Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Victory Gardens coming soon to your area

30. April 2007 • Murph
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Ypsilanti blogger Mark Maynard and local community gardening non-profit Growing Hope are in the brainstorming stages of launching a new Victory Garden project in the area. From Mark’s post on the topic:

I started wondering whether or not it might be feasible to kick off a national campaign around the new Victory Garden, focusing on, instead of war, the fuel consumed in shipping produce from Honduras and hauling it from Mexico, and what it costs us, environmentally speaking. “Victory Gardens against Global Warming,” has a nice ring to it, I think. (I suspect there are a lot of people out there, like me, who are looking for real, tangible ways to join in the fight against global warming, and it would be great to give them something to do.)

The “product” of this initiative is envisioned as a clearinghouse for information and supplies in support of Michigan gardens for world change, but the final form and content are yet to be determined. The coordinators have called a planning meeting for this Thursday, May 3, 7pm at the Corner Brewery (720 Norris St., just north of Depot Town).



  1. This is a good framing of a reason to join a movement toward local food supply, home gardening, etc. Slow Food Huron Valley is also promoting the issue of food as a marker of the global ecology (though they have a rather epicurean tilt), Washtenaw County has an initiative called Food System Economic Partnership (aimed at promoted locally produced food), and a group is promoting understanding of food production in schools (http://www.agrarianadventure.org/). Me, I just doubled the size of my vegetable garden and am planning to double my sauerkraut production this year also. The recent revelations about deliberate contamination of food from China with melamine should give us another motivation – eat local, eat fresh, eat healthfully.


       —Vivienne Armentrout    May. 1 '07 - 05:45PM    #

  2. Okay, I’ve got to take this opportunity for flagarent self promotion.

    This ties in really well with a Dinner and a Movie event ICPJ is having on May 24. We’ll be viewing and discussing “Deconstructing Supper,” which explores how the modern food production system affects our lives and planet.

    Since we’re doing a dinner for this event, let us know if you think you’ll attend. Contact info is available at www.icpj.net/DinnerAndAMovie


       —Chuck Warpehoski    May. 1 '07 - 07:43PM    #

  3. Mark has another post, with discussion of what the project should be called (is “victory gardens” too much about war?) and some info on related projects in Hamtramck and Carnegie-Mellon…


       —Murph.    May. 2 '07 - 08:56PM    #