Check out more photos from the event:

Did you devote a part of this day to service? If so, what did you do?

flickr.com/prettywarstl: a nice plate!

Thanksgiving in my family is more than the delicious turkey, pies, and cobblers my sister Delane makes; it is also a celebration of food that preserves the memories and experiences of those who have passed on, symbolized through the remaking of family recipes…Cherrie’s dressing, Ella mae’s Pea Salad…the matriarchs of my family pulled greens from their garden for dinner, they plucked the feathers of fresh foul, and cleaned the fish they caught in local lakes for Friday fish fries.

Our family also has gratitude for the new generation and experiences that nod toward the future by introducing new culinary creations, such as the anticipated “newlywed dish” from Christine and Antoine this year, my next-generation cornbread dressing that has become a family favorite, and Uncle Jerry’s deep fried turkey that produces the juiciest, tastiest bird in record time.

With everyone at the table, sometimes for the first time in months, it’s a perfect time to discuss goals for your family in the coming year and also celebrate the accomplishments.

This year at the table, I hope you will join me in having a discussion with your loved ones about ways to get back in touch with the outdoors. I’ll bet someone at the table, especially an elder, can recall circumstances that mirror Cherrie and Ella mae’s, and remind us at a personal level the intimate and sustainable interaction possible with the outdoors. These shared experiences can connect people more than we imagine, so don’t let your eyes glaze over when the elders are speaking…you’ll miss something important, I assure you.

Flickr.com/Circulating: The Harvest

The point is not to create a complicated or overly-ambitious plan for the outdoors, but to figure out what activities feel comfortable for everyone and commit to do something. Perhaps it’s a short family hike over this holiday weekend; planning more picnics, starting a family garden, taking up bird-watching, or perhaps  polling to see which child (or adult) still needs to learn to swim, and make it a family goal for everyone to learn how before summer.

If you are an outdoorsy family already, then break out the recent trip photos and recall stories to celebrate your activities, keep the excitement around them alive, and inspire new adventure ideas.

I am profoundly thankful Outdoor Afro is here (and growing) to share the diverse experiences of folks of color doing outdoor activities, while inspiring more people to reconnect with outdoor activities that are not as otherworldly as they sometimes appear.

From my family to yours – Have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

My very best,
Rue

For urban dwellers who would love to garden, but feel as though they don’t have enough, time, skills, or space, a re-popularized and fun solution is the sidewalk garden. These gardens not only invite beauty into the local surroundings, but also create an urban sanctuary for environmental allies such as birds, bees, and butterflies. For pedestrians and passersby, a sidewalk garden also promotes a sense of community pride, and a natural respite from the harsh angles of the urban setting.

Found in urban sidewalks everywhere are overlooked squares of soil tangled with weeds, or patches of dirt that might easily be converted into a supportive micro-landscape. For San Francisco architect Jane Martin, sidewalk gardens were a smart response to the periodic flooding happening in her neighborhood because they lowered the amount of impermeable surface area frequently challenged by sewer drain overflow and heavy rain run-off. So Martin recently led the charge in her city to convert concrete driveways into flower beds.

But sidewalk gardens are not entirely new. Almost forgotten are the “yard gardens” that are a part of a long tradition for early 20th Century African-American families and communities. Zora Neale Hurston’s book, The Gilded Six-Bits describes the fictional character Missie May’s front yard as, “a sidewalk edged on either side by quart bottles driven neck down into the ground on a slant. A mess of homey flowers planted without a plan but blooming cheerily from their helter-skelter places.” In this world, a sidewalk garden was a part of the melodic continuum of the front garden and a forum for individual expression.

Dianne Glave, co-editor of To Love the Wind and the Rain: African Americans and Environmental History, underscores how gardens were a public affair. She wrote, “African-Americans also displayed flowers for everyone’s viewing and pleasure, beckoning neighbors to take a closer look or visitors to chat in the yard’s fragrance and color.” Therefore yards were intentionally public as a critical way to support community.

Read more about how one African-American community transformed their community one garden at a time.

So where to begin? Here is some inspiration:

1634 Jerrold Avenue (near 3rd Street, Bayview District, San Francisco, CA)

Even if you do not have a nearby plot of dirt, or are unable to bust up concrete, consider container gardening as an option:

What to plant? Natives for your area are a good bet for low maintenance and environmental friendliness. And if available in your area, vertical plant options like Jasmine, Bougainvillea, or Trumpet Vine are showy and smell terrific for economy spaces. Also don’t disregard edibles like strawberries, or herbs like lavender or rosemary as generous neighborhood treats!

Once your sidewalk begins to bloom, you’ll notice how your community and the many species that live there benefit — including the homo sapiens!

What will you grow in your sidewalk garden?

Want to learn the best ways to break down grassfed beef into American and Italian cuts AND support urban school garden projects? If so, we invite you to take your love of good food and good deeds to the next level! Join Outdoor Afro at this fundraiser for Slow Food Solano’s school gardens project, the Farmer-Veteran-Coalition and Gleason Ranch, in Northern California.

After a demonstration by skilled butchers, the event will culminate with a drawing to distribute all the cuts to those attending.

The day’s offerings also include a bounteous spread of beautiful, delicious food and artisan micro brews.

Master butchers Angela Wilson of Avedano’s, Chris Arentz, Dave the Butcher, Zach Gero from Shoppers Corner in Santa Cruz and Josh Kleinsmith of Piedmont Grocery in Oakland will be demonstrating the different styles of cuts and do a Q & A.

In addition, John Fink of The Whole Beast will be grilling Soul Food Farm chickens and talking about open fire cooking.

I have had Mr. Scott’s wonderful black-eyed peas from the West Oakland Farmer’s Market that keep amazingly well in the freezer to enjoy in winter months.

Who are the black farmers in your family and community?

Reposted from Save Black Farmers

Did you know?

I’ve spent the last week at the 108th Annual Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, Missouri. It was a lovely week. I was there doing science outreach, participating in the 4 Days of Hands-on Science Fun which included a Street Science Fair, Show Me Robotics Showcase & Competition, and Aerospace Fun Day. Plus, there were the agricultural exhibits and showcases. I loved it all. it really reminded me of my agricultural roots.

When I was younger, I would go to the Mid-South Fair and Libertyland housed on the Fairgrounds in Memphis, Tennessee. I loved it: the rides, the games, the food. Being a city kid, I thought that’s what the fair was all about. It wasn’t until college – majoring in Animal Science that I came to know that wasn’t what the Fair was about at all.  Fairs are about the agriculture and home economics achievements of everyday folk – the people who grind and work to make their daily lives out of hard work and simple materials. It was eye-opening to learn not only about the science of raising livestock, growing crops, and the economics of practical living, using all resources adequately and respectfully, as well as the creativity and artsmanship of both agriculture and home economic endeavors. I had a new appreciation of fairs that continues today.

So, as I spent time at the Missouri State Fair, I was more excited about the animal exhibits than the rides at the mid-way. But don’t get me wrong. I still had all of my fair favorites: corn dogs, funnel cake, lemonade,turkey leg, roasted corn, plus fried green tomatoes. Nom, nom, nom..,

Click to Read More

Click to read more…

Courtesy of the Friends of the Regional Park

A botanic garden is a terrific place to go for an easy refuge from nearby urban spaces, and a chance to visualize the diversity and importance of plants in a natural environment.

Spanning ten acres, the Tilden Park Botanical Garden was designed in the 1940′s as a preservation area, and showcase of California plants including rare and endangered grasses, shrubs, trees, and flowers. The area features a year-round creek that runs through the gently sloping site into a cool rainforest preserve with several grassy enclaves for picnicking or quiet meditation. And for those who want to learn about the wide array of plants, many species are labeled by name and region.

According the garden’s website, it includes “nearly all of California’s conifers and oaks as well as collections of California manzanitas wild lilacs, grasses, aquatic plants, and flowering bulbs that are among the most complete to be found anywhere.” A visit here is indeed a virtual tour of the Golden State.

But did you know that botanical gardens are found near or within urban centers all over the country?

Billy Discovers the Creek

Here is a website that lists the best botanical gardens across the United States.

What is your favorite Botanical Garden? What do you like to do there?

My six-year-old son Billy and I recently had the privilege to lend a hand to “raise” a garden at Kennedy High School in Richmond, California. We arrived mid-morning at a southern exposed site nestled near the school’s track. The work area swarmed with students, school staff, parents, and Urban Tilth, the organizing non-profit who produced the day as part of its project, 2 Farms in 2 Days.

Not too little to help

The intention behind this weekend event aims to produce real, productive farms that, according the organization’s website, “grow food that directly changes the food landscape of the families in the schools of Richmond,” where there are too few options for local residents to find fresh produce — a common challenge for many urban and underserved communities.

Doria Robinson, the Executive Director of Urban Tilth, and third-generation resident of Richmond, said that it was, “important that these farms be raised by those who represent the community,” and judging from the dozens of young brown faces present that day, her organization succeeded.

Our party wheel barrowed steaming compost, carefully laid railroad ties, edged raised beds of edible native plants with mulch, and planted several half-gallon pots of the venerable purple collard greens.

Adding to the mix of helpers was a goat trimming the nearby grass and some chickens adding value to the soil. For most of the morning and early afternoon it rained, but the entire group worked steadfast and in good humor, serenaded by the beats of the local hip-hop station. Most present knew this event was merely the beginning. These Kennedy High students will learn how to manage the farm and its produce, earning college credit along the way. And most importantly, lay a foundation for a healthier, sustainable community.

To learn more about Urban Tilth and how you can support their efforts to create sustainable foodways, check out their website!

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