Planting the town green让小镇绿起来

马开勤

As a child， John Welsh loved helpingout in his parents' garden and， afterfinishing his studies， his first job was in aplant nursery.“ But then I got pulled into acorporate career for 30 years，” he sighed.

That began to change in 2016， whenJohn's mother moved in with him and hiswife. John said，“ She was shocked by thelevel of litter in the street and suggested weplant some of the leftover plants from herold garden into the shabby tree beds outside.”Sure enough， the plants flourished（茁壯成长）， and the mess around themweakened.“ It was an inspiration： I couldactually change something， rather than justsitting at home，” said John.

By the following year， John had createdbiodiversity gardens in six tree bedsalong the street， using only plants fromsaved seeds， cuttings， or division. Peopleup and down the street stopped to ask whathe was up to， and strangers turned to friends. The next year was set to look betterthan ever. But just as the anticipatedrainbow of spring blooms was set toemerge， Camden Council sprayed the entirestreet with glyphosate （草甘膦）.“Everything died，” John announced.

But the residents got together： donatingwhatever plants they could to refillthe pits and committing to protecting them.Now， there are 15 tree bed gardens alongthe street and a group of neighbors helplook after them. The experience inspiredJohn to return to professional gardening.He started Rewilding the City， an initiativeworking with communities to turn lawnsinto meadows and streets into ecocorridors.

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What inspired John Welsh to return to professional gardening？

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