One of the many gifts my parents have given me is my love of gardening.

Growing up, we always had a vegetable garden in our suburban backyard. Some of my best childhood memories are playing outside, helping to tend the plants and picking tasty treats.

I also understand now in my adulthood that growing our own food was a way of saving money, too (if one has the time/ability/energy). As I’ve grown and moved around, I’ve found many alternative and unique ways to garden. I hope someday that I’ll be able to have my own home with a garden that will last for future generations. For me, gardening brings out qualities that I hope to always have: patience, wonder, love, nurturing, and resilience.

These days, it is no secret that the growing seasons are becoming more unpredictable and difficult to navigate because of the climate crisis we are already in. Myself and other gardeners I know are having increasingly difficult times growing the plants we know and love.

It’s essential that globally, we take hasty action to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Here in Maine, we have the great opportunity to switch to more sustainable energy in the form of offshore wind.

By creating offshore wind farms, Maine stands to uniquely benefit in many ways beyond reducing dangerous emissions, including creating good union jobs, reducing energy bills for everyday people, and gaining control of where our energy comes from and how it is sourced.

Orion Ortolf, Lewiston