The gardening (non-violent) revolution

Gardening can change the world. The best way to bring people together, to stand in solidarity with their fellow sufferers, is, of course: food. Food is above politics; it is on the side of both the proletariat and the bourgeosie. But food can also be political.

Guerilla gardening allows food to belong the people again, rather than the supermarket. The idea is simple: find some land that's not being used, plant it, then eat the results! In an urban environment, this can be a bold statement. In Cuba, people overcame the loss of imported food and oil from the former USSR by literally digging up the streets and turning them into community gardens, or organopónicos. Now, people are working similar (slightly less drastic, perhaps) wonders in the UK: Todmorden, a town of some 17,000 people in the North East of England, has become an edible urban environment, with community growing spaces outside the railway station, the fire & police stations, the health centre, and in schools. Check it:
http://www.incredible-edible-todmorden.co.uk/projects/community-growing.

The guerillas are mobilising here in Bath, too. There are several community garden sites in the city - http://www.transitionbath.org/guerrilla-gardening - with hopefully lots more to come. The Summerfield Road site, for instance, is happily housing raspberries, blackcurrants, gooseberries, jostaberries, rhubarb, and some hazelnut trees. Here is a picture of some people having fun planting there:

In the words of the great fallen guerilla Cherry Guava: 'Gardening can make food happen, as if by magic. In fact, gardening is a form of magic.'

Tidbit

So far in this module I have volunteered with several different organizations and initiatives, each of which can be considered to have an environmental or ‘green’ ethos. Firstly, I spent some time WWOOFing with the Steward’s Wood community, which is a self-sustaining, permaculture community situated on Dartmoor in Devon. I found this to be a very rewarding experience, as it enabled me to assist the community members in doing things to live more sustainably, as well as to experience first-hand some of the everyday challenges that such communities are faced with. During my three days with the community, the activities I was involved with included: tree-felling (in order to provide firewood for the winter); chopping, gathering and transporting timber; clearing a pathway blocked by a felled tree; and clearing an area intended for planting fruit trees of bracken, nettles and unwanted sycamores.

   I have also become involved with Transition Bath, an organization that promotes active, community-led responses to environmental problems. I have attended and participated in a number of ‘Action Group’ meetings, and through this I have gained an understanding of the workings of such a community group, as well as finding a volunteer role in helping to prepare for and put on the Transition Talks events at the university. So far this has consisted of putting together a list of useful contacts at the university and fliering at different locations on campus, although I am hoping to become more involved in helping to run the events.

Volunteering

Good hello. This b(l)og will primarily be a record of some of my activities on the Community Engagement module at Bath Spa University, which is designed to get students involved in volunteering and to give them a better understanding of the voluntary sector.

I'll be sharing some of the wonderful things I've experienced while volunteering with different organizations and initiatives that can be considered to have an environmental or ‘green’ ethos.

Specifically:

                                                      http://www.transitionbath.org/welcome

 

 http://www.stewardwood.org/

                                                       http://www.exetergreenparty.org.uk/