This blog is mostly about community gardens and sometimes about bicycles, but I, the blogger, am primarily an artist, and only a gardener with effort and a cyclist with great effort. It is hard, figuring out how to apply my artistic strengths (theater, film, writing) in support of what I care about (community gardening and urban agrictulture). This entry is a reminder and an indulgence. Please: Indulge along with me.
The Next Small Thing
Wanda Strukus is a writer/director/filmmaker who likes small things with large ramifications.
The Community Garden Project is a documentary film about urban gardens. And community. It is about our desire for a little plot of land, and our need to grow something of our own. It is about sustainability, how we eat, and how we care for one another. Or not.
The Community Garden Project is a documentary film about urban gardens. And community. It is about our desire for a little plot of land, and our need to grow something of our own. It is about sustainability, how we eat, and how we care for one another. Or not.
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SHARING BACKYARDS (Oh, Canada! Part III)
This is so, so interesting to me. And not just because it’s Canadian.
I confess; my current city does not have its urban agriculture act together.
It has one (1) community garden, inconveniently located on the outskirts of the city. It took a fair amount of research for me to discover its whereabouts. And while you might think it’d be easy to get a plot in a secret garden once you discovered its magic location, it turns out I’m number 29 on the waiting list and will continue to be so for years.
Clearly, the city could use more than one secret community garden. For perspective, the two adjacent cities have 12 and 15 community gardens each.
My city (my city!) has absorbed “community gardens “ into its “urban space plan,” a project so steeped in bureaucracy that it pits playgrounds for children and community gardens against one another in terms of priority of funding.
But then.
Enter “Sharing Backyards,” a project created by Vancouver-based City Farmer.
Sharing Backyards is a program that connects private land-owners (homeowners with yard space) to people who are looking for garden plots.
Abracadabra.
Bureaucracy-free community gardens.
I’m meeting with some garden-activists tomorrow, and we’ll take a look at the Sharing Backyards model. Truth be told, what works above the 49th parallel does not always (does not usually) work in the States, but it’s worth a try. Community gardens don’t need to be a “city” project, and frankly, many of the most successful, longstanding community gardens in NYC, Boston, and other U.S. cities are the products of grassroots, community, and guerrilla efforts; the official city stamp came much, much later.
If you’re curious, here’s the link to the sharing backyards website:
http://www.sharingbackyards.com/welcome
And if you haven’t checked out City Farmer: http://www.cityfarmer.info/about/
He’s not quite advocating seed bombs, but in this 1908 gardening magazine article, Thomas McAdam urges readers to join “The Roadside Gardening Club” (a fraternity without officers or dues) to help restore some of the disappearing local plant-life. Here’s an excerpt:
“All we ask is that in your leisure time this year, you spend the equivalent of one day’s time in beautifying one portion of the roadway that you use daily. You can become a member of the Roadside Gardening Club if you move one native tree to the roadside, or three bushes or six vines or two dozen perennials of one kind, or sow one ounce of seeds in such a way as to form a permanent, self-supporting colony.”
McAdam was way ahead of the sustainability curve.
“If you will write me…I will send you without charge any interesting news or help I get; tell you the Latin names of any of the plants mentioned below and where you can see pictures of them; explain how you can get seeds of native plants cheaply by the ounce or pound; and show you how you can get plants in quantity of any desirable variety that has been exterminated from your neighborhood.
In return I ask two favors: first, that you send me a stamped, self-addressed envelope for reply; second, that you send me for publication any photographs that will help the cause, preferably a picture showing “a colony established by yourself.”
In the early 20th century, folks in the U.S. were (already) panicking about nature, vanquished and vanished from their lives. And McAdam was (already) seeking a solution with “no bulky committees and no red tape.”
Enter, Guerrilla Gardeners.
Thomas McAdam. “Join the Roadside Gardening Club Now – a new fraternity that has neither dues nor officers and only one aim, viz., to make every foot of your daily walk or drive delightful the year round without expense.” The Garden Magazine. Vol 7. No. 6. July 1908. 322-323
MUNROE STREET: SOIL. MEMORY. COMMUNITY. GARDEN.
Helen’s grape arbor is quiet and cool on this sultry July day. I’m visiting Helen, Lenni, and Eric (and Helen’s dog, Henry!) at their Munroe Street garden, and we revel in the shade as we talk about my new favorite model of urban gardening: The Communal Garden.
Helen bought the Somerville hill-top house in 1995 from an Italian American family who’d lived there many years, growing abundant crops of tomatoes, basil, oregano, and grapes. Helen fell in love with the large, sloping garden that offered a quiet oasis from city life, even when she first saw it in snow-covered winter repose.
But then spring arrived and Helen and her former partner realized they now owned an enormous urban garden – far larger than two people with full-time jobs could manage. On a visit to the local growing center, Helen discovered that the neighborhood community garden had a 60-person waiting list.
And the proverbial light bulb went off.
Helen loves gardens, and she loves community.
Match!
She spread the word that she was looking for gardeners, and pretty soon, “people started showing up.” Friends, friends-of-friends, acquaintances, fellow dog-walkers, new neighbors, and happenstance encounters grew into a community of ardent gardeners – friends, philosophers, activists, community.
“Over at the community garden it’s like, ‘Here’s my plot, that’s your plot.’ This is cooperative.”
In the garden, there are no borders, no boundaries, no “mine” and “yours.” An early-spring pot-luck calls the gardeners together for the year’s planning meeting where everyone puts forth his or her “wish-list” for the season’s crops and informally shares gardening knowledge gained from previous years. Seeds are purchased and in March, Helen’s basement, a dedicated area for potting tables, becomes the activity center.
Once the plants go into the ground, at least seven of the gardeners share daily watering duties, and because the garden is communally cared-for, it’s dotted with hand-written signs that identify the plants in each section and provide helpful notes about care. The crops include fruit (currants, peaches, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes, apples, pears), vegetables (lettuce, chard, onions, collards, kale, tomatoes, squash, garlic, peppers) and herbs, and with such diversity of both crops and gardeners, notes are helpful!
Helen is the gracious steward of the garden, ensuring that the knowledge gathered over 16 years remains available to the gardeners. Along with detailed notebooks and beautiful maps dating back to 1997, there is a collective oral history and an oral culture of knowledge about the garden and the people who helped it grow. As we explore the garden, Helen, Lenni, and Eric point out the different sections and fill the lush afternoon air with the names of the gardeners and friends who’ve left their mark.
Todd instituted the drip irrigation system.
Taylor made jam from the currents and shaped much of the garden design and philosophy.
The hops are remnants of Tim’s beer experiment.
Dave-the-worm-guy was passionate about the compost produced by worms.
Jessa must have drawn the maps.
While some information is physically recorded and archived, much of the knowledge is practical and must be passed down by working side-by-side with someone who has done it before – informal community apprenticeships happen at Helen’s urging, so that while gardeners come and go, knowledge and memory remain part of the garden.
I sample raspberries and currants, poke around the potting shed, and take a lot of photos. Before I leave, Lenni hands me a gift-bag of greens: red and green lettuce, kale, and collards! I’ve just come for a visit, but I already feel rooted in this community.
Eric paraphrases the writer, Wendell Berry, who identifies local culture as having two projects: “One of those is to build soil. And the other one is to build memory. That’s what community is all about, to build soil and memory. I think that’s one thing that we’re doing here.”
Yes, Indeed.
Nice work, gardeners!
Remember Julie Bass, the Oak Park woman who was cited by city authorities for having an illegal front yard vegetable garden? (July 8th)
Well the good news is that Julie and her garden suddenly got some breathing space from the city, and the hearing and potential 93 day jail sentence are on the back burner. Julie’s case went viral and it seems like the 30,000-plus Facebook supporters plus email and petition campaigns helped to put some pressure on the city.
However.
It’s important to note that the charges have not been “dropped” as many media outlets are reporting; the charges have been “dismissed without prejudice,” which allows for re-filing the case in the future.
The apparent reason for the dismissal without prejudice is City Prosecutor Eugene Lumberg’s desire for more time to consider the circumstances.
“I want to look at it, I want to see the facts, I want to see where this vegetable garden is going and make a determination of whether or not to prosecute under the existing ordinance, write a new ordinance and (examine) the public welfare…She may decide to grow a cornfield. If she plows up a compost heap, what are (we) going to do?” (Eugene Lumberg quoted in The Detroit News 7/15)
We can only hope that Lumberg will also use some of this extra time to get a little general education on gardening!
The bad news is that even as the City dismissed the garden charges, they simultaneously reinstated charges against Bass for her (formerly) unlicensed dogs. Back in June, as city officials were investigating the garden, they also ticketed Bass for the dogs (although the city ordinance states that owners of unlicensed dogs receive a warning prior to a ticket). The Bass family paid their fines and licensed the dogs, but she still has a hearing – now for TWO misdemeanors (one for each dog) on the original garden hearing date of July 26th.
Eh?
There’s some speculation that the city is attempting to paint Julie as a habitual petty offender (you KNOW what an unlicensed dog does to your reputation) and waiting for the media blitz to die down before re-filing the case against the garden.
But no worries; we won’t forget about you Julie!
If you’re in Oak Park, there’s a City Council meeting tonight: Oak Park City Hall, 3600 Oak Park Boulevard, Oak Park, MI 48237-2090
You can also check out “Oak Park Hates Veggies” on Facebook, Julie’s blog: http://oakparkhatesveggies.wordpress.com/ .
From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110715/METRO02/107150397/Charges-dropped-against-Oak-Park-woman-over-veggie-garden#ixzz1SSZiFfTT
GARDEN MAPS AND MEMORY
I’m a little bit in love with the thoughtfully drawn and preserved maps and notebooks that document the history of this most amazing community and communal garden. We stood around the table, sighing as we leafed through the pages.
Paper, pencil, and dreams of what could be grown.
But if you think the maps are astonishing, wait until you meet these most generous gardeners! More on my visit coming soon!
FIELD TRIP – UMASS AMHERST PERMACULTURE GARDEN!
“The Chancellor said the word “permaculture” at commencement this year, to a crowd of 30,000 people…the Chancellor talked about permaculture.”
(Nathan Aldrich, Sustainability Specialist, UMass Amherst Franklin Permaculture Garden)
It’s a bright-and-shiny scorcher of a day and I’m strolling the Franklin Permaculture Garden with Nathan Aldrich, the garden’s sustainability specialist and one of the original members of the student team who proposed the garden as a class project back in 2009.
Driven by concern about the troubled U.S. food system and a desire to build something that would benefit their local community, a group of students, including Aldrich, who were taking a sustainable agriculture course, designed a plan for establishing a permaculture garden on ¼ acre of lawn outside one of the dining halls. The plan reached an impasse when it was discovered that the requested location was slated to become a parking lot. But when the parking lot plan fell through, the garden project became a reality. With the students and the university administration unified behind the plan, the garden broke ground and had its first planting this spring.
The garden is a great template for thoughtful planning and design, and community inclusiveness. Aldrich notes that some very large meetings were organized to allow all stakeholders to weigh in on the planning process. And with the help of many eager volunteers, they set about turning the lawn into nutritious garden soil – check out the video documenting the process here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWHSzGDItBA
And while the spring planting was delayed a bit by the late arrival of all-important water tanks, UMass is well on its way to establishing a low-maintenance permaculture garden.
The food that’s grown (including tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, squash, basil, culinary herbs, and a great fruit selection featuring pears, peaches, quince, blueberries, and beach plums) will be served in the dining halls, but as Aldrich notes, the garden can’t feed the entire campus, and that’s not its purpose. The primary purpose of the garden is to educate the vast number of people who come in contact with it, as active volunteers or as members of the community at large. In addition to college students, volunteers and guests come from neighboring schools, community groups, and even administrative offices, and everyone who visits learns a little about permaculture and food sources as well as gaining some skills for growing their own food.
I offer the story of the Amherst permaculture garden as an antidote to the absurd shenanigans in Oak Park, Michigan: here’s a great example of what happens when an institution gets behind a community initiative instead of trying to squelch it!
And I highly recommend the UMass Permaculture Garden blog and website:
Hard on the heels of all that community and government love behind the Hunger Free North Dakota project comes Oak Park, Michigan, with a decidely different relationship to gardening.
You may have heard about Julie Bass, a resident of Oak Park who constructed raised beds and planted vegetables in her front yard after the yard was torn up for sewer pipe installation. Despite the garden’s tidy-ness, the nutritional value it provides for her family, and its popularity with the neighborhood kids, the city of Oak Park has ordered Bass to remove the garden or face 93 days in jail.
Really?
City code states that all unpaved portions of a site shall be planted with grass or ground cover or shrubbery or other suitable live plant material. The violation ostensibly stems from a disgreement over the meaning of “suitable.”
Oak Park’s Planning and Technology Director Kevin Rulkowski says, “If you look at the dictionary, suitable means common. You can look all throughout the city and you’ll never find another vegetable garden that consumes the entire front yard.” (Action News article link below.)
“Suitable” and “common” (or” commonly-occurring”) do not actually mean the same thing, but that’s hardly the point.
Oak Park is a small and struggling community, like so many others across the country. And like so many other communities, they have complicated codes, ruled, and identities that need to be negotiated and respected.
But.
Right now, Oak Park has an opportunity to enter into a dialogue about its relationship to food, health, environment, and community, and perhaps make some changes. Julie Bass might look like a problem to the city authorities, but she’s really a gift.
You can help Julie and Oak Park by participating in an email campaign addressed to Rulkowski and city council members and managers, gently helping them to see this great opportunity to grow as a community, and perhaps take a page from neighboring Detroit’s community gardening book!
Julie’s blog with helpful press links:
http://oakparkhatesveggies.wordpress.com/
The Action News Story w/video:
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/oakland_county/oak-park-battles-city-over-vegetable-garden-in-their-front-yard
Oak Park’s Municipal Cite:
Email addresses for Oak Park’s Technical & Planning Director, Kevin Rulkowski and city council members and managers:
krulkowski@ci.oak-park.mi.us, gnaftaly@att.net, mmseligson@comcast.net, adjack@comcast.net, paul4oakpark@yahoo.com, duplessis2@aol.com, rfox@ci.oak-park.mi.us, dlemanski@ci.oak-park.mi.us, smoulton@ci.oak-park.mi.us
(Thanks to the respondants on http://kitchengardeners.org for providing the emails and CaretoCare for picking up the Action News story!)
(Photo credit: Julie Bass)
Hunger Free North Dakota Garden Project!
I tend to focus on local-to-me garden projects, but with both TreeHugger and the BBC writing about North Dakota, I had to take a look.
Sami Grover at Treehugger notes, “the most powerful sustainability efforts are those that reach beyond individual lifestyles, and into the realm of community identity and cultural change.”
The Hunger Free North Dakota Garden Project concurs, and with a partnership that includes community gardeners, the Department of Agriculture, the Farmers Market and Grower’s Association, and others, it starts with the simple request for gardeners to grow an extra row of vegetables for those in need. Last year, the project provided over 350,000 pounds of food to agencies that feed the hungry.
Seems like they are well on their way to changing their food culture!
You can check out Paul Adam’s BBC article and Grover’s Treehugger follow-up below.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14022795
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/07/community-gardening-fight-hunger.php
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