Green Thumbs (6/5/19)

This is not even half of the trip up-it was not for the faint at heart

We used our uphill muscles today. We trudged, with calves burning, up steep, narrow roads, and almost vertical staircases to the top of a mountain (or maybe a very tall hill) to where the city wall can be seen. The Fortress City we visited was not a place that tourists typically get to experience.

Amazingly, we were led (by a local community member) to a beautiful, vibrant community garden. The project started as a community outreach from the church to help people know how to grow food and create green space in the small areas that are available around their homes. 

Herb garden, seeding greenhouse, Haegchon Gogheo 3 education center, and urban vegetable garden, clearly marked

The government saw their project and wanted to help expand it when the restoration of the area and fortress wall was started. With grant money from the government they were able to transform a trash heap into a magnificent garden. 

Just one of several gardens squeezed onto the side of the hill

This garden even has money to have a project leader. This retains and organizes community involvement, keeps the garden from becoming stagnant or not harvested, and makes the area usable for families. The produce is shared with anyone who wants or needs it. It is given away and you do not need to work in the garden to benefit from it. 

This type of restoration is definitely a model that should be copied if possible. I have volunteered at many community gardens that have become failures. Typically, it is only led by volunteers and when the main volunteer no longer is leading the program it simply becomes overgrown and unused. By having a paid overseer, this keeps the garden thriving plus provides continuity, education, and community involvement. 

It was a sweaty, physically demanding trip to get to the garden; but totally worth the effort to see a green space brilliantly used.