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Jerry meets up with a guerrilla gardening group taking over empty public spaces to grow food for those that need it, sharing growing skills to increase community resilience. Subscribe 🔔 http://ab.co/GA-subscribe

Over the pandemic lockdowns, many of us were alarmed by images of empty supermarket shelves and supply shortages. Rather than running out and hoarding toot-roll, a group of young people saw it as an opportunity to provide for the vulnerable in their community and rethink how public space was being used.

Al Wicks says they’d “always had the pipe-dream of doing community gardens…over covid me and my friends started getting worried about food security for vulnerable people in the community”.

One of these friends was Ruby Thorburn, who says “there was an overwhelming sense of fear, seeing these empty supermarkets. We wanted to produce food overnight…to avoid red tape and bureaucracy and use direct action”.

In response, they formed “Growing Forward”, a community organisation dedicated to setting up guerrilla community gardens in underutilised public space. We’re visiting a site they’ve successfully converted from forgotten space to thriving community gardens with a purpose.

What started out with a bit of rule bending, has now garnered support of the whole community – including the council.

“We looked around and found a plot of land that was owned by the state government, but had been abandoned for over 90 years. Our neighbour works in council and looked into contamination reports that had been done on the soil and found it was good” says Ruby.

Leaning on Ruby’s permaculture background, they conducted a site assessment and identified a tap for water supply and a promising full-sun aspect. “The goal was community food resilience, and to get people thinking differently about food”.

After speaking with local indigenous elders to gain their permission to use the land, the group studied successful guerrilla community gardens to try to replicate what factors had made them work.

The first was wide community consultation. Every house in the surrounding area to the proposed garden was repeatedly doorknocked, to canvas any issues or concerns with establishing the garden- and identify anyone who was willing to help. Flyers were also distributed.

The next was rapid implementation. “Our goal was to set it up in 2 days, to skip the uncertain period where people are not sure what’s going on” says Ruby. “We just went ahead and did it” says Al.

“We brought in about 20 m2 of soil, and spent our personal money on it” says Al. “It took about a day to get it all in, there was a lot of community support”. While a lot of elbow grease went into the set-up, there’s no permanent infrastructure, which helps avoid the ire of bureaucrats

The first garden is at West End, in inner-south Brisbane, and it’s been a total success. Occupying around ¼ acre, it’s ringed by edible native plants with mounded beds of vegetables inside.

Everything grown goes back into the community to feed those who need it most. “The founding principles were doing free work for the community, and the produce is free”. “We have signs saying this food is going to vulnerable people, and it seems to work”.

At West End the produce goes to refugees living in the community, so Al and Ruby asked the refugee community organisation what they would like to eat. Accordingly, the fare is a little more diverse than what’s on offer at the shops, with sweet potato, okra, cassava, elephant foot yams and papaya thriving. It’s also become a place for meetings and picnics.

The approach has been a big success, regularly supplying food to community organisations and those most vulnerable, as well as building local connections. The program has expanded.

Featured Plants:

PAW PAW - Carica papaya cv.

SWEET POTATO - Ipomoea batatas cv.

CHILLI - Capsicum cv.

PUMPKIN ‘JAP’ - Cucurbita maxima cv.

OKRA - Abelmoschus esculentus cv.

Filmed on Turrbal & Yuggera Country | Brisbane, Qld

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bumblebeeappletree · 5 hours

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South Sea pearls are the largest cultured-pearl variety, sometimes reaching over 20 millimeters in diameter. The Pinctada maxima oyster can take up to five years to produce a single South Sea pearl, whereas more common freshwater oysters can take as little as three months and create dozens of pearls. This long cultivation process makes South Sea pearls rarer — and more expensive. A single South Sea pearl can cost $1,500, and a necklace can reach over $200,000. So, how are these pearls grown? And what makes them so expensive?

More World Wide Waste Videos:

Can We Clean Up One Of The Most Polluted Neighborhoods In The US? | World Wide Waste

https://youtu.be/Z5hDJNCjjzk

How People Profit Off India’s Garbage | World Wide Waste | Business Insider

https://youtu.be/V7TcEnSOR3s

Fish Skin Leather Could Fight Restaurant Waste | World Wide Waste | Business Insider

https://youtu.be/w9nISidw79A

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#Pencils #WorldWideWaste #BusinessInsider

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bumblebeeappletree · 5 hours

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Indigo is a wonderful way to bring blue into your natural dye studio. Both traditional vat dyeing and fresh leaf indigo are beautiful options to create ombre effects on textile. This tutorial will show you how dip dye in an indigo vat and with salt rubbed fresh leaf indigo. You will see the resulting gradient design on a cotton mesh bag.

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro - Indigo dip dye

1:55 Dip One - Fresh leaf indigo

5:30 Dip Two - Indigo vat

8:26 Dip dye results on cotton

8:43 Wrap up

10:20 Sneak peek of next tutorial

12:30 Blooper

SUPPLY LIST

Vat Indigo

Fresh leaf indigo

Plastic bucket with lid

Drop cloth

Long stir stick

Gloves

Bin

Dry rack

Measuring spoon

Large bowl

Vinegar

Salt

Textile of choice

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bumblebeeappletree · 5 hours

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This company is transforming broken tires into trendy sandals 🩴

#Earth #Environment #ClimateCrisis #NowThis

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In a garden there are different types of shade - you can make the most of it by clever plant selection. Subscribe 🔔 http://ab.co/GA-subscribe

At the height of summer, plants can soon become stressed in full sun but shade needs to be considered all year round as all plants, to some degree, need light to grow.

Deciduous trees provide seasonal shade - filtered light in summer and more sun in winter. Under the canopy there are also areas that get angled morning and afternoon sun, which can be intense, so you need to choose plants that can tolerate those extremes.

Josh has succulents – Aloe and Pig’s Ear – in this position under his Gleditsia tree and they are tough enough to cope. Other options are Lomandra and Neoregelia Bromeliads, although different varieties have different sun tolerance; if the leaves are bleaching that’s a sure sign a bromeliad is getting too much sun, but Josh’s are doing well so he adds another for colour contrast.

Evergreen Sugar Gums provide dappled light on the eastern side of Josh’s house. They provide year-round dry shade and a number of native grasses thrive in this: lomandra, sword-sedge and dianellas.

A bare patch at the back will be filled with other tried-and-tested species: Correa ‘Bicheno Bells’, Acacia cognata ‘Limelight’ and Dianella ‘Cassa Blue’.

Using small plants means you only need to dig small holes, which minimizes disturbance to the tree roots.

Controllable Shade such as removable shade sails are good for areas near the house where you want summer protection but winter light. Another option is to grow a deciduous tree or vine. Josh has trained a grapevine over his pergola, which provides summer shade, autumn colour, fruit and still allows in winter sun! It can be trimmed to provide exactly the right level of shade to grow a range of productive plants underneath, such as herbs, a makrut lime and blueberry. These will take full sun but thrive in light shade and need less watering in the hotter months.

Featured Plants:

HONEY LOCUST - Gleditsia triacanthos *

ALOE - Aloe ‘Gemini’

PIG’S EAR - Cotyledon orbiculata ‘Silver Waves’ *

SPINY-HEADED MAT-RUSH - Lomandra longifolia cv.

BROMELIAD - Neoregelia cv.

DWARF SUGAR GUM - Eucalyptus cladocalyx ‘Nana’

COASTAL SWORD-SEDGE - Lepidosperma gladiatum

BLACK-ANTHER FLAX-LILY - Dianella revoluta

NATIVE FUCHSIA - Correa pulchella‘Bicheno Bells’

- Acacia cognata ‘Limelight’

BLUE FLAX-LILY - Dianella caerulea ‘Cassa Blue’

GRAPE ‘PERLETTE’ - Vitis vinifera cv.

MAKRUT LIME - Citrus hystrix

* Check before planting: this may be an environmental weed in your area

Filmed on Whadjuk Country | Perth, WA

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The Ironbound neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey, has become one of the most polluted in the country. That's because it is surrounded by polluting industries, including one of the largest sewage plants in the country and a trash incinerator that burns thousands of tons of trash every week. Residents have been demanding cleaner air for more than 50 years. We met residents and activists who told us how the pollution has affected their lives and health, and how they're fighting back.