Resilience in the dumpster fire

Gratitude left behind by a neighbor at one of the #OutPlanttheOutBreak little free cabinets

Lots of shifts for everyone happened in the unprecedented pandemic year of 2020. While keeping our collective eye on public health, justice and politics, it is also important to celebrate the positives. Especially when the positives support our resilience, mutual aide and sustainability. The garden education and advocacy work I do had huge pivots too, though as the season closes, there is joy in looking back. My 2020 work nurtured joy and connections for my community to nature. I have much gratitude for all the support and collaborations that transpired to make these efforts happen this past season:

The #outplanttheoutbreak seed distribution that shared 5,681 seed packets through eight little free cabinet locations in Como, Midway and Frogtown with the help of 16 neighborhood volunteers.
A spring seedling distribution where 10 GrowRx growers, 7 community garden sites, and at least 62 neighborhood backyard growers received vegetable, flower and herb starts through various donation programs connecting Urban Farm and Garden Alliance, Youth Farm, Friends School Plant Sale and other sponsors.
A doubling-down of seed keeping activities that knitted together the like missions of the St. Paul Seed Circle, the Como Community Seed Library, Hothouse Horticulture, the Hamline Midway Coalition and the Pierce Butler Meadow, the Minnesota State Horticulture Society and the Capitol Region Watershed District. As a result, a series of seed saving Q&A’s, class events, a progressive seed saving tour and a distanced seed swap all got organized after the onset of Covid19 restrictions.
The #LittleFreeFlorist stand which provided 375 free bouquets to my neighbors.
The Mobile Nature Art Kiosk with Gita Ghei to support the Hamline Midway Coalition’s project with the Trust for Public Land. The Kiosk distributed 423 individual art kits at 5 Midway neighborhood parks and more good news is that it will live on in 2021!

Part of resilience is seeing opportunities when life brings challenges. In the realm of gardens, resilience brings abundance, reciprocity, mutual aid and pathways for equity.

Getting GrowRx growers set-up for the season with UFGA

the Little Free Florist being engaged as one of the #outplanttheoutbreak seed distribution cabinets

One of 75 sets of bouquets for the Little Free Florist; this one was especially assembled with foragable items for the Urban Foraging Tour that made 2 stops at the LFF

One of the dozens of prep days for seed stocking during #outplanttheoutbreak

neighbor kids with their bark rubbing journal made at Horton Park from a Mobile Nature Art Kiosk kit

Liatris being harvested for seeds at Monarch City as part of the seed harvesting tour in September

By repacking seed packets into smaller envelopes, dozens more households could get seed from 1 commercial packet during #outplanttheoutbreak distribution

The Solar Ray art kit content; recyclable or compostable elements were sourced for each of 4 activities in the Mobile Nature Art Kiosk

One day of plant sharing in the spring; these babies are awaiting to be picked up

Pierce Butler Meadow had a number of visits over the pandemic year; on this day volunteers were harvesting seed.

Little Free Florist in action; Each set of bunches had its own Instagram post that identified the annuals, perennials, herbs and edibles used in that day's bouquets.

The Mobile Nature Art Kiosk at Tatum Park; The kit distribution happened during 2 months and a 60 degree high temperature range!

Little Free Florist bunches always included a wide range of plant types ie natives, annuals, edibles, & herbs; In part, the intention of the flowers is to encourage curiosity of the plant world.