san diego indymedia volunteer | 27.12.2006 00:02

"There wasn't a lot of conversation with people in the community until we were out there, digging in the dirt, pulling up the lawn and people would come by and were like 'What are you doing?' It was this real connecting thing in the community that we are living in."

San Diego Food Not Lawns organized a Bike Tour of Edible San Diego on November 12. "The idea was to get folks out on bicycles to look at some of the school gardens and community gardens and front yard gardens that people have been putting in to get us excited about the possibilities of a greener San Diego and a San Diego where food is everywhere."

Leaving from Balboa Park, the roughly 15 mile tour visited the worm bins and gardens at Grant Elementary School in Mission Hills, Food Not Bombs serving a meal at North Park Park, gardens at Central Elementary in CIty Heights, a front-yard community garden project at the Activist San Diego House, and the Golden Hills Community Garden in Balboa Park.

San Diego Food Not Lawns is part of a recently created international movement for "using our resources, our land, our water, our energy for growing food for people instead of on lawns."

Edible San Diego Bike Tour Video: 15min/20mbytes

Links: San Diego Food Not Lawns | Cascadia Food Not Lawns | Grant Elementary | Central Elementary | Activist San Diego

Bike Tour of Edible San Diego Video: 15min/20mbytes -

Food Not Bombs: "It would be great if we took over the land that we live in and the spaces that we have to grow our own food and that way we wouldn't have to depend on dumpstering or capitalism and going out and buying food to feed people, we could grow it ourselves using the resources we have."

Central Elementary: "The purpose for what the principal wants with this [garden] is for kids to grow stuff and to give back to the community... We just started planting for christmas... we wanted to give little packages of herbs and vegetables to the community for christmas."

Activist San Diego House: "A lot of people come by and they would be like' Oh what are you guys doing, putting a lawn in?' and 'No we're growing vegetables' and then 'Oh really' and then the lightbulb goes off. And then we engage them in a conversation about the whole Food Not Lawns idea. We found a lot of people who were really receptive to the idea... There wasn't a lot of conversation with people in the community until we were out there, digging in the dirt, pulling up the lawn and people would come by and were like ' What are you doing?' It will was this real connecting thing in the community that we are living in."

Golden Hills Community Garden: "Initial dealings with Balboa Park people were like 'You want to have a garden in the park.' Well yes, isn't the park a big garden?... Dealing with city entities is very difficult. The action that really helped us was someone telling me: 'CC all of your e-mails to the park to the city council members.' That was the door that opened."