Community Gardening

  So part of the Garden of Ian business that I established with my good friend Drake Kurlander involves giving back to the community.  We worked very hard and diligently on getting a federal grant that aimed at increasing the availability of healthy and nutritious foods in lower-income areas.  The specific part of the grant that we worked on involves direct enhancements to existing community gardens in these areas.

 

  The two gardens that we are working with are, the Little Haiti Community Garden and Troy Community Academy.  These "enhancements" are so much more than that as you can see in these pictures.  In a general sense, sure we're bringing resources and volunteers into the space, but the actual impact on ourselves and the community members is difficult to put into words.  

To get things going at the Little Haiti Community Garden, we held our first "Work Party" in the garden on July 9th.  It was an overcast and rainy day (which was more than welcomed considering some of the heat that can happen on a summer day in South Florida) and we had a number of volunteers and community members show up to led a hand.  It's truly amazing to be in the United States, but have the feeling of being somewhere in the Caribbean or Latin America.  It was a Saturday in Little Haiti and there are people in the streets, music coming out of shops up and down the street and a feeling of movement within the community! At one point, an elder Haitian lady passed by as I was placing some rocks and proclaimed, "Haiti!" pointing to all of the crops that are proliferating in the garden. Unfortunately Spanish was the first, second-language that I picked up on living here in Miami and my Creole is it's infancy stages to say the least, so I couldn't really follow up with any recipe questions or a simple "how's the day going."  But I imagine that with time...

Bobo admiring his handywork

Bobo and help

    To really be there, as a part of this greater transformation process that is happening within these gardens and communities is quite powerful.  I couldn't help but smile when 6 year old "bobo" was struggling with a wheelbarrow full of dirt and one of the gardeners came over to lend a little support and guidance.  It is truly an amazing experience to be there for the smiles, the satisfaction of a good hard days work, the celebration, the life!  It was one of the neighborhood children's birthdays, so we decided to pair the work-day with a party and hence the "Work Party."  On most of the kids' minds that day was not the beautiful crops that were being harvested or what needed to be done next, but more like, "when can we have cake!"

   In one of my previous posts I mentioned how happy it makes me to utilize whatever is around and available, in the creation of a good time.  Well, in the rushing-around, preparation for the workday, plates and utensils were somehow forgotten and we had to make do with what we did have!  Hilary's birthday cake was served on fresh-cut banana leaves that day and we all used our five-fingered utensils to truly enjoy ourselves!

   As this was the first of many work parties, we are looking forward to being directly involved with the community in the transformation of these gardens!  There are so many people whose efforts are really making this happen, and I thank them wholeheartedly for the energy that they are putting in!  Just a brief shout out list off the top of my head: Gary Feinberg(part owner of Little Haiti Community Garden land), Claudia Montesinos, Maggie Pons, Ben Thacker, Drake Kurlander, James Jiler, Roger Horne, Melissa Contreras, Mario Yanes, Tamara, Erin Healy, too many to name, but THANK YOUU!!! 

Found Treasures...

So one of my favorite things to do is to find treasures.  Miss Evelyn and I were beach-combing down in the Florida Keys for whatever and we came across an abandoned kayak that was halfway sunk into the sand.  I was STOKED and immediately got to work digging it out of the sand.  Evelyn kept strolling the beach as I struggled to get the sand out of the hull (there were cracks in the kayak where sand had poured in).

    It took about 45 minutes of a good struggle, but I finally got all the sand out and got it floating!

 Evy and I took it for a little paddle out just as the sun was going down.  We passed a few fisherman that were getting their lobster traps ready for the season.  Our newly found kayak had a few leaks, but we managed to make it out to the Florida Bay, where we had a nice clear view of the West.

In my mind, the adventures that are cultivated from nothing but an adventurous and receptive mind are some of the best.

Here was a little reward for the energy that went into salvaging the kayak from the sand...

A beautiful sunset!  We had no means of transporting it back to Miami, so now some lucky person has a kayak to mess around with down in the keys.  Easy come easy go :)

Mister and Misses Manatee :)

    This is a picture from when my girlfriend and I went down to the Florida Keys.  We stayed in a house adjacent to a saltwater canal and one afternoon while sitting on the porch, we looked out and saw some native Manatee (they're also known as sea cows).  I've always had a hankering to swim with these big docile and wonderful creatures and this was it!  They came close to the docks to check out what was going on and we thew on some masks to get a closer look. Unfortunately because they are endangered and very threatened by human activity (boating, etc), you cannot touch or feed these amazing creatures, so we snapped some beautiful shots of them and it was incredible!
   A silly side story...when I first went to choose a license plate from the DMV, I was presented with something silly like 50 options.  After a moment of hesitation, I remembered how much I had always loved the "Save the Manatee" plate growing up as a kid.  Scanning all the plates on the wall, I finally came across the manatee plate.  There was no question once I saw it.  It read:

Garden of Ian beginnings of a blog...

               For this blogs beginnings, I'd like to share with you a little behind the idea of Garden of Ian.  My name is Ian Wogan, and I am from the tropics of the USA: Miami, Florida.
               Raised on a wholesome diet of good food, outdoor adventuring and respect for life, my passions generally fall within the vicinity of any one of these areas.  Moving to California for good surf (and college) opened my eyes and led me to a deeper understanding and appreciation of environmental sustainability.
               I moved into a small house on the East side of Santa Barbara where a good friend had planted an amazing and prolific garden.  Going to the backyard and picking fresh food was an experience that guided me in my environmental endeavors towards a focus on sustainable agriculture.  Between surfing, adventuring and school, I became a certified permaculture designer, which meshes environmental stewardship and sustainability with human needs.
               When I was unable to affordably finish school in Santa Barbara, I moved back to my hometown and jumped into the deep end of the local, sustainable agriculture scene of South Florida.  I graduated from FIU with a major in Environmental Studies and a certificate in Sustainable Agriculture.  During my time at FIU, I was very much involved in establishing a local organic farmers market at the school that was tied with the organic community garden on campus.
               In the years since returning to South Florida, I have met countless amazing people, including a best friend of mine, Drake Kurlander.  Drake and I graduated in the Sustainable Agriculture program together and during our final semesters at FIU established the business "Garden of Ian." The business focuses on designing and installing native and edible "livingscapes" specifically using native plant species, sustainably sourced materials, edible fruit trees and organic gardens.  The idea is to create places of abundance for both humans and native animals.  It has been quite a challenge to dive into "environmental entrepreneurship" and along with business successes, we have received grant money from the federal government to increase the amount of fresh and healthy foods available in underserved areas of Miami.
               Coupled with my curiosity and intense interest of more sustainable food systems is my insatiable hunger for an adventurous and active lifestyle.  Among other things, surfing, dancing the night away, skateboarding, free-diving, capoeira, ultimate frisbee, adventure hiking/trekking, camping, paddle-boarding and adventures with my four-legged right hand man Pistol are some of the things I do whenever the opportunity arises.
              I am greatly looking forward to sharing with you some of the things in my life that inspire and motivate me on this planet.  These are a few glimpses into my eden...