Reclaiming the Land Commons
David Harper (david@landincommon.org)

Who owns the land and is it secure as a community asset?

I did a seance with Tim Russert last night and he helped me to write this.

The dog days of August are upon us, so its a good time to think about water, the main source of life for any type of garden (and the source of all life on earth :).  This past Saturday, the George Watts Montessori Public School and Bountiful Backyards, as well as our community partners Good Work & Clean Water NC, collaborated on a 150 square foot rain garden that will utilize the thousands of gallons of water washing off of the school's large roof :

Beyond a Garden in Every School:In our schools today, we need to ask what we are training our students to see. We expect them to "go to art," "go to science," "go to physical education," and "go to English." We reinforce the notion that these categories can give us a neatly divided life, definitive knowledge, and a predictable and controllable experience. We are tied to schooling methods, in other words, that actively disintegrate the vital connections between things.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2009-07-13-young-farmers...

Bountiful Backyards will be facilitating hands on workshops (suggested donation $25) for the George Watts Montessori School's "Edible Schoolyard" project on Aug 1st and Aug 8th.  Please Join us, see details below and contact Alice to let her know you want to volunteer on one or both days that BB is facilitating and what tools you can bring.  Thanks yall!

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Dear George Watts families,

Last week, Darcey and I worked out at Leesville, Elementary in Raleigh to help plant a school garden.  I have to admit that I was nervous about working with several hundred kids in 45 minute blocks over 2 days, but things ran incredibly smoothly. In two days we planted a pizza garden, a 3 sisters garden, a 'kitchen sink' garden, a giant pumpkin garden,a bean garden (with locally grown beans starts from the kindergarten class),  herbs, beneficial perennials, and blueberries.  

At Durham's Earth Day this past Saturday BB helped co-facilitate the Eco Lounge, where we had the misfortune of being surrounded by a small group of extremely energetic Christian fundamentalists for 4+ hours screaming their lungs off and holding 'Repent' signs, we made it through by talking with lots of folks about our favorite plants.  Over the years, my affinity for Comfrey has continued to grow.  At the Trinity House, our 3 year old comfrey plants have already started to flower.  Comfrey is a dynamic accumulator, which means that it mines the subsoil for mineral nutrients

This email came in from Maggie and Nancy, one of our first clients out in Bahama.  People often ask us how long things take to fruit.  BB views it as an infrastructural investment, the same that you would make for removing mold or draining water away from your house, or fixing a bathroom; except the rewards are a lot more tangible, and beautiful!

Keith,

As of just this afternoon, the Ark report (Bahama) is as follows: