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I don’t want to say I’ve been procrastinating, but I’ll go as far as to say I’ve lost a little of my blog-writing momentum with all the holiday bustle and transitioning back to my life in Seattle. I’ve managed to stay busy enough since coming back to the states that I’ve barely had enough time to reflect on my trip and transition back, which means I’ve seamlessly returned (regressed?) to that face-paced, “must-be-doing-something-every-second” American mentality from the slower, more relaxed Dominican one. It’s amazing how writing regularly was actually easier in a culture where being productive just isn’t a concern. I somehow manage to do everything BUT write now that I’m back in the land of producing results… and now that I’ve waited this long there is even more pressure. But, in the words of John Cage, “Begin anywhere.”
First, a correction: When I was with my family during the Christmas season, I showed them some pictures I had taken my last day in DR of the entire finished lawn and garden, and they were all impressed. “You wrote on your blog as if nothing was growing, but this looks so abundant. You should be so proud.” Ok, so maybe I tended to focus on what was not growing – because that was how I learned – but ALSO, something magical happened my last few days in the DR. Plants that hadn’t been growing shot up and some, like the eggplant and peppers even began producing flowers. Maybe it was the grass so nicely framing the garden that made the plants appear bigger, or maybe it was the compost I had added to the soil the week before. Many things could have contributed to this growth spurt, but part of me wants to believe that it was the plants popping their heads up to say “Goodbye Margot. You really did facilitate a flourishing, abundant garden! Now you can leave knowing that.” Thanks plants. I needed to hear that.
This week I have been volunteering at an elementary school here in Seattle that is beginning to compost in the lunchroom. Between myself and another adult and 2 or 3 older kids, we have to help every kid figure out where to throw their wrappers, containers and uneaten food before the bell rings. This particular school has a program for English as a second language students so showing them what to do is in many cases more useful than explaining it. As I guided kid after kid to dump their food and “Not the Plastic container!” into the compost bins, I saw entire apples, burritos, sandwiches and even cookies and brownies being tossed! I wondered how many kids we could have fed with the leftovers from one day at that a relatively small elementary school. At least 50. Then multiply that out by all the schools across America. It’s hard to imagine. I don’t really want to.
Kids have always been picky eaters and will always continue to be. So composting is a great solution to dealing with the waste more sustainably. But I don’t want to believe that the amount of waste I saw today is inevitable. Apparently the school is starting a garden soon, and that gives me hope. When kids pick an apple off of a tree themselves, or pull a carrot from the ground, their interest in these foods inevitably grows. I’ve seen it happen countless times working at CSA farms. The kids who UPick cherry tomatoes can’t help but start popping them into their mouths. The kids who pick green beans begin designing their own recipes that they will try out with THEIR green beans that night for dinner. When food comes from under a warming light on a plastic tray kids have about as much interest in it as if the food were made of clay. But when they themselves help to grow it, and see the life in it… well, who wouldn’t want to taste it and share it?
The very first day the kids started composting I would say to some of the little ones, “Now give your food to the worms,” instead of just, “Put your food in the compost bin,” to make it a little less abstract and also because I’m not actually sure a lot of them know why we are composting at all or what compost is. So I got excited today when one kid remembered and asked me if the worms were going to eat his food. ”Yes,” I told him, “And they are going to make it into rich soil.”
“To put on the garden?” he asked
“Exactly!”
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Thank you so much to all who contributed at http://www.indiegogo.com/Grass-for-Girls, the home for girls MADELAES now has an incredibly beautiful green backyard with a productive garden to boot! I hope you feel as happy as I do when you look at these pictures. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your support.
Just the other day when I stepped down from the grass to the one part that hadn’t been covered with sod yet, my shoe became immediately caked with mud (which I subsequently tracked all over the brick path and gazebo), reminding me just how important this grass is. Indeed, the house is already noticeably cleaner, and the best part - the girls are noticeably spending more time outside instead of in front of the TV! And it’s only going to get better - the sod still looks like a quilt of patched together squares and it has to be kept wet so that the roots take. But even walking into the hogar’s gate yesterday to see girls playing badmitten (a new Christmas gift) on the newly laid grass made me feel pretty proud. Most of all I am happy for the girls.
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