Gorgeously Green Official

Here is the official website that I have used as a basis for my blog: www.gorgeouslygreen.com

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Novella Carpenter: Urban Farmer


WARNING: This post contains a few spoilers from Novella Carpenter's Farm City. I didn't go crazy but there are a few minor ones.

Novella Carpenter with fowl
A few months ago, back when I was still a college student and president of the Environmental Science Organization (ESO). We (being ESO) brought Novella Carpenter to Northern Michigan University’s campus. None of us had read her book at our decision making point but hey she had written Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer which was a National Best Seller so we were interested in what she had to say. We were really lucky to have her because she had just had a baby and her rep wasn’t so sure that she’d be willing to start up again. So we bribed her with a little extra money that we petitioned the Student Finance Committee for.

Farm City is her personal narrative about her urban farm in the ghetto of Oakland. She uses the anarchy of Oakland in order to create GhostTown Farm on 28th Street. Unfortunately I didn’t get around to reading it before she came to campus, which I’ll admit was shameful. But I did read some of her blog and going in semi-cold turkey gave me the opportunity to really pay attention to her talk without any previous bias.

She read a bit out of Farm City, promoted her new How-To book titled: The Essential Urban Farmer, and stressed her view of eating meat. Which I understood to be that it’s alright to eat meat, it’s alright to be a vegan/vegetarian but if you’re going to eat meat it’s more important to know how that animal was treated before its life was ended.

Upon meeting Novella, I liked her instantly. She was easy going and really willing to talk to you. And not just about her but what’s going on in the community that she was in. Novella told this hilarious story about a drug bust from a warehouse across the street in which the police left all of the plants there and it became a free for all with the locals. This definitely shocked my friend Laura, but it’s one of the things that just made the event so much less formal and enjoyable.

I had been stressing all day about having to entertain Novella at dinner and not knowing what to say or even worse just sitting at the table awkwardly without a word being said. Not a problem. Novella was willing to talk and once we all got going it was like we’d all done that a million times before.

One thing that seemed to be really stressing Novella out was vegans/vegetarians who don’t agree with her views. They chose to not eat meat for animal rights, boycotting the mass slaughterhouses (where most often animals aren’t treated well) or whatever reason but condemn her for choosing to raise her own farm animals to eat as way of not partaking in the mass slaughterhouses. Now there are extremists in everything but to me you have to be willing to recognize that your choices are a personal choice for you (self-righteously written but really here people there’s not too many options to solve the differencing of views here).

One of the most hilarious and informative
nonfiction pieces I have ever read.
In her book she talks about a vegan who suggested on her blog that having a petting zoo instead of eating her farm animals would essentially teach the community about the animals. But she pointed out that she wants people (aka mostly children who come by) to know where their meat comes from; to have a connection with their food. It’s not a bad concept considering most meat you buy in a store today doesn’t even look like it came off an animal.

Following dinner that night I immediately bought both of her books through Amazon. And they cruelly came in the week of finals/graduation.

But I have finally just finished Farm City and I recommend it to everyone. Not only is it hilarious (literally laughing out loud and embarrassing myself on the public transit to work) but it really shows her purpose and view on food. It made me question my food choices. Questions like: should I eat meat if I don’t have the guts to kill the animal myself? How much can I invest into meat that was treated fairly while it was alive? What types of vegetables can I grow in an apartment? Should I grow these in an apartment that I share? And though I haven’t got any answers for my questions as of yet they’re viewpoints that I definitely need to consider.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Grand Island Native Plants

For last summer and this current one, I’ve been working on Grand Island in Munising, Mich. Since no one has yet to tell me what my work title is on the Island I’ve dubbed myself a “Native Plant Restoration Worker”, though technically I think I’m an independent contractor. But “Native Plant Restoration Worker” sounds so much more descriptive and implies the eight hours of fun that I have playing in the dirt and grievous torture of daily strip downs to look for ticks (a problem that has magnified since last summer).
The Farm Field, a previously planted plot full of invasive plants.

Explaining what I do, well it tends to bore people. I can’t figure out whether it’s because they just don’t care or if I’m botching the delivery to the (typically) unsuspecting family member.

I’m working on a restoration project in the Farm Field on Grand Island. I plant natives like milkweed, menarda, tickseed, black eyed susan, etc. Because of how my contract was written last summer, I was only allowed to plant. But this summer, weed work has been added. So I’ve been working on removing daisies, yellow rocket, spotted knap weed, St. John’s wart, blatter campion are a few that I’ve been working on thus far.

The people I work with are pretty tremendous. One of them randomly brings bake goods to work. Another is just awesome to work, she noticed that I had a tick on my ear and removed it for me. They also are willing to share information about the different plants, what kinds of edible fruits and vegetables can be found on the island and what habitat they can be found in. The ferry operator was rather excited for the leeks that were in season earlier this month. And he brought my coworker who bakes some rhubarb that he had found and yes she did make us some cake with it.

Unfortunately because I spend three days a week for eight hours a day out in the elements it makes my down time a bit focused towards the indoors. I mean I have to force myself to go to the beach to keep myself from getting a horrible farmer’s tan, as oppose to going to the beach for having fun.