The Role of Community in Sustainability

In trying to create a community of students with the common goal of incorporating sustainable lifestyle habits into college living is a learning process. Faced with daunting obstacles like student's schedules and modest to non-existent incomes, completing even small projects is often a semester long task. Of course, I think the goal is worthwhile and plays an important role in the community at large, but, some days I just feel like nothing is getting done.

Due to the nature of my self, I tend to compensate for that feeling by taking on more projects myself. However, today I was reminded of an invaluable lesson: You can't do everything alone.

I attended Alchemical Nursery's film screening: Vision's of Utopia at the Wescott Bulb Festival. After the movie we had a panel discussion featuring a number of representatives from local community living establishments that included AntHill in Rochester, the Bread and Roses House in Syracuse, Common Place Land Trust, and the New Environment Association in Syracuse. It reminded me that other people are in a similar boat, facing similar problems, and creating really cool solutions. It is important take the time to get together and discuss. Its important to be aware of the resources already available in the community and the infrastructure in place.




I think community plays an important role in furthering the movement towards a more sustainable lifestyle and we're lucky to have many local communities already so active. I hope this year we prioritize involvement with the existing community to richen our smaller student community. - Elizabeth

And a nice flower picture, the Epiphyllum oxypetalum which recently bloomed in the ESF greenhouses.

What an excting year ahead!

Allow me an organizational post to inform anyone who did not come to our meeting.

 This fall is full speed ahead with cold frame creation. Later this week the second garden bed will be filled with compost and planted with spinach and beets and other winter veggies. October 3rd we are planning on spending the day foraging for materials for coldframes, raised beds, and stone herb spirals. We'll be looking to gather lumber, stones, glass, plastic, and insulating material for these projects...so check your basements and attics!

Some neat fungus growing in our yard

The rest of the yard will be converted to barley and wheat fields this fall, and perhaps include hops soon after. What is more eco-friendly than home brewed beer??

Gail has spearheaded a project in the Morningside Community Gardens growing flax for research into sustainable linoleum products. This weekend we'll be putting a fence around the fields to deter deer browsing. We can expect to harvest the flax sometime around October 15th.

Early in Novemer we will be putting on a Household Compost Tumbler Workshop where we will build small compost tumblers to take home and put in your apartment, so you won't want to miss that!

At the start of next semester we will do the unthinkable and write a constitution to qualify for funds from ESF. Woo-hoo! If you come help, I promise to bake gingerbread cookies. We'd also like to write a grant to get funding for building an unheated greenhouse on our property! Just imagine the possibilities!

Wildflowers blooming in the backyard

I'm excited for this year, and I hope you are too. If you haven't come by yet, please come by soon...and if you would like to be included on our e-mail update list please send me your contact information at eamurp02 AT syr DOT edu.

Elizabeth

Excited to be back in 'the city'?

Sungold

I know our garden is, because it's finally getting love and attention again. I even watered it today. The garden is feeling so spoiled all of our tomatoes are ripening at once! I planted my two favorites, Sungold, a hybrid cherry which is the sweetest tomato ever to be, and brandywine, a heirloom which is the epitome of tomato. So far from the garden we've had the aforementioned tomatoes, green beans (slightly overripe) and cantaloupe (slightly underripe). Garden cantaloupe are one of those fruits that are so incredibly delicious fresh from the garden compared to the grocery store. The vine is still blooming, so maybe if the frost holds off we can get another two or three to ripen.

Cantaloupe blooms

As the summer garden gives its final harvest, seeds for the fall garden were sown this morning. Its the fall garden in Syracuse that I love most. Whenever the sun hasn't been out for days, and another 2" of snow fell last night, I can sneak out into the yard in the morning, brush the snow of the glass and see little green plants growing seemingly contentedly, albeit slowly. They are my constant reminder of springtime and sunshine. They are also very delicious.

New plants for this year's winter garden include scallions, napoli carrots, broccoli and parsley. All of my new plants are varietys successfully grown for many years by Eliot Coleman in his unheated greenhouses in Maine. Like last year I'm also planting a cold hardy lettuce mix from Johnny's (all seeds are from Johnny's), spinach (which I still have to get, actually), and radish.

Think roasted potatoes....

As non-garden news, I hope you'll save the date! September 19th at 5:00 pm you're cordially invited to come eat dinner, discuss goals, fund raising, cold frames, native gardens, flax and bamboo, and play music at our humble abode (821 Comstock Ave). See the phlox in the native garden, the cosmo's and the veggies in the back... it'll be grand and we'll have at least one dish from the garden!

Cosmos in the back

Summer Flax Project

Hi All,
A small group has been working hard this summer to cultivate 2 flax fields in the Morningside Community Gardens! One plot is brown flax and the other is golden flax. The flax will hopefully be harvested early this fall. Flax is useful for its oils and fibers. The oil can be used in a variety of foods, lotions, and soaps. The fibers can be used for multiple grades of fabric.