About Symbiosis

You never know who you’ll meet at a coffee shop, especially when you have a friendly dog that attracts the attention of strangers. Recently, when my husband and I were sitting outside at our favorite local meeting spot, Arlo, our big mixed-breed dog, caught the attention of a young couple at a table nearby. And that’s how we came to meet Adam Russell, his wife, Alice, and their little boy.

Talking with Adam, I quickly learned that he’s an ecologist working in regenerative land management. My ears perked up when I heard this. We talked a bit about his work, and he offered to send me some information on his company, Symbiosis. I was eager to learn more about it.

In a nutshell, regenerative agriculture is an approach that improves the following: soil health, water capture, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and, ultimately, resilience in the face of climate change. It has no set principles or practices, but, rather, achieves these goals by doing what is best for a particular location, be it a farm, a neighborhood, or a single home.

Symbiosis, which operates in a 200-mile radius around Austin, offers context-specific solutions, “[w]hether you want an edible landscape or small food forest for a suburban lot or have a large ranch that needs water harvesting features like ponds, berms and swales and or leaky weirs, broad-scale soil building, biodiversity improvements, agroforestry, cover crops, rain tanks and more.”

Serendipity: An interactive case study

A graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, Adam began his career with Remote Medical International in 2006, working with human and land health in remote locations around the world. From Kathmandu to Kenya, he assisted communities in revitalizing their soil and making the most of their water. In the process, he also learned from those he helped. As a result, Adam brings a holistic view to his work in regenerative ecology, drawing from a wealth of cultural knowledge as well as science.

What does this sort of work have to do with the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance? In a word, everything. Its efforts to re-route water, reduce erosion, enhance biodiversity, and improve resilience are central to both the Trail Crew and Team Flora. These are the goals they work toward every week.

The following is an account of Adam’s experience working with his homeowner’s association.

Written by Susan Hanson Editor, The Loop

HOA Case Study

When I see anyone spraying the ground with a backpack sprayer, I always compliment them on how good their work looks and ask what it is that they are spraying. It’s always Roundup. So, I kindly ask for the contact information of the owner and call them. I introduce myself and compliment the hard work their crew was doing and how respectful they were to talk with. I ask what they are spraying and if they would be willing to share who instructed them to spray the drainage roundabouts in our neighborhood. He says that it was the HOA president. He said he didn’t want anything growing in there, and that I would have to talk with him.

The next HOA meeting we have is to pass the budget, and before we pass the budget of $1500 for this maintenance crew, I explain that the makers of Roundup are paying out $11 billion in health damages because it leaches minerals from any water-soluble living system that it comes in contact with. I ask if I could be paid that $1500 to seed, mineralize, and spray with biological and biodynamic sprays to bring life back into those areas and grow a perennial flower and pollinator rain garden instead. The community unanimously agrees, and I just have to speak with a representative from the city to clear it with them. With one email and a phone call, I was told that those spaces were designed to be rainwater gardens and that Roundup was the worst thing that someone could be putting on them as they drain directly into the river.

Our Recipe: One step at a time over six weeks

1. Cast out a 1/4” layer of 1/8” Basalt mined from the Martin Marietta trap rock mine in Uvalde, Texas. Call Nil Patil at (210) 760-9830. The material is $20 per ton.
2. Acquire seed:
   • Horned toad restoration seed mix (50 wildflower and 33 native grass species) from Native American Seed: https://seedsource.com/horned-lizard-habitat-mix/.
   • Warm season mixed cover crop from greencover.com. Call their distributor, Lee, of Southwest Farms, at (830) 444-7248.
3. Inoculate the seed with BioCoat Gold and powdered sugar to give it an easy snack on its way to getting started. https://advancingecoag.com/product/biocoat-gold/
4. Dust the seed with compost and BioChar.
5. Cast a 1/4” layer of hardwood mulch
6. Dust mulch with MicroLife appropriate to your soil. Call the company if you have questions. Our Texas Hill Country limestone soils are all sulfur deficient, so for my context here I used: https://www.microlifefertilizer.com/product/microlife-acidifier-6-2-4/
7. Mix fermented EM-1, sea minerals, BioChar, and molasses in a 5-gallon bucket with a lid:
   • https://www.teraganix.com/products/pro-em-1-probiotic-liquid-probiotic-supplement
   • https://www.sea-crop.com/products
   • https://ambiochar.com/products/#VitalBlend5M
   • https://www.teraganix.com/products/blackstrap-molasses?variant=40207342862417
8. Spray with Biodynamics preparations:
   • https://biodynamicsource.org/product/bd-buffalo-soil-activator/
   • https://jpibiodynamics.org/products/pfeiffer%E2%84%A2-field-and-garden-spray-1
   • Sprayer: Any backpack sprayer with a waist belt that is comfortable.
   • Food grade 5-gallon bucket: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leaktite-5-gal-70mil-Food-Safe-Bucket-White-005GFSWH020/300197644
   • Lid: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bucket-Companion-5-gal-Black-Paint-Bucket-Lid-LD5GRLBK006/303808738
   • Strainer bag: https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-5-gal-Elastic-Top-Strainers-2-Pack-11573-36WF/202061360
9. Observe and spray additional sprays after big rains or in the evening time as time allows. Spray for killing sidewalk weeds if it is a must: Use a separate small sprayer.

• • 10-30% vinegar
  • Epsom salt
  • Dish soap

This process has been easy, effective, a meaningful community builder, and beautiful to watch emerge into a robust and ever-changing ecosystem. I believe something similar will work with any HOA for the concerned homeowner or the entrepreneurial youth with a bit of logistics help with materials from a parent or inspired community member with a truck.

If your community requires more convincing, then these are valuable resources: https://nontoxicneighborhoods.org/resources/.

Cheers on your future pursuits.

Written by Adam Russell, Project Manager with SymbiosisTX.