urban gardens

i am mildly obsessed with sustainable urban community gardens. i found myself trying to study for linguistics today and my mind wandered off into a a beautiful place:

imagine a city that is active, fast, and not time stopping. the city is vibrant, alive, and full of culture. diversity is knocking at its door. oh but wait, despite all of this movement, these people care and love their city and the environment. people can't wait to wake up on a saturday morning for farmers market to support their local farmers and the local economy. people have urban gardens right outside their flats on the patio and some within the city to support their people. people desire to learn about alternative health and the benefits of organic food.

i feel like the bay area does this well, but it is only in certain pockets. i am sure seattle has almost mastered it. i hope i can live to see the day where buildings are run by solar energy, people drive hybrids all the time, and fostering community through gardens is important. check out this article: best cities for urban gardens.

from the daily green on seattle:
"Seattle's P-Patch Program provides 68 gardens for residents throughout the city, with plans for four additional gardens by the end of 2009. The program was created by the Department of Neighborhoods and the nonprofit P-Patch Trust in 1973. Their volunteer-run community gardens offer 1,900 plots and serves more than 3,800 urban gardeners on 23 acres of land. With a youth gardening program and a 12.3-ton produce donation last year, Seattle is a city built for horticulturists."

representing socal- long beach:
"Long Beach Organic started as the vacant lot task force, identifying vacant lots and turning them into community garden spaces. Over the past seven years LBO has maintained many gardens, including three community gardens and one demonstration garden at the local nursery. LBO community gardeners come from many ethnicities and grow anything from sugar cane and lemongrass to sunflowers and tomatoes."

i really think God wants us to take care of our earth and our bodies in a way that glorifies Him.

while i was drifting off into this thought... i started thinking about how fun it would be teaching my kids (if i become a teacher) about environmental sustainability and teaching them about compost. maybe even taking them on a field trip to clean up whatever city we are in! hm, these are the kinds of things that excite me.

here is a fun site to explore: Urban Gardens.

Californian: Born and Raised.

True confession: If you were to ask me last year about America's culture, I would say "Ah, What Culture?" Or I may have responded by saying "Get me out of here!"

That has changed.

I am coming to realize how rich and diverse this lovely country is. Being born and raised in both Southern California andNorthern California, I have seen the West Coast side of things. I breathe it and live it.

I dream about swimming in the ocean, making peace with others, smelling the trees of the forest, going on drives on windy roads leading up to the diamonds in the sky, listening to my friends play the guitar while I soak it all in, going on hikes and enjoying life with friends, and roaming the streets of San Francisco on a sunny day.

Being in this program has made me realize how different people are... right here in my homeland, the Untied States. We have people from the West Coast, the Mid-West, the South, and a few from the East Coast. All so different. Everyone has a different story, a different background, and something different to contribute to the group. It is a beautiful thing.

It has made me realize that I have been in my "west-coast bubble" for far too long. I have explored ten different countries... yet have not explored the whole Untied States.

My new goal should be to see all 50 states... but I am not going to commit to that goal quite yet.
The states I already have down:
California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Texas (still need more of it), Florida, Washington D.C. (not a state), New York, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Stopped in New Mexico on a plane (does not really count... but I don't have much a desire to go there), Georgia (Atlanta just for a day), Hawaii, and hmm thats about it.
So 37 more to go. Woah... I have the west coast vibe down... I think I need to explore the places that are unfamiliar to me. I really need to explore Colorado during the summer, I know that. Possibly the South? Maybe the Mid-West? We shall see where this desire leads me.