Agriculture in the heart of the Buick City

For a long time, the idea of growing and maintaining a home garden has been something I kept in the back of my head with all the other vauge, future plans that I have cooked up over the years.  However, frequent moves while in the military and apartment living since getting out have kept me from actually getting a garden going.  Now though, I am back in a house with a nice back yard, and my plans to dig up a corner and plant some tomatoes, peppers, and whatever else are back in effect

While looking around the internet for tips on home gardening, I came across several articles and websites that advocated taking the idea of the home garden out of the back yards and into the vacant lots that all too often have taken over many sections of once thriving industrial cities like Flint.  This idea goes by the name of "urban agriculture" and the goals of the idea go far beyond providing a few fresh vegetables and a bit of stress relief for the traditional backyard hobbiest.

Urban Agriculture is not a new idea in either America or the world at large; the victory gardens of World War Two were a great example of a type of urban agriculture that was embraced by a significant portion of the nation.  The new urban agriculture movement is a bit different in that it is focused not on providing for the family but on promoting economic diversity, sustainable living, and advocating for the repurposing of abandoned and neglected properties in and around cities across America.

Intriuged by the idea, I decided to search a bit further, and I was happy to find that there were several projects in and around Flint that were taking the ideas of the urban agriculture movement and applying them in my hometown.

Here is the most recent article on one of the projects that appeared in the online version of the Flint Journal this past weekend:

"Two Flint women want to help revitalize the community with a new urban farm within city limits"

FLINT, Michigan — Nearly two acres of vacant land near the I-69/I-475 interchange could be sprouting fresh fruits and vegetables by June.

Two urban farmers have struck a deal with the Genesee Land Bank to lease 16 vacant lots on Beach Street between 12th Street and Wellington Avenue to expand the Flint River Farm.

Farmer Roxanne Adair, 27, said she wants to bring fresh produce to a neighborhood that doesn’t have easy access to such food.

The farm would use organic practices to grow strawberries, carrots, squash, peas, bell peppers, lettuce and watermelon, among other produce.

“People shouldn’t have to move outside the city to eat well,” said Adair. “You shouldn’t have to live in a rural area to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Hopefully this new venture will be sucessfull and it will help people realize that we can come together as a community to reinvent and revitalize a city that many think has seen the last of its good times.

Flint is not dead.