What’s Going on in Sustainability:

Although I owe much of my voice to the internet, reading my farming updates would be a lot harder if blogs didn’t exist, I was reminded last Thursday that the power of community truly comes from people sitting in a room, and working off each other’s energy.

After a year of being a part of the Philadelpia Urban Farming Network’s listserve, and getting all of the amazing updates of resources, events and projects, I felt that there was a little bit of a connection missing. So I sent out a request for a potluck/meeting of everyone doing farming in Philly. That request manifested into a packed house of over forty people, some amazing food, great conversation and a huge step in the direction of sustainability for Philly.

This huge step came by giving our farming community the opportunity to begin thinking about a viable, alternative system for what’s been branded as a “green” or “sustainable” economy. The people who are on the ground in Philadelphia realize that although getting organic foods into supermarkets is important and protecting secure, sustainable and beautiful green spaces needs to be enacted in the legislature, it will take the power of our community to make this change happen, and not just outside sources like corporate supermarket chains or the federal government. So we had our say, and here are some of the amazing things that came from people throwing out a dream to the group for others to brainstorm on how to make the dream possible.

-We decided that we need to streamline all urban ag farms, groups, events and info into one website. We’ve talked to a designer and the site should be up and running soon.

-The idea of a community green house was brought up. Many communities need space to extend the growing season and this cooperative idea can serve that need. Currently, we are looking into land, a green house provider and people to run the green house.

-A neighborhood gleaning project that was brought up last summer was also brought up again and will hopefully be taking shape for the 2010 season.

-We also talked into the future, thinking about the need for more compost facilities, and the need of a centralized distribution system that will help growers distribute the food that they grow for sale more efficiently.

Now, if this was at any other point in time, these ideas would have just seemed like idealistic hope. But we have so many talented people on the ground who are willing to create a cooperative system. As we look to Seattle, which has called 2010 the year of Urban Ag for their city pledging ten new urban farms and improved land regulations that make gardening, livestock raising and produce sales more accessible, Philly needs to keep pace. And in this city where the municipal government can be slow to act on such matters, it is up to us as a collective voice to steer our city to the sustainability this world needs now, not tomorrow.

So, I’m renewed with hope that this season, farming projects won’t exist in a vacuum, but will be a part of this movement.

In other news, I was so antsy to do something with my hands after being out of the garden for almost three months, that I tore apart a fouton that my partner and I found on the side of the rode and turned it into a really nice bench swing and an Adirondack chair. It was pretty easy, I cut the fouton by about 60/40. I took the bigger piece and disassembled the one side of the frame and reattached it to the bigger piece. I then took the armrests and cut them down and then sistered them onto the sides with the cut pieces.

I then took the smaller piece, I angled the back piece of the fouton with scraps I had from sistering the arm rests onto the bench, added some legs to the side, and put armrests on the legs and that was that. I used everything but the mattress. I know that this little anecdote seems odd after such a momentous installment, but hey, it’s the little things that make sustainable life worth living too.

Until next week, this is the note from the urban homestead.