SURVEYING

We made surveys to see how many people in our community would support a community garden in their neighborhood and how much they knew about sustainable gardening. Getting people to do surveys was hard! We only knocked on about 15 doors but only got about 4 answers. mostly everyone was at work or sleeping at the time. People we saw on the street that we asked always acted as if they were too busy to check a couple boxes. We did get about 50 surveys back though. About 15 of which came from people around our school. The people that usually filled them out were people at bus stops, people in the nearby park and one person that was standing in her yard smoking along with a lifeguard working at the front desk. It was not easy! I'm actually surprised how many surveys we did get filled out though, we did good!




*ElIzAbEtH*

Surveys

While passing out surveys I learned that it is easier to go during the day rather than in the morning because at that time people are usually either working or sleeping. We went out 3 different days to pass them out and it took a long time to reach our goal to get 50 surveys but we did it. One of the other challenges that we came across was that we couldn't go past certain streets because we wanted to keep it in our community. We got passed these obsticles because we just kept on pushing our selves to keep going and we did it.
Rachel .O.

Walking the neighborhood

We wa lked around and did our surveys today. It was kinda frustrating, because it was early in the morning and we were not trying to walk door to door. So we walked to Columbia park asked people to take our survey. Alot of people we asked didnt want to participate in the survey and they were rude about saying no. So we walked back and seen some people out in there yards and at the bus stop that seemed willing enough to participate.

J.M.

City Council Members and Me.

We, as a group, are presenting to the city council on the 1st of August with our findings. I personally don't feel at all ready, but maybe that's just the nerves talking. We're beginning to write our speech today; I've been assigned the introduction and conclusion. It's the shortest part, but I also feel like it's a really important part. The introduction can either make it or break it, and the conclusion needs to leave the city council with one last thought that will keep them thinking. Along with writing the part, I have to speak it. So I really have to make it something that makes me look like I know what I'm talking about. (Even if I don't)
I feel like I'm a stronger writer than I am a gardener, so atleast that's over I guess. But I have to be honest, city council members aren't my favorite people. Wish me luck.

[IHB]

Gardening Woes

We pulled out the transplanted rose bush and hydrangea today, they both died over the last week, which is sad considering the thorns that are still lodged under the skin of my fingers. I suppose this is a part of the experience, but I am still disappointed.

We have had successes, however, we were lucky enough to get a 20% discount from Buffalo Garden, which rocked! And we had help from Elizabeth's neighbor who pulled out all the dead trees, which saved us a lot of time. Pistils Nursery and Goose Hollow also have donated to our cause and that has helped as well.

As the discussion on sustainability deepens and becomes more entrenched we discover that there is a lot to consider and discover. Vivek Shandas and Steve Cohen have both given us their expertise on sustainable urban agriculture and the one thing that seems to be everywhere is this: PLANT SOMETHING! Make use of the space you have, even if that is only a small balcony, get some pots and plant herbs.

Also, driving around I have begun to notice all the empty lots that are over grown with weeds and dead grass. Could these become community gardens? Land owners, of these potential garden spaces, I implore you: Can you get your community to plant here? Can we start to grow strawberries and lettuce, broccoli, sunflowers, lavender and thyme, oregano, tomatoes and bell peppers? Wouldn't that be nice! And environmentally friendly.

In short there are so many places that a garden could be built, where a community could benefit and help the environment. Community gardens, these little centers of urban agriculture, are a sustainable friendly way to get to know your neighbors, build community, learn about plants, animals and where your food comes from, all while cutting down on CO2 emissions.

-L.M.

Berry Picking

On Thursday, July 6, we all took a trip out to Sauvie's Island to go berry picking, we had to of been out there two hours if not more. We each had two boxes to start off with and we wound up with a lot more than we expected. We got blackberries, marionberries and blueberries, but the blueberries for some reason were bad luck and we kept on dropping them, so we didn't have that many left. It was a blast, even though we were full of thorns, but we also learned at the same time; we saw how all of the berries were set up so that they could survive which gave us a bigger perspective on how to plant our berries at the old folks home. Going berry picking really helped our group to become more close which made a big difference when we started planting.

Darn that rose bush!

So we picked the site where we'd be gardening. Villa De Marcell, an old folks home near our school. They already had a few flowers and berry plants but still had A LOT of empty space that was perfect for gardening. The reason why it was perfect because not only was there a lot of space that a lot of people would see and be able to enjoy, but because it would bring smiles and joy to all the elderly residents. Sadly, the soil is terrible! One area we thought would be great for gardening was a area that was shaded most of the time and had already had dead trees in it. We pulled them out quickly though with no problem! So know we have that space although there's already a lot of litter there.

After talking to the manager of the place, we told her our plans and that one of our plans was to plant them blue berry trees in the area that we pulled the trees out of and a grape on the near by fence. She had something else in mind for us! She thought that spending money on blue berry plants and planting them in a place that barely got sun, would be a bad idea because they'd have a low chance of surviving. It was a good idea, but what she wanted us to do instead was put them in a place where a rose bush already was and where a hydrangea already was. Her reasoning was because it was in a place that was near the porch so the residents could easily pick fruit from the porch and because she didn't like the plants that were already there. This meant transplanting.

We began digging up the hydrangea, and the rose bush at the same time, 3 people on each plant. The hydrangea came out within about 25 minutes. The rose bush on the other hand! It was very hard to work with because of all the thorns. So the whole time we had to be extra careful with handling it although i still got scraped a couple times! The bush had so many roots! So when we thought we were almost done and it looked like we were almost done, we weren't! We didn't want to damage any of the roots so we thought we'd try and pull them out of the dirt. I got so frustrated with that damn rose bush that i sat in the dirt and pulled as hard as i could. Some roots snapped but some roots came out. There was about three huge roots that must have went on for a long time because they were not coming out for anyone! Taking that rose bush out took so long, we all got so sweaty and so dirty, a couple scratches and for me, too many encounters with spiders!

Our Neighborhood

We created a survey on Gardening and sustainability. This survey was put together to give us an idea of how educated our community was on gardening and what they eat. We learned so far that most people have no idea of where there food comes from and they dont really pay any attention to what they eat, But a small percentage of people do care enough about what they eat and where it comes from. A couple people told us that new seasons was a great place to shop for local fresh healthy foods.

J.H.M

"Turning brown fields into green fields."

We've been coming here for four weeks now from eight-thirty in the morning to twelve in the afternoon and we're just about as quiet a group as we have been from the start. But in the midst of all this silence, we've also learned a lot and are taking some action. Recently, we've talked to a few experts, visited a couple of nurseries, and researched local food growth and how it affects us. It was just day before yesterday that we read an article aimed at urban planners written by the Journal of Planning Education and Research. It was really extensive and said things that, being a high-schooler, I wouldn't know how to summarize. However, what I did take away from the article was that local food growth is not a quick solution to all of the world's problems, but a means to an end. It has kept me thinking over the past two days, about what local food growth really means, and what it can do for communities on a global scale if we do it right. Staying organic and going to your local farmers market is just a daily choice that anyone can make if they're conscious of what it can do for the world around them. I think telling people how important it is to make this daily choice could do a lot, even if we don't remind them of all the current issues we are faced with and the fault with their current choices. People need to know the affects of their actions, and uplifted with options. Knowledge is power.

Thanks to our experts: Steve Cohen from the Office of Stustainable Development, Vivek Shandas, and the helpful Portland Nursery employee for answering all of Elizabeth's questions. (We'll learn your name soon.)

[IHB]