What is Organic Land Care?

Organic Land Care is the design, construction and maintenance of landscapes using practices and products that preserve and support the health of ecosystems and human communities. Landscapes include natural and created environments including home gardens, parks, campuses, woodlands etc., in urban, rural and suburban settings under human management, and includes the use of edible and ornamental plants.

These practices arise from the understanding that all organisms in nature are interdependent, and in order to enjoy healthy urban landscapes we must foster the health of the entire ecosystem.

Organic Land Care practices go beyond integrated pest management and the replacement of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers with organic alternatives, focusing instead on responding to the unique needs of each site and seeking to provide it with what it needs to become a thriving part of the global ecosystem.  Organic Land Care practitioners know that we are but stewards of the land, striving always to work WITH nature, never to dominate it.

The Organic Land Care Practitioner:

1. Works with natural systems and processes to encourage and enhance biological diversity and native habitats;
2. Optimizes and maintains the life supporting properties of soil, air and water;
3. Utilizes renewable, biodegradable and recycled materials from local sources and minimizes waste;
4. Considers the wider social and ecological impacts of landscapes and the practices and products used to create and maintain them.

These principles are shared by the Northeast Organic Farming Association OLC, the Society for Organic Urban Land Care, and Oregon Tilth OLC. Please reference each organization’s policies and standards to learn how these principles are applied.

The Organic Land Care Standard

The Organic Land Care Standard is a technical and goals based document that was first introduced by SOUL in 2003 to address the need for a tool to support a successful transition toward sustainable land care practices by individuals, community, industry and government.

The Organic land care standard is updated regularly to remain in alignment with the Canadian Organic Standard.

Organic land care is the design, construction and maintenance of landscapes using practices and products that preserve and support the health of ecosystems and human communities.