JOYFUL PIECE #65
Building community...
A communal garden. Image by d-olwen-dee, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. ‡
Communal gardens build connections across cultures and generations. They could also be called Urban Food Forests as in the story I stumbled upon and reference below. While rules and guidelines may differ, one great benefit is that they offer an opportunity for community building and understanding. Consider this:
People living in small apartments often have no opportunity to garden. Also, many people go through life without meeting their neighbors.
What if they could get their hands dirty while working with neighbors building community food gardens?
What if that chance to contribute and give back to the community helped people overcome their loneliness?
What if those community gardens allowed people to have a green footprint in these times where the carbon footprint is everywhere?
What if those community gardens took over empty trash-filled abandoned lots and enhanced the community living spaces?
In Boston they call these projects Urban Food Forests (UFF). They are open to all comers to visit and take whatever good things nature offers to eat. They are about the size of a house lot. Yet they can pack in over 100 species of plants and trees per acre. Anyone can not only benefit from the produce but also help plant, harvest or just hang out. Since the UFFs are open to all, each ethnicity has an opportunity to contribute and harvest foodstuffs with which they normally build their meals.
The Boston Food Forest Coalition is an important resource for those interested in trying this community-enhancing project. This idea has been around for a while, but this writer has never had an opportunity to participate in a community garden or a UFF.
I am very happy, indeed JOYful to have run into this article. It gives us an opportunity to connect to our neighbors, enhance our common space, and chip away at our current divisive times.
Read it, perhaps give it a try, and enJOY.
Another great article and a JOYful topics and something anyone can start and reap the benefits.
I just love this Manuel.
It's so challenging to grow produce here in SoCal, especially being fairly remote.
But after years of failed attempts, I immensely enjoy certain perennials. The biggest surprise this year was two kinds of kale that have thrived and survived even predators, providing salads for months. And of course my beloved lemons that I eat daily. All varieties of peppers, herbs, and tomatillos and artichokes too. It's so special when we can at least get some of these vital nutrients from our own garden. Thank you!