Urban Farming in South Central with LA Green Grounds

Last week, I watched a Tedtalk of a man named Ron Finley. I had found a meme that said- "Gardening is gangsta". Awesome! I googled him after seeing that, and watched the Tedtalk. This guy blew my mind. He was saying so much that I was thinking, and a lot that I hadn't thought- but I knew that we were cut from the same cloth and I wanted to get involved.

It happened pretty fast. The next day I was at a home in South Central Los Angeles (which I refuse to call South Los Angeles- like Ron Finley says- they changed the name to remove the stigma, but that doesn't help the people who live their and some of the issues they face in parts of that neighborhood) with a shovel in my hand, helping Los Angeles Green Grounds (which Ron Finley co-founded) install an urban garden. I freaking love these people. LOVE these people.  Here is what they say in their 'about us' page-

"We are an all-volunteer group based in South Los Angeles. We build gardens, with a focus on serving low-income residents and others with scarce access to fresh, affordable food. We also advocate for gardens, open space, and general wellness in S LA and beyond. We run wellness classes and hikes in the Kenneth Hahn Rec Area, which you can keep up with on our Facebook page here. And we also regularly attend community gatherings to table, talk, work, chat, keep up with other goings-on in the food justice/anti-hunger/anti-poverty, and environmental movements in the City… and just to meet new people to work with. We’re keen on creating more spaces for gardening in the City!"

Me and James at the LA Green grounds Dig In

There are remarkable people everywhere, doing amazing things, in your community. I would highly recommend that you find out where they are in your area and help them make the world a better place! One of the people I met at the LAGG Dig-In was a a guy named Jake. He has an organization called Dumbplastic. His role there was to make the event as green as possible- in that there would be an effort to not use any items that are 'single use'. People were asked to please bring a plate and utensils, and not to bring bottled water but to bring a re-usable water bottle or canteen, or you could purchase one of the super cool bottles from Dumbplastic. Its an important message, and one I can't stress enough, and I speak about a lot on my facebook page (www.facebook.com/shakethehive). my family and I went through a case of 24 waters a week. that's 1250 bottles we are now NOT throwing away. Same with almost any single use plastic item- we are doing our utmost- from carrying out own utensils so we never have to use plastic ones...I even carry my own chopsticks...to not using single serve coffee cups every day at Coffee Bean or Starbucks- the re-usable kind of cups are great. That's 365 fewer plastic cups and lids that I am not contributing to the planet.

Dumbplastic's water bottles at the LA Green Grounds Dig In

And if you think that its all getting recycled- think again. Only 8% of plastic waste actually makes it to a recycling plant.  You need to know that the solution isn't recycling- because even that causes so much incredible usage of resources to even produce the recycled product that its almost not worth it.

The truth is that recycling only marginally helps cut down the amount of resources needed to make packaging products such as water bottles. The root of the problem is that there is too much consumption and production of plastics. Try to buy fewer water bottles, because in many cases, tap water is just as clean or cleaner than bottled water.

I love that Jake is trying to educate people about the importance of not using plastics whenever possible. Of course, we live in a world where its not maybe even possible to never use them, but we can use our own bags, water bottles, coffee cups.

Volunteers getting the ground ready at the LA Green Grounds Dig In

And I love that LA Green Grounds is creating urban farms and giving people a chance to have access to an understanding of the benefits of fresh vegetables in their diet. They also visit the recipients at regular intervals to teach them how to can and preserve the fruits and vegetables, how to make nutritious meals with what is planted, how to take care of their little urban farm and they return at each changing season to help install seasonally appropriate plants. Some of them are also medicinal- like lavender and aloe and chamomile, and they help them understand how to use these, too. it gives people a chance at nutrition that otherwise wouldn't have one. The culturally prescribed diet is one that leads to many health issues- the same is true everywhere you go, but Ron Finley asserts that it is more concentrated in areas like South Central, and all evidence points to this being absolutely true.

 

Planting the green stuff at LA Green Grounds Dig In

RESISTANCE IS FERTILE

Its true- urban farming is really a radical thing to do in this day and age. Its these things that we once had to do to survive that everyone is so disconnected from that are truly revolutionary. I think of it like this- if something were to happen that made everything stop- no electricity, no internet or cell phones...maybe a zombie apocalypse? Whatever the case may be- I like to think I would be able to be self sustainable.  Currently- I'm not. My goal is to have my own urban farm, with beehives and chickens, on a property for the Shake the Hive Collective, my non-profit for teenage girls and a resource for the community. It isn't really about some sort of apocalypse- its just a way of  getting some perspective about how dependent we are on the system, how utterly helpless we are without it- and its the very system that is using us as grist for the mill. its the very system that promotes our eating foods that make us ill so they can provide the medication to keep us alive from the illnesses they helped promote. I am not going to get into that here- I've spoken about it at length in previous blogs. The documentaries Forks over Knives and Food Fight chronicle exactly this scenario.

Ron Finley is GANGSTA!!!

We have to be revolutionaries in our own lives. We have to confront the very things that have help enslave us. One of the biggest factors is convenience. As a whole, our culture has been brought to its knees by all of the things meant to make our lives more convenient. Fast food is a prime example. Its not as convenient to grow your own food, or buy local and eat mostly plant based diets- but its much less convenient in the long run to be stricken with diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol and blood pressure, obesity, cancer, etc.  Give up some convenience and you gain health, longevity. You give the planet some breathing room so we can continue to live here sustainably. There is really no good reason to not do so- except that its inconvenient. that's a lot to put at stake for the sake of making things a little easier in the moment.

Join the tribe at the March Against Monsanto nearest you! Its a world-wide event, taking place in cities all over the US and abroad. Check below for the march near you!!!

March Against Monsanto- Be there or be square!!!

Shake the Hive!!!

xoxo,

Ashley Dane