Guerilla gardening
By Angie Theado |
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Sustainability is a buzzword that gets tossed around a lot these days, but some dedicated community activists and amateur agriculturists are determined to show Columbus that it's deliciously, nutritiously possible. Our neighbor, Lauren Metcalfe, introduced us to one such group of people working hard to make a difference in Columbus, and on their own terms: the University Area Enrichment Association.
We arrived at the large garden plot Saturday morning to find a handful of people breaking ground with shovels and hoes. Thirty minutes later, there were over twenty people working in the garden with picks and mattocks, even a small tiller, and ten more were gathered across the street in the group's pilot plot, a guerrilla flower garden on the median. On the adjoining square, a petite lady named Susan was swinging a large pickaxe, beaming at the asphalt she unearthed like mined gold.
Catherine Girves, one of the pioneer trustees of the UAEA, spoke with us about the project.
"We want to focus on the natives, and empower people by doing what they want to do," she said. The strategy must be working, as a group of thirty happy gardeners probably constitutes a farm, and it's only one of many communal garden locations they administer.
Their idea is to have an urban garden with one communal plot and a dozen or so personal plots to grow produce for personal consumption; the extra veggies are slated for pantry donations and sale at the Urban Market, a group-effort open only to urban farmers. All proceeds go back into the organization for more seeds, equipment, and other needs, making it a model of sustainability. In a phone interview, Girves said getting it started took "a leap of faith." Co-founder Robert Coldwell, sharing Girves' vision, mentioned that, were she to decide to quit her full-time job and focus on the association, he would do everything he could to support her. She took that support and ran. The garden at Hudson and Fourth streets is just one of more than a dozen in the University Area Enrichment Association's overall plan to strengthen the campus community. The group isn't limited to urban gardening, either; other elements of the organization include orchestrating litter and graffiti clean-up events around the university area, and bicycle-promotion events called 'Pedal Instead,' complete with bike valet service.
"Something unexpected happens everyday, and we always rise to the challenge," said Girves.
I'm already imagining the red sauce I'll stew up with my first harvest, and that's not the half of it. I can get exercise, go green, meet my neighbors, and get some color in my Ohio-winter, sun-starved face for the price of a little elbow grease, and my community benefits. That's a win-win deal no one should miss, and those interested are certainly welcome to get their hands dirty whenever they're ready.
Originally Published: May 1, 2009
