skills. Residents and organizations register their actions online at Transition US where there are additional resources on creating food or water-wise landscapes; installing rain barrels; hosting a community potluck; planting fruit trees, and more!

The Transition Home & Garden Challenge has taken its “call to action” national for the second year running, in collaboration with dozens of other community groups and businesses. The  Challenge will strengthen existing initiatives and encourage new and renewed participation in efforts to save water and energy, unite neighbors around projects, and strengthen local food movements. Individuals and groups are encouraged to build partnerships and alliances in their locales and tackle some home and garden projects together.

“Given the significant challenges our communities face, the Transition Home and Garden Challenge is a big and inspiring dose of hopeful action. Together in action, we build the will and relationships to revision our communities and the skills to make it so.” said Trathen Heckman, Transition US board president.

Transition US is a national nonprofit that fosters community well-being and local solutions in response to climate change, resource depletion and economic vulnerability. Since 2009, Transition US has built a network of 115 U.S. Transition towns and cities across 32 states with over 300 others in formation. Its ultimate purpose is to create an interlocking national network of sustainable, resilient communities where consumption and conservation are balanced and innovative solutions that improve people’s lives become the new norm. In other words: a fully Transitioned United States.

Some key projects to be undertaken this May include:

•   A 4,000 square foot lawn transformation at a county health center that will become a model educational food garden offsetting mower emission pollution, saving tens of thousands of gallons of water annually, and growing food.

•   100 laundry-lines installed along with pledges to “line-dry” for the entire summer, saving hundreds of pounds of carbon from entering the atmosphere.

•   100 Mother’s Day Gardens, “Lose the cut flowers for mom, plant a garden that will last!”

•   5,600 Square feet of city lawn transformed will save hundreds of thousands of gallons of water annually & replaced with pomegranates & other edibles.

The Transition Home & Garden Challenge welcomes anyone to register a water-saving, energy conserving, food growing or community building action! Collectively, small actions add up! Join in! Take action today!