coherence

noun

quality of forming a unified whole (Merriam-Webster)

the quality of being logical and consistent (Merriam-Webster)

the situation when the parts of something fit together in a natural or reasonable way (Cambridge Dictionary)

These definitions portray the qualities we are bringing to our landscapes. It is reasonable to expect that our surroundings will contribute to our wellbeing, not detract from it. It is logical to see our piece of the puzzle (our backyards, neighborhoods, and/or businesses) fitting into a bigger picture of ecological health.

If we have goals of conserving our forests, aquifers, and waterways, then we need to align those goals with the proper actions when we address our personal landscapes.

Did you know that there are roughly 90 million gallons of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers applied to lawns each year? Did you also know that roughly 60% of that fertilizer is unable to be absorbed into our depleted soils so they runoff into aquifers and waterways, contaminating both of them with harmful synthetic chemicals? What’s more (there’s more!) is that the excess nitrogen in waterways create gigantic algal blooms which deplete oxygen levels in aquatic environments leading to what is known as “dead zones” where native fish cannot thrive or often even survive. Amazingly, in the United States alone we use about 9 billion gallons of water on our landscapes per day. The landscapes that Coherence creates not only require dramatically less water but also are guaranteed to always be chemical free.

It is imperative that we design our landscapes to produce food and medicine for us as well as native wildlife. With thoughtful planning, this can be achieved for a comparable price to conventional landscaping. Quality of life cannot be bought off the shelves, not even at the health food stores. We must create localized environments that enrich our lives on all levels. Being natural and reasonable is planting species which are either native to Missouri or at least easily thrive in our climate zone. In addition, it means fostering the growth of these species without synthetic (detrimental to all life) fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, etc. And moreover, specifically in food forestry, having “the parts of something fit together” well is absolutely critical to the longterm success of the planting.

If you’ve stuck with us this long, we have also chosen Coherence as our brand name because of it’s place in quantum physics. Quantum coherence is a phenomenon where two waves (of light, sound, water, etc) occupy the same phase, and therefore, interfere positively. Lasers require coherence amongst multiple waves of light in order to work. And, in our estimation, we need to have laser focus and clarity in order to correct our relationship to our environment. Our actions, daily lives, and economic drivers need to constructively interact (or to continue the analogy, “interfere”) with environmental stewardship because without a healthy environment surrounding us we have no true hope of being healthy ourselves. Ecology itself is a wave form, that we are certainly always interfering with. Let’s make sure that interference is positive.

So, join the wave of regeneration on Earth today.