Sandy Pederson, the creative mind behind the not-just-for-profit Urban Land Army (ULA), has been hard at work cranking out fresh new ways to free anyone who's long been caught in the clutches of industrialized agriculture.
The Urban Land Army arms citizens with buckets, vegetables, and knowledge to help familiarize grocery-store dependent eaters with the growing process. ULA states that their mission is to build more resilient communities within Seattle by providing some of the most basic elements needed so citizens can grow good food right on their doorsteps.
As Pederson describes it,
"Urban Land Army is here to offer up some information, pictures, and quality goods to help you feed yourself and become a bit more self-sufficient in the city. We also give you a place to come and talk to your people, find out what other people are doing in their neighborhoods, and get organized.
Here’s the way we see it: Some people have land that they don’t want to garden. Some people want to garden but have no land. And some people have just enough room to garden in pots.
The fine folks behind the ULA have crafted two different programs to help address urban gardening needs and wants. Enter Land Link and Bucket Brigade, solutions that enable anyone -- green-thumb or not -- to produce their own food within the city limits.
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Finding space to garden within city limits can be tricky, as garden-hungry apartment-dwellers often face long wait lists for community gardens and limited or no access to rooftops. Land Link, however, helps connect those who want to garden and have no space with those who have space but aren't gardening it. By accessing the a Land Link Map, users can both list and browse space that is up for digs.
A simple reminder is mentioned on Land Link's website:
Once you make a connection, it is up to you to sort out the terms of your garden share agreement...There are no hard and fast rules here, but just make sure you both have the same expectations and agree to a plan BEFORE you start digging!
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There's a lot of stuff within cities that gets tossed out quite frequently: food, soil, clothing... you name it, we probably toss it. One such item is big, plastic buckets. But some of these containers are finding new purpose -- as planters. Simple phone calls to area restaurants allows Bucket Brigade to reclaim food-safe buckets that would otherwise face a slow demise in a landfill. Add soil, seeds and a little bit of love, and these buckets of joy provide space-tight, soil-less urban green (and not so green) thumbs a chance to have fresh produce on their doorstep.
The best part about it? Sandy explains:
"The idea behind our Bucket Brigade was that long-time and brand new gardeners would be able to fend for themselves a bit food-wise, learn about winter gardening, and keep these buckets planted year round."
Additionally, ULA runs a networking site where users can join forces with other armies and has created assessment tools to size up how productive an available space may be for any future farmer. The group is also in the early stages of developing field manuals to guide your urban gardening endeavors.
Naturally, this type of work is right up our green alley. We've often reported on many different ways in which urban food systems enhance our quality of life while decreasing our ecological footprint, resulting in stronger, healthier urban communities. The Urban Land Army elevates the concept of urban farming to the next level by creating opportunities that link together individuals, strengthen community and help to spark imaginative methods in re-purposing and re-using materials that would otherwise be sent to the landfill.
Check out these related articles in the Worldchanging archive:
Edible City, Part 1
Edible City, Part 2
Fresh From...The City
Growfood.org: Networking a 21st Century Food System
