L.A. Free Food and Nature Park

collaborative proposal with artist Meg Webster / Los Angeles, CA / 2003

what happens when the rich diversity of a large productive garden is inserted into the 21st century inner-city?
a garden is the city and the city is a garden.
the elements that make a healthy garden also make a healthy city.
this project applies the latest technology and research to harness the available resources of sun, water and soil in support of a more healthy, fertile and diverse urban ecosystem of plants, insects, animals, and people.
> fresh air, clean water & non-toxic soil are becoming rare urban luxuries.
> organic food, grown without chemicals and bio-engineering, is more expensive.
> plastic wrapped food separates us from the ecological cycles that sustain us.
> urban isolation from food production inspires careless treatment of the land it needs.
> abused land is reclaimed for public green space & the production of food.
> a board of advisors is assembled to support, oversee and inform the project.
> foundations, institutions & individuals step forward to fund the project.
> a city-wide coalition of supporters, advocates, volunteers & activists assist.
> horticulturists, scientists & farmers help apply the latest research & technology.
> community participation in planning and design instills a sense of ownership.
> artists & designers collaborate to create a complex & diverse environment.
> water sources and rain water retention irrigate, filtering and cleaning the water.
> refreshing ponds with solar pumps provide aquatic plant and animal habitat.
> vermiculture program uses worms to help turn waste into worm castings for compost.
> chickens supply rich manure for the soil and produce eggs for distribution or sale.
> composted plants and clippings recycle ‘waste’ and enrich the soil.
> bee-keeping produces honey & promotes pollination of flowers, fruits & vegetables.
> native flowers and meadows attract bees and beneficial insects.
> herbs & vegetables in diversity support each other and produce food.
> vinyards & arbors create outdoor rooms, sheild the summer sun and produce fruit.
> orchards create an urban buffer, provide shade and produce fruit.
> garden harvests are given free to those in need and sold to subsidize the park.
> a full time gardener is tending as care-taker and custodian of the gardens.
> neighborhood participants help tend the gardens and receive food in return.
> visitors learn of the complexity & beauty of ecological cycles through direct experience.
> novice urban gardeners are educated and learn how to grow their own food.
> the community gathers, explores and is welcomed in a fertile urban oasis.
> it is a model for other communities, informing & inspiring similar urban gardens.
> our urban life is enhanced by intense connections to complex natural cycles.
> our urban environment is enhanced & cleaned through the infusion of beneficial gardens.
> our food & where it comes from is made visible to us, even in the most dense urban spaces.