Principle #5. Use and Value Renewable Resources and Services
<p>When talking about sustainability, many people will naturally think of topics like recycling, and certainly that is a part of considering renewable resources and services- but renewables more appropriately refers to resources or materials that can be harvested in a sustainable way again and again from nature by working with the natural, circular (i.e. periodic) systems in such a way that they may become self-restoring. This is why much of the initial emphasis in permaculture was on the use of perennial plantings to provide food, fiber and energy, rather than annual plantings which require the energy intensive cycles of tilling, planting and harvesting over and over again. Other renewable services related to agricultural production include the encouragement and provision for pollinating insects and birds for managing pests. This principle includes the verbs ‘use’ and ‘value’- not only should we look to leverage those renewable resources, but we should properly value them both in a quantitative and qualitative sense.</p>
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