Fertile ground makes good things grow
by Joanna Ashworth
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Free Talk |
WHAT DRAWS you to the garden? Have you noticed lately that one of our most fundamental and pleasurable activities – cultivating food and flowers – has been discovered anew by the denizens of our towns and cities here in BC? Urban farming, guerilla gardening, community supported agriculture and other acts of community building have now become acts of solidarity that offer nourishment for a community, and in some instances, providing places of physical and spiritual healing.
There are many moving stories about how the simple act of planting flowers in previously uncared for public ground, sharing a row of vegetables grown in your back yard with complete strangers, or helping whole neighbourhoods develop a sense of pride in their street life have become profound acts of citizenship. For some, it is not so selfless. For some of your neighbours, the desire to garden may simply be motivated by a craving for beauty in an otherwise dreary, urban landscape. For others, gardening is deeply rooted in principles of ecological engagement and connection to the land.
On May 6, SFU’s Dialogue Programs hosts part two of a three-part series of public dialogues entitled “Heart of a Citizen.” This series is intended to explore why people make the shift from focusing only on their private concerns to actively engaging in creating positive, social change in the public sphere.
The first session in the series began in early April with author and activist Paul Loeb who launched the conversation with riveting stories of well-known change makers. People whose imagination and persistence saw them prevail in spite of tough times and circumstances. Think Desmond Tutu, the archbishop of South Africa, the Dalai Lama, Rosa Parks and Gandhi. Loeb offered participants much to ponder and, in particular, challenged the myth that one person can’t make a difference. He also confronted the rationale of “I don’t know enough about a particular problem,” noting that it isn’t a legitimate reason to stay on the sidelines.
On May 6, the second session of the series presents three remarkable citizen gardeners, perhaps lesser known than the above-mentioned Nobel Laureates, but nonetheless effective at what they do: creating beauty and hope in public spaces.
Sylvia Holland is an urban planner and longtime street gardener. David Tracey is a garden designer and author of a new book, Guerrilla Gardening: A Manualfesto (New Society Publishers). Ward Teulon, otherwise known as “City Farm Boy” is also the founder of CityFarmBoy. The three speakers launch the dialogue with accounts of their own gardening adventures and the unique paths that led them each to embrace the garden and public life in equal measure. As Tracey sees it, “gardening is a an act of hope and… our natural birthright … it creates better cities and a safer planet.”
Ordinary citizens have such untapped potential – skills, abilities and, most importantly, passion – and they want to become involved in making their cities and neighbourhoods better places. In response, SFU’s Dialogue Programs are developing a new certificate program that will launch in September to train people to use civic engagement methods, founded upon principles that encourage effective citizen participation.
Advisors and supporters of the SFU program, including local government, community agencies and private organizations, recognize such engagement as an essential tool for a participatory democracy. In June, the third session of Heart of a Citizen will explore how festivals and the arts serve as vehicles for public learning and engagement.
So what do you think? Can gardeners change the world? Bring your perspective to what promises to be a fertile conversation. It just might get you back to the garden in ways you had never imagined.
Dr. Joanna Ashworth is the director of Dialogue Programs at Simon Fraser University.
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