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Jobs That Involve Protecting the Environment

Each year, the health of our environment gradually decreases, which ultimately threatens our ability to enjoy the clean air, water, and soil we require to live. As the need to protect our environment becomes increasingly vital, the demand for jobs that focus on improving the environment is growing. If you’re interested in pursuing a meaningful career dedicated to the noble pursuit of preserving our planet, consider taking up one of these jobs that involve protecting the environment.

Wildland Firefighter

Each year, wildfires destroy millions of acres of forests and vegetation. Even after the fires are out, they continue to have numerous additional negative aftereffects, such as erosion, altered water quality, landslides, and increased flooding.

To help prevent and control wildfires and reduce the destruction that they cause, consider becoming a wildland firefighter. It is important to note that embarking on a career path as a wildland firefighter isn’t for the faint of heart. At any given moment, wildland firefighters must be ready to risk their lives by entering into blazing forests where they encounter copious amounts of smoke, heat, flames, and falling trees at every turn.

Conservation Scientist

For a less life-threatening career path that will still allow you to help preserve the planet, consider a career as a conservation scientist. As a conservation scientist, you would be responsible for protecting, managing, and improving natural resources. Through work with the government on the state, local, and federal levels, conservation scientists find ways to improve the usage of land and other natural resources based on environmental evaluations.

Environmental Engineer

Another job that involves protecting the environment is environmental engineering. This lucrative job allows you to create a more environmentally friendly future by applying engineering principles to solve pressing environmental problems. Common job duties of environmental engineers include preparing and updating environmental investigation reports, designing environmental protection projects, and updating plans or permits for waste disposal, recycling, air pollution, and public health. To become an environmental engineer requires a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering or another related field, such as chemical or civil engineering.

How to Create an Accessible Garden

Creating beautiful, blooming flower beds and healthy vegetable gardens are great projects for families and communities. Learn how to create an accessible garden for persons of all ages and abilities to enjoy.

Measure Wide Paths

Getting outdoors with friends and family has physical and mental benefits for everyone, including people with disabilities. Accessible gardens have wide, smooth pathways to accommodate wheelchairs, motorized scooters, walkers, and people who use a cane. Paths should be at least 4—preferably 5—feet wide.

Raised and Table Beds

Raised beds make reaching plants easier. They should be 24-inches high for wheelchair users and 30-inches high for someone who can stand but has trouble bending over. A person seated on a bench next to the bed should be able to reach to the middle of the bed from either side. A width of 16- to 24-inches long works well. While a raised bed extends upward from the ground, a tabletop bed sits on legs with open space underneath. A wheelchair can roll under it to allow a disabled person to tend the bed.

Water

Construct an irrigation system of soaker hoses that drip water in the beds, but run in regular hoses between beds, out of the way of paths. Soaker hose systems set on timers eliminate the need for gardeners with mobility or balance issues to carry heavy watering cans or to balance with a cane or walker while using a hose to spray the garden beds.

Remember All Five Senses

Accessible gardens can include sensory elements for people who have visual, auditory, or cognitive disabilities. Herbs and fragrant flowers add a waft of scent to the garden. Plants that rustle in the breeze, like grasses, corn, or plants that attract songbirds, add auditory interest.

The hearing impaired can sense vibrations from chimes or features that create percussive noises, like tapping or pounding. Be aware, however, that these could disturb people with autism, so paths labeled with upcoming features will help guests and their companions navigate to parts of the garden that will please them.

Plants with soft, textured leaves—like lamb’s ear—add tactile experiences for children. However, this also means that it is critical to ensure that an accessible garden is non-toxic throughout—young children and those with developmental delays may try to pluck plants and put plants in their mouths.  Any vegetation within reach of any guest must be harmless. 

Involve people of all ages and abilities in planting and tending the garden. Seed paper makes planting perennial wildflowers, lovely annuals, and a variety of vegetables easy. Simply soak the paper overnight in water, lay it in the raised bed, and cover it with a layer of soil. Keep the paper moist and watch as flowers or vegetables sprout and grow.

Creating an accessible garden takes planning and forethought. The rewards are many, as families and communities can welcome people of all abilities to enjoy the beauty and bounty of the garden.

Tips for Teaching Your Child How to Garden

With summer right around the corner, there’s no better time to introduce your child to the world of gardening. Teaching them how to garden is a fun and active way to spend time appreciating nature and learning the basics of facts of life. To learn more about the best tips for teaching your child how to garden, continue reading our blog below.

Start With Easier Plants

One of the besttips for teaching your child how to garden is to start by growing easy and adaptable plants. While your children might love the wild colors of their favorite flowers, less sensitive seeds will produce a more fruitful garden. Choosing sensitive plants that need a higher degree of care may result in plants not blooming, which could dishearten your child. Instead, let your child pick from a list of highly growable and low-maintenance seeds. If you’re not sure what plants are the easiest to maintain, check out our list below.

Low-Maintenance Plants

  • Sunflowers
  • Carrots
  • Tomatoes
  • Basil
  • Radishes

Teach Garden Safety

Gardening with your child gives you an excellent opportunity to teach them about practicing garden safety. For example, explaining to your children how to coexist with bees and other common insects is essential to keeping them safe. There are multiple reasons to teach your child about bees. When children learn to be calm around bees rather than swat or kick at them, they are less likely to experience bee stings and possible allergic reactions. Warning your child about garden snakes, spiders, and other scary critters is also critical. Children who understand how to keep themselves safe while playing and gardening outside will be less likely to suffer from any of these potential dangers.

Give Them Responsibilities

Regardless of how young your child is, gardening is a wonderful opportunity to teach them responsibility. Rather than having them watch you dig holes and plant seeds, involve them in the process. There are plenty of child-safe gardening utensils to get your child started on digging and planting seeds. If they’re older, you can increase their duties by having them water the plants each day. Giving your child the responsibility to lead the growth of your garden will teach them the importance of nurturing something as it develops.

There are so many benefits to spending time outside with your child and teaching them how to garden. Whether your child is passionate about their plants or enjoys trying new activities, gardening is an excellent hobby to cultivate time together.

How To Start a Floral Business

If you’ve got a green thumb and want to capitalize off your expert flower arrangements, opening a floral shop could be the right move. That may sound daunting at first glance, but there are many different opportunities to start and grow no matter where you are in life. If you’re interested in learning more, read on fortips onhow to start a floral business.

Have a Passion

Any small business is going to have its ups and downs at the beginning. It’s essential when you find yourself head-on with those struggles that you know why you’re doing it in the first place. While it’s not necessary, having a love for what you’re doing will help continue to drive you past the early hurdles. It helps if you’ve had experience either in the floral industry or as a hobby before. The more talent and experience you have, the better it will be.

What Is Your Initial Investment?

A lot of the initial planning will be dependent on how much time and money you can invest at the start.  While it can be good to have seed money available, a physical location to rent, and supplies ready to go, it’s also feasible to begin as a side hustle out of your own home. When thinking about how to start a floral business, it’s beneficial to have a budget for both money and time so you know what limitations you’ll have to work around. 

Consider Your Inventory Needs

Once you have a budget, you can begin to gather the supplies you’ll need to carry out your vision. Many of these items will be self-explanatory, such as ribbons, scissors, clippers, and a source for flowers. You may also need to account for expenses such as a refrigerated truck that can handle your cooling demands, all of which will depend on your current capacity.

Get Your Name Out There

If you haven’t the faintest idea of obtaining clients, offering your services to friends and family can be a good start. If someone has a birthday or baby shower coming up, that’s an excellent opportunity to show your skills and get word of mouth going.  Once you’ve created a portfolio and begin to market yourself, you might consider creating a website, making some flowery business cards, and posting your arrangements on social media like Instagram.  Once you’ve begun to establish a clientele, you’ll be able to build on your experience and help your floral business continue to grow.

Upcycling Ideas To Beautify Your Garden

During spring cleaning, you sometimes come across items that deserve a second chance. Gardens offer those chances, turning old junk onto eye-catching, rustic, and charming objects d’art amidst all the natural colors and textures. Give your personal backyard Eden something extra with these upcycling ideas to beautify your garden.

Furniture Planters

Have an old wooden chair that’s becoming rickety but probably has a few more years of standing power in it? Cut a hole through the seat, insert a pot or planter, fill it with soil and seeds, and set it up in an area of your garden that could use a visual filler or conversation piece. Get a viny plant to wind its way around the chair’s back, armrests, and legs, and then flowers at the bottom. Benches, rocking chairs, dressers, and similar furniture works as well. Add some color to them with waterproof paint. Make it clear they’re not for sitting by festooning them with greenery!

Tire Planters

Over their lifespan, tires perform a thankless job before being disposed of. If they’re lucky, they’re shredded and turned into mats or playground filler. Usually, even if they’re reasonably green and eco-friendly tires, they’re simply thrown into landfills and left to rot for a very, very long time. That durability makes them perfect planters for your backyard garden. Clean them up, give them a bright and cheerful paint job, then fill them with soil and flower seeds or other decorative, nonedible plants. Stack them to create a nice, layered effect.

Containers and Non-Container Planters

Do you have popcorn tins, old kid’s boots, plastic buckets, mixing bowls, baking trays, or other items that have seen their day? After cleaning and painting them, you can turn them into accent planters for a quirky upcycled look. The challenge is to incorporate them into the landscape, not simply leave them in a line along your porch. Consider bolting them to a wooden fence to break up the monotony of a flat wall. Stack stones in a back corner and create tiers on which to rest the planters to make the most of a smaller space.

Stump Planter

Nature can inspire upcycling ideas to beautify your garden. If you’ve had to chop down a tree because it was diseased or dying and are left with an unsightly stump as a result—well, you can still turn that to your advantage. Get out your tools and prepare to bring new life to the old by carving a hole into the stump and turning it into a planter. Clear away any leaves or branches, then drill several large holes into the top of the stump. Use a hammer and chisel to cut away the wood into a wide circle, leaving an inch away from the sides. Repeat until you reach the depth you’d like, then fill it up with soil and fertilizer. Plant seeds or an already grown plant. Keep in mind that you can carve niches into the stump as well to hold pots or other decorations. Remember that, although the stump will eventually rot, you can make yours last with a polyurethane sealant.