[Scpg] Saturday: Endangered Garden tour/"urban convergence"

[Faramarz Nabavi]

REMINDER - please forward widely:

This Saturday, the Sierra Club has planned an "urban convergence" tour to
save the largest community garden in Los Angeles, and we need EVERYONE to
BE THERE!

It's featured prominently on our website, http://angeles.sierraclub.org

And it's FREE and OPEN to ALL!

The outing description, together with the Southern Sierran article, are
listed below. PLEASE COME AND BRING FRIENDS!!!

Many thanks,
Faramarz

P.S. If you're going to the awesome Watts Family Garden Club event
tomorrow and want to check this out too, you can just hop on the Metro
Blue Line a few blocks up at 103 St and go to the Vernon Station - it's
right there, and you don't need to use your car at all!!!


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Saturday, May 22


Endangered Places (an Urban Convergence)
O: Save a Garden & Ride the Metro Rail: Hop on board to see one of LA's
most threatened urban jewels - explore a 14 acre community garden in the
heart of the city that the city wants to sell to a developer, right next
to the Metro Blue Line. Tour will be given by local gardeners who grow
food for families. We'll be showcasing LA's public transit network by
converging from points around the city using Metro Rail (www.metro.net).
Get a day pass at your nearest Metro Rail station and travel to the Blue
Line Vernon Station where we'll meet at 2:30pm next to the gardens (41st
St between Blue Line and Alameda). Contact leader VIRGIL SHIELDS for
information.



Garden In Danger
City of Los Angeles trying to shut down largest urban community garden by
Faramarz Nabavi

For 12 years, residents of South Central have been reclaiming a former
industrial site, working hard to develop 14 acres of lush gardens with 360
plots that help feed over 2,000 people. These extensive gardens just north
of Vernon Avenue, organized by the LA Regional Food Bank, can be seen to
the east when riding the Metro Blue Line from Los Angeles to Long Beach.

However, this community jewel is in mortal danger. Los Angeles City
Councilmember Jan Perry has pushed to bulldoze our city's largest
community garden and replace it with warehouses subsidized by tax breaks
from the city.

The city had originally acquired the property through eminent domain to
build a trash incinerator, which was vigorously opposed by the community.
The terms of the purchase required the city to offer the previous owner a
first right of refusal, which it failed to do when attempting to make this
property part of the Alameda Corridor development.

Los Angeles has one of the lowest amounts of park space per resident of
any city in America, and South Central has even less than other areas,
like the Valley. Considering politicians' statements about making people
less reliant on government handouts, here is a grassroots initiative that
has been enabling low-income people to grow healthy, fresh grown produce,
providing a safe community space for kids, and bringing back a natural
setting in the middle of a vast industrial and residential district, all
without any government funding, just access to public land.

While the courts have granted a temporary restraining order against the
city until March 16, the garden could be demolished at any time if court
protection is lifted.

Open from sunrise to sunset every day, the garden is just north of Vernon
station, stretching from the Blue Line to Alameda. See
www.saveourgarden.com for more information. Visits can be arranged by
Rufina Juarez at southcentralfarmers at hotmail.com. They are asking for
people to support them by signing their petition to save the garden and to
contact city officials:

Mayor James Hahn: 200 N. Spring St. #303, Los Angeles, CA 90012,
213-978-0600, fax 213-626-5431.