Glorious Gardens!
I was inspired recently when President Bill Clinton was here in our valley promoting the Humana Challenge golf tournament. As I sat at my computer working on a Tuesday morning, I simultaneously streamed his “Health Matters” conference being held at a local resort. There were some big names featured, such as Goldie Hawn, Billie Jean King, Bob Lanier, Deepak Chopra, Jillian Michaels and Dr. Nancy Snyderman of NBC News. I listened to these intelligent and informed people talk about our country and the challenges we face in terms of childhood obesity, for one. President Clinton talked about a call to action – that the people attending the conference or listening to it not just talk the talk about making a difference, but to walk the talk. Do something about it . . . do something about your own health, do something about your children’s health, your family’s health – wherever your contribution is to be made.
And I started thinking about what I could do. What stands out to me is something near and dear to my heart – gardening, vegetable gardening, organic vegetable gardening. The community where I live doesn’t have a community garden . . . and why not??? There are neighborhoods in the inner city of some of our largest cities in the nations that have come together to create community gardens. And here we live in Southern California, in a valley where a large percentage of our nation’s produce is grown. And yet, many of the cities in our valley have no organized community gardens. What better way to teach our children how to connect with nature and how important healthy eating and organic produce is, than to involve them firsthand in the process. And besides the children, there are many people who may not have the room in their yards or have the resources to build a garden of their own. Their is camaraderie in coming together for a common cause. Is there anyone else out there who feels this need for developing this community resource. I’ve never done this before, but it all starts with a word, in conversation, with putting it out there.
I found a webpage that tells about how to get started. The wheel doesn’t have to be reinvented, there are people already out there who are starting up community gardens all over the country. Here’s the link, hope you find it interesting and feel free to respond if you’d like.
For more info, go to: http://www.communitygarden.org/learn/starting-a-community-garden.php
