So There's No More Confusion

This eco-stuff is confusing, let's face it. Fuel Efficient Vehicle Parking? Seems obvious, but maybe it needs to say "Vehicles that get more than 15 MPG." Whatever. We have a long way to go. But I don't need to be confusing you anymore about this blog. This has always been my personal blog, but its name is too similar to our Sustainability Commission's social networking site, so, thanks to Dunwoody blogger Rick Callahan and his insistence on calling me Sustainable Pattie, here goes. Please click on this new blog and sign up for updates in the sidebar on the right as Sustainable Dunwoody (the blog, not the mission! See our 2009 Year in Review here), after 186 posts, is now done.

And since I'm launching a whole new thing, I'm changing it up as well. Shorter, more frequent bursts of news and views. More videos. Not always so Dunwoody-centric. And as joy-based as I can make it, which is how I like to live.

Looking for longer insights? I'll keep the Sustainable Dunwoody blog up as archives, and there are almost 600 articles at FoodShed Planet. Add in my year as a columnist at New Life Journal, articles in Edible Atlanta and Georgia Organics' The Dirt, and a ton of articles on Cox Enterprise's Kudzu's 101 Marketing Ideas with Pattie Baker blog (yes, I am actually paid to blog) and you'll see I've covered a whole lotta' ground. So please check the archives or shoot me a question at sustainablepattie@comcast.net if you're trying to figure something out and I'll give you what I have on it. I may even feature your question online!

Oh, and yeah, I know, I was supposed to be taking a few weeks off. This is what happens when it rains and I can't get to the garden.

Sunny, Flat and Possible (No, This Is Not a Sequel to Thomas Friedman's Hot, Flat and Crowded!)

Peachtree Charter Middle School--A Spot for a Garden from Pattie Baker on Vimeo.

I heard there were new benches at Peachtree Charter Middle School, and that made me think about the benchmark data I intended to gather this past year. So off I traipsed in the cold this past Saturday, with a simple intention of capturing visible evidence on one benchmark item: the number of Dunwoody school gardens. Now, you may think this is a crazy thing to care about in 25-degree weather, but all good gardeners are completely obsessed with thoughts of their spring gardens right now! What's more, I believe DeKalb County is just about to make an announcement regarding a county-wide community garden program (AND we have more than 20 people on the community garden waiting list, with more people asking me every single day how they can get involved, so the interest is definitely growing).

I was hoping to be able to say that every single school in Dunwoody has a school garden in our first year as a city, but that's not yet the case. I haven't spoken with folks at all the schools, but perhaps good ideas are still growing "on paper" and we'll see planting in the spring. I tried to "site survey" while I was at each school and find what looked like the best places for gardens.

The number one best place in the City of Dunwoody for a new vegetable garden is at Peachtree Charter Middle School (see the one-minute long video above, with my usual car-sickness-inducing camera movement and the added pleasure of what-is-that, wind or something?) I actually don't envision a traditional school garden there, but rather a community garden. I would love to talk with folks there (specifically with the counselors) in more depth about some ideas I have.

Okay, let's barrel through the other schools. First, the big, fat success story--

Vanderlyn

This is a bittersweet one for me, because, my goodness, I whined for an organic vegetable garden for years while my kids were there and nothing, nothing, nothing (but that's why I started my own "school garden" at home, so it's all good). But now, here it is:








This garden was installed and planted in mid-September. The secret? A few thousand bucks and Farmer D's foolproof school garden materials. It's one way to go, and it will guarantee you success. (Here is the school garden brochure I wrote for Farmer D, and no, I don't get any commission for raving about his stuff. I've just seen it in action for years now, and it works.)

Kingsley

Can it be?! Can that be a school garden I see? Yes! Kingsley has "put the bones" in place for a garden.






In fact, if you combined the fruit trees (espaliers--very impressive!), bench and sign from Kingsley with the raised beds from Vanderlyn, you'd have a really complete garden (well, there's still composting to add, but we'll get there!).





Chesnut

I see no evidence of a vegetable garden, but here is a spot that might be good:













Austin

Again, no sign of a vegetable garden, but a few spots look sunny, flat and possible:







Dunwoody Elementary

No garden yet, but Farmer D, PTO Co-Prez Kevin Cameron, Principal Clarke and I did a site survey in July and determined that this was the best spot for a vegetable garden:














Dunwoody High

Yes, it's possible, even at the high school. There's enough space right in the front, on Vermack. Consider these two options:





















Please note how very little space five raised beds (like Vanderlyn's garden) take up. You don't have to create the one-acre Edible Schoolyard just yet! And I didn't make it to Hightower yet, but that's next (I know it's not in the city limits, but the kids are part of our school cluster, and therefore our community).

If you are with one of these schools and are ready to dig in but need a little help overcoming some barrier, feel free to reach out and let me know and I will try to help or connect you with a resource, group or person who can assist.

With seeds of hope that every single school in Dunwoody will have a vegetable garden established by Spring Planting (March 15), I'm off to work on my own spring garden. And that means more leaves to crumble and spread, more kitchen scraps to compost, more saved seeds to sort, and more time just sitting by the fire with the Seeds of Change catalog and imagining the possibilities.

I'll be back in January. May your holiday harvest of love, peace and hope be immense.

Keep Voting for the Kind of City You Want

I've discovered two particular things since we voted to become a city and then turned the very direction of our future upside down.

1. We Are Capable of More Together Than We Are Alone

My ability to accomplish anything used to start and end at me. And, granted, I never really could get that far with my limited abilities. Now that we have our own city, however, busting with start-up energy and positive people trying to make a difference, my ability has suddenly expanded beyond my meager contributions. There always seems to be someone who can do, and wants to do, that which I am not capable of doing. Or, together, that heavy load becomes not only lighter but more fun to carry. This is an entirely new realization for me.

2. Little Eyes Are Watching, and Learning, From Us

I was talking with some children yesterday about a crosswalk that is about to be installed in a place that will enable the boy who lives closest to one of our schools to actually walk to school. These kids knew the names of John Heneghan and Richard Meehan (how many public officials and city staff members did you know growing up?), and it occurred to me that the children of this city are starting to take it for granted that Mr. Heneghan and Mr. Ross and Mr. Wittenstein and Ms. Bonser and Mr. Taylor and Mr. Shortal and Mr. Wright can make things right.

And I wonder what will become of the children who grow up in the newest city in the United States, who can't cross a street to get to school and then see a crosswalk installed. Who see idle strips of land turn into productive green spaces. Who see a bike lane where there wasn't one before. Who know their parents attend Comprehensive Plan meetings and then see the things for which they advocated actually happen. What becomes of children who live in a city like this?

What will become of any of us, who have seen that our actions can make a difference? Who have spoken in places where we used to be silent? Who have dared to dream when we had all but given up on dreams? Who have risked being rejected or laughed at or criticized? Who have shown up when staying home would have been easier?

What will become of you if you get involved? What dream of yours will come true? What positive difference will you make?

I worked for two major start-ups right at the point when each of them celebrated their ten-year anniversaries--USA TODAY and CNN. And what happens at about that point in a small-company-that-has-gotten-big is that the entrepreneurialism starts to die away, and the people involved in the start-up move on, and the rules and the regulations and the policies are more set in stone. (I'm not saying innovation stops--it just requires more approvals.)

For our city, I suspect the aperture of opportunity for start-up fervor will remain open for about another year. If you have been on the fringes of the city and have not jumped in yet, now is your time. Just show up. Find some part of the city's journey that interests you, and get involved. It just might turn your life upside down in a positive way you never could have imagined.

Keep voting for the kind of city you want. With your voice. With your dollars. With your actions.

We can build a beautiful city. In fact, we're on our way.