Methodology, but there's not just one!

After Ed agreed to Courtney’s proposal, how did we now get started?

1.     Starting a committee

            -Members of the class were invited if interested to join. The excitement came along with the    interest in bring a community garden into their lives.

2.     Choosing your spot

                       

            -We were granted two garden beds at the MLK garden on South Side Mountain in the Lehigh Valley.

3.     Tending the contract (setting up rules and guidelines)

            -Everyone decided that 10 hours and a combination of 8 blog posts (200 words each) was a feasible and comparable requirement to an original 10-page proposed paper.

4.     Divvying the responsibilities

     

      -Paperwork aside, what needed to happen to the garden? What kind of position was it in?

            -Having already pulled the cereal rye out on bed #5, on Monday, April 30^th, I cut the rye and broke apart the bigger root-clods, putting them on top of the garden bed. I then added 4 more paint buckets of compost to the top of the bed, turning it all under. I say this because I                   was there on my own and was unable to share with you!

5.     Making it legit

            - Digging our hands through the soil. Commitment to the garden will become             contagious.

6.     Expanding your initiative

            -Engage in practicing local agriculture in all areas that you spend allocated time. Just because one doesn’t have access to land, doesn’t mean you don’t have access to other ways of urban agriculture techniques. However you get to this stage, congratulations! There is no sole correct way to establish your own local agriculture initiative, but some of these points were essential to our success as individuals with a shared passion in taking part in a community garden. 

            If you would like a summer read this summer, a book called “Urban Farms” by Sarah Rich is scheduled to release in June. The book is focused around in depth looks at 16 innovative farms located in metropolitan areas across the United States. Individuals within communities committed to growing their own fruit, vegetables, and even animals operate each farm. People are showing that they are catching on to this local movement and this book shows the rise of environmental awareness, food culture, distrust of mass production, and mainly the do it yourself outlook in life. I have already heard             great things about the read!