Functioning American: Gardening for Sustainability in Tough Economic Times
Nicolette Hunt November 17, 2010

Growing your own food for function as well as gratification could be an enjoyable pass-time as well as an outlet to propagate recycling. Urban gardens are growing in popularity and it doesn’t require a huge amount of land to start your own. A great expiriment in family sustainability through produce budding is located smack dab in the middle of bustling Pasadena, California. This family has documented their progression in their website www.pathtofreedom.com. The Dervaes Family project started as an experiment to determine how much fruit, vegetables and other cultivatable produce they needed to grow to sustain their own family. The project grew to include animal husbandry, workshops, and an entire outreach focused on community sustainability.

The internet provides a wealth of ideas for converting trash to planters and other re-useables. Residents of slums and shantytowns have always found the best uses for extending the life of products and making them worthwhile again (Ilieva 24). Economic as well as environmental awareness issues have everyone searching for alternatives to alleviate our selfish guilt and get our money as well as waste out of the dumps.

Check your community for increases in farmers markets and co-ops, chances are you’ll see more popping up than ever before. Data collected by the United States Department of Agriculture states that farmers markets have raised 16% from 2009 to 2010. The USDA’s Farmers Market Directory now lists 6,132 operational farmers markets in the United
States. The density of these markets is evidenced in the map that can be seen by clicking the following link: http://apps.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/farmersmarketsmap.jpg

Tucson, Arizona has been my home for my entire life and I see the evidence of changes in public views all around. In 2008 my family started our own garden as well as chicken coop to harvest eggs and cut down on our grocery bill. Many other families in my community are taking the same steps, and the evidence can be seen in their back yards scratching the dirt as passers walk their dogs. Other families in the metro Tucson area who are currently ranching hens say they like knowing where their food comes from. They remark that “these eggs taste better, and are rich in good cholesterol”(Renzi 39). When we sold our old house complete with chicken coop the new owners were surprisingly excited to start their own miniature chicken farm.

The idea of raising your own food and looking out for yourself just makes sense. Societal wheel spinning has many people feeling less than lack luster about our current societal structure. We work so hard to make money to purchase the best things in life (but the best things in life are free). Reconnecting with nature is becoming important again, a simpler way of life is re-bounding. Even if you feel as if you don’t have ample space to make a sufficient garden, The American Community Gardening Association serves as a resource for people to get involved in community sustainability experiments locally.

Self-Generative Communities have three steps to development (Pavlina 24). Restoring the natural biological cycle of nature to our city planning is the first step in this process. Getting rid of unnecessary concrete and pavement is needed for rain water to absorb into the ground properly. Community support is a requirement in creating solar energy cooperative systems. Communities must have the support of local governments and city planning for these ideas to reach their fullest potential. Ecological strategic planning on every possible level could in the future serve as an industry entirely of its own, the only industry, the self sustaining industry.





Works Cited


Renzi, Steve. “Chickens in the Yard”, Desert Leaf Sept. 2010: 36-39. Print.

Ilieva, Pavina, and Kuo Pao Lian. “Learning from Informal Cities, Building for Communities.” SIRS Researcher. Web. 14 Nov 2010.

USDA. United States Government Agricultural Marketing Service. 2010.
<http://apps.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/farmersmarketsmap.jpg> Web. 21 Nov 2010.

Sustainability
Translated into Spanish by: Nico
Functioning American: Gardening for Sustainability in Tough Economic Times
Nicolette Hunt November 17, 2010

Growing your own food for function as well as gratification could be an enjoyable pass-time as well as an outlet to propagate recycling. Urban gardens are growing in popularity and it doesn’t require a huge amount of land to start your own. A great expiriment in family sustainability through produce budding is located smack dab in the middle of bustling Pasadena, California. This family has documented their progression in their website www.pathtofreedom.com. The Dervaes Family project started as an experiment to determine how much fruit, vegetables and other cultivatable produce they needed to grow to sustain their own family. The project grew to include animal husbandry, workshops, and an entire outreach focused on community sustainability.

The internet provides a wealth of ideas for converting trash to planters and other re-useables. Residents of slums and shantytowns have always found the best uses for extending the life of products and making them worthwhile again (Ilieva 24). Economic as well as environmental awareness issues have everyone searching for alternatives to alleviate our selfish guilt and get our money as well as waste out of the dumps.

Check your community for increases in farmers markets and co-ops, chances are you’ll see more popping up than ever before. Data collected by the United States Department of Agriculture states that farmers markets have raised 16% from 2009 to 2010. The USDA’s Farmers Market Directory now lists 6,132 operational farmers markets in the United
States. The density of these markets is evidenced in the map that can be seen by clicking the following link: http://apps.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/farmersmarketsmap.jpg



Tucson, Arizona has been my home for my entire life and I see the evidence of changes in public views all around. In 2008 my family started our own garden as well as chicken coop to harvest eggs and cut down on our grocery bill. Many other families in my community are taking the same steps, and the evidence can be seen in their back yards scratching the dirt as passers walk their dogs. Other families in the metro Tucson area who are currently ranching hens say they like knowing where their food comes from. They remark that “these eggs taste better, and are rich in good cholesterol”(Renzi 39). When we sold our old house complete with chicken coop the new owners were surprisingly excited to start their own miniature chicken farm.


Photographed by Nicolette Hunt 2009 Left: Rooster named Batman, Right: Demitry 3 years old helps with chores

The idea of raising your own food and looking out for yourself just makes sense. Societal wheel spinning has many people feeling less than lack luster about our current societal structure. We work so hard to make money to purchase the best things in life (but the best things in life are free). Reconnecting with nature is becoming important again, a simpler way of life is re-bounding. Even if you feel as if you don’t have ample space to make a sufficient garden, The American Community Gardening Association serves as a resource for people to get involved in community sustainability experiments locally.

Self-Generative Communities have three steps to development (Pavlina 24). Restoring the natural biological cycle of nature to our city planning is the first step in this process. Getting rid of unnecessary concrete and pavement is needed for rain water to absorb into the ground properly. Community support is a requirement in creating solar energy cooperative systems. Communities must have the support of local governments and city planning for these ideas to reach their fullest potential. Ecological strategic planning on every possible level could in the future serve as an industry entirely of its own, the only industry, the self sustaining industry.





Works Cited


Renzi, Steve. “Chickens in the Yard”, Desert Leaf Sept. 2010: 36-39. Print.

Ilieva, Pavina, and Kuo Pao Lian. “Learning from Informal Cities, Building for Communities.” SIRS Researcher. Web. 14 Nov 2010.

USDA. United States Government Agricultural Marketing Service. 2010.
<http://apps.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/farmersmarketsmap.jpg> Web. 21 Nov 2010.