February 2019 – Bloom Dammit!

February 28, 2019

Attempting Zero Waste at LAUSD school

I teach gardening education at a LAUSD school, and although everyone means well and wants to help, I’ve only had 2 parents volunteer. I think part of the challenge lies in wanting to help but not knowing how to get there. For instance, composting, where to start? we know where we need to end up but starting the collection and changing behavior is a completely different beast. It’s even harder when not all folks have the same desired goal to get it going – priorities are just different for some folks, unfortunately.

This week felt like a big win. I recently started the master gardener program and have been connecting with great people from different organizations. I came across Seeds of Hope and they work with other non-profits to get food into the hands of those who need it. Please check them out, they also grow their own food to supplement what they give out.

So back to organizing a campus… we set up a disassembly line at the lunch break. Breaking out food that is in good condition and can be donated, recyclable items, compost and waste. Previously, we trashed everything – now we are collecting the compostable food trays (which can also be recycled).

I asked the lunch manager for some help with ice, unfortunately we didn’t have any but he did me a true solid and handed me an insulated bag for food. I drove to Echo Park to drop it off and the group kindly accepted my donation. It would be nice to have a system to drop off the food. I must admit I cried from the sheer exhaustion of getting 10 people to work together in training kids. I hope this is the first of many days when we get to reduce food from the landfill into the hands of those who need it the most.

February 21, 2019

California Native Seed Planting – Changing Behavior

First thing we did when we bought our house was mulch – see here

And although I didn’t have a plan, I knew that we had to do something to conserve water in our Los Angeles suburb of Burbank. With drought after drought, we have to collectively change the way we look at grass. Easier said than done, since human behavior and convenience is one of the hardest things to change. Some of us look at grass as an antiquated relic of the idealized past, an image manipulated to create an oasis in California in order to lure east coasters. Beyond that, I see a lot of Latino families seeing grass as their manifestation of the American dream. Some folks worked hard, bought a home and grass is the physical representation of that.

I try to learn from others, and overall try to be less judgemental of others with how they choose to spend time, money, and effort but we must do more outside of our little zero-waste and conservation bubble. It’s an echo chamber of sorts and I would like to do more to outreach.

One organization that does a good job on education others on the benefits of natives, as they tie into water conservation is Theodore Payne Foundation link here

I’ve taken art classes there, bought seeds there and recently connected with an educator. I do think they fill a void, they don’t just sell items but they’re interested in selling plants that are colorful and don’t look like native weeds. They also lead by example, they have solar installed on their roof, their volunteers are knowledgeable, and they’re a non-profit.

Where I do have a gripe is the accessibility quotient. I do understand that natives take A LOOOOOONG time to grow, and herein lies the problem. The mark-up on these plants, the cost and the affordability doesn’t cater to anyone but the richest of Angelinos. Some of these plants are in the $18-$22 range and it’s hard for someone to shell out that much for a front yard overhaul.

My suggestion is to go for the seeds – start planting in the fall and see the results in late winter and early spring.

February 20, 2019

Composting at an Elementary School

Over the last few months, I’ve been composting at Micheltorena Elementary. I work as a school garden ranger, and people drop off compost. I turn the pile, get the kids involved and discuss nitrogen and carbon balance.

The hardest thing to accept has been, why won’t the school compost? I’ve been looking at the lunch menu and although not all the items can be broken down, some can be.

I often teach kids about growing our own food, permaculture, sustainability and zero-waste but all of that is pointless is we don’t teach by doing.

As of last week, I’ve been able to work hand-in-hand with the principal at this school to establish a small, 5-gallon compost bucket. Disclaimer, I work for Enrich LA, and this is an initiative for us as employees. My challenge isn’t the support, believe me I have it, but I need to figure out ways to get other people truly excited and engaged in this next endeavor.

I’m attaching a file, with my plans on what I intend to do, and what has been implemented – in hopes that it will inspire you or inspire others to take the leap and compost at your neighborhood school.

We are in the implementation phase, so far we’ve collected a few pounds of organic waste. We’ve added it to the pile and used the paper plates (non-waxed) to balance the nitrogen and carbon.

I’ve included some pictures here, but the value is in the plan. Please credit me if you’d like to use it.

without education, we end up with perfectly good food in the waste system and plastic in compost

Composting Plan for Elementary School

February 3, 2019

Soil – Teaching Kids

One of the reasons we love our yard so much is that we can have pets, have a garden but also entertain our kid. While many complain about too much time online or watching TV, we’re happy we get to open the door and tell our kid to play with dirt. My job is also working with kids, working with EnrichLA and local elementary schools to teach, but lately I feel like I’ve been learning so much.

The kids I teach are young this time around, and the lessons aren’t really landing well, partially because definitions of soil are boring and the age of the kids. I often use my 2 year old as I test the lessons. If it doesn’t land well with a toddler, it’s not going to land well with a 4-5 year old who has a mind of their own.

I found this resource for soil here: https://www.soils4teachers.org/know-soil-know-life

I like to explain things to kids the way I would explain them to adults, meaning that I don’t want to dumb down a lesson thinking that children can’t understand, because they can. The definitions didn’t land, but the applied part did. We were able to play with soil, get the kids handling the dirt – and we even found a friend. We were able to go from basic soil composition to discussing soil as a habitat and ecosystem for critters.

This was one of my most challenging lessons, I will do things slightly different next time – perhaps have different types of soil on hand and match plants to the soil. Til next time.

February 2, 2019

Burbank Backyard Food Growers – 1st Annual Seed Exchange

I’m part of a solid group of backyard growers that occasionally come together to exchange excess backyard produce. After following some successful gardeners on Instagram, I got the idea to do our own local seed exchange. Not only would this be a great way to connect, but our seeds would be successful since the meeting and exchange would be really local.

We coordinated online, check out the group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1216601628460596/

A lot of people tend to collect a lot of seeds, and truly it’s nice to have a surplus, however, some seeds lose their ability to germinate as well as time goes on. Seed exchanges are good for sharing what you have excess of, and acquiring new seeds you may not have known about.

I was also able to learn a lot about what grows in our zone 10 in Burbank. Lot’s of experienced growers came out, and I was even able to gather some Yuzu seeds from a guest.

The other upside is that we’re trying to reduce our use of disposable and plastic goods. We were able to upcycle some of the pharmacy bottles and plastic containers from the dispensary into seed containers.

Check out some pictures of our rainy day exchange