The last week has been filled with people I adore. There was garlic planting and discussion with Stefani and Eric, tea and rabbit talk with Lauren and Violet, and brunch with the fabulous Marcel. It seemed only a perfect end to the week by having an unexpected dinner with Danny Glover. I am not good at celebrity gossip and know very little about most people in the limelight. So when discussion ensued and Mr. Glover was on fire about civil rights, economics and community development, I was shocked and delighted. I have met a few prominent individuals from the film industry and never had the opportunity to be so engaged in a lively discussion on current affairs and practical approaches to create better communities. It appears Mr. Glover studied economics and community development at San Francisco State University (my own undergraduate alma mater). He has been an active advocate for decades and his knowledge of history, economic systems, environmental practices, and community is deeply admirable.
Mr. Glover believes that our current economic condition is not the fault of any one person, or even a handful of people, but rather it is the system we all buy into, literally. He outlined urban economic development as problematic but pointed out that it has only been in practice for the last two hundred years. He encouraged knowing one’s history and understanding the system of capitalism. He also asserted that the only way to shift paradigms is by getting off your comfy seat and working as a community toward change. The deeper questions are what change do we need to see? Is there a best approach? Can we “reverse” damage done at this point? He then turned to me and asked me what I thought could be done.
My answer is that we can only do our part. Meaning, paradigm shift happens one person at a time. If we change our own “systems” and habits and then bring those changes to the community, we are working toward the change we want to see. I gave the example of the food system. It is possible to use a “food lens” to understand the overlapping and urgent problems of global warming, energy crisis, food security and economic downturn. As food is essential in our daily lives, it is also a central and natural force to organize communities. By applying the food lens to urban systems that account for flow of resources, capital, community wellbeing and the corresponding ecosystem it is possible to develop a food system that sustainably contributes to quality and livable neighborhoods, meet the health and nutrition needs of residents, and promote economic vitality, social justice, local self-reliance, and environmental sustainability. To my great surprise Mr. Glover was fully aware of urban farming and garden education and the immense impact it has, particularly on youth. He told a vibrant story of the Catherine Ferguson Academy in Detroit.
The 13-year-old academy, is a school for pregnant and parenting teens. Named after Catherine Ferguson, a slave whose freedom was purchased before she founded the first home for unwed mothers in New York, the school offers a program that helps its students learn about agriculture. Paul Weertz, a science teacher at the Academy is an urban farmer. On his farm, over 10 acres in seven locations around the city, he harvests hay, alfalfa, honey, eggs, and goat’s milk. With the support of the school’s administration, he developed an agriscience class, which works like any standard science class. But, in addition to tests and lab work, the students also learn animal husbandry and how to grow food. The school reports that nearly 100 percent of the students at the Academy are placed in post-secondary college programs. And that the school has sharply reduced the likelihood the girls will have another baby while still in their teens –by more than half of the national average (1/4 of adolescent mothers will have a second child within 24 months of the first).
Though garden based education is not solely responsible for these changes, it has played a significant part in the overall approach of the school. That was the point Mr. Glover was making, garden based education, community gardens, and urban farming play an important role. He noted that garden based education has shifted the development of these teens. Sound familiar? Sounds like the work of Urban Sprouts in San Francisco (coincidentally my husband was wearing his Urban Sprouts shirt which gave me an opportunity to mention their work).
Though I understand appropriate food systems is not an issue everyone wants to take up, my point which seemed to be shared with Mr. Glover, is that we need to change our understanding of community, our place in it and our consumptive habits, all of which starts right now in your own household. Because as Mr. Glover so aptly put it, whatever it takes “this shit has got to change.”
