Building Urban Resilience
Through Permaculture Design

First of all, I'm a nerd for this stuff. I've poured through textbooks, gone to university (twice), and spoken with experts about the importance of native biodiversity now more than ever. My viewpoint might be different from the average homeowner's, and this isn't about telling people what to like from an aesthetic perspective—it's just an exploration around how much good we could all do by making different choices.

Planning for Biodiversity in the Garden

Our gardens are more than personal sanctuaries to alter as we see fit. Every yard, park, and boulevard has conditions suited to supporting different types of life. When we design these spaces with intention, they capture and store more water, filter the air, cool and shade us on hot days, and act as safe havens and nursery grounds for endangered species. When managed poorly, they not only weaken the land's ability to support life, but exaggerate the effects of climate change, both present and future.

For generations, urban landscaping has favoured an aesthetic of uniform lawns, bare soil beds, and neatly trimmed hedges. While familiar, these choices set us up for a lifetime of maintenance and lead to degraded soils, offering little in return in terms of food or wildlife habitat.

For soil beds, a tidy appearance may be pleasing to the eye, but leaves them exposed and vulnerable to erosion, compaction, and nutrient leaching.

Hedges made of introduced species like Cherry Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) or aggressive ground covers like English Ivy (Hedera helix) are highly invasive. This is sometimes framed as a feature ("versatile", "hardy", "easy to grow", etc.) rather than a shortcoming, if it's mentioned at all. Plants that don’t cooperate with local wildlife aren’t a contributing part of that ecosystem, and an ecosystem at odds with itself is vulnerable to collapse.

As for turf, it's cheap to install and puts up with foot traffic, but the cost to maintain it is high, and it gives little in return. Lawns make sense as pathways or sports fields, but having them be the default for every patch of land we manage spikes our labour, maintenance, and irrigation costs much more than necessary. It's not that lawns don't have a place, but that place shouldn't be everywhere.

One of the foundational principles of Permaculture is to embrace diversity, and one way to do this is by planting a wide range of native (and some naturalized) species. It's wise to look to native plants first because they’re best adapted to the region’s soils, climate, and wildlife, needing much less in terms of maintenance, irrigation, and pest control than exotic options while offering sources of food and shelter for birds and pollinators.

Biodiversity increases the land’s ability to adapt to changing conditions. If one species fails, others can step in to fill their niche, and the integrity of the ecosystem is largely maintained. For home gardens, that means a stretch of drought, heat, cold, or heavy rain won’t ruin years of work, since different plants can thrive under different conditions.

Finally, being 'best adapted' as mentioned around native plants, birds, insects and wildlife (a.k.a. coevolution) means that many species have become intimately familiar with—and often reliant on—each other’s unique physiology to thrive. Several insects only recognize one or two species of plants as viable food or habitat, and when those plants vanish from the landscape, the insects (often pollinators) go with them.

Without native pollinators, local farms produce less food, forests can't regenerate after disturbance, and the integrity of our ecosystem falters. In short, native pollinators need native plants, and it’s within our power and interest to support both.

Landscaping for Inclusivity and Connectivity

Just as diversity and inclusivity strengthens ecosystems, it also builds stronger bonds within our neighbourhoods. Traditional urban design tends to prioritize private space over communal, but shared spaces like parks, playgrounds, and meeting halls are vital for us to connect and bond. We might think of the land surrounding our homes as 'ours', but choices we make around fencing, earthworks, bed maintenance and plant species affect much more than just ourselves.

Transforming front yards and boulevards (which often go relatively unused) into more ecologically-minded spaces can encourage neighbourhood cohesion through shared enjoyment while also helping to support regional biodiversity. This can be done in so many ways, but native plants combined with minor earthworks or hardscaping can turn small strips of green carpet into patches of shade, catchment for stormwater, and places for wildlife to rest in an otherwise hostile environment.

Replacing rarely used lawns—even in part—with native trees, shrubs and flowers not only reduces upkeep, but provides vital food and shelter for pollinators and other wildlife while fostering a more beautiful, natural space for us to enjoy.

Fruit trees and berry bushes along sidewalks in quiet neighbourhoods can increase local food security when paired with individuals who love to make preserves, and their leaves provide summer shade when it's needed most. Opportunities for foraging, chatting about food with neighbours, and having more incentive to get outside more often are all made possible by replacing just a few meters of turf.

Incorporating landscape features like on-contour swales (where appropriate) and terraced hillsides gives rainwater a place to collect and sink into the soil instead of washing into the stormwater system. This keeps not only the plants and soil on your property hydrated, but all those downhill from you as well. It reduces our need for irrigation in the summer, protecting us and our landscapes from the worsening drought/flood cycles expected to increase each year.

Maintaining a layer of biodegradable mulch on top of garden beds such as straw (not hay—trust me), fallen leaves, or non-invasive yard trimmings will protect the soil from erosion and compaction, absorb and hold rainwater, and provide shelter for beneficial insects. Mulch also steadily releases nutrients into the soil, keeping plants healthier with less need for fertilizer.

With a healthy backyard ecosystem, you'll also have all the pest control you could need, since no insect population will be able to take over without others capitalizing on their abundance. This system of biological checks and balances helps not only our own gardens, but those nearby as well, since beneficial insects can spread out after they've worked in our own spaces, helping the gardens of our neighbours as well.

Another way to approach this is by collaborating with neighbours to take down or reduce sections of fencing between yards to offer more uninterrupted space for wildlife to explore—away from the hazards that come with roads. This takes trust and open communication, but creates much larger garden ecosystems for wildlife and ourselves.

By making ecologically-informed choices like these, we supercharge our potential to make positive impact by turning small, isolated spaces into connected green-scapes.

How To Choose the Right Plants for Your Yard

Selecting the right plants is easier when you understand your garden’s microclimates—areas defined by sunlight, shade, soil type, and moisture levels—and by learning more about the native species in your region, including their average height, spread, and habitat preferences.

This two-fold approach helps us choose the best species for our property, which helps gardens to flourish with minimal pruning, irrigation, or fertilizer. Plants given enough space to grow and being in conditions that suit them will be much healthier than those we need to fuss over, and healthier plants are better at fighting off predators like aphids and mites, since insects tend to prey upon plants that are stressed or malnourished.

• Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata)
  One of the defining trees of our region, with rot-resistant bark that acts as habitat for many species of birds and small mammals

TREES

SHRUBS

FLOWERS & FERNS

GROUND COVERS

These species thrive in our climate, supporting countless others in the process, and represent only a fraction of the beautiful, diverse, and often edible or medicinal plants native to the region. To learn more about the incredible range of BC native plants and their properties, as well as gardening recommendations, I’d love to point you towards the following resources:

• “Gardening With Native Plants” created by the island-based Habitat Acquisition Trust (HAT)
  
  

• “Grow Me Instead” by the Invasive Species Council of BC (ISCBC) - an excellent primer on which plants to choose instead of common and invasive garden favourites
  
  

• “Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples” by Nancy Jean Turner
  
  

• “Edible and Medicinal Flora of the West Coast” by Collin Varner
  
  

• "Help Bring Butterflies Home to Your Garden" - a short list of native plants for Eastern Vancouver Island, by the David Suzuki Foundation

Many plants thrive when grown near certain others. These relationships can be forged by evolution or engineered by gardeners—referred to interchangeably as companion planting, polycultures, or guilds—and aim to place species near those that complement each other, creating stronger gardens that need less tending.

There are many examples of this practice throughout history, a famous one being the ‘Three Sisters’ (corn, beans, and squash), developed by First Nations across North and Central America over thousands of years, where corn acts as a pole for the beans to grow on, beans fix nitrogen in the soil, and squash shades the soil to retain moisture and prevent compaction by rain—each producing food in the process.

Other examples of polycultures include growing fruiting vines up fruit or nut trees, planting aromatic herbs between rows of crops to help deter pests, and many more. There's plenty to learn about on the subject, but awareness that plants will fare better or worse depending on their neighbours is an important start.

For those wanting examples of native plants, the following is a short list to consider for your property, and to explore incorporating alongside other garden favourites:

• Arbutus (Arbutus menzeisii)
  Sometimes referred to as ‘strawberry trees’, Arbutus are the only broad-leaved evergreen trees native to Canada, with edible berries and peeling red bark

• Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
  An extremely important source of food and shelter for small mammals, spotted owls, black-tailed deer, and blue grouse

• Garry Oak (Quercus garryana)
  Critical habitat and food for a number of endangered species

• Cascara (Frangula purshiana)
  A shade-tolerant tree/shrub that offers food and habitat to many species of birds and wildlife

• Pacific Willow (Salix lucida)
  Native wetland species growing 7m tall, mainly along ponds and riverbanks, and is an important host for Acadian hairstreaks (Satyrium acadica) and other butterflies

• Red Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum)
  attracts beneficial insects and hummingbirds while offering a vibrant splash of colour in early to mid spring

• Salal (Gaultheria shallon)
  Offers beautiful foliage and summer berries while creating a thick underbrush, perfect along fences or in front of hedges

• Osoberry (Oemleria cerasiformis)
  Provides shelter and winter food for birds and wildlife, flowers early, offers fall interest, and provides small, cucumber-flavoured stone fruit

• Evergreen Huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum)
  Grows low and bushy, produces incredible berries, and retains its foliage year-round

• Blue Elderberry (Sambucus cerulea)
  Produces food and provides habitat for pollinators and birds

• Camas (Camassia quamash)
  Beautiful blue flowers commonly associated with Garry Oak ecosystems, and a traditional food source of First Nations peoples

• Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)
  Attracts multiple species of native, late-season pollinators

• Douglas Aster (Symphyotrichum subspicatum)
  Attracts many species of native bees, and looks beautiful alongside other wildflowers

• Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum)
  Beautiful, edible, and attracts multiple types of pollinators

• Red Columbine (Aquilegia formosa)
  A favourite of rufous hummingbirds, and a beautiful addition to any garden

• Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)
  One of many native ferns, and helps retain moisture while create plenty of mulch, protecting soils and helping to regenerate them

• Native sedges and fescues (there are many)
  Offer essential shelter and nesting material for songbirds, some of which can replace lawns and require no mowing

• Coastal Strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis)
  Low-lying ground cover providing leaves for tea and small, delicious fruit

• Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi)
  Excellent shrubby ground cover for poor, sandy, infertile soils, and being somewhat salt-tolerant

How You Can Make a Difference

Designing for healthy biodiversity in urban spaces just requires a shift in perspective. Instead of seeing 'our' landscapes as ours alone, I'd invite you to view them as part of a larger, interconnected whole. Anyone can make a positive difference by picking a few native plants to add to the garden, planter, or nearby boulevard, by transforming portions of lawn into wildflower meadows, by removing invasive species, or by learning more about our local ecosystems and sharing that information with friends and family.

Our choices have the potential to contribute to the health of our ecosystems. With a bit of research and planning, or by asking for help from local experts, we can protect this beautiful land for generations to come.

If you’d like professional guidance for your property or neighbourhood project, feel free to connect with me through Patchwork Ecosystem and we can explore ways of fostering abundance and resilience for yourself and your community.

Written by Zack Simon

Zack is the founder of Patchwork Ecosystem. Based in Nanaimo, BC, his focus is on operational sustainability for local businesses and permaculture methodology for landscape management.

September 7, 2024