. . . As the trio cleared a bed for planting seedlings, Saba said, “I love gardening, It’s cool. It’s nice. And you can get your hands dirty without getting yelled at. You get to plant things and when they grow, you pick them.”
Such interaction between kids and adults is one reason that Ms. Kohn, an urban agriculture apprentice for the Greening of Detroit (www.greeningofdetroit.com), is encouraging families in the neighborhood to come to the garden to work, visit, and harvest fresh produce.
Another reason is that she and others see such urban gardens – 355 of them so far, planted throughout the 139-square-mile city – as vital to the revitalization of Detroit, often called a rusted out industrial city. . . .
Today, with 25 percent of the land in the city vacant due to the removal of many residential and commercial buildings, Ms. Atkinson has been instrumental in developing gardening and youth education programs to help stabilize and redevelop neighborhoods. . . .
“What we’re doing is to start with one block, and we don’t dare move until we take care of that one block,” he says.
Another key ingredient to the city’s gardening success is Earthworks, founded in 1997 by Rick Samyn of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen (www.cskdetroit.org) on Detroit’s East Side.
Brother Rick noticed that the poor were buying their food at gas stations, and kids were calling Coke and chips a meal. He began a small garden in a vacant lot and two years later developed six other lots by removing debris and regenerating the soil with compost.
The gardens now supply food for the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, which prepares 2,000 meals per day, and the Gleaners Community Food Bank (www.gcfb.org/site/PageServer), which distributes 25 million pounds of food each year.
Four years ago, Earthworks added a 1,300-square-foot greenhouse that produces more than 100,000 vegetable seedlings for family, community, and school gardens across the city.
However, gardening is not just an economic or a community-building asset. It’s considered therapeutic and healing, especially for urban children who often live in a violent and unsafe world.
“The toughest children derive a sense of pleasure and accomplishment by growing plants,” says Sister Nancyann Turner, manager of the youth program at the soup kitchen. . . .
The urban garden movement began in Detroit in 1992 when Jimmy and Grace Lee Boggs, local labor and civil rights activists, envisioned a different future for the city since it was clear that industrialization was gone forever.
They founded Detroit Summer (www.detroitsummer.org), a multiracial, intergenerational collective that works to transform citizens and their communities by confronting problems with creativity and critical thinking.
“Actually, it was a blessing that Detroit no longer had the illusion of expansion,” says Mrs. Boggs, now in her 90s. “You can bemoan your fate or, as the African-American elders taught, you can plant gardens.”
As the garden movement caught on in the city, partnerships developed among people and organizations and became known as the Detroit Agricultural Network (DAN).
Each summer for the past 11 years, DAN has held a two-hour bus and bicycle tour to show off the community gardens to the public and to demonstrate how gardens are influencing larger issues such as reducing crime, cleaning up trash-strewn lots, connecting people to nature, nurturing leadership in citizens of all ages, and improving property values.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
A model for Salem: The Greening of Detroit
Hat tip to The Progressive Review for this pointer to this important piece in the Christian Science Monitor about Greening of Detroit:
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Also sweet! (Must be the Earth Day)
A rooftop CSA! Putting what is normally dead space atop urban buildings to better use.
Hugely important behavioral study
Crucial study here. If this finding can be generalized---and I see no reason that it should not be---then this is a vital challenge to those of us who are interested in fostering sustainable behavior in Salem (or anywhere else, for that matter). Hat tip to Sightline Institute's blog "The Daily Score:"
Yes, I'd Like Fries With That
New study shows we're our own worst enemy.
ERIC HESS
Monday, April 20, 2009
"Sprawling from Grace, Driven to Madness" -- free viewing from 1,000 Friends
A New Documentary: Sprawling From Grace
In honor of Earth Day, in partnership with Cinema Libre Studio and Grapeflix, we would like to offer you the opportunity to view David M. Edwards' powerful new documentary, Sprawling From Grace: The Consequences of Suburbanization, online for free!
The film features Bill Clinton, former governor Michael Dukakis and many other leaders on the issues of suburban sprawl and the need for better public transportation, centralized planning and renewable energy.
For a preview, visit www.sprawlingfromgrace.com
Or check it out on Facebook.
So check it out -it's free- and once you've viewed the film, we ask that you consider making a secure donation for at least the same amount it might cost you to see the film in a movie theatre! The filmmaker and distribution company are allowing all donations to come directly to us so we can continue our important work.
The free online access starts Monday, April 20 beginning at 8:00am ET through Wednesday, April 22 at 11:59 PT and can be viewed at any time during that period.
So start watching it now – it's easy!
Go to http://www.grapeflix.com/Category/frmCategoryDisplay.aspx?CategoryID=3591
Click on the green "Play Online" button
Register for Grapeflix VOD (video on demand)
Test your system to make sure you meet the minimum requirements to view the film online. (After the test is complete, click 'Continue' to watch the film. If you get taken back to the Grapeflix homepage, just click on the link in step #1 of these instructions and then click "Play Online".)
A window will pop-up with the embedded video player
The film is viewable in full screen by clicking the full screen button on the video player or by double-clicking the video player in Firefox. To ensure you will not have difficulties viewing the film please –
Disable all pop-up blockers. (Enable Active X)
Use Internet Explorer
Upgrade Windows Media Player to version 11
Confirm that you have a stable high speed internet connection.
Allow time for the film to buffer after the video player pops up.
*Please note: the Grapeflix system work best with a Windows operating system and Windows Media Player 11.
Further help with Grapeflix can be found here: http://www.grapeflix.com/Index/frmPlayerHelp.aspx?QID=49#answers
Contact Grapeflix here: http://www.grapeflix.com/Index/frmContactUs.aspx
If you enjoyed the film, click on the orange button on the Grapeflix page to tell your friends about it.
The film will be available on DVD this week at Cinema Libre Store, online at Grapeflix and through other major retailers.
We hope you enjoy it and find it as enlightening and inspiring as we do. Again, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our organization by clicking here.
Enjoy!
The Team at 1000 Friends of Oregon
Transition Initiatives in the NY Times
The NY Times Magazine profiles the Transition Initiatives movement -- like the one just beginning to STIR in Salem -- the Salem Transition Initiative for Relocalization.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Stupidest corporation of the century so far
Robodialing the people on your "Do Not Call" list -- to tell them that you can't call them so they're missing great offers!
Truly, where are the Darwin Awards for corporations? Should we call them Schumpeter Awards?
(Hat tip to Oregon Media Insiders blog.)
A life and death reminder
Your support means so much!Happens every year. Weather improves. Sun-starved Salemites seek sensuous, salubrious solar sensations. So they get outdoors. :^)
Thanks to you and your generous blood donations, our community will be able to help our victims of tragedy and ill health.
You are someone who cares enough about our community to give life-giving blood. Our neighbors depend on us for life... and we depend on you for continued loyalty. Your continued support is greatly appreciated by us as well as the many people you help with your donations. Have a good day!
Visit our website or call 1-800-GIVE LIFE (448-3543) for more information.
We look forward to hearing from you.
The American Red Cross
Pacific Northwest Blood Services Region
3131 N. Vancouver Avenue
Portland, OR 97227
(503) 284-1234
But accidents go up. While blood donations go down. :^(
It's important: if you are eligible to give blood -- and most people are -- do it. The life you save may be someone you know. And, even if not, it's someone important to someone.
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