As I walk into the Baltimore City Detention Center for my weekly garden class, a guard remarks on how big the plants are getting. I place my belongings into a bin and get patted down, and another employee tells me about her own garden. I tell her about the direction of the program, and for better serving the juveniles locked up there, facing adult charges. When they get out, I hope to be able to provide them with community service options or assist them in getting jobs in the field of horticulture. My hope for the city is that we can use gardening in schools, churches, and transition environments to heal and build stronger and healthier communities.
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More than just a garden
Monday, July 16, 2012We live in a time when the social contract between individual and society has become implicit. We forget that as individuals we engage in our community, our government, and with our neighbors because they are there for our benefit as we are for theirs—to make our lives better than if we went on alone. For the members of low-income, underserved communities such as Brooklyn/Curtis Bay however, this contract has failed.
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Growing more farms and more food
Monday, June 25, 2012One Friday afternoon at Whitelock Community Farm I found myself confronted by an 8-year-old who was pushing the carrots on anybody who would listen. Every few minutes, when somebody new walked up to the weekly farm stand, he exclaimed how sweet and delicious the carrots were and proceeded to enthusiastically chomp on a long, slender carrot with the greens still attached.
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Using solar power to save the city money
Monday, November 14, 2011Our public buildings (including city offices, schools, recreation centers, police and fire stations, etc.) use up a lot of energy and are in desperate need of many capital improvements. Employees complain about the decrepit conditions often…One way to address these ills and save money is to install solar panels on publicity-owned buildings.
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Real opportunity
Friday, September 03, 2010A Civic Works’ retrofit crew works to make a home more energy efficient. Civic Works is one of four nonprofit organizations that received substantial grants from the Open Society Institute’s Special Fund for Poverty Alleviation. Read more about Civic Works and the grants in the latest issue of our newsletter.
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Enterprising Green3
Monday, March 29, 2010Green can be a polarizing term. Especially when it brings about images of swimming polar bears, talk of carbon and climate change, or messaging to turn the thermostat down and put on your jumper, like ol’ Jimmy Carter. Environmentalism has typically cast a message about scarcity that only appeals to a relatively small number of […]
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Up on the roof tops
Monday, December 07, 2009Look out any window more than a few stories high in Baltimore. Can you spot a vast untapped energy supply? Those stretches of mostly flat rooftops rolling out before your eyes are fallow ground for wind and solar farms! Recently we started to bring farming back to the city through programs like School Farm and […]
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Biking to school
Monday, August 10, 2009We all know that getting around without a car in Baltimore can be a frustrating experience. It’s especially difficult for many students, who rely on an often-late bus system to get to school. This problem is exacerbated by the occasional actions of a few students, who have tainted the image of students riding public transit, […]
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Reducing power and water consumption
Monday, June 22, 2009We’re all familiar with the litany of problems associated with our current electricity system. Households struggle to meet higher bills; the State faces the prospect of brownouts by 2011; and Maryland’s heavy reliance on coal-based power contributes to global warming. On top of that, the State may face a shortage of water in the future. […]
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Creating green spaces
Monday, May 18, 2009Everyone knows that Baltimore has a plague of vacant lots that attract nuisances such as dumping, drug use, and crime. Some folks even do something about it, turning a vacant lot in their neighborhood into a community vegetable garden, pocket park, or even horseshoe pit. If you are troubled by a vacant lot near your […]
