Be a wood chip conduit (or neighborly horticulture)

Talking to my dad this afternoon, he was telling me about his progress in getting his front yard into a "doesn't need to be mowed" condition by slowly beating the Bermuda grass to death and pampering anything else that looks nice and shows an inclination to grow there. He was telling me about his scavenging for wood chips when he mentioned that his elderly neighbor across the street had been having some arborist work done on a large oak in her backyard. This was his cue to go formally introduce himself to both her and the arborists. He not only scored a lot of nice wood chips, but he was also able to get her permission to rehabilitate the eroding soil under her large southern magnolia, the view of which had been tormenting him whenever he worked in his front yard.

He pointed out that the roots were getting more and more exposed and it wouldn't be long before the tree really started to suffer, and he offered to look after it for her. So now he goes across and mows and then puts any branches and trimmings into the cavities between the roots and has been steadily adding wood chips and grass clippings and any other extra yard waste he gleans around the neighborhood to the base of the tree with the goal of deep mulching out to the drip line. He said that he had used up the last of their latest chip drop in my mom's garden so he listens out for any work being done nearby or looks on NextDoor and then goes and asks permission to take it back to his projects. He feels like he's now staunched the wound, and now he's working on healing and rehab.

Granted, he has the time (and the enthusiasm) to do this kind of thing that many do not, but it made me think about the benefits of taking that kind of service-minded approach to improving our immediate surroundings. He is doing something good for his neighbor by helping her out with her yard and his neighborhood by looking after the tree, and he is taking the opportunity to tell everyone he requests about why their yard waste has value and how he plans to use it (he said "they always seem a little startled when I first ask"haha); I know my parents offer extra garden produce to neighbors too (My mom said " I don't think some of them know what to do with it"), again offering a glimpse into the benefit of  the way they use their yard. He's not telling anyone their way is incorrect or trying to get other people to fix their yard problems, but he's not just confining his care to his lot lines.

I don't know, it just made me want to be more of a wood chip conduit, instead of just a wood ship reservoir, if you know what I mean. and I'd love to hear about anyone else's wood chip conduit experiences or ideas

What a wonderful and fruitful gesture.

Mercy, tell your dad that Doug on Permies just bought him a virtual beer!

I think what your dad is really doing is "Building Community" and we need a lot more of that!  It can be done through gardening, sharing, and making the front of our houses welcoming places for people to chat and talk.

I recently saw a video involving Brad Lancaster and his work in Taos, NM. He started out to hold onto water, put it to use, and help reduce flood danger. It turns out he built community. Streets with trees and plants encourage people to walk. People out in their front yards tending flowers makes the streets feel safer. Getting volunteers together to install curb cuts and infiltration basins, got neighbors meeting neighbors and helped people realize they had more in common than not.

I don't think I manage that particularly through horticulture, but I do seem to get pressed into service mending all sorts of things for people! I guess I'm a "mending conduit"!