EDMONDS — With a bountiful vegetable garden — not grass — in the front yard of the suburban ranch-style home, it is not hard to imagine that the owner might look at his personal footprint with a green point of view.

“A lot of people say they are for the environment,” said Carlo Voli. “I challenge everyone to look at their own personal lifestyle and see where the blind spots are.”

As an organizer of an annual clean-up of a neighborhood green belt, Voli felt that a communal vegetable garden shared by neighbors was within reach. His plan was to use his sunny front yard, sans grass. The communal aspect of the garden would be sharing the watering task and sharing the bounty with each other and sometimes trading for milk and sugar.

The initial garden, planted the spring of 2009, took shape with the help of two neighbors and two ladies he went to church with at Edmonds Unitarian Universalist Church. It occupies about 900 square feet of former lawn, which is now planted with corn, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, beets, artichoke, cucumbers, garlic, beans, onions, kiwi, strawberries and Swiss chard in tidy raised beds.

Ten years ago, following a decade as a volunteer in Third World countries, Voli came to the quiet dog-legged street in the Firdale neighborhood of Edmonds, where his family had originally settled in the 1860s.

“I was depressed to see what we are doing here,” he said. “I want to live my dream of renewing the environment and growing food. You have to walk your talk. We all have to lower our carbon footprint.”

To that end, Voli has given up his clothes dryer and does not use disposable cups, napkins or food containers. He carries his own reusable plates, cups and cloth napkins plus he has on hand reusable food containers for his take-home tidbits. He cycles to work and takes the bus. When transportation routes do not mesh, he uses his biodiesel-fueled compact car.

Always on the lookout for those blind spots, Voli says he has a frame of mind committed to discovering wasteful practices.

“There is always a new level,” he said. “You always have to look for the next thing. Next, I am getting hens.”

Voli uses renewable energy as much as possible — he has solar panels, a wind turbine and a solar oven. Rain water, harvested from the rooftop, is used to operate his dual flush toilets and water his garden.

He furthers the reduction of his carbon footprint with having the garden.

“The food is right here. There is no transportation or storage taking energy,” Voli said. “Anyone can grow food. You just have to start somewhere, even if it is growing food in a planter. Everyone has the power to change the system as individuals, you don’t have to wait for governments to do it.”

Despite his delicate treading on terra firma, apparently feather-like compared to his neighbors, Voli is not judgmental of those who have yet to achieve his awareness level of the cause and effect basic decisions make every day.

“I recognize that my being able to help bring real change cannot come from a space of anger, resentment or negativity,” he said.