March 2026 Update 

By Dr. David Dobbins

I grew up in the city of Indianapolis, with little exposure to nature, and had no real interest in our environment. All of that changed when I went camping with the Boy Scouts in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Illinois.

Photograph by Chris Guiles

Camping inspired my enthusiasm for nature, and, also, my career as a researcher and a professor of biology, botany, horticulture and environmental science.

For 20 years, I engaged in research in the rain forests of Australia and Central and South America. While studying and teaching, my mind kept returning to the same question: “How had we allowed our world to become so nonbiological and unnatural?”

Throughout my career, I’ve noticed stark changes in people’s attitudes. In our headlong rush to raise our own standard of living, we have completely shortchanged our quality of life.

We bought houses with lawns we admire, but have little idea how to healthfully maintain.

Chemically sprayed lawns consist of a single species of grass. No thriving ecosystem in the world consists of a single species!

To maintain what is unnatural, some poison their grass with increasingly toxic herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides — linked with deadly diseases. Further, carbon-releasing herbicides and synthetic fertilizers (and pesticides) that emit greenhouse gases from manufacture through application may be accountable for more than a third of climate change.

Fighting against nature has led to the wholesale pollution of our air and soil, streams, rivers, ponds, lakes and coastal areas. This has also jeopardized the safety and well-being of humans and animals, forests and essential plants and pollinator insects.

How do we restore and protect our natural environment Plant native organic woods, tall meadow grasses and wildflower-rain gardens. These ecosystems provide healthful habitats for the diverse organisms that make up the bulk of our food chain.

In suburban areas where lawns may still the landscaping standard, maintain safely organic native properties. Like wild parks, organic landscapes are most beautiful and allow all life to thrive.

One of a family of foxes who live in the woods behind our house.

Create Native Organic Landscapes in 7 Easy Steps 

By Aggie Perilli

 1. Allow chemically addicted landscapes to lie fallow for up to three years to withdraw from their destructive chemical dependency.

Raise your standards. Enjoy the healthful tranquility of restorative parks in your own yard and community.

2. Before you treat any property, test the soil to determine what, if any, nutrients it needs.

Many states test soil at no charge. In Pennsylvania, you can buy a $9 testing kit at the county offices of Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and submit your soil samples for a free analysis.

My neighbor, Katherine Hopkins, replaced her front lawn with native organic pollinator flowers and plants.

3. If your soil is compacted, aerate it and improve your land’s natural drainage and vitality.

Use an aerator with hollow tines. Solid tines may further compact your soil.

In richly alive organic soil, aeration or oxygenation can naturally sustain itself.

4. Transform all or part of dull unhelpful lawns into inspiring wildlife habitats!

Avoid carcinogenic and other costly carbon-releasing killing agents linked to diseases and dysfunctions, climate change, and that repel and kill our essential pollinators. They also kill the healthy microorganisms in richly alive soil, and poison our air and water.

Rather than prevent weeds, herbicides counterproductively exacerbate the deadening conditions that cause weeds to spread.

Eliminate equally harmful synthetic fertilizers that emit greenhouse gases from manufacture through application. If necessary over the summer, lightly apply an organic mix of the fertilizer that your soil analysis recommends.

A bark path leading from the front of Katherine’s house, to the back.

Help create a critical mass of certified gardens that attract and protect our pollinators and wildlife. It’s easy and fun to provide the four basic elements needed: food, water, shelter and sustainable homes within our gardens and landscapes.

5. Hand weed and grow organic native trees and unsprayed self-seeding meadow grasses and pollinator flowers and plants. Use autumn leaves as mulch.

To reduce the need for hand weeding and mulch that can attract termites, plant native woods, spreading shrubs, and fields of pollinators. In autumn, cost-effectively spread fallen leaves as mulch. This adds and retains a balance of nutrients, and allows the beneficial insects who live in our leaves to thrive.

My sister-in-law, Laurel Brown, photographed by my brother-in-law, Chris Guiles, as they hike through a park so popular on Instagram that they have to hike early to avoid crowds.

Shop at organic nurseries. Other nurseries may spray dangerous killing agents.

If your garden has poisonous weeds you may be allergic to, place your weeding hand in two solid bags that extend past your elbow. Pull the weeds and place them in an opened garbage bag. From the top, slip the weeding bags off your arm and into the garbage and carefully avoid skin contact.

6. Avoid weakening your property by micromanaging it.

Allow grass to grow as tall as municipal law allows. Leave your grass with nutrient-rich blades tall enough to shade out weed seeds. A thick turf can sustain itself.

7. In autumn, seed or over-seed your lawn or just those areas that are weedy or bare.

Buy safely organic uncoated seeds suited to your soil, climate and land use. Be sure to select seed varieties native to your area.

As we shift to safely organic native landscapes, encourage land owners and landscapers to persevere.

It may take up to 3 years for a chemically deadened property to return to its wildly beautiful nature.

How is organic landscaping (and agriculture) raising the quality of all life in your area?

Aggie Perilli is president of Aggie Perilli Communications International (APCI).

Note: If you have found this post helpful, you can subscribe to my blog here at no charge! Thank you for sharing your organic landscaping insights here on Facebook and Twitter.

Recommended Media

Beyond Pesticides’ free Parks for a Sustainable Future program.

Products Compatible with Organic Landscape Management and Organic Lawn Care 101 by Beyond Pesticides.

Tools for Change from Non-Toxic Communities that thrive in wildly beautiful and cost-effective organic landscapes.

Alternatives to Synthetic Products for Managing Landscapes and Pests

New Alarm Bells About Chemicals and Cancer by Nicholas Kristof.

Pollinators Are in Trouble: Here Is How Transforming Your Lawn Into A Native Wildflower Habitat Can Help by Discover magazine.

Bringing Nature Home – How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants by Douglas W. Tallamy.

Documentaries: Down to Earth with Zac Efron, Kiss the Ground with Woody Harrelson, The Biggest Little Farm, and more.

Organic Manifesto by Maria Rodale.

Silent Spring and any communications by Rachel Carson.

The post Keeping Nature Wildly Beautiful first appeared on Aggie Perilli Communications International.

APCI creates empathetic and unifying communications and transformative campaigns for nonprofit and for-profit organizations and spokespeople. Consistently recognized for excellence, we engage and align your audience to exceed your expectations within budget and on time.

With more than 30 years of award-winning experience, APCI is proud to provide you with:
– research planning and development;
– communication and campaign conceptualization;
– interviews, writing, editing and proofreading;
– books, newsmagazines, reports and other publications;
– graphic design, original and digital illustrations and animations
– films, commercials, videos and websites;
– advertising and marketing, including social media;
– public relations that include crisis communications;
– organization communications and campaigns;
– digital and print development; and
– language translations with formatting and design.

Representative clients include author and Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Reverend John Dear and Campaign Nonviolence with the Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service; Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Roche; St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center; X-Factor Communications; Affinity Federal Credit Union; Family Promise founder Karen Olson; The Arc of Somerset County, which supports people with developmental and intellectual disabilities; and much more.

Honors from APCI’s results-driven partnerships span recognition from the global Association of Information Professionals to the Communicator Awards from 6,000 entries judged by the Academy of Interactive & Visual Arts with industry leaders from Wired, Disney and MTV.

To continuously exceed your expectations while inspiring a world of connection, contact APCI.

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May your holidays be playful and bright,

Aggie and our APCI team

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– HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE

By definition, communication conveys empathy and shared understanding. Charles Dickens’ timeless classic “A Christmas Carol” reminds us of the redemptive power of our empathetic human spirit.

Aggie Perilli Communications International (APCI) engages and aligns your audience to exceed your expectations while inspiring a world of peace and good will. Seize the day with powerfully unifying communications and campaigns, and contact APCI.

Wishing you all the warmth and joy of our holidays,

Aggie and our APCI team.

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Good Will Towards All first appeared on Aggie Perilli Communications International.

“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” – ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

May the holiday spirit warm your hearts and homes,

Aggie and our team at Aggie Perilli Communications International

The post Happy Winter Solstice! first appeared on Aggie Perilli Communications International.

by Aggie Perilli

My husband, Michael, and I adopted a 15-pound Bichon Frise Poodle named Raphie from the Last Chance Ranch Animal Rescue in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. Ranch volunteers had rescued Raphie from a high-kill shelter, where he lie in a fetal position trying to hide in the back corner of his cage.

Rescuer Barbara Maroney had led Raphie into the lobby to meet Michael and me, and the skeletal Poochon dropped belly-up at our feet.

Playfully, Barbara spun Raphie around on the concrete floor.

“He’s so sweet, you can really have fun with him,” she said.

Cautiously, Raphie clung to Barbara.

Michael and I looked at each other and smiled. Raphie needed a home, and we ached with grief over the passing of our aging Maltipoo two months earlier.

As Michael drove the three of us home, Raphie sat on my lap resting his paw on Michael’s arm. The three of us bonded instantly.

As Raphie settled into his new home, he chased his ball with so much exuberance that he skidded into the wall, clonked his head on the coffee table and resumed running as if nothing had happened.

No longer trying to hide, Raphie stands tall with eyes bright and his tongue hanging out in a wide-open smile.    – December 5, 2011

The Last Chance Ranch and other animal rescues could use your donations. One of the most rewarding ways to donate is to adopt a pet. Bask in your grateful rescue’s shared love and enthusiasm!

*******

Aggie Perilli is president of Aggie Perilli Communications International. 

Note: If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, you can subscribe to my blog here at no charge! Thank you for sharing stories with me here on Facebook and Twitter.

The post Adopting a Pet This Holiday Season first appeared on Aggie Perilli Communications International.

GEORGE ELIOT

This autumn, raise your standards. Enjoy the healthful tranquility of wildly beautiful parks in your own yard and community.

Rather than pay for weighty mulch that can attract termites, spread raked leaves as mulch. This retains and adds a balance of nutrients, and allows the beneficial insects who live in our fallen leaves to thrive.

Fall is also an ideal time to seed or over-seed entire lawns or just areas that are weedy and bare. Select safely organic uncoated seeds suited to your soil, climate and land use. Be sure to choose seed varieties native to your area.

Enduringly beautiful native organic landscapes are the most cost-efficient way to restore and improve the quality of all life.

The post Using Autumn Leaves as Mulch first appeared on Aggie Perilli Communications International.

– FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

Aggie Perilli Communications International (APCI) creates empathetic communications and unifying campaigns for nonprofit and for-profit organizations and spokespeople. Consistently recognized for excellence, APCI inspires your audience to exceed expectations while creating a world of peace and nonviolence, health and well-being, and climate action now.

Wishing you the peace and playful joy of summer,

Aggie and our team at APCI

The post Happy Summer! first appeared on Aggie Perilli Communications International.

February 2024

Our award-winning filmmaker, Joe Wein, filmed this delightful short in more than 20 Los Angeles locations. Without a script or actors, Joe approached strangers and asked each person the same question. Unwilling to play along, one toy-store owner started swinging his ukulele at Joe. Several others shared their inspiring stories. Enjoy!

May your communications be heartfelt today and every day,

Aggie, Joe, Jeff, Cynthia, Jeff, Kat, Rosemi, Kristy and the rest of our APCI team

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The Poetry in Transit program in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, selected the above poem for inclusion in their 2024 rotating bus exhibit. In six lines or less, writers focused on the theme of bodies of water.

Lancaster County is among areas worldwide proud to showcase the poetry of their writers in mass transit systems for the inspiration of millions of riders daily.

The post Riding Waves of Joy first appeared on Aggie Perilli Communications International.