What You Can Do for Your Country

Video Credit: The above "It's Up to You" video was shared with me by my Sister in New York. It was used in 2010 as an opening video for the National Conference on Volunteering and Service.

We've all heard John F. Kennedy's famous quote, "Ask not what your country can do you for, but what you can do for your country." I wonder, have we asked ourselves that question lately? I am often underwhelmed with the direction of politics these days and the disappointing media coverage that supports it. I think we've all become a little too comfortable asking our country what it can do for us and not what we can do for it. Now, I could also quote Elvis if that would make you feel better? He said, "A little less conversation, a little more action please." Perhaps he wasn't referring to civic service, but I think he was on to something...

Yesterday I was talking to my Sister who works for AmeriCorps. She is helping fight poverty in a very poor area of New York. You would think at least in the Capital Region, Albany and surrounding area, the economy would be doing OK. In reality, the majority often live below the poverty line and struggle to get by. The neighborhoods and downtown centers are depressed, empty old buildings are not uncommon, as compared to the bustling Puget Sound region of Washington State. I visited my Sister in New York over a year ago and saw it first hand. However, these communities, though poor, have something very special about them - they are incredibly resourceful! It is inspiring.

My Sister bought a bike. Since she lives under the poverty line herself, there wasn't a chance she was going to go to a fancy outdoors store and buy herself a brand new bike. So, what did she do? She went to a local Bike Rescue. This community-drive collective of bike enthusiasts find nothing more glorifying than repairing old bikes and making them ridable again. And what do they do with these refurbished bikes? They sell them at a very low cost to people in the community, like my Sister. There is even an option to "Learn and Earn". If you volunteer to learn how to fix a bike, you can have it for free. I've seen pictures of my Sister's bike. It looks great! She says the gears shift smoothly and it is comfortable to ride. Who could ask for more?

So what? Anyone can get an old bike, right? This may be true. But it is so much more than that. This collective exemplifies everything a community should be doing. This group has taken their personal hobby in biking to a whole new level. They aren't just repairing bikes in their individual garages all by themselves, they are doing it together. They aren't repairing a bike and never riding it again, they are using their skills to gift the community. They aren't storing an old bike in the garage while running out to buy something brand new, they are revitalizing what they have. They are making their community more vibrant for themselves and those whom they are serving. And, I bet they are having fun doing it. This is exactly what every community in America needs, thoughtful service-minded people who are engaged with each other working to make the world better around them.

Communities that are low income, like the Capital Region of New York, are getting it right. First of all, not having a lot of money may feel like fewer and fewer choices are available to us. However, having less money also fosters ingenuity and incentives to be resourceful making a community better off. I guess what I'm trying to say is human capital goes a long way too. Too often we focus on monetary things and bottom lines. We pay more and more attention to paychecks and shopping lists. If we want to make our communities better, our country stronger, let's take a closer look at what we already have and work with it. Let's take our skills, talents, and generosity and transform it into service. In a land buzzing of budgets, debt ceilings, and unemployment numbers, this is a welcome call to action in what could become a refreshing and productive new direction for all of us.

Big Community Garage Sale!

I remember as a kid our whole block would get together for one weekend out of the year and have a big garage sale. It was so much fun! I remember gathering what stuff I could from my room to sell so I could get a few extra dollars. It works both ways, though. I also remember going to my share of garage sales and finding some pretty amazing stuff at just the right price!

That is why I am a huge fan of the community garage sale. Sometimes it can be a pain looking up garage sales one by one in the paper. But at a community garage sale, everyone is selling at the same place. It makes selling and buying so much easier.

This weekend in my community of West Seattle, over 250 garage sales will be occurring! How cool is that? Talk about coordination! Last year I went to this event and it was great. I bought a couple books, a colorful kitchen stool, and some antique doilies. But I saw plenty more including kitchen items, electronics, clothing, collectibles, and plants. I didn't even have to study a map, I just walked around the neighborhoods looking at stuff. And my goodness, there is a lot of stuff out there! I'm convinced that for every brand new item for sale in this world there are a handful of used items that are just as good. Remember how sad the toys were in Toy Story 3 when no one cared about them anymore? I feel like Paul McCartney's song Junk should be cued in right about here. There is a home for just about everything!

If you live in Seattle, come check out this wonderful event. If not, consider planning one in your own community! It's a good way to get to know your neighbors too.

Junk

Motor Cars, Handle Bars
Bicycles for Two
Broken Hearted Jubilee
Parachutes, Army Boots
Sleeping Bags for Two
Sentimental Jamboree

Buy Buy
Says the Sign in the Shop Window
Why Why
Says the Junk in the Yard

Candlesticks, Building Bricks
Something Old and New
Memories for You and Me

Buy Buy
Says the Sign in the Shop Window
Why Why
Says the Junk in the Yard

Lyrics by Paul McCartney

Grow Up!

Over the last few months I've been participating in a very cool urban agriculture project known as the Community Orchard of West Seattle. Today, I attended another class in the series. This one was called, "Grow Up". And no, the class wasn't about me, it was all about using vertical space in the garden by constructing simple do-it-yourself supports like trellises and garden stakes. Most of the material for the projects discussed came from bamboo, branches, and hardware store supplies. I discovered it is really easy to build these things with stuff you already have growing in the yard now and by rummaging through a basement. Our lively instructor Lorene of Planted at Home brought pieces from her own garden to share with us. She showcased a bamboo ladder trellis, bamboo garden stakes, and a cloche (boxed structure to cover plants) constructed from branches. It was great! So if you have tomatoes, beans, peas, or any vine that is longing to stretch and reach there are plenty of creative methods out there to try.

I have a south facing patio that I plan to utilize with these techniques. I'm starting seeds from scratch and plan to use the railings and posts on my deck in addition to twine and basic trellises to grow food in my small space. I'm really excited about the possibility to go to rummage sales and salvage stores to find creative ways to support my plants. One person in the class today talked about an old patio umbrella she was going to transform into a trellis to shade her deck. Now that's what I'm talking about! I really like the idea of using what you have to create an attractive edible landscape. Today was a lot of fun and I enjoyed getting involved more in my community. Below are several pictures from the work party that followed the class where I and several volunteers built a bamboo trellis of our own. Others placed stakes for the orchard trees and planted strawberries and herbs. The orchard is well on its way!

Intro photo credit: New College Farm Program

Picnic for the Planet on Earth Day

Earth Day is a little over a week away. Do you have plans to celebrate the Earth? I hope so. After all, it is something we should consider doing every day even if it means a little dedicated time outside on a walk or choosing to bike instead of drive. I think of Earth Day as a day of thanksgiving and reflection.

I depend so much on Earth's natural resources like clean air and water that I often take for granted the many benefits nature provides me including healthy forests that clean the air and filter water, wetlands that store water and prevent flooding, fertile soils that grow my food, insects that pollinate, oceans and rivers that provide healthy fish stocks, and the many beautiful features and landscapes that I love to visit. We are all integrally connected to the Earth - so much that each of us has a story in how we interact with it. How well do you know yours?

This Earth Day learn as much as you can about how you interact with our planet and celebrate its bounty. On Earth Day, I'm participating in a Picnic for the Planet at Pike Place Market with The Nature Conservancy of Washington to encourage sustainable food choices. From Pike Place Market all the way to Singapore and beyond, this is a global celebration of the planet we live on, the food it provides, and the people with whom we share it. I invite you to celebrate in the festivities. Join me and The Nature Conservancy at Pike Place Market for a picnic lunch on April 22nd or host your own picnic in your home town or at your favorite outdoor spot. It's easy and fun. Don't forget to tell your friends!

Happy Earth Day 2011!

You're Invited!

Picnic for the Planet at Pike Place Market!
Friday, April 22nd
Event begins at 11:30 am

Plan Your Own Picnic. It's Easy!
Round up some friends and
take the planet out to lunch!

Getting to Know My Neighbors

It took me not having internet to meet my neighbors.

I live in a house with three separate units. You would think by sharing a house with seven people that I would get to know them. No not at all. This is so typical of my American self, to not reach out to get to know the people that live within a hundred feet of me. Sure, I wave and say hello when I see them, but do I get to know them? Nope. So, what got the ball rolling? I needed something, of course!

The first time I met my neighbors they were the neighbors that live below me. I met them when I moved in to my apartment a year ago. I contacted them because my land lady recommended I give them a call to see if they wanted to share internet. I thought, that's great! I want to save money. They agreed to split the cost with me. But we only talked just enough to exchange the wireless password. Both of us would surely agree we were each very nice people but that was the extent of getting to know one another. Every month I would tape my check to their door never actually seeing their faces. So instead, we carried on waving and saying hello in passing. I would get my internet, they would get a check, and we were perfectly content with things being that way.

Last week, my neighbors with the wireless internet decided to move out. No more internet! So I decided to once again venture off to meet my neighbors, this time the family living in the unit in the front of the house. They invited me into their home. I got to meet their two children, an adorable 4 month old boy and a three year old girl, who believe it or not, dresses up every day and tells her Mom she wants to go play with Erica! Obviously I've made some kind of impact! After visiting for fifteen minutes, I discovered they were sharing internet as well with the neighbors that left so we agreed to start a new account and share internet together.

I'm not one to boast the fact that everyone should get to know their neighbors because I obviously don't have the best track record. But, you should really get to know your neighbors! I am learning every day that there is so much joy in knowing the people around me. Not the people I pick but the ones I have. I am also learning, that there is real value in pooling resources- yes sharing internet- but also sharing things like food by having potlucks, good company, garden space, tools, games, and utilities. By knowing our neighbors, we begin to cultivate our communities, mending them and us into stronger relationship. Building these relationships also creates opportunities for us to be there for one another when we are in need, perhaps just to water our plants when we are on vacation, or to share food if the power goes out or if someone loses a job or is sick. For most of us, reaching out, meeting, and helping the people we know- our family and friends- is routine, but I would say the bigger challenge for each of us is to reach out to the people we don't know- the people we find we are surrounded by day in and day out, our neighbors. Your neighborhood, community, or town needs you! In being more involved, you might be pleasantly surprised that for your effort, you'll receive much more in return.

Transportation Woes and Wows

photo: Patrick Robinson

Talking about transportation sure does draw a crowd. Especially transportation pertaining to getting around Seattle or from one end of the Puget Sound to the other. Let's face it, transportation is one of the big issues facing our cities, let alone our country. More important than social issues you say? Military issues? Environmental issues? Health issues? Economic issues? It's hard to say. Or is it? I've found rather than placing one value over the other, that instead, we look at transportation as a piece woven into and throughout each one. Therefore, it is an incredibly important topic to talk about as we think about the future and the well-being of the communities we live in. How we transport ourselves, and the products we use, is very much a question of sustainability and a happy future.

Tuesday I attended a Sustainable West Seattle meeting that featured city officials and transportation advocates discussing these issues. We talked about how bus systems can be improved to become more efficient for their users (more routes, rapid transit, new routes), how electric street cars could be introduced to get around within a city, how safer bike routes could be provided, and how funding challenges are increasingly problematic for public transit in a bad economy. With gas prices rising every day (12 cents higher than a week ago), we are beginning to once again feel the pinch of high fuel costs. It doesn't take long before we rethink how often we jump in the car to run errands or think twice about what we put in our grocery cart because food prices are also on the rise. Not only are we feeling the stress of traffic we are paying the big bucks getting nowhere.

Solving transportation problems is no easy task, but we are all a part of this challenge, which is the reason why I like the sustainability movement so much. We do have a say, each one of us, in our choices. Part of solving our world's problems is choosing to be an active participant not just someone with an opinion. If you've got an opinion, act on it! I learned that 5,500 people ride my bus route everyday! How cool is that? If a few thousand more people start riding it everyday, it could be in consideration for a bus rapid transit route getting more people from West Seattle to downtown faster. I have several colleagues at work who faithfully ride their bikes to work. I even know of someone at the University of Idaho who rides his bike in the snow everyday! Now we might not all be that fit or willing to brave the elements, but if we want a happy future, with a variety of transportation options, we have to think of alternatives to the status quo. That includes jumping in our cars at every whim, as well as, depending on products that travel great distances from all around the world just to serve our local needs. I think it is time we start freeing ourselves of this gridlock!

Transportation policies and budgets are big and expensive with a lot of political clout. But hear me on this. Last time I checked there were 535 members in Congress (in your mind add your city, county, and state officials to that) and about 310 million people in the US. Sound a little lopsided? Even though it feels like political agendas and corporate influences are too great to overcome, when it comes to sustainability (which almost every issue can be viewed through), the power is with the people! Have your own suggestion for how to improve transportation in your town? Start by deciding how you are getting to work or the grocery store tomorrow.

Community Orchard: Edible Perennials

Our task, to bring to the second meeting of the Community Orchard of West Seattle a couple suggestions for our favorite edible perennials. When I think of planting a garden to grow food, I began thinking immediately about seed catalogs and plant starts. I think about growing tomatoes, cucumbers, and peas. These are all things we are all familiar with. These are annuals. They start entirely from scratch every year with our help and by the end of the growing season they are wilting away from their amazing laboring life leaving us with an abundance of food. But by next spring, after we've eaten our preserved share, again we must think about planting. Edible perennials are different. As a perennial grows, each year its roots grow bigger and more mature. These plants don't have to work as hard, they already have a running start at the beginning of each season. Think of the forest or the woods. These settings are where a majority of our native perennials grow including huckleberries, blueberries, and nettles. Every year their abundance comes back to us with very little effort. This can happen in our gardens as well. If you are interested in an edible landscape, planting perennials are a good way to go. Yes, continue to plant your favorite annuals, but start planting perennials as well!

So what list did the group come up with for favorite edible perennials? These are but a few suggestions- grape kiwi, strawberries, bamboo, lovage, mint, raspberries, fig, asparagus, artichokes, pear, burdock, bamboo, hops, rhubarb, ginger, hazelnuts, walnuts, sorrel, salal, lavender, mushrooms, goumi, rosemary, mulberry, grapes, and horseradish. These were the suggestions of about thirty people that attended the class last weekend. We had a fabulous time selecting perennials for the new Orchard. We followed the morning class with a homemade lunch (coleslaw, squash stew, and cornbread) and then headed outside to continue the sheet mulching from last month (converting grass to garden).

I really enjoy being a part of getting the Community Orchard of West Seattle started. I am learning so much about gardening as well as meeting some wonderful people who are passionate about food, creating strong communities, and building up food security in our city. One thing that really spoke to me in class was this idea of a place based culture. Often we rarely settle in to a place, whether it is a function of where our food is coming (somewhere else), where we work (somewhere else), or where we play (somewhere else). It is hard for us to stay put and depend on our resources at home, in our cities, or know the native species in our own backyards whether they are edible or not. Perennials are a great way to set an anchor, especially in a community orchard. It will be a place where people can continue to connect, eat, and learn for many years to come. It's been a really positive thing to already see happening!

Community Orchard: Before and After Pictures

As I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to show you the before and after pictures from last weekend when I participated in the West Seattle Community Orchard class. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go to the work party after the class where everyone did the sheet mulching (aka "work"), so I was just as excited to see the after picture as all of you (second picture above). I drove over to South Seattle Community College today to get the picture. As you can tell, there is still a lot of work to do turning this grassy space into an orchard but I can see it beginning to take hold! Each month there will be more work parties and I'll share the progress. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

The Designer Becomes the Recliner: An Introduction to Permaculture

Last Saturday I took advantage of a fun opportunity to attend a permaculture and sheet mulching class for the new Community Orchard of West Seattle at South Seattle Community College. Did I mention it was free!? I found out about it by keeping up with Sustainable West Seattle news. The Orchard was started from a generous grant from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. The orchard will be a demonstration site for growing fruit sustainably in our climate and a meeting place for the community to get more involved in local food production. I got to attend the first design session of this space! How exciting. I really wished I could have stayed for the second half of the class, the part where you get your muscles moving and start sheet mulching (going from lawn to garden). The idea is to convert this elongated stretch of grassy space into rich soil so the fruit trees that will be planted here get a good growing start. Wood chip paths will eventually meander through creating space for people to walk, tend to the trees, and pick the fruit.

Now this space won't be your traditional orchard. That's why it is so amazing! It will feature spaces dedicated to yes, fruit, but also nut trees, vegetables, and herbs. It will be a small eden of goodness amidst a bustling college within our city. Now how do you get from boring sprawling lawn to an orchard brimming with food?

New to permaculture? Well so am I. This was a new term for me until recent times. I found that the people who practice permaculture have a difficult time explaining it and I am no different. I am no stranger to that in my own field of study. Here is a definition I came across recently. Permaculture is "... the art of respecting nature and working with it, rather than against it, to cultivate land, plants, and animals and people by fostering mutually beneficial relationships between them. In this sense, it's also the art of achieving the most by doing the least." Doesn't that sound like a wonderful way to approach gardening and land use? Let's work with nature and design a space that is abundantly productive for people, the plants we grow, and the natural systems we want to preserve. Let's be the designer that becomes the recliner and let nature do the work for us. This is the idea behind the community orchard, to anchor the community in a way of growing food locally that sustains us and the people here long after we are gone.

On Saturday, we started from scratch with this big, empty, grassy space. We are all use to seeing big grassy spaces. Just about everyone has a lawn at their house. Lawns are nice to look at but hard to maintain. They require constant watering, fertilizing, edging, mowing, demossing, and aerating. And you can't just have a lawn, you have to have a better lawn than your neighbors! Well that is just silly. Lawns are work. Every time I go for walks in West Seattle I look at the lawns and think, that space would make a good vegetable garden. Lawns are pretty but so is a bountiful garden. I bet you are thinking, well gardens are a lot of work too! Well, it all depends on how you garden (learn more about permaculture). Instead of deciding to pull the grass out or kill it with grass poison, the group collected piles and piles of cardboard boxes for months and flattened them in to a giant heap before covering the grass. The pile sat there like a giant sponge soaking up the rain. Compost piles and mulch were not far away and waited patiently next to wheelbarrows and shovels for willing bodies to begin work. And they began work. Two pieces of cardboard were laid out over the entire lawn (except where the pathways would go) and were then covered with layers of manure, leaves, and compost. This will sit and decompose for 6 months into rich soil to plant in. The grass will be gone! I swear, it's like trick. But this is nature at work. The process of decomposition begins. I look forward to seeing the end result.

I learned so much while attending this short two hour class. I learned what considerations go into designing a community orchard or any garden space for that matter. I learned how to sheet mulch and witnessed an amazing turnout of people in the community eager to get involved. I was able to see how to begin to transform a big empty space into something that will be abundantly productive. The grant for the project will allow trees and vegetables to be put in this year. Educational signs will describe to visitors what is planted where and why. A traditional orchard will be grown in one corner while a forest garden in another (trees, bushes, vegetables, and roots all densely mixed together in the same space). I'm really excited to stay connected to this project. Classes and work parties will occur each month and I will be sure to post updates on its progress. I will post a picture this weekend of the sheet mulching that was done last week at the work party to see how one begins to transform grass to garden. Perhaps we all will be so inspired to do the same in our own yards!

Investing in Community

Big cities, like Seattle, have lots of culture and activities, restaurants and entertainment. But often I find that when people gather in the city they are still wandering the town as individuals rarely getting the opportunity to interact. In a culture of iPods and smart phones, it is no wonder many of us spend more time listening and looking at our gadgets than each other! I'm guilty. I was listening to my iPod on the way home today on the bus. If I'm not doing that, I'm reading. In fact, I barely know the two neighbors that share a house with me. Guilty, guilty! I definitely act like I live in a big city. Do you?

Part of building stronger communities, however, is getting to know each other. There is much power to be had when people unite. People help each other out in hard times, look after your house when you are gone, spare an egg when you can't make it to the store, offer up a spare bedroom after you've lost a job, share apples from their backyard trees, and opportunities arise for children to play together. Heck, maybe you are even so bold to start potluck meals once a week with your neighbors. Why do people do these things? Because people who know each other care about each other. Even greater power comes when people join even more people and advocate for their neighborhoods and schools and make their communities livable and happy places thus giving our concerns for each other and our communities a real voice.

It is in this context, I set out the other night to get more involved in my community. It all began in an empty parking lot. I was soon welcomed by a ski bus that usually runs weekend skiers up to the mountains. I can't ski but that is irrelevant. I got on the bus and it quickly transported me about a half mile down the street to the Duawamish Long House. I got off the bus, gave my thanks to the driver, and walked in to a beautiful building built of cedar, the interior covered in history in the form of maps and artifacts of the once thriving Duawamish Tribe. The reason for my visit, was to attend the annual Sustainable West Seattle winter potluck. Sustainable West Seattle is a community group of people passionate about environmental issues including energy, transportation, food, and stormwater pollution. They are very active in West Seattle and work on several projects to improve the community and promote a sustainable way of living that is good for people and the planet. Judging from the potluck, they have a substantial following and I wanted to be more and more a part of it.

As I walked in to the main hall, homemade food was arranged neatly on the tables including casseroles and salads, main dishes, and desserts. A keg and bottles of wine were not in short supply. The building was filling up and a stage band began tuning their instruments. I could just tell it was going to be a fun time. And it was. I was able to network with some of the Sustainable West Seattle group members as well as visit with other folks attending the event. Music filled the room, dancers took to the floor, and many a conversation were to be had. I spent a good deal of time with a family with three generations present. All raised in West Seattle.

Community and neighborhood gatherings, like this one, are occurring in small towns everywhere across america. Why our cities have to be different I have no idea. It takes each of us, one by one, to build communities that we care about and feel like we're members of. I am convinced by investing in community we will find ourselves much happier and enriched people.