Here we are, finally in the confines of the urban metropolitan area of the San Francisco Bay Area, which I happen to call my home. Ahh yes, the safety of the city is comforting. The architecture is a different type of beautiful from the wildernesses we’ve been camping in. The access to so many goods is unbelievable. The diversity of people and cultures is refreshing and enlightening. And the food is superb. But there is a danger here, and I don’t mean the threat of crime. There is a danger of forgetting our place on the Earth. Forgetting what sustains us and all life on Earth. Fortunately there are organizations like City Slicker Farms that help reconnect people with the Earth.
On Thursday we had a wonderful time helping out with some farm chores at one of City Slicker’s many urban gardens. The goal of gardens like this is to reconnect people with food origins and the Earth and to produce healthful organic produce for citizens of West Oakland, a place often called a food desert for its lack of fresh healthful food. This farm is the one source of fresh vegetables for a great many people in the area. As we knelt among rows of kale and squash and chatted with local volunteers we realized that real good was being done in this little oasis of green in the concrete jungle. It is places like this that are essential in the cultivation of and environmentally oriented society. Urban gardens show people what it means to live on this planet. I spent much of the day reflecting on the importance of these small plots of life, and after or work was done, we retreated to my humble abode where we chowed on a delicious locally sourced Mediterranean feast, thankful for the access we had to those Earthly treasures.
Sign off -AK