Jim Faulkner walks down Reddman Road almost every morning, past the spot where people once bought plants at a thriving nursery and carried them home in their arms, past the abandoned riding stables, where horses and children gathered, past the forgotten Cedarview Dairy Farm, from where men delivered fresh milk in bottles to front door steps. Now those patches of old Charlotte, the area then called Crab Orchard Township, are gone, taken over by high-density apartments, starter houses and thickets of twisted vines.
But that’s not what Faulkner sees. On his daily 3-mile walks through East Charlotte, he sees a world of beauty and promise.
“I enjoy life. I see the different textures and shades of green around me,” he said. “Why do I walk? Because there’s always something blooming.”
He carries a bag and picks up discarded beer cans, cigarette butts and fast-food wrappers. He stops and listens to the songs of the mockingbirds before he bends down to yank an invasive plant.
“It’s my neighborhood. I want to keep it neat. I’m proud of my area,” he said.
On his return trip, Faulkner stops inside the Brian Center for Assisted Living to give support to the staff and residents. “They need to know what they do matters,” he said, “that they’re appreciated.”
In his neighborhood park, he puts candy wrappers in trashcans and clears dead limbs from the walking trail. During the “Hands-on Charlotte” park clean-ups, Faulkner is there, too.
“I feel good about myself when I pick up the garbage,” Faulkner said. Back home, he and Jan, his wife of 55 years, recycle, compost and reuse almost everything. Instead of yard sales, they hold ‘give-aways.’ Most of the plants in their well-manicured yard have been rescued, reclaimed or received from friends.
Faulkner is part environmentalist, part positive thinker, and part civic advocate.
“Everything you do in life matters,” Faulkner believes. At 77 years of age, it’s a lesson he’s learned along the way. “What I do in the world matters. To the extent that I can, I try to make an impact.”
Yet as the world around changes, as Charlotte changes, as the environment changes, it’s easy to be cynical. Why switch to CFLs when they contain mercury? Why commute using CATS when people around you drive air-conditioned SUVs? Why put your child on a school bus when other Charlotte moms chauffer their kids? Why bother at all?
Because, as Wanda Urbanska says, “nothing’s too small to make a difference.” Urbanska is host of the award-winning PBS show “Simple Living,” based in Mount Airy, N.C.
“To my way of thinking, the little things do matter,” she said. “They also set you up for a mindset of conservation. So pick up aluminum cans if you see them littered and recycle them. Walk when you can. Buy local food. Join a CSA. Plant a backyard garden.”
Urbanska says the biggest impact you can have on the environment is “heat, feed and speed, in the words of Worldwatch’s Gary Gardner.” Heat: cut down on the way you heat and cool your home. Feed: eat a plant-based diet from local growers. Speed: drive less.
Todd Furgalus, owner of Herbin’ Acres, sees it much the same way. He’s an organic grower who farms a half-acre in Charlotte. He sells the fruits of his labor at local farmers markets and restaurants.
“For me, it’s about healing the earth…leaving it better than I found it. This is the difference I can make. This is what I can do,” said Furgalus. “I see it as a much more productive use of the earth, to turn empty grassy spaces into food production.”
At the “Tailgate” farmers market in South End, Furgalus is surrounded by people who are doing their part for the green movement. Under large white tents, local vendors sell everything from humanely raised chicken to handmade chocolates to organic pastries. Customers hug vendors –and other customers--they’ve come to know over time. There’s a buzz of laughter, conversation, and banter as if it’s a familiar get-together on a casual summer evening.
“I try to have a positive impact in my community. And if more people did, it would begin to make a difference,” Furgalus said.
One of the members of this community is Thom Duncan, leader of Slow Food Charlotte. “Doing nothing is unacceptable,” he said.
Slow Food Charlotte promotes growing food locally and savoring it with family and friends. “I’m looking to making this available to people who are looking for it,” Duncan said. “If you want to develop relationships, build community and change the quality of life, slow food is one vehicle to do that.”
Duncan reflects upon the shift in America from the days of walkable communities, buying from local merchants, and knowing your neighbors. “At some point,” he said, “we gave up culture for convenience. And there’s a price for convenience. It’s our responsibility to nurture culture and adding to the voice of culture over time. You have to ask yourself, do you want to be an active participant or a spectator? Is my world contracting or expanding? Community expands life and isolation contracts it.”
Expanding the circle of community through food is what Marilyn Marks has been doing for more than 10 years in Charlotte. She’s at The Charlotte Tailgate Farmers Market on a recent Tuesday evening introducing herself to growers. Marks is the program coordinator for the Society of St. Andrew, a gleaning network. Volunteer gleaners gather unharvested produce on North Carolina farmlands to feed the hungry. They spend a few hours each month picking strawberries, lettuce, melons or sweet potatoes after farmers have collected what they need.
“We pick in the morning and it’s on the table by night. Last year in North Carolina,” Marks said, “volunteers gathered and distributed 5 million pounds of food” that otherwise would have gone to waste. “When people are consistent in doing the little things and putting those things together, big things happen.”
Jim Faulkner remembers the days when conserving was a way of life. Public policy often supported conservation by protecting the environment, health and consumers. The national speed limit was 55 mph to save lives and conserve gas, the EPA cleaned Superfund sites, the Clean Air and Clean Water bills were passed, and people drove compact cars. Over the decades, he’s seen the pendulum swing from protecting the public to protecting big business.
“It’s lack of courage on the part of politicians,” Faulkner said. “They hesitate to offend their constituents, especially businesses. Pressure won’t do any good unless we elect people with the courage to act.”
Urbanska agrees. While doing the little things matters, it takes government to set the agenda. “They are custodians of the public good, and working to reduce harmful environmental impact stands on their shoulders,” said Urbanska.
So what can you do to make a difference in your neighborhood, improve society as a whole, and reduce your carbon footprint? Urbanska says you should get involved by writing to your members of congress and urging them to enact stricter laws. And change your habits at home: toss paper, cans and bottles in the recycle bin instead of the trash, hang laundry outside to air dry, bring boxes and bags to the grocery story, and reduce electricity usage.
Think about this. The refrigerator, washing machine and clothes dryer are at the top of the household energy consumption list, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Appliances account for 20% of household energy consumption. And in the average home, 75% of the electricity used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are off but still plugged in. The Energy Department suggests plugging electronics such as TVs, DVDs, and computers into a power strip and turning the strip off when not in use.
Collectively, we can improve our quality of life, Thom Duncan believes. “It might feel like what you do doesn’t matter, but if you think what you do doesn’t matter,” he said, “you’re apathetic.”
As Jim Faulkner admires a cluster of wild, lemon-yellow jonquils and ponders where to transplant them, he knows plenty of people are on the same mission as he is… to leave the world better than they found it.
“I’m not alone. There are lots of people like me,” he said. “They just don’t get recognition.”
~ Sheila Saints
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