Episode 066: The One Vital Aspect of a Regenerative Livelihood with Mike Garcia

This week on the Seeds of Tao Podcast we’re talking with Mike Garcia, sustainability expert and founder of EnviroscapeLA Landscaping. This is a little bit of a twist since oftentimes landscaping is the opposite of regenerative agriculture and landscape rehabilitation. However, Mike has a store of knowledge to create landscapes in Los Angeles that are ecosystem supportive, and actually beneficial to the environment. Mike has a store of knowledge and content online, you can check out more of what he’s been doing on his website, his YouTube channel (which is packed with great videos), or on his Facebook Page.

That One Vital Piece

In the episode Mike shared many really cool stories, we especially liked the one about his trip to a Tony Robbins seminar, and the point was brought home that you are nothing without your health. There are many aspects of building a regenerative livelihood, but all of them are less effective or irrelevant if we don’t have our health. 

I remember a time in college where I was so sick, I had terrible abdominal pain, chronic lightheadedness, and daily migraines. It turned out that I had Crohn’s disease and was dangerously anemic. During that time I could hardly make it to class and get my schoolwork done. The rest of my day was spent laying on my bed in pain. I was totally useless. 

We’ve all had times in our lives where we haven’t had the best health, and we know that we aren’t as effective during these times. No matter what we’re working towards, no matter the size of the impact we believe we’re making, our health will ALWAYS be our limiting factor.

A Chronic Limiting Factor

Mike shares his experience in the 1970s at a landscaping convention and how people were showing off the newest chemicals, including RoundUp. He also saw during this time the increase in “farming by chemical” practices like GMOs and mass pesticide application. But it was perfectly safe, right?

Except it wasn’t. Finally, we’re starting to see the cultural awareness of the negative aspects and impacts of these interventions, but, as Mike mentions, we’re also seeing the appearance of chronic conditions that were almost non-existent before. These chronic diseases are mostly generative by our lifestyle, affecting our epigenetics, rather than what we inherit from our parents. 

Luckily, many of the people we’ve talked to in the regenerative sphere are highly aware of this trend and have moved towards living a regenerative lifestyle due to concerns about mass food production and contemporary lifestyle. We are the outliers, and we need to use that power to inspire and educate others.

Being the Leader This World Needs

In the podcast episode, Mike shares his belief that all of us in this realm are leaders, and we need to be leaders. He’s taking his place trying to educate and lead other landscape architects in Southern California to be more aware of the negative impact they’re having on the environment, and educating his clients about the importance of supporting the local ecosystem. He says we need to do this bit by bit. We can just tidal wave the people around us with our beliefs and opinions, we’ll overwhelm them and they will shut down. Rather, we can live by example, and share pieces of pertinent information at appropriate times. This is a cultural shift that needs to take place, and that takes time and patience. 

But as Mike related, we are nothing without our health. We can’t change the world from our sickbed. This goes for our physical and mental health. We must take care of our personal Zone 0, our mindset, as well as our bodies if we hope to truly be the change we wish to see in this world. We’ve got a number of resources to help you create the regenerative livelihood you dream of, starting with your Zone 0. Hop into our Commons for free to get started!

Keep Growing!

Previous Episode: Using Purpose to Design our Regenerative Livelihood with Javan Bernakevich