Householder responsibilities

For workshops and discussion.

To know the history of your property—who has lived in your house and in your neighborhood, when your property became property (deeded) and by whom, what the different structures and infrastructures have been that are part of your property. And then, what you can know or imagine about the first human relationships to the land you live on.

To know the current ways that your property is linked to community infrastructure including water and sewer systems, utilities and wherever your energy sources originate (electricity and heat), roads and sidewalks and bikeways and public transportation routes.

To know the natural history of your geo-region and watershed region, including your growing zone, first and last frost dates, average amounts of rainfall and high and low temperatures, and recent climate changes in your area.

To know what is growing on your land—what trees, perennial plants, grasses, annuals that reseed themselves, and also what animals and birds that interact with your land’s plants and trees—so that you know some parts of your local ecosystem and also your regional ecosystem, including what is considered native and what invasive.

To know the current condition of your land, including its compaction and the amount of photosynthesis that is occurring, the ways in which your permeable and impermeable surfaces act as a sponge for water or create water runoff, the difference in soil and ambient temperatures in different microregions on your land, and the living organisms, bugs and other critters, and also the micro-organisms in your living soil.

And with this knowledge, to determine the responsible actions that you will take, including what effect your actions will have on the natural, eco-, and community systems in place and in play all around you.