By Karen Kirchoff
Those with an interest in art as it explores science and global sustainability will appreciate Food, Water, Life by Lucy and Jorge Orta at Tufts University Art Gallery. The exhibit runs through December 16, 2012. GreeningRozzie members will particularly value the show.
I approached the Art Gallery and experienced immediate confusion: behind glass walls sit stainless-steel kitchen prep counters on wheels, dozens of pots and pans hanging overhead. A cooking demonstration seems about to begin, and yet, this is… an art gallery. Could I be in the wrong place?
Pods
This exhibit features functional, mobile pods that transform water and food. It examines and provides creative solutions for resource scarcity and distribution.
The Ortas travel the world, using and exhibiting their pods. They draw communities together in interactive events such as communal dinners using resourced food from markets, deftly transformed by local chefs who sometimes use the pods to prep the meals. In the fall of 2013, Philadelphia will be the site of such a communal dining event. At a European Biennial, the Ortas identified dirty city water in the Grand Canal nearby. They used their scientifically-informed water filtering pod to filter, purify, and bottle that water, distributing it to participants.
This project brings to mind a similarly inspired local endeavor that uses a mobile art pod to teach the skills of craft and sustainability: GreeningRozzie’s own Beth Ireland and her Turning Around America road trip.
A borderless world
The Ortas float the ambition of a borderless world in their artwork. To this end, an interactive “World Passport” component of the exhibit gathers signatures for a petition to amend the 1948 United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR). The Orta’s proposed Amendment 13.3 to the UNDHR would grant that:
“No individual would have an inferior status to that of capital, merchandise, telecommunication, or pollution that traverse all borders.”
I now have a stamped World Passport from this exhibit that requests “in return that each citizen take responsibility for their actions… [and] protect the environment and endangered species.” It urges the protection of the rights of people to move freely to territories of their choosing.
The Antarctica connection
Hard to envision? The Ortas show a path forward by traveling to the only place on earth that is borderless: Antartica. There they have set up an outdoor sculpture of tents embroidered with the flags of all nations.
A visitor to the exhibit can watch a film of the artists assembling their domes of fluttering flags, the sound of wind fiercely whipping around in that grey-white landscape.
Closer to home, we can see this philosophy in action with The Commons. The Commons identifies resources like water, food and knowledge that belong to us all, that cannot be privatized or owned. The Commons advances sustainability by working with communities to grant dignity to all people while finding solutions around our shared resources. Local JP Transition is also a model that deepens shared resources among community neighbors.
Treat yourself to a creative interlude as an antidote to this consumption-focused time of year by visiting Food, Water, Life before it leaves. Artwork like this serves as a bouy as we attempt to safeguard, as activists, our ocean planet and her people.
Movie Recommendation
There’s also a movie that I highly recommend everyone see on the big screen: Chasing Ice. Urge everyone you know to go see it. It’s a beautifully filmed documentary about shrinking glaciers. The photos and live-action film of these disappearing, gorgeous, 30,000- to 100,000-year-old ice sheets is breathtaking and quickens the pulse. It’s showing for a very short time at Kendall Square Cinema. Go see it!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Friday, November 30, 2012
New England Climate Activists Converge
More than 150 people attended the first ever 350 New England Convergence in Boston on November 17 and 18. The Convergence was designed to gather individuals and groups to “address the region’s reliance on fossil fuels and methods we can utilize to expose and end their use”, according to 350.org’s literature.
Tar sands, fracking and pipelines
Ten panelists spoke on a range of topics, from tar sands to fracking, divestment to dividend carbon pricing (a.k.a. the “carbon tax”), and pipelines to political accountability.
Among the panelists was Mary Anne Babinski, a retired nurse and one of the leaders of Westfield Concerned Citizens, a group that’s fighting the construction of a natural gas plant in Westfield, Massachusetts. In October, the 69-year-old Babinski walked 100 miles from Westfield to the Boston Common to draw attention to the proposed plant, which would spew noxious pollutants into the air in an area that already has high rates of childhood asthma.
The afternoon of the first day of the conference was reserved for workshops and brainstorming. The workshops matched the panelist topics and provided opportunities for connection and planning actions.
Ben Trolio, a University of New Hampshire senior majoring in environmental studies, was one of many students who attended one of two divestment workshops. Divestment involves getting institutions of higher learning to remove their investment funds from fossil fuel companies.
When I asked Ben what’s the most important thing he’d take away from the Convergence, he said, “This is the first time I’ve seen the faces of the New England climate movement and I just feel moved by the people this weekend.”
Panelist Issac Silberman-Gorn, of Citizen Action of New York, who’d presented on the topic of fighting hydraulic fracking in his home state, summarized the spirit of the weekend well: “I think it’s really about connecting our respective fights. Actions that happen throughout the New England area could help stop the extraction [of fossil fuels] from happening.”
The group agreed on this unanimously: Given that the fossil fuel companies have the billions of dollars, we must have the people power if we’re going to move beyond fossil fuels and fight climate change.
Early Sunday afternoon, before the Convergence ended, a number of attendees participated in a solidarity action supporting the simultaneously occurring protest against the Keystone XL Pipeline, in Washington, DC.
Save the date: On Saturday, January 19th, there will be regional mass actions, including one in Portland, ME, against fossil fuels. GreeningRozzie will keep you posted.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Collards, Pumpkin and Polenta: The Warmth of Community and Kitchen
By Karen Kirchoff
Chlorophyll-rich green collard leaves, freshly picked from a Roslindale garden, lay neatly stacked on the kitchen prep counter at Roslindale’s Community Center on a recent Saturday. Members of GreeningRozzie’s Community Kitchen were gathered once more to prepare food, then divvy up the hearty meals made together.
In two-and-a-half hours of shared kitchen time, folks also had an opportunity to exchange information about food prep, gardens, and sustainable practices.
On this Saturday, we had the delightful companionship of tweens, who readily assisted in rolling up collard greens around rice pilaf. The collard bundles were then placed in a large pot to be steamed. The younger folks, in turn, showed their techniques for turning out a delicious apple spice cake with homemade topping, all made with organic ingredients. Meanwhile, pumpkin fritters sizzled in a fry pan, biscuits browned in the oven, and sun-dried- tomato-studded polenta thickened in a double-boiler. As her mom readied gigantic golden muffins bursting with cranberries, a toddler clutched her doll and danced to the ethereal musical strains of bowed saw accompanying bass and fiddle.
What’s new in the community? Community Kitchen participants heard about a GreeningRozzie member’s initiative to create a non-profit green space in Roslindale that would be a learning center for youth and adults, and grow vegetables and herbs. (Stay tuned!) A Community Kitchen participant relayed her role in transmitting critical information to Sandy flood victims in New Jersey, her home state. While her neighborhood in NJ was without power, and therefore cut-off from critical news about where supplies and resources could be found, she used her cell phone here to constantly call and connect them with breaking information. Such a model of how community can take care of community.
Watch for details on the date for the next Community Kitchen. If you’d like to help us pull together Community Kitchens, participate as a cook, come play music, or be added to the bulk flour order, contact Info@GreeningRozzie.org.
In two-and-a-half hours of shared kitchen time, folks also had an opportunity to exchange information about food prep, gardens, and sustainable practices.
Watch for details on the date for the next Community Kitchen. If you’d like to help us pull together Community Kitchens, participate as a cook, come play music, or be added to the bulk flour order, contact Info@GreeningRozzie.org.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Climate Change by the Numbers
Environmental writer Bill McKibben has a good article in Rolling Stone about the basic math of climate change.
He points out the significant gulf between current science and the goals of policymakers (goals they’ve failed to meet). As difficult as it is to imagine the world holding global warming to 2 degrees C over the course of the century, it’s clear that 2 degrees is too much to avoid dire consequences.
Bottom line: it’s all hands on deck.
Interested in acting locally? Contact GreeningRozzie here.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Reused Milk Jugs, Reclaimed Water and a Little Crab Apple Ttree
In April I adopted a tree. It is a beautiful little crab apple tree, planted up near the train station in Roslindale Square. It’s in a surprisingly quiet corner, high up in an open green space, with a view that overlooks buildings in the Square and the bustle of people and traffic at different times of the day.
When I was asked about taking on this volunteer job, at a GreeningRozzie community meeting, I thought it sounded like a good thing to do. I knew that GR members had pursued grant funding for new trees for Roslindale, and then rolled up their sleeves to plant the new trees – so a lot of hard work had already been done. I knew the trees needed consistent watering during the first two years. After a winter with almost no snow, and a spring with relatively little rain and warm temperatures, it seemed that the small trees could be at risk. But I wondered if bringing water up to the tree would prove to be a hassle, making it hard to keep the commitment.
Luckily I figured out a system that’s made it easy for me to water the tree consistently. I started saving gallon sized plastic milk jugs. When all four of my daughters are home in the summer, we go through a lot of milk, and it was easy to build a collection. Then I started emptying the water collected in my basement dehumidifier in to the plastic jugs. All through the spring and summer months, the dehumidifier fills up in about 24 hours, and collects enough water to fill two jugs. So over the course of a week I can easily fill 10 or 12 jugs for watering the tree. I’ve found that saving the water this way also helps me remember to visit the tree consistently. It is easy to park close to the tree, and the jugs pour nicely into the gator at the base of the tree.
Visiting the crabapple tree has been a nice routine for me this summer. I’ve enjoyed watching the changes that have taken place in that small green corner during the spring and summer months. The sky over the train tracks has beautiful colors at different times of the day – early evening is especially nice. A few steps up the hill from the tree, I can look down on Alexander the Great Park; I’ve got new appreciation for the work done by Roslindale Green and Clean to keep the park looking great.
I’m interested to hear from other folks with comments, concerns, or observations about trees in Roslindale, and especially anyone who has experience with crab apple trees.
Friday, March 30, 2012
GreeningRozzie Seed Swap
by Eric Lewandowski
GreeningRozzie put on its first annual seed swap and seed starting workshop last Saturday. Kids and adults who attended took home seed trays containing carefully planted seeds that will sprout into a colorful variety of herbs, flowers and heirloom and hybrid vegetables. When the seedlings emerge in a few weeks, they’ll be ready to plant in gardens outside.
The free, hands-on workshop was led by GreeningRozzie members Amy Galblum, Aviva Furman, Eric Lewandowski and Karen Kirchoff. The workshop was designed to show how easy it is to start many types of seeds. GreeningRozzie provided a broad range of supplies including seeds, soil and trays for the community event. Participants included kids and adults from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Kids at the event ranged from 4 to 7 years old. They enthusiastically chose their vegetables and flowers. And they took great care in preparing the soil, sprinkling seeds and gently spraying the finished trays to dampen the soil for proper germination.
Some participants brought seeds from home to swap. This allowed the gardeners to diversify their home gardens and perhaps plant varieties they hadn’t used before. The seed swap table was covered in a colorful mix of heirloom vegetable, hybrid vegetable and herb seed envelopes that included chocolate colored peppers, okra, sunflowers, swiss chard, cilantro, watermelon, snap peas, zinnia’s, and corn as well as favorite seed catalogs used by the group.
Conversations about gardening techniques, the correct temperature to transplant items outdoors and how to best manage the seedlings once sprouted were common during the workshop. One attendee came to the event with her own book on square foot gardening, three large seeds trays and ten different vegetables to plant and was eager to get advice on the right way to get started.
A particularly warm week for March -- temperatures reached 80 degrees and many records were broken throughout New England -- inspired folks to start planning what to plant in their home gardens. While the act of picking a warm, sun-ripened tomato from the backyard is still more than a few months away, the familiar taste is something that we all yearn for during the other nine months of the year.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Seed Starting – Get Started Now Planting Tomatoes
by Amy Galblum
Though spring has barely begun and temperatures remain uncertain, I am already starting my summer vegetable garden. My first step: starting seedlings indoors. Why bother to start seeds, when seedlings of all varieties are available later in the spring? Emily Wheelwright of Jamaica Plain explains “gardeners just start getting antsy in January and want to be doing something – anything – akin to gardening when they can’t get outside.”
Seamus O’Kelly, a veteran seed starter from Sudbury, said that he starts seedlings “for the challenge of growing your own, and for a sense of achievement.” He says that he “enjoys watching seeds grow into tall plants. There is a great sense of satisfaction in that.” Starting his own seeds also allows him to grow varieties that are not widely available; such as the ‘Cosmonaut Volkov’ tomato he grows yearly. “I also like to be able to share plants with friends,” he says. Seed starters usually end up with more plants than they need.
Starting seeds at home is easy and requires only a few items: seed trays and pots, soil, seeds, and a light. There are many methods, and you can’t go wrong as long as you give your indoor garden attention, light, and water. My routine is as follows.
Start with the large (12 x 18 inch), solid, plastic trays that garden centers provide for carrying seedlings home (be sure they are solid and will hold water). Into the trays go leftover (or new) plastic plant six packs, in which seedlings are universally sold. These will nestle into the seed trays perfectly. You can also use plastic yogurt or cottage cheese containers, 3 or 4 inch plastic plant pots or half-gallon milk cartons cut lengthwise, all with drainage holes punched in the bottoms. Fill the containers with potting soil – either purchased, or concocted at home with half garden soil and half compost. Gently tap down the soil in each container, and voila! they are ready to plant.
Tomato seeds are usually started in March in our area since they take around 8 weeks to mature for planting out in the garden. Interesting varieties can be found in seed catalogues, at garden centers, hardware stores, or even grocery stores. Be sure they are labeled, “Packaged for 2012,” to ensure the best chance that the enclosed seeds will germinate. Put 2 or 3 seeds into each container, burying the seeds just under the surface. Label all your varieties.
Fill the trays with water about one half inch deep. The water will be pulled up through the soil without dislodging the seeds as might happen if they were watered from the top.
Cover the containers with a plastic bag to keep the soil moist, and put them in a warm place. Remove the covering as soon as the first seedlings begin to sprout. If you are like me, you will be examining the trays carefully every day with great anticipation.
It will take only a week or so for the tomatoes to push their way out of the soil, stem first and bent in half, followed by early leaves. It takes another week for the first true leaves that look like tomato foliage to develop.
A sunny south window might provide adequate light, but a florescent fixture will supply more reliable light and promote nice, bushy plants. An inexpensive shop light (around $10) can be hung from a bar suspended between two chairs. Hang it directly over the seed trays, only inches away from the tops of the plants and raise it as the seedlings grow. Alternatively, raise your plants under the florescent light on your kitchen counter – elevated on books.
Keep your plants well watered – bouts of dryness and wilting can impede their later productivity. When seedlings are 2 to 3 inches tall and have several sets of true leaves, transplant them to larger containers or individual pots so they have room to grow. When several seeds have sprouted in a container, I thin them by pulling all but one, or transplant the extras to new pots.
Tomato seedlings grown in the house need to be acclimated to the outdoors at least a few days before you plant them outside. “Harden off” seedlings by putting them outside in a protected shady spot for a half day, then gradually move them into full sun, starting with mornings.
Using the same routine, other plants that are great to start indoors are broccoli (or other plants in the broccoli family), peppers (start in early March), and flowers such as zinnias, marigolds, and nasturtiums.
Happy gardening!
Learn more about starting seeds and participate in our “seed swap” at the next GreeningRozzie meeting: Wednesday, March 21st from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Roslindale Community Center, 6 Cummins Highway in Roslindale Square.
This article first appeared in the Roslindale Transcript.
Though spring has barely begun and temperatures remain uncertain, I am already starting my summer vegetable garden. My first step: starting seedlings indoors. Why bother to start seeds, when seedlings of all varieties are available later in the spring? Emily Wheelwright of Jamaica Plain explains “gardeners just start getting antsy in January and want to be doing something – anything – akin to gardening when they can’t get outside.”
Seamus O’Kelly, a veteran seed starter from Sudbury, said that he starts seedlings “for the challenge of growing your own, and for a sense of achievement.” He says that he “enjoys watching seeds grow into tall plants. There is a great sense of satisfaction in that.” Starting his own seeds also allows him to grow varieties that are not widely available; such as the ‘Cosmonaut Volkov’ tomato he grows yearly. “I also like to be able to share plants with friends,” he says. Seed starters usually end up with more plants than they need.
Starting seeds at home is easy and requires only a few items: seed trays and pots, soil, seeds, and a light. There are many methods, and you can’t go wrong as long as you give your indoor garden attention, light, and water. My routine is as follows.
Start with the large (12 x 18 inch), solid, plastic trays that garden centers provide for carrying seedlings home (be sure they are solid and will hold water). Into the trays go leftover (or new) plastic plant six packs, in which seedlings are universally sold. These will nestle into the seed trays perfectly. You can also use plastic yogurt or cottage cheese containers, 3 or 4 inch plastic plant pots or half-gallon milk cartons cut lengthwise, all with drainage holes punched in the bottoms. Fill the containers with potting soil – either purchased, or concocted at home with half garden soil and half compost. Gently tap down the soil in each container, and voila! they are ready to plant.
Tomato seeds are usually started in March in our area since they take around 8 weeks to mature for planting out in the garden. Interesting varieties can be found in seed catalogues, at garden centers, hardware stores, or even grocery stores. Be sure they are labeled, “Packaged for 2012,” to ensure the best chance that the enclosed seeds will germinate. Put 2 or 3 seeds into each container, burying the seeds just under the surface. Label all your varieties.
Fill the trays with water about one half inch deep. The water will be pulled up through the soil without dislodging the seeds as might happen if they were watered from the top.
Cover the containers with a plastic bag to keep the soil moist, and put them in a warm place. Remove the covering as soon as the first seedlings begin to sprout. If you are like me, you will be examining the trays carefully every day with great anticipation.
It will take only a week or so for the tomatoes to push their way out of the soil, stem first and bent in half, followed by early leaves. It takes another week for the first true leaves that look like tomato foliage to develop.
A sunny south window might provide adequate light, but a florescent fixture will supply more reliable light and promote nice, bushy plants. An inexpensive shop light (around $10) can be hung from a bar suspended between two chairs. Hang it directly over the seed trays, only inches away from the tops of the plants and raise it as the seedlings grow. Alternatively, raise your plants under the florescent light on your kitchen counter – elevated on books.
Keep your plants well watered – bouts of dryness and wilting can impede their later productivity. When seedlings are 2 to 3 inches tall and have several sets of true leaves, transplant them to larger containers or individual pots so they have room to grow. When several seeds have sprouted in a container, I thin them by pulling all but one, or transplant the extras to new pots.
Tomato seedlings grown in the house need to be acclimated to the outdoors at least a few days before you plant them outside. “Harden off” seedlings by putting them outside in a protected shady spot for a half day, then gradually move them into full sun, starting with mornings.
Using the same routine, other plants that are great to start indoors are broccoli (or other plants in the broccoli family), peppers (start in early March), and flowers such as zinnias, marigolds, and nasturtiums.
Happy gardening!
Learn more about starting seeds and participate in our “seed swap” at the next GreeningRozzie meeting: Wednesday, March 21st from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Roslindale Community Center, 6 Cummins Highway in Roslindale Square.
This article first appeared in the Roslindale Transcript.
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