Los Angeles is the land of smog, sprawl and cosmetic surgery, not known for its ecological or social consciousness. But many people, organizations and ideas are quietly fomenting revolution here. This Earth week, I'll share what these Worldchangers told me about the secretly green side of LA.
Cory Brennan, a permaculturist, is working on a number of food forestry and cooperative industry projects in Los Angeles. She's also a homeschooling mom to two teens, and is part of the team developing Olceri, a self-sufficiency Initiative on the Pineridge Reservation in South Dakota.
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What local Worldchanging organization, project or idea should be better known?
Urban food forestry, as practiced by Adonijah Miyamura on the Crenshaw High School campus and many other pockets of the inner city.
What one Worldchanging practice do you most wish to see flourish in Los Angeles?
Growing our own food in our own yards, using food forestry and permaculture principles to make this truly sustainable.
If you were queen of Los Angeles for a day, what would you do?
- Allow the LA River to permeate the concrete channels and return to the aquifer,
- Plant common spaces with food,
- Recycle way more stuff than we do,
- Change the building codes so that sustainable building is legal and affordable (graywater, blackwater, superadobe structures, etc.),
- Plant rooftops with food,
- Place solar panels alongside freeways, on top of city buildings, under high wires, near railroad tracks, or use other "wasted" common space to create energy,
- Plant low moisture weeds that can be used to create biodiesel in common areas,
- Require all city concrete lots, streets, etc, to include permeable features,
- Create rainwater catchment tanks in wasted common areas,
- Plant food in parks.
And all in one day! ;-)
Describe the LA you'd like to see in 2027
All of the things I just said, plus, cooperative micro-industries abounding, local currencies in full use, green buildings are the norm, food, trees, edible landscaping everywhere (like Havana), artists given more support by the community, unworkable government programs trashed, lots of co-housing, eco-village set ups. For starters :-)
[Food forest at Crenshaw High School; Rain barrel schematic from A Country Garden for Your Backyard by M. Smith]
