Get Energy Smart! NOW!

Michelle Obama has brought urban gardening to, perhaps, its highest symbolic peak with the White House organic vegetable and fruit garden.

Building up urban gardening, whether as individuals or collective efforts, whether on private or public land, is a win-win-win path when done correctly, which will foster a stronger community, improve health (both through time outdoors and better food), and help address a multitude of other challenges (energy, environmental, etc…).

The Garden is an award-winning documentary (nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar) that looks to the battle over the largest urban garden in America. In Los Angeles, “the garden” emerged from the flames of the Los Angeles Riots, as the “South Central Farmers” tranformed 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles in a “14-acre oasis”. This plot, however, moved from urban nirvana to a battleground, as a major developer purchased the property (“at less than fair-market value”) and seeks to transform this lowly vegetable plot into something better.

The Garden traces this battle over the future of a 14-acre plot, a battle over the soul of a community, and a battle that highlights issues at the core of considerations for how we can help develop the nation toward an Energy Smart, prosperous, climate-friendly future.

The Garden opens this weekend in Washington, DC, and New York City. A recommended outing to the theater.

For more, see:

NEW YORK TIMES – May 8, 2009 – Jeannette Catsoulis’s review of The Garden

ASSOCIATED PRESS/NEWSDAY – May 8, 2009 – Christie Lemire’s 3 Star Review of The Garden

VILLAGE VOICE – May 8, 2009 – Ernest Hardy’s Positive review of The Garden

NEW YORK MAGAZINE – May 8, 2009 – The Garden listed as a “Critics Pick” for this weekend

RELATED:  See LA Times, Guerrilla garderner movement takes root in LA area, May 2008.   And, from there, Guerrilla Gardening and Homegrown Evolution.