Sparks in the Soil

Videos: Vegetables on the White House Lawn

The grassroots movement to convince President Obama to lead by example as the Eater-in-Chief is growing, with increasing calls for him to authorize a vegetable garden on the White House lawn.  Roger Doiron and Kitchen Gardeners International have started a campaign to break ground on the White House veg garden within the first 100 days of the Obama administration.  Roger's charming and inspiring video shows how he made his front lawn into a lush, productive garden. 

Your move, Mr. President!

This Lawn is Your Lawn from roger doiron on Vimeo.

And don't miss this charming animated history of White House gardening.  What?  Andrew Jackson's "orangery" greenhouse was knocked down to build the West Wing?!

The Garden of Eatin': A Short History of America's Garden from roger doiron on Vimeo.

My Tiny Choices Survey

Thanks to Jenn over at Tiny Choices for inviting me to participate in her ongoing environmental survey.

Here is, of course, how I answered the question, "What is the one environmental Tiny Choice you would like every single person to adopt?"

"I would like every person to grow food in some form.  It can be a pot of herbs, a container-tomato garden, or a full-fledged “dig up your lawn” kind of thing.  But I think we’re never more connected than when we can walk outside and come back in again with salad.  Or a side dish.  Or a garnish.  Or dinner."

Click here to read my full survey, or to take the survey yourself.

Green Nuns and Their Veggies

Treehugger had an awesome article last week about a group of nuns, The Episcopal Sisters of the Community of the Holy Spirit, who are in the process of having an entirely green convent built...in West Harlem.  It looks like an amazing piece of architecture, complete with natural light, solar-heated water, and environmentally-friendly ventilation.

What I like best about the article is how it mentions casually, almost in passing, how these sisters have grown their own vegetables for years.  I think it underscores the point that people of faith, particularly those who live in intentional communities, tend to have an easy, logical connection to producing their own food, finding all their nourishment within their own space and not needing more than what they can make for themselves.

Thanks, Evangelical Ecologist!

A big thank-you to Don over at The Evangelical Ecologist for such a generous "shout-out."

Don's site is encyclopedic in its scope, and I recommend it highly.  His extensive blogroll really underscores the vastness of the faith-based community's engagement with all things ecological, environmental, and "creation care."  And he's got a watchful, thoughtful eye on news, research, and trends that are affecting our planet.

One reason I'm so excited about this project is that I believe that "faith-based farming" is one of those issues that can bring people together across denominational, political, and even theological lines.  We all have something to gain from making the earth a healed, productive place.  Let the conversation continue!

The Food Movement?

Today I'm thinking about what to call the thing (movement?) I'm writing about.  So far, my choices include:

The Sustainable Agriculture Movement

The Food Movement

The Locovore Movement

Back-to-the-Land

All of the above work, but none of them suffices.  The faith-based farmers and gardeners I'm learning about care very much about sustainable agriculture for purposes of environmentalism and smart production.  But "sustainable agriculture" might be too intimidating a term to use to describe a small group at a church that's growing a 5x5 plot.  Locovore is good, but it's it's not complete - those who are growing food for religious and spiritual reasons believe in local food economies, but it's usually not the chief--certainly not the only--item on the agenda.  "The Food Movement" sounds like it's for gourmands, and "Back-to-the-Land" sounds about 40 years old.  Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but neither are these folks planning to move to communes anytime soon.  I guess "Sustainable Agriculture Movement" is the closest I have.

Plus, does this mean I can call them "Sammies?" 

For those of you "in the field," what movement do you feel you're a part of?  What would be the name of an association you would join because it reflected your faith-based farming ideals?