building community

S* M*

At Garden Tenders, our community organizing/garden starting training, we
try to teach the most basic & useful tenats of community activism.

The GT slogan:
GO TO THE BATHROOM, PICK UP THE PHONE, AND CHECK THE STREET

Your family teaches you at an early age that every time you go to the
bathroom you should WASH YOUR HANDS. Community organizing teaches you that
you need to add a new piece to your routine: PICK UP THE PHONE and call
somebody about your issue. This might be trash pick-up, getting an
abandoned building sealed, getting abandoned cars removed, encouraging
someone to get out and vote, or inviting somebody to come out to the next
picnic. If enough people are calling City Hall from your street every day,
something is BOUND to happen.

The third part: CHECK THE STREET. This is the piece that makes community
gardeners into community activists. People who get to know each other while
gardening watch out for each other.
This simple act is what builds community.

_______________________________________________
community_garden maillist  -  community_garden@mallorn.com
https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden