I think what's so great about community garden is that it is all what we've talked about and more. It is a place where we can grow food, where we can enjoy nature, where we can face ourselves, where we can interact with our neighbors, where we can learn (and earn may be), and where we grow. All in all perhaps it's also possible to be a gateway to future opportunities and sustainability. With my limited experiences with community gardens, I now arrive with the understanding that it could be anything that we want it to be. The process is flexible, and it could be tailored to the communities. It certainly doesn't mean that it's easy, and we sure have to be patient. And I think what so great about this listserv is being able to get connected with all sorts of types, shapes and colors of community gardens throughout the US and perhaps the world. As people share their knowledge and experiences, it opens my eyes to all the possibilities as opposed to its limits. Diana
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. - Lao Tzu “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” - Winston Churchill ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ --- On Mon, 1/5/09, Karen Jones <[email protected]> wrote: From: Karen Jones <[email protected]> Subject: [Community_garden] Community Supported Agriculture To: [email protected] Date: Monday, January 5, 2009, 2:23 AM Hi all, While I applaude the work that has been done in Milwalkee to get a half a million dollar grant to do urban agriculture, I venture to say that most of the community gardens in North America are not in the same position. I will also venture to say that that kind stuff is not gardening, it is biodynamic agriculture. It is not community gardening. In my estimation. I'm sure someone will tell me that I am wrong. Agriculture is different than gardening. Agriculture is focused solely on food production. Yield. Bottom line. Community gardeners don't just support gardening! They do it. People go out and garden. For myself and lots of others like me, community garden is not really about food. It is about a little nature in the middle of a poor urban area which has a deficit of public open space, it is about getting to know my neighbours, it is about learning about plants and people. It is about cultivating community. And it is about healthy urban environments. One of our gardeners suffers from anxiety and takes medications for that. During the gardening season she can cut way back on her meds because gardening lessens her anxiety. I'm not sure CSA could do the same thing. We have a poem that we share and I am going to share it with you all. 'The kiss of the sun for pardon The touch of the soil for mirth One is nearer God's face in a garden Than anywhere else on earth. Pretty hard to put a price on that. When the day is done, probably the most valuable thing about community gardens is that they provide a venue for people to get to know each other, nature and themselves. CSA is a good thing. Sure, I support them. But they are not community gardens and I hope CSA never replaces them. Gardens grow alot more than food. Karen --- On Sun, 1/4/09, the john doe experience <[email protected]> wrote: From: the john doe experience <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Community_garden] CSAShares. To: "Mike McGrath" <[email protected]> Cc: "Community GardenNational" <[email protected]> Date: Sunday, January 4, 2009, 5:23 PM thats areally extremely disrespectful joke. maybe its time to dispense with the jokes. there are opulent upper class areas everywhere. can it, im not going to respond to anymore juvenile comments on this thread, some people who make such sick jokes have too much time on their hands. maybe they should go give organic food to sustainable people collecting cans or waiting to eat at a shelter (food that will slowly kill kill them, by the way). our society is truly skewed. On 1/4/09, Mike McGrath <[email protected]> wrote: > anything's possible; where is this rooftop garden? (I've lost track.) Is it > in an 'upper class' area? Are there many of those even left these days? > ---McG > PS: I miss Adam too... > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "the john doe experience" > <[email protected]> > To: "Community GardenNational" > <[email protected]> > Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 5:09 PM > Subject: Re: [Community_garden] CSAShares. > > > > > > > let all bbe fine a nd well, > > > > on the point of "nobody will buy it", i couldnt disagree more. there > > are plenty of "wanna be greens" with, literally, money to burn (or > > snort) than they can be responsible for. posh agriculture is popping > > up in rich neighborhoods everywhere. its not a new thing. people will > > buy into a rooftop csa just to be trendy. others will buy in to keep > > up with the joneses. > > i can remember thirteen years ago when this list was dominated by > > people interested in flower gardens. when i would talk about > > sustainable food shelters and the need for organics( i used to post > > under the name kozan), i practically got laughed and booed of the > > list. adam honingman agreed and supported me, i respected him and > > learned from him so i stayed. > > now, i have been with this a long time and have helped with many > > gardens, and meditated and researched. so,i have evidence and proof of > > what i say. posh agriculture will stick around too, it will help those > > with money to feel elite, and it will hurt agriculture overall because > > most people will resent it (like they did with organics) because they > > cant afford it. then there isnt much cooperation so lots of small > > businesses DONT pop up because the posh want to stay elite, and they > > dont help anybody!!!!!!!! then multinationals come in and buy > > everything (look at the organic industry as an example). then everyone > > loses. see "what the..." is going on. > > > > its time for a cooperative agricultural revolution where small > > business joins lower,middle, and upper class folks together. you know? > > and we are just the folks to do it! > _______________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. 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