TED Talks: James Howard Kunstler

For those interested in urban agriculture and the issues entangled in it, this video might be of some use when thinking and talking about those issues - particularly public space.

If you'll remember from our documentary Spreading Seeds, we identified the decline of public space as being one of the fundamental issues that urban agriculture helps to mitigate.

In this insightful, passionate, and sometimes genuinely funny talk, James Howard Kunstler speaks to the "tragedy of suburbia", and the need for citizens to reclaim, and redesign public space. Kunstler insists that we need space in our cities to be proud of, space that is meaningful to human life, and space that we can and want to care for. Moreover he is arguing that change is needed across the spectrum of life, (and with regard to agriculture), "The days of the 3000 mile caesar salad are over".

>>Click here to watch The Tragedy of Suburbia

SPREADING SEEDS - The Movie

Finally available online: Spreading Seeds - our short documentary on urban agriculture in Vancouver.

What else to say?
>>WATCH IT
ENJOY
Let us know what you think!

>>Click here to watch Spreading Seeds

Putting the fun back into social activism!

David Tracey, author of Guerrilla Gardening: A ManualFesto, wrote with reference to the rationale behind guerrilla gardening: "Yes, the earth is in drastic shape, and OK, we're all going to die, but no, we will not in the meantime be driven into becoming dour, hand wringing, finger wagging scolds. We will have fun and we will save the planet at the same time." We would like to think that we are taking a similar approach with this blog and our campaign. This compilation of clips that we've captured over the past few weeks show that yes, social activism can be...FUN!

Vancouver International Film Festival: Homegrown

On October 5th, the three of us went to a screening of the film Homegrown, directed by Robert McFalls. The film documents the Dervaes family who, on their 1/5 acre plot of land a few hundred feet from the freeway in Pasadena California, harvest 6000 pounds of produce annually. The family's story is quite remarkable, and McFalls' treatment of it raises a lot of important questions surrounding urban agriculture. We were lucky enough to get an interview with McFalls, and have posted it here for you to enjoy.

Please visit the film's website at www.homegrown-film.com