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]