EVOKATION

Evokation

Tyler Burns

5-13-10

This is what I am planning on doing starting this fall when I will begin doing soil testing. As of now I am just going to be talking to some wise old guys who know about
farming. This year, it is a little too late to start my new form of
community garden.

The Place

This will start in my town of Huntington, WV and hopefully residents will be quick to pick it up seeing how they went through the recent Jamie Oliver “food
revolution”. This will be where it happens next year, but years
after that I see other communities adopting the good aspects of my
idea. Another challenge is I want to be able to get a site going
that will serve as a place where people can come and bring the idea
the their community by downloading a starter packet in a .zip file. I
might even be able to go to neighboring cities on this year after and
start doing some consultation about the project and do some speaking.

The Challenge

I want to get the community together and grow food for those who are in need of help. Often times its the poor who can't afford the better foods but rather have to
stick with the MSG-laden processed foods. Growing fresh fruits and
vegetables will help them out to save money and get out of poverty.
Contributing to their world view will help lift depression from
systemic causes.

The Idea

The city of Huntington started a program called “weed and seed” which encompa**** a lot, but a big part of this is purchasing tax leans against foreclosed properties
especially those with unsightly buildings on them. Many of which,
they have demolished and hauled away the house, so there are all of
these blank spaces in the community in our neighborhoods. What I plan
to do is work a couple of these spaces in the fall, hopefully with a
little help from my friends. We prepare the soil and clear away old
garbage. This will only take a short agreement which does not provide
me with very many rights, but that is fine because the city will be
kept from stopping my project in the middle of a season for fear of
community outrage. If they decide between seasons to cease this it
will be fine because there will be virtually nothing to lose besides
a few hours work and only some boards for the planter plots to move
on truck. So, I hope to get community volunteers up and even
legitimize myself as a charity if necessary to take donations for
those whom wish to give. This would also enlist the available
principles from social psychology to aid like listing the details of
the project on a mirror making passersby more self-aware and less
likely to pick and steal.

The Money

What money? The city should be happy to do this because it makes them look like they are doing something good. The land is just sitting there earning equity, so all
we would be doing would be getting the rights to use it. I would only
be adding value because I would be preparing the land from
exhaustion, but some money would be nice help like the buying of the
wooden barriers for the plots and gardening accessories.