Bees, Kids, and other Garden Things

Bees: The bees discovered the pop up garden! It took them a few weeks (after all, the garden did appear out of nowhere in a place where no garden had been before), but luckily bees are very smart. At first I noticed just one bee taking incredible dives into nasturtiums and cucumber flowers, but it brought its friends and now there are heaps of bees. Hurrah!

Kids: Every Friday morning kids from Newtown School visit the Innermost community garden in Newtown (the garden I might be helping to run next year!), and so for the past few weeks I've been heading over there to help out. Because as we all know, I love gardening, and adding children to the equation is pretty sweet. Its not precisely like the teaching that I did in Austin; they are only there for about forty-five minutes, and the teachers usually bring something to do. Plus, they rotate through four different groups, so I haven't had the same group twice yet. Activities have included planting peas, identifying edible plants, digging up a few potatoes, checking out the plants, poking at the worms in the worm farm, playing gardening games, picking some beans (I thought the worms were the best part). Gardening with kids is always inspiring, but my best experience happened last week, as we were leaving the garden and one girl turned around and told me that 'this was the best gardening lesson ever!'. I don't think I've ever been so flattered.
Really, though, gardening with kids gives me a real sense of adding something of value to their education and their quality of life; a chance to get out of the classroom and make connections about food and the natural world that otherwise they might miss out on. It also gives them a chance to eat at least something small from the garden, and as I recently found out, some of these kids don't eat lunch. How insane is that! I know that there are families that are too poor to feed their children properly, but I was very, very surprised to learn that the New Zealand government doesn't have some sort of school lunch program. I mean, even the U.S. provides lunch (and sometimes breakfast, and often post-lunch snack) in schools. By and large, the NZ government is more progressive and social-minded (although its not like they're Sweden or anything) than the U.S., and yet no food in schools! I think this is a huge oversight. Kids don't think well on empty stomachs. So now I have to figure out a way to get produce from the garden into the school regularly... we'll see what I can come up with.

Other Garden Things: On a happier note, the surveys that I did at the pop-up gardens came to a successful conclusion last week! Pretty much everyone I talked to was quite enthusiastic, some people were felt encouraged to start their own gardens, and I think it made people think seriously about urban agriculture. Plus, I had some great conversations about gardening. Gardeners love to talk about gardening. I do, they do, we had some great times. One woman that stood out told me that she was growing her own potatoes for the first time in a really long time; her and her daughter were amazed at the flavor. 'I'd forgotten what potatoes tasted like!' is how she described the taste. The culinary delights of growing your own; when a potato can really shine!

Wellington Doings

Today I have been in Wellington for three weeks. It certainly doesn't seem that long, somehow; although between volunteering at the Pop Up garden, volunteering at Mechanical Tempest, getting involved with Innermost Gardens (more about that later), working on various gardens and now surveying for the Council (not to mention a little bit of volunteering for the Fringe festival), I've been running around like mad getting things done. Or rather, biking around like mad, which is getting me back in Austin-like bike shape, albeit with more steep hills but less overall biking (Wellington is pretty small). Its hard to realize how much time is going by when you're running around.

So, in more detail; The Fringe festival (theater festival) in Wellington kicked off over the weekend, which is very exciting and I've already had a chance to see the 'Fringe Lounge', where different performers do short sets, get interviewed, and attempt to get the audience to come see their shows. There's more on the way, and some of it looks really good (as well as sometimes free)! Also, two of my flatmates and I went to a Chinese New Year celebration - cum - fashion show, which had better dancers than models, but it was still very cool. Apparently Wellington was the last place in the world to celebrate Chinese New Year, although technically the first place to experience it (being ahead of the rest of the world, you know).

Also, volunteering at the Pop Up garden has gone well, watering and talking to passers-by. Feedback is still very positive, and the gardens have suffered absolutely no vandalism, putting paid to the concerns expressed by some citizens about their vulnerability in the City Center. Charmingly, the bees have now discovered the gardens! It took them about a week and a half (I saw the first one last week), but now there are multiple bees buzzing around and diving headfirst into the blossoms. Bees are great! I'm just sad that after their great discovery, the garden beds are being moved again this coming Monday. Too bad they're not permanent, although they are hopefully going to become part of a rooftop garden for a nearby cafe.

Also at the Pop Up gardens I have been surveying for the Council (and they're paying me!). This means asking the same questions about the Pop Up gardens and community gardens in Wellington to lots of people for three hours straight. Luckily, I like talking about gardens, and the information that some people share can really be quite charming. For example, the older woman yesterday who has just started growing potatoes, and now she 'really knows what potatoes taste like' after eating them from the garden rather than the supermarket. Mostly everyone supports community gardens, and I hope that the Pop Up ones will encourage those who don't garden to grow their own. So its a good job, and it makes me hopeful about the future of urban gardening in Wellington.

Which brings us to Innermost Gardens. This group runs two community gardens in Wellington, one in the Mt. Victoria suburb and one in the Newtown suburb. I ran into their coordinator, Sarah, at the Children's Gardening workshop at the Pop Up Gardens, and from there have gotten involved not only in Innermost, but also in the recently formed Urban Agriculture Steering Committee for Wellington. The Committee is attempting to bring together different groups that do urban agriculture in Wellington, and to promote it within the city. So, as happens, one thing led to another, and I am now on the Committee (probably going to help update/blog on the website), I'm the Innermost Secretary (lots of writing and volunteer organizing!) and possibly going to be one of the coordinators for the Newtown gardens since Sarah wants to exclusively manage Mt. Victoria.
In other words, I'm moving back to Wellington on a semi-permanent basis.
Which is kind of scary, but also very exciting. Urban Agriculture, here I come!

Wellington Week 1

Perhaps this is belated, but I did in fact get me and my bike to Wellington, after many trips to the bikeshop, lots of near-breakdowns, and the last minute decision to delay for a day to make sure the bike was really ready and take a bus from Nelson to Picton instead of biking. Yes, I know, this is probably a cop out, but it may have prevented bodily harm, or at the very least tears and a desire to never again see a bike in my life. Now the bike is in working order, and I even got a two-hour bike ride from Orinoco to Nelson, so I wasn't entirely lazy. And I made it to Wellington! Which was the objective anyway.

Now, as to Wellington. I've now been here for almost two weeks, and I'm already famous! Well, not really; but I'm in a picture in this article (http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/capital-life/6325178/Vege-patch-sprouts-in-Civic-Square), where my name has magically become Anita, and another in this one (http://www.capitaltimes.co.nz/Everyones-eating-the-peas). I've been out at the Pop Up Gardens every day watering (well, except the two days that it rained, making watering unnecessary) and talking to people, and so far the reactions have been really, really positive. People love the idea of growing food in the city, especially as a learning experience for children, although I did have to explain to one woman that no, kids don't all know where food comes from, that no, not everyone comes in contact with gardens the way people of her and yes, there is something to be learned from gardening (at first she 'just didn't get it').

Other than my involvement with the pop-up garden, I have been biking all over the place, volunteering at the Mechanical Tempest (its a place where people can bring their bikes and get help fixing them up) and working on various gardens. Basically, my life is 1) gardens 2) bikes and, well, actually pretty much that. I've also been to see some free art, the Wellington Fringe Festival (meaning theater) is coming up this week and I'm going to do some volunteering for that as well! So, a lot of volunteering. I should probably get a medal. Really, I should probably get a job, but I'm not here for quite long enough for that. Besides, people love volunteers!

Its sunny outside, which is rare for Wellington, so I'm going to go enjoy it (and, no surprise, do some gardening). Hurrah, Summer!