Green on the Go: For Austin Green Art, Every Day is Earth Day

Nikki Moore, Green on the Go: For Austin Green Art, Every Day is Earth Day – Or eARTh Day, The Austin Chronicle, May 25, 2007, available at http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/issue/story?oid=oid%3a477910

Summary by Jayni Foley

This article is an interview with Randy Jewart, the founder of Austin Green Art in Austin, Texas. Austin Green Art is a program which encourages schools to use old, recycled materials to create art. This article discusses Jewart’s newest endeavor: a community gardening project called “Grow Austin Weird.”
Grow Austin Weird is a program to promote community gardening—at home, in shared public spaces, or in large-scale development projects. Eating locally has become a major international issue, as it reduces C02 emissions caused by food transportation, and local gardening often promotes organic practices. Grow Austin Weird is also about community and aesthetics. As Austin is increasing in population, the program aims to “re-examine landscape and public space and the community's connection to the land itself.” One way of doing this is to experiment with growing gardens in a variety of public and private spaces. The program aims to work with teachers, children, and businesses. It will also have a web site to share information on growing tips and information on the program itself.

Berkeley, with its temperate climate and eco-savvy citizens, may be a great place to start a similar program. The Edible Schoolyard in North Berkeley, run by the Alice Waters Foundation, is already one such example. For this class, we might consider the idea of expanding community gardening to the downtown area. This might be done on rooftops of new buildings. Further, perhaps UC Berkeley would be interested in participating. We can also tie this to the idea of feeding the homeless and reducing CO2 emissions.