Biodiversity
Biodiversity is an attribute determined by the abundance of different species. It can be measured in a specific area or the entire globe. The more species there are present, the better the biodiversity. Biodiversity has been compromised all over the world due to human activity and many species have become extinct.
Circular Economy
Circular economy refers to maximising the use of existing products and materials. Elements of the circular economy include borrowing, renting, reusing, repairing, restoring, and recycling. The goal of the circular economy is to minimise the amount of waste. More recently the concept of a circular economy has been extended to circular society.
Climate Crisis
Global warming is mainly caused by the release of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere. This warming has caused a climate crisis and its effects are already being felt by the most vulnerable countries, people, and communities. Drought caused by climate change destroys crops, as do heavy rains and floods. Drought dries up even the smallest water reserves.
Colonialism
Colonialism refers to a historical process in which a conquering state exploits the raw materials and labour force of the region or state it has taken over. A colonising nation creates its own administration for the region without considering the original population. Some of the most famous examples of colonialism include the British administration in India and Africa, and French colonial rule in various parts of the world. In Finland, colonialist history is associated with the exploitation of the territories of indigenous Sámi people.
Community Gardening
As the name suggests, community gardening refers to individuals coming together to cultivate an area, whether on private or public land. Traditionally, there have been allotment farms in urban and urban areas, where each tenant of an allotment manages his area independently and collects a crop from it. Allotment gardens are managed in the same way. With community gardening, the cultivation area is managed collectively, and the harvest is shared among the community members.
Eco-social
People are dependent on nature and other people. The ecosocial perspective takes into account both ecological issues and social justice.
Garden City
The English urban planner Ebenezer Howard first developed the idea of the garden city in 1898. The garden city model has since spread around the world. The best-known example in Finland is the Tapiola district in Espoo, built mostly in the 1950s. Garden cities attempt to combine the good aspects of the countryside and urban areas. The buildings are spaced out and park-like areas are preferred.
Globalisation
Globalisation means international economic and cultural integration. Freedom of trade, travel, immigration and, for example, communication are part of globalization. Adverse effects include, for example, the transfer of work and production to areas where poor working conditions and poor pay are common.
Guerrilla Gardening
Guerrilla gardening involves cultivating crops on abandoned or neglected lots or other areas. Its roots trace back to New York, where Liz Christy and her Green Guerilla group first started guerrilla gardening in 1973. Since then, this type of activity has spread to cities all over the world.
Herbarium
A herbarium is a collection of dried or preserved plants or plant parts. A herbarium can also exist in digital form, consisting of compiled images of plants. Herbariums are an important tool for scientific research and species identification.
Hybrid
A hybrid is the outcome of cross-pollinating two different species, or in the case of plants, different varieties. For example, grapefruits are the result of crossbreeding between pomelos and oranges. Crossbreeding aims to enhance the properties of a plant, such as size and yield, and improve their resistance to pests and weather. Hybrids are common in many useful plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and asparagus. Hybrid roses are common in gardens. Plant hybrids are more common than animal hybrids, and they are more often able to reproduce.
Monoculture
The cultivation of a single plant species in a given area, such as a grain field or a planted forest, is called monoculture. Monoculture depletes the soil of nutrients and is an unfavourable habitat for other plant and animal species.
Native / Non-native Species
A non-native species is a plant or animal that has been brought into a foreign environment mostly through human actions. In a new environment, a plant can multiply explosively and displace the native species of the area. Native species, on the other hand, can only be found in a specific area. Many native species have become extinct as a result of human activity, especially on isolated islands around the world. An example of an endangered native species in Finland is the Antennaria nordhageniana, a type of pussytoe that only grows in Finnish and Norwegian Lapland.
Rights of Nature
The notion of the rights of nature stems from the history of human exploitation and destruction of nature. At its core, it raises the question of whether nature has the fundamental right to exist. The concept of the rights of nature is similar to the one of fundamental human rights.
Taxonomy
The scientific classification of organisms is called taxonomy. The classical taxonomy developed by the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus is based on identifying shared characteristics of organisms. Classification can also be based on evolution.
Vertical Farming
In vertical cultivation, food is grown on top of each other in several different layers in a greenhouse. In a closed environment, plants can be provided with ideal growing conditions in terms of light, water, nutrients and climate.
By Anna Autio, Harry Kivilinna
