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"In the course of history, there comes a time when humanity is called to shift to a new level of consciousness, to reach a higher moral ground. A time when we have to shed our fear and give hope to each other. That time is now."
-Wangari Maathai
There is enormous untapped potential in your own backyard: from growing food to building and remediating degraded soils to filtering and capturing water to creating habitat for pollinators and beneficial insects or adding resilience to your watershed, neighborhood and region. Resilient landscapes make an incredible difference starting right where you are.
I started this website and community with a question: what would it look to create a connected and resilient community of gardeners, naturalists, soil builders and foragers that supports each other in realizing this incredible potential of resilience in our own backyards and landscape? What strategic support, resources, and strategies could we use to grow resilience one garden at a time?
This website strives to provide resources and ways to do just that!
What can you do to grow resilience right where you are? Gather practical tips on growing soil, restoring water cycles, fostering abundance and biodiversity right where you are, and tap into a community of people working to imagine what is truly possible if we set an intention to our best possible future.
Latest Blog: Bring Back the Fireflies
July 10th, 2025
Fireflies are like flying jewels lighting up our night skies with summer magic. There are fireflies all across the country, in woods, deserts, marshes and mountains! The range of species is astounding and despite how deeply they entrance us we still know surprisingly little about so many of them. Summer is the perfect time to join forces with other citizen scientists and gardeners to track, watch, and bring back the fireflies.
Check out the rest of the blog here.
🌿 Consulting with Allison
Ever wanted to unlock stronger ecological resilience for your landscape? Or ever wondered what the plants are in your own backyard and what they might tell you about the soil, site history or potential for your site? Schedule a Backyard Plant Walk (for those living in or near Philadelphia) or schedule a 1:1 Ecological Consultation either in-person or online.
Learn more about availability and options here!
FREE Webinar Replay: Establishing a Backyard Meadow
38 minutes
What would it be like to turn more lawns into meadows? A lot less maintenance for one thing (seriously, mowing just once a year?!? yep.) Not to mention the incredible beauty, erosion resistance, habitat, soil carbon sequestration, ecological support and water capture... and did we mention all the gorgeous textures (even in winter) and some of those plants you can even eat!! In this webinar we will quickly talk through the best practices for establishing a meadow without herbicides? We'll discuss strategies for how and when to grow a meadow successfully, as well as simple strategies to enhance your backyard biodiversity, make maintenance as low as possible, and how to make it look attractive and intentional.
🌿 Gardening with Allison Youtube Channel
Though I am currently taking a break from video production, the past videos are still available. Topics include creative ways to build resilience in your backyard and garden, engage with wild foods, and grow AWESOME plants: Gardening with Allison.
A MASSIVE thank you to the many of you who encouraged me to find a way to transform some of my artwork into stickers, prints, and other fun forms! It's been a special way for me to add more inspiration of what is possible in my own everyday life and I hope it might be the same for you! I'll be adding more items over time to this "print on-demand print store" as I am able, so keep an eye out! The foraging sticker sheet (pictured here) is a from a recent round of stickers that recently got added. Check it out at: https://the-sparrow-underground.printful.me/
*just heads up: there will be substantial shipping delays on certain items!
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