The Wastewater Gardener

A thoroughly entertaining book about one man's quest to find the truth about the last taboo: human bodily wastes. The author insightfully describes just how we humans got ourselves into our current ecological nightmare, wanting our bodily effluents to be out of sight, out of mind and never discussed. In the 1960s, like many young men and women, Mark Nelson was seeking meaningful work. Leaving his big city ways and Ivy League roots behind, Nelson landed on a communal farm in arid New Mexico where he learned what all farmers used to know: That the proper use of sewage is incredibly important to restoring and maintaining arability of soil. His journey then took him to managing the sewage system of the most spectacular biological experiment of the 20th century, Biosphere 2. Having fallen in love with wetlands, Nelson returned to university for a PhD and went on to construct wastewater gardens all over the world: From the Yucatan to the Bahamas, from the Philippines to France, from Morocco to New Mexico and Australia. The book's illustrations include whimsical original drawings by artist Corinna MacNeice, plus schematic diagrams that make it easy to follow how various waste treatment systems work. There are a number of colour plates that show the beauty that it is possible to achieve by installing and maintaining wastewater gardens. A bibliography that will satisfy gardeners, ecologists and scholars is included. Nelson's book is a plea for mindful use of our natural water resources to ensure the long-term health of the planet and all its life forms.