Weeks before the Vernal Equinox, Petaluma
spring hints at its arrival – pink blossoms on street-side ornamental plum
trees, frog symphonies ringing out from the creeks and seasonal wetlands, fat leaves
sprouting up from taters that escaped last autumn’s harvest, seed catalogues are
arriving in the mail, stirring daydreams of planting things.
And more. This year, new wonders are growing
in Petaluma. A not-officially-named native plants demonstration garden is still
at the “seed” stage, but here’s the essence: the creation of a public garden of
native plants from what once was lawn, persuading and assisting Petalumans who might want to do the same. The supporters of
the natives garden got their idea from a similar
garden in the peninsula town of Woodside. That garden was a valuable local resource
during the 1977 drought, when people sought an attractive alternative to dead
turf grass. As water becomes more precious, and Petaluma strives to meet our
greenhouse gas reduction goal, helping neighbors replace their water/fuel/time guzzling
lawns is an idea ripe for the picking.
When the natives
garden is launched, I suggest it be developed as a plant grows: in stages,
starting from one edge, sending up a wide central pathway “stem” from which
different types of gardens could be grown as “leaves” over the seasons. These
leaves would each be big enough to demonstrate a distinct idea (e.g. fragrance,
butterfly or bird habitat, shade-loving, succulents,
edible). For each of these leaves, there would be hands-on classes, with
resource lists, covering sheet mulching (an incredibly easy way to turn lawn
into topsoil), planting, drip irrigation, and maintenance. Email me if you want
to know more.
Unlike the natives
project, Petaluma Bounty (www.petalumabounty.org) is well
above ground and growing with great vigor. A descendant of the Petaluma Hub,
Petaluma Bounty’s mission is “to strengthen Petaluma’s local food system and
make healthy fresh food accessible to everyone in the community.” They are
working to create a professionally-managed Urban Farm, and have an active
gleaning program (recovering crops not economical for farmers to harvest) for
the food-insecure. But most current focus is with two new school/community
gardens, at McKinley and McDowell elementary schools. By themselves, community
gardens and school gardens each are a great thing.
Community gardens provide gardeners with fresh and economical food (and exercise)
while beautifying and strengthening neighborhoods. The well-documented benefits
of school gardens include healthier student eating habits, hands-on learning
across the full range of academic subjects, and improved student behavior and
performance.
By combining the two types of
gardens, Petaluma Bounty is creating a synergy between school and community
that will enrich both. These benefits are of significant importance at McKinley
and McDowell, as the two schools have the highest percentage of students from low-income
and non-English speaking families. So far, according to Grayson James, a
Petaluma Bounty organizer, over 80 people have already logged more than 250 hours
creating the two gardens. Two green thumbs, way up!
I have an addition to the Bounty’s soil
mix; I call it “Heritage Gardens.” The concept is simple. Instead of having the
students shift from one garden plot to the next every year, as they do with
classrooms, they stay “rooted” with the same plot every year, from kindergarten
to sixth grade. They share it with upper grade buddies in their K-2 years, with
younger classes in their 4th to 6th grade, and have it to
themselves in grade 3. Thus, they build a longer term investment in their
“land”. Every spring, the school community celebrates “Inheritance Day”, where
the graduating 6th graders ceremoniously hand over their plot to
their 2nd grade buddies, with whom they’ve shared it for the past three
years. And in the fall the new 4th graders welcome their kindergarten
buddies to their plot, continuing the cycle. For the details, see www.bruce-hagen.com/heritage_gardens.html.
Heritage Gardens aims to teach the
Native American value of
“Seven Generations” responsibility; the garden becomes a living, working
metaphor for our planet. Students will directly experience the rewards of
improving their environment and leaving behind a better “world” for future
generations.
Today is dark and stormy, but spring
is coming. Be ready.