Initiated in 2007, the ten-year campaign is designed to expand the capacity of our local food system and promote closer connections between community members and those who grow our food. The campaign pesents positive pathways to engage citizens, communities, businesses, and local governments to take the far-reaching actions that are required to strengthen the local food and farming system.

Since the campaign’s inception, many positive changes have already arisen across the county, whether  either directly or indirectly stimulated by the EAT LOCAL! campaign:

• Restaurants using locally-grown food have increased ten-fold.
• Boulder County government formed a Food and Agriculture Policy Council.
• Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscriptions have increased exponentially.
• The Boulder County Farmers’ Market is now one of the top 10 in the country.
• Boulder County is now a major hub for permaculture training and practice.
• The Boulder County Community Gardens now have a growing waiting list of people wanting garden plots.
• Transition Colorado alone provided 10,000 people hours of Great Reskilling courses

EAT LOCAL! Resource Guide & Directory

The campaign is supported by the newly-published Boulder County’s EAT LOCAL! RESOURCE GUIDE & DIRECTORY, with 10,000 copies now in distribution, and another 30,000 to be printed in early summer. This 36-page publication features a comprehensive listing of all the local food sources and local food supporters in the area, including CSAs, dairy and eggs, herbs and flowers, honey, meat and fish, plants/seeds and supplies, produce, water, wine and mead; plus farmers’ markets, gardens, grocers and retailers, organizations and community services, permaculture design, restaurants and caterers, schools and training.

In the EAT LOCAL! Guide (available online at www.EatLocalGuide.com), readers will also find a series of useful and inspiring articles about the challenges and opportunities in the local food system, which together constitute a kind of manifesto for a local food and farming revolution, including:

• Why Eat Local?
• The Boulder County EAT LOCAL! Campaign
• The Local Foodshed: Where Does Our Food Come From?
• “What can I do? Where do I start?”
• Towards a Boulder County Food Summit
• What Is Sustainable Agriculture?
• The Promise of Transition
• Boulder County Farmer Cultivation Center
• Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms, and Fertility Mattered

10% LOCAL FOOD SHIFT Challenge and Pledge

The Guide also introduces Transition Colorado’s key focus for the 2010 EAT LOCAL! Campaign: a 10% Local Food Shift Challenge, encouraging individuals, families, restaurants, and institutions to make an online pledge to shift 10 percent of their food budget to local food.

“The economic impact of this Local Food Shift could be considerable,” says Brownlee. “According to a 2009 study, Boulder County consumers spend more than $660 million buying food each year, but less than one percent of that is going to local growers.”

Campaign Mission

The overarching mission of the EAT LOCAL! campaign is to catalyze a more resilient local food system for Boulder County, based on deep ecological principles and a more connected populace, with far less dependence on fossil fuels and petroleum-based inputs.

“We are learning that not only can all this greatly reduce the amount of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions embedded in today’s food from fertilizers, pesticides and transport,” says Brownlee, “but adopting a more local organic diet will greatly contribute to our health and our children’s health.”

As part of the EAT LOCAL! campaign, Transition Colorado also provides a variety of community events, speakers and panel discussions, documentary film screenings, and community forums and dialogues. The organization has delivered some 10,000 people-hours of Great Reskilling instruction, covering practical life skills from growing, cooking and canning food, to permaculture design courses.

About Transition Colorado: Mobilizing Colorado communities to make the transition from dependence on fossil fuels and globalized economic systems to local resilience and self-reliance, Boulder-based Transition Colorado (formerly Transition Boulder County) is at the forefront of the rapidly-growing international Transition Movement. Inspired by the visionary community-engagement process pioneered by Rob Hopkins in Totnes, England, thousands of communities around the world are mobilizing around this process. In May 2008, Transition Colorado became the first officially-recognized Transition Initiative in North America. Other official Colorado Transition Initiatives include Transition Lyons, Transition Louisville, Transition Denver, and Transition Westminster/Arvada/Broomfield. More Initiatives are already underway in Colorado Springs, Estes Park, Evergreen, Ft. Collins, Gunnison, Longmong, Loveland, Manitous Springs, Niwot/Gunbarrel, Salide, and at the University of Colorao and Naropa University, with regional and neighborhood Initiatives emerging in the West Front Range, South Boulder, and Capitol Hill areas.

“Why can’t you buy raw milk, ice cream with eggs in it, or home-made sausage?,” asks Salatin. “America’s food system, enslaved by a global corporate bureaucratic fraternity, offers less choice amid the perception of abundance. The only reason the framers of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights did not guarantee citizens freedom of food choice was because they could not have conceived of a day when private treaty neighbor-to-neighbor food commerce would be demonized and criminalized.” In this call to grass roots food activism, Salatin seeks a Food Emancipation Proclamation, freeing citizens to opt out of the industrial food fraternity.

Joel Salatin is a farmer, father, author, and speaker whose PolyFace Farms was featured in Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan.  Salatin recently appeared in the documentary film, Food Inc. and has written several books, one titled, Everything I Want to do is Illegal:  War Stories from the Local Food Front.

Note Due to overwhelming response, the venue for the Change We Can Eat! presentation has been moved from Plymouth Congregation to the Lincoln Center, Canyon West Room in Fort Collins, Colorado (417 W. Magnolia, corner of Mulberry and Meldrum)

Seat reservations can be obtained through the Lincoln Center Box Office Tuesdays – Saturdays from noon – 6:00 PM.  There is a suggested donation at the door of $15, cash or check made out to the Front Range Permaculture Institute.  Donations help pay for event expenses and any extra proceeds will further projects of Front Range Permaculture Institute, like Feeding the Families Project by Happy Heart Farms.

“Change We Can Eat!” is hosted by the Front Range Permaculture Institute but is also sponsored by the following organizations and businesses:  Abbondanza Seeds, Bath Nursery, Be Local, Chimney Rock Restaurant, Fort Collins Food Coop, Fort Collins Sustainability Group, Grant Family Farms, Happy Heart Farms, John “The Worm Man,” Mennonite Fellowship, Monroe Farms, Plymouth Congregational, ReDirect Guide, Sustainable Living Fair, Transition Colorado, Waste Not Recycling, Whole Foods, Wolverine Publishing.

For this article, I interviewed leaders from six of the most active and successful Transition Initiatives in Colorado, including a major city (Denver), a few small and mid-size towns (Manitou Springs, Louisville, and Lyons), a collection of suburbs (Westminster/Arvada/Broomfield), and a university (Naropa), asking questions such as: “What would you say is your proudest accomplishment?” “What has been the most challenging aspect of your Transition work?” “What advice would you give to someone starting a Transition Initiative in their community?” and “What is your vision for the continued growth of the Transition Movement in Colorado?” The following is what I found.

Most of the work that has been done so far by Transition Initiatives in Colorado has been laying the foundation for Transition in these communities: raising awareness about The Long Emergency and Transition, building relationships with individuals, other nonprofit organizations, local businesses, and local government, and hosting practical Reskilling workshops. This is not surprising, as most of these initiatives are only about a year old. The first Transition Initiatives in the UK, which were founded over four years ago, are just now starting to publish their Energy Descent Action Plans, and only one initiative in the United States, Transition Sandpoint in Idaho, has reached the point of hosting a Great Unleashing event and forming working groups.

Nevertheless, many of the accomplishments made by Transition Initiatives in Colorado during this short period of time are actually quite impressive. Transition Louisville has started a Neighborhood Supported Agriculture program, based on Kipp Nash’s Community Roots Urban Farm in Boulder, hosted a solar home tour in the Fall of 2009, and is working towards bringing carsharing to Louisville—among other activities. Together with the Living Earth Center, the Denver Botanic Gardens, and the Mile High Business Alliance, Transition Denver launched the Grow Local Colorado campaign, which this year planted a garden in Denver’s Civic Center Park, passed a citywide Grow Local proclamation, and was honored with the creation of Grow Local Day by Mayor John Hickenlooper on May 14, 2009.

Transition Westminster/Arvada/Broomfield created the first-ever community Permaculture garden in their region and distributed approximately one ton of produce to members of the Broomfield Presbyterian Church, where the garden was based, volunteers, and a local food bank. They are currently planning a second garden at the Crescent Grange in Broomfield in 2010. Transition Lyons inspired their local Chamber of Commerce to run a month-long Buy Local campaign, which will hopefully be expanded into an ongoing program. And, in the Spring of 2009, Transition Naropa initiated a community market on campus that featured local growers, artisans, artists, healers, free bike tune-ups, and live music. While there is, undoubtably, much more that needs to be done to rebuild local resilience and self-reliance in these communities, these pioneering Transition Initiatives should be celebrated for their already-significant contributions.

Whether they recognize it fully or not, Transition leaders everywhere have committed themselves to work that is both extremely inspiring and outstandingly challenging at the same time. Transition Initiatives have placed themselves at the crossroads of the most complex issues of our time – resource depletion, climate change, and economic crisis – and aspire to completely reinvent all of their most fundamental systems – food, energy, economy, health care, transportation, government, education, and culture—from the bottom-up. In order to do this, Transitions needs to be able to reach across traditional political, religious, and socio-economic divides to unite their communities behind a common vision that is very different from the one currently promoted by mainstream media. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that Transition Initiatives and Transition leaders would encounter difficulties during the course of this highly ambitious journey.

Some of the challenges faced by the various Transition Initiatives in Colorado have been not having enough funding and relying too much on volunteer help, leading to burnout of initiating group members; difficulty in reaching a critical mass of awareness and support, particularly in sprawling suburbs such as Westminster/Arvada/Broomfield; a lack of training in effective group facilitation; and dealing with populations that are transient, overly busy, in denial about the magnitude of the social and environmental problems we face, and highly individualistic with competing hidden agendas. None of this is unusual, as these findings are consistent with what was found by researchers at East Anglia University in England in their 2009 survey of the UK Transition Movement—“The Green Shoots of Sustainability”—available for free online here.

Nevertheless, if these issues continue unaddressed, they are unlikely to resolve themselves. There have been many Transition Initiatives in Colorado and around the world that have never managed to get off the ground or, after a period of great enthusiasm, have gone into decline and ceased to exist. An interesting case study of one such initiative is Transition Oxford, who made it all the way to beginning their Energy Descent Action Plan before disbanding. Fortunately, Transition support organizations, such as Transition Colorado and Transition US, are starting to provide valuable tools for both thriving and struggling Transition Initiatives everywhere.

Two particularly bright spots are Transition Colorado’s Transition Times: Colorado Edition, which offers “Information, Insight, and Inspiration for The Long Emergency,” and the free webinars and conference calls currently being offered by Transition US on topics ranging from “The nitty-gritty of getting Transition rolling in your community” to sessions on group decision-making and managing working groups.

The most consistent piece of advice for those considering taking on this work that I received from the Transition leaders I interviewed had to do with “letting it go where it wants to go.” This principle allows an initiative to evolve naturally in response to changing conditions and the energy of the group. It also points to what is commonly referred to as “The Heart and Soul of Transition.” Transition Manitou Springs Initiator Brian Fritz put it this way:

“For me it really isn’t THAT challenging… I just sort of watch where the energy goes (watch the dynamics of the field) and respond appropriately… Because I don’t have a lot of personal attachment to what occurs in my life these days (which doesn’t mean I am not naturally passionate about what I am naturally drawn to), I don’t feel a lot of stress about ‘making it all happen’… AND I do appreciate watching the unfolding that is occurring…”

Transition Denver’s Dana Miller echoed this same realization: “Trust the process, be willing to start small, realize that creating relationships and friendships is the foundation of a successful project… Take the first few steps and see what comes of it. Don’t overplan… We have a wonderful role to play without having all the answers!” This attitude of non-attachment and trusting the process has enabled many Transition leaders to persevere through the uncertain early stages of the Transition process, effectively engage the interests of those who show up, and balance self-care with the overwhelming amount of work that needs to be done in each community.

Another observation that came up again and again in these interviews was that the greatest joy and motivating factor for staying with the Transition process is the deep relationships that are created along the way. In fact, this kind of community is at the very heart of Transition. Donald Studinski of Transition Westminster/Arvada/Broomfield asserted that “If we choose cooperation and work together, then things can actually be BETTER than what we’ve known in our lives thus far. We can have MORE connection to the earth and to each other, deeper more meaningful relationships. It is possible.” And Margaret Emerson, also of Transition W/A/B, emphasized the larger Transition community that is continuing to grow in Colorado and worldwide, weaving a vast web of interconnection:

“What excites me most about Transition is that it is growing so rapidly worldwide, and that so many people are looking for ways to make a difference in their community. I also love the idea of a more localized economy and closer-knit, more resilient community. Having made so many new friends and acquaintances in the last year has certainly increased my optimism and personal happiness.”

Transition is here to stay in Colorado, not only because of the tireless effort of the thousands of people already involved (there are now over 1,300 members of the Transition Colorado social networking site), but also because it meets a real need in our communities. David Greenwald of Transition Louisville mentioned that “When I look deeply at ‘the long emergency’ that we all face, I always come back to resilience and sustainability at the local level as the most credible response. “ This way of thinking is likely to spread like wildfire in the next few years as conditions continue to change. Several of the Transition leaders that I interviewed expressed that they believe we are rapidly approaching a tipping point of awareness and engagement with Transition. Costen Aytes of Transition Naropa speculated that “As economic conditions worsen for people many will come to the movement out of necessity versus prescience. The movement will be re-invigorated.”

Other visions for the Transition Movement in the years ahead included more classes and workshops offering critical leadership skills, including a revision of the two-day Training for Transition to make it more useful for Transition Initiators. Currently, the training is more of an introduction to the Transition concept than anything else, but it could just as easily serve as a vehicle to provide the tools and practice needed to run more successful Transition Initiatives on the ground. Another powerful idea is the establishment of Transition Centers throughout the state and around the world. These centers could serve as markets for local produce, gathering places for those interested in Transition, event spaces for Transition Initiatives and other nonprofit organizations, and much more—the possibilities are only limited by the confines of our imagination. These centers could become powerful focal points for Transition activity and culture in each community in the future.

Taking a broader outlook, Coco Gordon of Transition Lyons suggested that Transition should “honor those who pioneered what came before: Bioregionalists, Permaculturists, our indigenous elders”—to learn from them and collaborate more with these communities. Wherever Transition happens to go in 2010 and beyond, it is important for us all to remember that, in the words of Transition Westmister/Arvada/Broomfield Initiator Donald Studinski: “This is a marathon, the long emergency, it’s not a sprint. Burn out is real. Set a pace you can handle and just keep trying. Know deep in your soul that eventually, things will work out such that Transition is attractive to people.” Best wishes for the entire Transition community in 2010! Thank you for everything you do and keep up the good work!

Those of us in TWAB want very much to be a positive force within our community, not a doom and gloom group. Specifically, we describe ourselves with this statement: “A community of citizens that believes we have the power to build community resilience and self-reliance such that all species, now and in the future, will be able to meet their basic needs while maintaining a healthy planet.” Anyone is welcome to join. It’s free. As of this writing, 1/11/2010, we have 49 members in our online group and about 10 to 20 actively involved with our events. Our members are as close as walking-distance to the grange and as far away as Thailand.

Transition initiatives, like TWAB, exist to “unleash the collective genius of their own people to find the answers to this big question: For all those aspects of life that this community needs in order to sustain itself and thrive, how are we going to:

• significantly rebuild resilience (in response to peak oil)
• drastically reduce carbon emissions (in response to climate change)?

Typically, self-determined solutions will involve some flavor of relocalization.

Everything TWAB does relates back to rebuilding community resilience and self-reliance, but beyond that there are no limits. Examples of our 2009 events include:

1. Building the Broomfield Community Permaculture Garden at the Presbyterian Church of Broomfield,
2. Hosting a community seed exchange,
3. Hosting several pot-luck dinners,
4. Showing several documentary films (we call this awareness raising),
5. Attending a “listening session” with some state senators,
6. Hosting a Northwest Earth Institute class called Voluntary Simplicity,
7. Hosting a canning class,
8. Hosting a composting class.
9. Hosting a Pachamama Alliance class called Awakening The Dreamer

We started in January, 2009, with 7 people in a coffee shop. It didn’t take long for TWAB members to realize that we needed a place, beyond our member homes, to hold our events. Therefore, a few TWAB members joined the Crescent Grange. As members of the grange community, we have the good fortune to be able to use the building for significant events, and, beyond that, to create a community garden at the grange. We call it Crescent Grange Community Permaculture Garden which we will be building in 2010. This gives our group a sense of “place” much like the Broomfield Community Permaculture Garden did in 2009 (this will continue in 2010 as well). We now have a bulletin board in the Southwest corner of the building where we will post flyers about community events. This will include all the community events we learn about, not just TWAB sponsored events. For example, there are Broomfield Auditorium Cultural events posted over there right now.

We have visions of all sorts of community-building events and activities we hope to do in 2010 and beyond. Examples include growing an abundance of food, building a hoop house on the grange property, holding a clothing exchange, holding periodic book exchanges, creating a community “resilience” library, helping with grange maintenance and improvement, planting an orchard of fruit and nut trees, teaching classes in composting, permaculture gardening, canning and drying herbs and vegetables, sewing, beekeeping and others, holding monthly community dances, game nights and drum circles. We are limited only by the time, energy and ideas our members bring. We whole-heartedly invite everyone to participate. If you like one of these ideas, or have your own, please, feel free to make it happen! Clearly, no one of us can do all this alone.

Our community resilience is completely dependent upon the web of relationships we build among ourselves. Everyone has value to bring and we all benefit from our combined cooperation and effort. We look forward to an exciting 2010 in community at the Crescent Grange. If you have any questions or comments for TWAB please feel free to contact us on-line or call Don Studinski at 303-248-6677.

We are no longer living in the present; we are living in the future.
There is no more time.

I recently met Rosiema Saravia or “Chita” (chee-tah), as she likes to be called, at a year-end celebration of Transition Colorado and its permaculture and Bioneer partners here in Boulder. Later, I sat down with her to learn more about the catering business she operates here in the Boulder area.

Chita was born in Morazan, El Salvador in 1967 shortly before that nation erupted in civil war. Most Salvadorans were campesinos, indigenous peasants living at subsistence level without running water or electricity, while a tiny privileged minority lived in wealth and opulence. It was in the 1960s that reformers began challenging the alliance between the right-wing military and the oligarchy. Caught in the middle of rampant violence were tens of thousands of indigenous Mayan-Pipil people who lived off the land—land that was being destroyed by war and usurped by the ruling elite. Chita was one of those individuals.

She carries the emotional scars this turbulent time caused her people and doesn’t like to talk about it in depth. Her trauma began at the age of eight, but later as a young teenager, she was taken to San Salvador, the nation’s capital, where she lived working to sustaining her mom and little brothers and sisters—farther away from the violence that marked her life and the lives of more of hundred and thousands of Mayan-Pipiles en El Salvador. During that time she found solace in both her native religion and the community support and resistance groups of liberation theology, which were community-based groups, formed for and with the people and later supported by the soon-to-be-assassinated Archbishop Romero, a person who had been transformed from seeing the peoples pain and suffering, the pain of his people.

For what it’s worth, on the morning of the day I met Chita, I awakened with two Spanish names in my head: El Mozote and Acteal—the locations of two heinous massacres, the first occurring in El Salvador during the civil war and the second in Chiapas in the late 1990’s. When I finally heard Chita’s story, the re-appearance of these names in my mind made sense and reminded me again of the pervasive violence in Central America during the last half of the twentieth century—violence which continues today in other forms and places in Latin America such as the current carnage in Mexico. It also reminded me of the mystery of connection we have with all of the community of life, whether we are consciously aware of it or not.

Chita came to the United States in the late ’80s, arriving in Los Angeles and living there until 2009 when she moved to Colorado.

During those years she married and had three children, one attending college now and two in elementary and middle school. She raised them and made sure they received an education during Chita’s daily hard-working hours. She and her children have been an example to a lot of United States citizens that a Mayan-Pipil woman, who came to United States and who made big changes, by changing her family and community’s destiny with her commitment to life. Chita was active in numerous social justice projects in Southern California from the time she arrived.

In 2000 she had a dream about two towers in some large city becoming inflamed and collapsing to the earth. When 9/11 occurred, she was deeply shaken and realized that she must keep in close contact with her Mayan-Pipil elders and her way of life—her abuelos and abuelas (the Spanish words for grandfathers and grandmothers) and listen carefully to them, to her dreams, and to the earth for instructions about where to live and what her work on this planet must be. Making many trips back and forth to her place of birth in Central America and consulting with people of conocimiento y sabiduria (knowledge and wisdom), and with the sacred help of her advisors, she gained clarity about her mission and purpose.

In 2008 she became convinced that she must leave Southern California and do something related to growing and cooking food, something she always did as a child of the earth. A series of vision quests and ceremonies guided her to Colorado, and the abuelos suggested Boulder because it had been voted the healthiest and the smartest city in the United States. It was then that she formulated the vision of Grandmother Earth’s Kitchen, which is now a catering business but which Chita and her advisors want to expand to a full-service restaurant in Boulder.

The Mayan elders have told Chita that we are no longer living in the present. The future has begun, and there is no more time. We must live with our ears and our hearts close to the earth, and food is one of the most important aspects of this because as Chita says, “food is medicine.” By this she means that food has healing potential, but even more so, food is power. “Medicine”, a term frequently used by native peoples, is synonymous with the particular kind of power a person carries in the world which often relates to his or her life’s purpose. Clearly, Chita’s medicine is the growing and cooking of nourishing food.

In order to grasp the significance of her mission, we must understand the Mayan concept of food. Food either heals us, or it kills us. We can have toxic “happy meals” a la McDonalds and others food services in the world, or we can have nutritious, living, healing “happy food.” The Mayan-Pipil saying about food is, “From the land to the stove, and it returns to the land to be a nutrient for itself.” Chita says that we must “practice what we say and live with a conscious heart and soul”. Happy and living food would also have to be local food, for how can food transported long distances, sometimes frozen and replete with preservatives, be truly alive?

It’s also crucial to understand the Mayan-Pipil woman’s attitude toward cooking which is about much more than just preparing food.

Cooking food is a ritual—a ceremony and a celebration, and what Chita has been taught is, “The kitchen should be filled with women talking about love, sensuality and sexuality, and they should be dancing. As the protagonists of life, as life givers we need to sing, dance, pray and be happy when we plant, harvest, and cook for our families and people. Women’s body language is very important in our way of life; when they cook, they express themselves as goddesses—showing that they are in tune with the love and life of our mother earth.”

At the end of our conversation, Chita gave me generous portions of her wonderful brew of amaranth and chocolate—a traditional sweet Maya-Pipil abuelas beverage which warms and soothes the body. After consuming several cups, I was sent home with a delicious cinnamon tea which enhances the healing energy of the amaranth and chocolate potion.

For me, my time with Chita confronts me with the medicine of food in my life and what I must be doing with my life to serve and protect Grandmother Earth. I also long for the opening of Grandmother Earth’s Kitchen restaurant here in Boulder, a project for which Chita works daily and is actively seeking resources. She wants it to stay in the hands of the people who work hard and who have inherited these traditions—those who believe in alternative ways of living and in communality with the land. People are welcome to be part of Chita’s and abuelos non-profit organization for a sustainable and ambitious project of life, or the for-profit business. Even in these economically challenging times, I believe their dream will manifest.

In fact, it must because “We are no longer living in the present; we are living in the future. There is no more time, one mind, one heart, one purpose—the hope that the Mayan-Pipil have kept for thousands of years—the sacred seeds of life. What the foods of the Mayan-Pipil are bringing is light and love for generations to come.”

Chita may be contacted at grandmotherearthskitchen@gmail.com.

In 2009, our Transition Initiative, Transition Westminster/Arvada/Broomfield (or Transition WAB for short) sponsored the Broomfield Community Permaculture Garden. We used land donated by the Presbyterian Church of Broomfield to build 21 sheet-mulch keyholes and plant a wide variety of herbs, vegetables and fruit trees. In total, we had 26 volunteers that put in 1 – 60 hours over the 2009 growing season.

We counted the effort to build the sheet-mulch keyholes and to plant, but we didn’t count the summer babysitting and the fall harvest time. What we did count amounted to 266 human-hours, but that’s not the best part. What I find interesting, and valuable, is my new relationships that came as a direct result of this gardening effort. These “volunteers” are now some of my best friends. People I have learned to trust. People I could talk to about the most frightening of subjects—like peak-oil, debt spiral and species extinction—and the most joyous of subjects—like the worm I found in the soil, the beauty of a single zucchini blossom, or the joy I saw in a little girl’s eyes when I showed her where sunflower seeds came from. Put a price on that!

Here’s a photo of the garden with a rainbow over the City Hall in the background.

Transition WAB got its official “initiative” status on December 17 last year, but by that time we had put in a full year’s effort at building community resilience. There were more than 60 separate 2009 events either attended by or sponsored by our group. We taught classes, presented films and held pot-lucks, all necessary activities. But I think our most needed and successful “event” was building a garden and growing stuff together. Our sense of food security is an innate need that we all share. Growing food gave us a whole Spring, Summer and Fall worth of excuses to get together, work together, overcome obstacles together, count on each other and learn trust. Truth is, I’m even promoting gardening events in January. It may not work out, but it’s keeping us connected, even if all we do is argue about whether a January gardening event is nutty!

An important observation I want to share is that Transition WAB has a sense of place. Transition WAB may have this advantage that some other initiatives don’t have. We have a garden. It’s at 350 Main St. We called it the Broomfield Community Permaculture Garden. And now, we’re building a second sense of place at the Crescent Grange where we are holding our classes and films etc. But most importantly, I think, we’re building another garden at the Grange. We’ll call it the Crescent Grange Community Permaculture Garden. If I had to pick one secret ingredient that might give Transition initiative A an improved chance of success over Transition initiative B, it would be a sense of place. So, I’ll leave you with that to think about. My encouragement is find a place and start a garden.

In 2009, we used about ¼ of an acre to build 21 sheet-mulch keyhole beds and planted most of them. We also planted 8 fruit trees, apples and plums, of which maybe 4 lived. We used about 47,000 gallons of water, using our drip system, and were able to pay the church $150 (which more than covered that water) using the funds we raised selling produce. We harvested all the produce our volunteers wanted for themselves plus were able to give some produce to our church friends and give several hundred pounds of produce to FISH Inc., which provides food for the needy in Broomfield. We estimate that the total produce from the garden came to about 2000 lbs. In all, from what I was able to track, we spent about $3,000 to make this happen. We are thrilled with our 2009 results and will be back at the Presbyterian Church doing it again in 2010. We should be able to produce about the same amount for much less money as many of the up-front costs are done. In 2010, we will be expanding our Community Permaculture Garden over at the Crescent Grange, 7901 W. 120^th Ave, Broomfield.

Transition WAB is the 53^rd official Transition Initiative in the USA. We provide many activities all centered around regaining the connections among our community members which builds community resilience and self-reliance. We would love for you to join any or all of our activities. Find more information about us and our events at www.transitioncolorado.ning.com/westminster.

The goals of these Grow Local gardens around Denver will be to demonstrate the beauty of edible landscaping and to inspire citizens to grow their own vegetable gardens.

We will be looking to partner with folks to plant, maintain and harvest the produce. Possible partners include nonprofits, local businesses, neighborhood organizations, faith-based groups, schools, gardening clubs or ad hoc groups of volunteers.

Perhaps you love gardening and could grab a couple of neighbors or friends to “adopt” a garden! Grow Local will provide support and help with design and finding resources.

This project is going to be a great adventure and we would love your involvement! For more information, call Dana Miller at 303-300-3547 or email pompomdana@comcast.net.

Tasty Tidbits of Information!

The GrowHouse invites you to help get the greenhouse ready to grow! The GrowHouse, a burgeoning indoor farm and market located at 47th and York in North Denver, is holding weekly workdays on Wednesdays from 1-3 p.m. Volunteers will help complete important work on the greenhouse including building passive heating and insulation, planting seedlings, tending to compost and worms, setting up the market area and more! If you are interested in volunteering, please email Coby Gould at coby.gould@gmail.com. (Website coming soon!)

Thanks to collaborations with Denver’s Blue and Yellow Logic and Detroit’s Urban Farming, there will be two new gardens open to the public in Denver this year! One at the GrowHouse at 47th and York and the other at Senator Mike Johnston’s Community Office at 33rd and Grape. Both gardens are open to the community to plant, foster, and harvest.

Denver Botanic Gardens’ new CSA at Chatfield is hiring an experienced organic grower. Please apply or pass the word on to someone you think may be interested.

Food Stamps—now known as “SNAP,” for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—can be used to purchase seeds and plants which produce food for the household to eat. See www.fns.usda.gov/FSP/faqs.htm for details.

Last week the Wallace Center and the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies released “Community Food Enterprise: Local Success in a Global Marketplace.” The report highlights and analyzes 24 locally owned food businesses from around the world and their financial, social, and environmental performance. This report helps to show what a local food system c an look like and the need for global transformation of how our food is produced and consumed.

Grow Local is pleased to share the following schedules of classes!

Denver Botanic Gardens, January

Getting Your Garden Ready for Spring Thursday, Jan. 21, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Learn the many important tasks to help your garden get ready for the growing season. $24 member, $29 non-member. Instructor: Jackie Burghardt. Gates Hall

Herbal and Aromatherapy Healing for Children Saturday, Jan. 23, 10 a.m. – noon. Learn how herbs and essential oils help soothe cranky children and relieve colds, flu, fever and more. $29 member, $34 non-member. Instructor: Tammie Kingsley, herbalist. Morrison Center

Dreaming of Spring: Resources for Garden Planning Saturday, Jan. 30, 9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Learn about local and mail-order companies, plant sales, planning tips, a monthly check list for your garden and much more. $15 member, $18 non-member. Instructor: Betty Cahill. Gates Hall

Denver Botanic Gardens, February

Vegetarian Winter Soups and Chowders Thursday, Feb. 4, 6-8 p.m. Feast on savory soups and stews that are easy and tasty enough for company. Recipes and dinner included. $39 member, $44 non-member. Instructor: Susan Evans

Sustainable Greenhouse Design Saturday, Feb. 6, 1-5 p.m. Learn to design a sustainable, backyard greenhouse out of recycled materials, powered by stored water and sunshine. $52 member, $59 non-member. Instructors: Penn and Cord Parmenter. Gates Hall

Herbs and Essential Oils for the Immune System Tuesday, Feb. 9, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Learn to boost your immune system naturally. Make delicious syrup, hand cleaner and immune-nourishing smelling salts. $39 member, $44 non-member. Instructor: Tonja Reichley.

Beekeeping Essentials (Urban Homestead Series) Two Saturdays: Feb. 13 and Feb. 20, 9-11 a.m. Discover the equipment and knowledge you’ll need to start beekeeping in this intensive beginner’s workshop. $50 member, $57 non-member. Instructor: Marygael Meister.

Beautiful, Easy Herbs for the Garden (Urban Homestead Series) Tuesday, Feb. 16, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Cover planting, growing and care of herbs that do well in Colorado as well as harvest and cooking tips. $29 member, $34 non-member; fee includes seeds. Instructor: Betty Cahill. Morrison Center

Butterfly Gardens Wednesday, Feb. 17, 6:30-8 p.m. Learn how to plan your garden to make it attractive for butterflies and their offspring. $18 member, $23 non-member. Instructor: Jackie Burghardt. Classroom B

Bonfils-Stanton Series: Gary Paul Nabhan Thursday, Feb. 18, 7 p.m. Join Gary Paul Nabhan for “Arab/American: Landscape, Culture and Cuisine in Two Great Deserts.” Come early for a tasting hosted by Slow Food Denver. $20 member, $25 non-member.

Aromatherapy Basics and Beyond Saturday, Feb. 20, noon – 2 p.m. Learn aromatherapy history, use and safety, blending and recipes. Take home an extensive notebook and products. $49 member, $56 non-member. Instructor: Christina Blume. Morrison Center

Starting Your Garden From Seed (Urban Homestead Series) Tuesday, Feb. 23, 6-8 p.m. This class will demystify the seed-starting process for the novice gardener, and explore unusual seeds for those more advanced. $26 member, $31 non-member. Instructor: Patti O’Neal. Morrison Center

Tree Grafting (Urban Homestead Series) Wednesday, Feb. 24, 6-8 p.m. Learn the technique of grafting fruit, flowering, deciduous and evergreen trees. One-hour lecture and 1-hour demo/practice. $39 member, $44 non-member. Instructor: Harold Sasaki.

Planting the Spring Kitchen Garden (Urban Homestead Series) Thursday, Feb. 25, 6-9 p.m. Covers season extenders, soil prep, food-safe pest control and all the vegetables you can plant in late winter for spring harvest. $36 member, $41 non-member. Instructor: Patti O’Neal.

All-Natural Skin Care Saturday, Feb. 27, 9-11 a.m. See how easy it is to make your own natural creams, masques and more. $54 member, $61 non-member; includes several take-home products. Instructor: Christina Blume.

Class Schedule for Heirloom Gardens

For more information visit www.eatwhereulive.com/classes.htm

Simple From Scratch. Menu: No-Knead Multigrain Bread; Homemade Mozzarella; Roasted Beet Salad with Garlic, Green Beans and Sour Cream Horseradish Dressing; Vegetable Barley Soup; Apple Dumplings with Ice Cream and Homemade Caramel Sauce

Sunday, January 10th at 6:00 – FULL

Sunday, January 17th at 6:00

Tuesday, February 23rd at 6:00

Friday, March 26th at 6:00

Cost = $50 (includes recipes)

Seasonal Soups and Breads. Menu: Creamy Onion Soup with Brandied and Caramelized Apples; Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Brown Butter and Creme Fraiche, Portuguese White Bean and Kale Stew, Challah Bread, Cheddar Cheese and Buttermilk Biscuits, Fig and Almond Dessert Bread

Tuesday, January 26th at 6:00

Friday, February 12th at 6:00

Sunday, March 7th at 6:00

Cost = $50 (includes recipes)

Simple Indian. Menu: Golden Mung Dal with Winter Squash, Saag with Homemade Paneer, Coconut Curry Roasted Vegetables, Cabbage Koftas with Spicy Sauce, Grilled Naan Bread with Fennel Seed, Kheer with Almonds and Dates

Friday, January 22nd at 6:00 – FULL

Friday, January 29th at 6:00

Sunday, February 7th at 6:00

Tuesday, March 16th at 6:00

Cost = $50 (includes recipes)

Animal Care: Backyard Chicken Keeping. Hands-on introduction, including: choosing the perfect chickens, chick care, housing and fencing, feeding, common chicken challenges, all about the eggs, financial considerations, livestock permitting process

Saturday, January 23rd at 1:00

Sunday, March 14th at 1:00

Cost = $25 (includes instructional handouts)

Animal Care: Backyard Goat Keeping. Hands-on introduction including: choosing the perfect goats, housing and fencing, feeding, medical care, common goat challenges, all about the milk, financial considerations, livestock permitting process

Saturday, February 20th at 1:00

Cost = $25 (includes instructional handouts)

Gardening: Neighborhood Supported Agriculture (NSA) Workshop – with Kipp Nash. Intended for those interested in starting an NSA program, including: community land resources, organizing workers, planning and planting, distribution, marketing, financial, zoning rules and liability issues

Sunday, January 31st at 10:00

Cost = $80

Gardening: Getting the Most Out of Your Home Garden. Maximizing the production of your garden space, including: creating a master plan, soil preparation, seed starting, companion planting, succession planting, spacing, organic pest and disease management, preserving techniques

Saturday, February 27th at 1:00

Sunday, March 28th at 1:00

Cost = $30

The Grow Local Colorado Campaign was founded by members of Transition Denver, the Living Earth Center, Denver Botanic Gardens and the Mile High Business Alliance. The mission of the campaign is to promote local food, local economy and local community. For more information, and to find resources and events and post your own, visit www.growlocalcolorado.org. VISIT US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER (growlocalco)

The contest has been designed to find a practical, economical approach to renovating lower priced homes. The criterion for winning the contest requires a team to design an integrated system that makes use of the best of all available technologies. Each team’s renovation plan will be published on the Internet so that every homeowner in the world can make an informed decision on upgrading their homes.

Karl Dakin, CEO of DaVinci Quest, stated “We believe that we have created a unique opportunity for all of the businesses and individuals working with green and smart buildings to showcase the uniqueness of their products and services to the world in a head to head competition. For a cost roughly equivalent to participating in a large trade show, each team will be given a worldwide stage of immeasurable value.

Steve Elliott, a resident of Longmont, was the first homeowner to sign up to participate in the contest. After completing an energy audit earlier this year, he recognized that his house, built in 1927, was constructed when “insulation was not high on the priorities.” “It’s a good deal for the homeowners,” he said of the contest, “There’s lots of good money coming back to me, even though I have to put up some of my own.” Homeowners will be responsible for direct costs of renovation up to $15,000, but will receive a $5,000 participation fee.

50 teams are sought to compete for a minimum cash prize of $500,000 and international recognition. Team candidates may include:
individuals or organizations with new technology products for green or smart buildings
general contractors who specialize in ‘green buildings’ and ‘intelligent building’ upgrades
businesses who currently manufacture products commonly used in energy conservation, water conservation, energy production and storage, or home communication systems
students, civic groups or other organizations with an interest in energy conservation

To participate as a team, an individual or organization must pay an entry fee of $25,000 and sign a Contest Agreement. Each team will be matched with a homeowner and, where possible, with a team sponsor.

Mr. Dakin stated “I expect each team will be a collaboration of a contractor licensed to complete building renovations in Colorado combined with manufacturers of alternative energy devices, energy storage devices, water management devices, building supplies and home control devices as well as one or more experts on systems engineering, WiFi communications, energy conservation, and waste management.”

To win the Contest, a team must reduce personal energy consumption by 80% of United States national averages, produce and store new energy to meet the needs of a family of four for one month, reduce water consumption by 80%, reduce waste by 80% and control all activities from an electronic device within the home that can also receive a reverse 911 alert via WiFi from the City of Longmont.

Any individual or organization interested in being a team in the Contest should go online and complete a Team Application Form. Upon signing the Contest agreement and payment of the entry fee, each team will obtain a priority number. Team candidates will be matched with available homeowners. The size of the Contest will be limited by the number of homeowners who agree to make their homes available for renovation in the Contest, therefore obtaining a high priority number is important to assure participation in the Contest.

A set of the Official Rules and other information regarding the Contest can be found at the DaVinci Quest website.

Actual construction will be completed between June 1 and August 31, 2010 after teams have submitted their renovation plans and received necessary building permits.

DaVinci Quest is a Colorado for profit social enterprise dedicated to solving problems with innovation and acting as an economic stimulus. Contact: Karl Dakin, Chief Executive Officer DaVinci Quest LLC 303-916-8272.

So you want to eat local?

Standing in line at the Boulder County Farmers’ Market at the peak of the growing season, waiting for the season’s first tomatoes or stocking up on local greens, corn, summer squashes, it’s easy to imagine producing most of our food right here in Boulder County.

Easier in the daydreaming than in the doing, as it turns out.

Currently, about 3 percent of food in Boulder County is produced locally as direct farmer to consumer produce, according to Dawn Thilmany McFadden, a professor in the department of Ag and Resource Economics at Colorado State University. If that’s lower than you expected, take heart, the figure is even grimmer nationally at less than half a percent.

The good news is that in Boulder County at least, that 3 percent isn’t even close to the demand for produce, Thilmany McFadden says.

“Boulder is probably in one of the best situations to grow (local markets),” she says, adding that the amount of local produce available is less than 1 percent of the demand for fresh fruit and vegetables countywide.

“(Local production of vegetables) is probably able to grow three- to fivefold and still have sufficient demand to keep prices healthy,” she says.

A local goal

Boulder County’s Food and Agriculture Policy Council describes its purpose as: “To promote a locally-based food and agricultural system that advances Boulder County’s economic, environmental and social well-being, through research, education and public policy.”

Cynthia Torres, manager of the Longmont Farmers’ Market and a member of the council, says the group is working to create a more resilient local food system.

“I don’t think we’ll ever do away with some of the bigger (farming) system,” she says. “(But) having a (strong) local food system will buffer us against those global food trends.”

And, while it might be hard to change a national system of industrial agriculture, much can be done on the local level, Torres says.

“Local communities have an opportunity to (make changes) a little quicker: to meet food needs, health needs, to get people in touch with that culture of food we’ve been displaced from,” Torres says. “I think there’s a lot being lost not having that culture of food and the land … that sense of place that got lost.”

Boulder County has been forward thinking when it comes to setting aside local agricultural land. Of the roughly 95,000 acres preserved as open space either through ownership or conservation easements, about half is on the plains. Roughly 25,000 acres of those flatlands are set aside for agriculture, 17,000 for crop production and the rest for grazing or as land that it is considered too marginal for crop production, says David Bell, agriculture resource manager for Boulder County Parks and Open Space.

He says larger acreage farms grow crops for such clients as Coors or Western Sugar, while programs are in place to encourage smaller vegetable farms.

“As we look at agriculture in Boulder County, we’re always going to be looking for new markets,” he says.

And new farmers, not only in Boulder County, but in the nation as a whole.

The number of farmers in the United States has declined sharply during the last 70 years. In 1935, one in three people were farmers. Today the number is less that 1 percent of the population. However, in a small ray of hope for people who prize diversified agriculture, the 2007 Census of Agriculture released earlier this year showed a 4 percent rise in the number of farms, the first increase since 2002.

Growing farmers

A program started by Adrian Card of the Colorado State Extension Office for Boulder County, working with Boulder County Parks and Open Space, is designed to help people get into farming. The Building Farmers program, which offers classes and a mentorship program, helps create associations of farmers to farm plots of roughly 10 acres on Boulder County Open Space. The program just graduated 29 people from its latest class — 13 new farmers, 12 with intermediate skills and three experienced in agriculture.

The Boulder program has served as a pilot for other places looking to help farmers get started. The program first was adopted in Delta County on the Western Slope and is now in the works in La Plata, Pueblo and Yuma counties in Colorado. Grants are also helping the program to spread to Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada and New Mexico.

“It’s clear we’re going to need to create capacity for the next generation of farmers,” Card says. “The need is going to be there to help people move into farming or help existing farm businesses retool in different ways.”

Despite these successes, returning to mostly local agriculture faces several barriers, even in a relatively small farm friendly place such as Boulder County.

Unlike, say, California or Florida, Colorado has a short growing season and soil that requires extensive amendment to promote fertility.

“We’re not the best place to grow crops,” Card says wryly.

The short season means that farmers must store vegetables in winter and use season extenders such as greenhouses if they are to feed the county year-round.

In addition, labor is a perennial problem.

“It’s still the hardest work out there,” Card says of cultivating and harvesting fruits and vegetables. “You can’t get fresh food out of the fields with hand labor.”

In a place such as Boulder County with a high cost of living, hiring can be even more problematic. Several local farms currently get some of their labor from farm interns, who generally work for less salary in return for learning about farming, but it’s not clear that the interest of interns will continue to be there.

In addition, the larger farming infrastructure that was once part of Boulder County no longer exists.

“The grain elevators moved east. The farm equipment suppliers moved east,” says Bell of Boulder County Open Space and Parks.

Longmont Farmers’ Market Manager Torres adds that many farmers need a way to add value to their products.

A chicken farmer, for example, cannot make a profit since he would have to send the chickens out of the county to be processed.

“We have farmers who want to jar their honey or put some of their tomatoes into sauce. It requires a certified kitchen,” Torres says.

In a potential future bright spot, Mountain Valley Cannery of Wheat Ridge has applied for grant money to study the feasibility of a regional cooperative cannery that could be used by both small farmers and the general public. Meetings about the potential cannery are planned for 2010.

Distribution is a problem, too. Even if the amount of farmer to consumer sales grew to 15 percent — a huge accomplishment — local farmers would have to find a way to reach the other 85 percent who buy their produce at grocery chains.

That could mean the growth of larger farms able to wholesale produce, a model that can be less profitable for the farmer.

“A lot of people want to get into market farming to capture the direct marketing dollar,” Card of CSU Extension says. “There might be a hybrid system that would work.”

Consumers with fewer dollars to spend on food are also deterred by the high cost of local food compared with food from elsewhere. Advocates of local food production say the higher prices reflect the true cost of food without federal subsidies and artificially low energy costs.

For those looking at the balance in their checking accounts, however, such an argument can seem a little abstract. That’s where a little elbow grease can make a difference. Cooking more foods from scratch and growing vegetables in a backyard plot or community garden space can bring local eating within virtually anyone’s price range.

Going home

When local food advocates take a look at growing food, they inevitably cite the model of Victory Gardens in World War II, which at their peak supplied roughly 40 percent of the nation’s produce. Many of the gardeners had never grown vegetables before, much like today.

But there also were huge differences. During that era, about a third of the work force was composed of women. Today the number approaches half.

Despite many people’s full schedules, however, the interest in growing food at home has surged.

“We’ve seen a really big spike,” says Joel Reich, horticulture agent for the Boulder County Colorado Extension office. “Folks I work with in their mid-50s say they’re never seen such an upswing in people growing their own food in their careers. A lot of people are comparing it to the Victory Garden era.”

Reich says several factors have contributed to the trend: the down economy, health concerns about contaminated food, worries about pesticides and concerns about the environment.

“The biggest thing is that there’s a huge flood of young people, folks in their 20s or early 30s just getting their families started, having a thirst for growing their own food,” he says.

Whereas horticulturists such as himself once worried about the graying of home gardeners, they now believe a new generation will continue to garden for decades to come.

“We’re getting people trained now who are most likely to continue for most of their adult lives,” he says.

Neighborhood farms

For those homeowners not interested in tending their own garden plot, models are springing up to make use of their small patches of land.

Kipp Nash started Community Roots in 2006 as what he calls Neighborhood Supported Agriculture, a play on the term Community Supported Agriculture in which consumers buy shares of a farmer’s crop.

Nash currently tends vegetable gardens in 11 yards and two churches in the Martin Acres neighborhood of Boulder. Those plots feed about 35 families who buy shares CSA-style. Homeowners who volunteer their property may either harvest vegetables for their own use or buy into the NSA at a reduced rate.

Nash says the idea of becoming an urban farmer came to him after much soul searching.

“For me, it was a real personal and almost spiritual calling to want to be living in a much more direct way,” he says.

David Greenwald, of Louisville, who apprenticed with Nash and is participating in the Building Farmers program, hopes to start a similar program in his town.

Greenwald is involved in the Transition movement, which seeks to prepare society for the changes they say will come when fossil fuels become prohibitively expensive as the peak of oil production is reached. A big part of the relocalization the group believes is necessary involves agriculture, since bringing in food from thousands of miles away would cost more than people can afford.

“Our society has changed so much, consolidated so much into large metro areas,” Greenwald says. “A lot of those suburban yards are plenty big enough to sustain (a family).”

He adds that one of the biggest challenges is that people no longer have the knowledge common in their grandparents’ day. A big push in the Transition movement is to assist people in “reskilling,” learning how to garden and build things, for example.

One of the side benefits of growing food locally, advocates say, is nurturing community, something that has been taken a hit in the economic compartmentalization of modern life.

Longmont Farmers’ Market Manager Torres says that a resilient local food system provides social sustainability as well as Earth friendliness.

“(It’s part of) that culture that has to do with the natural environment,” she says of farming. “If we’re not connected to it, we don’t protect it. … We don’t know what it’s worth.”

Contact Staff Writer Cindy Sutter at 303-473-1335 or sutterc@dailycamera.com

One way to honor the natural world and actually form a relationship to the land where you reside is to acknowledge the passing of the seasons. Solstice ceremonies and rituals date back millennia, when societies were much more in tune with natural cycles because their very livelihood and wellbeing was so intricately tied to the land, the weather and their animals. Celebrations were rich with food and drink—one last feast before the start of the long period of uncertainty and possibly starvation during the cold months of January through April.

We are now approaching the next solstice, which is the winter solstice, or the first day of winter, typically falls around December 21^st in the northern hemisphere. The solstice is the day in which the sun begins to rise earlier and set later, making for longer days and shorter nights. The day of the solstice is the shortest (and darkest) day of the year, but it’s also the beginning of a trend toward longer days, even though it marks the first day of winter.

I designed a do-it-yourself winter solstice ritual around the concept of preparing a seed that will hopefully sprout and take root in the spring, both literally and figuratively. Because the solstice is the start of longer days at the same time it’s the beginning of the coldest season, it represents the preparation for new beginnings at a time when it’s easy to forget that things will once again thrive and grow. Maybe you’ve lost something of importance to you this year. Maybe something didn’t quite turn out the way you had hoped—a relationship, a job, or a financial venture. On the day of the solstice, you want to plant “seeds” for new beginnings and new hope for things to blossom for you in the coming year. The seeds will lay dormant for a few months, just as your dreams may lay dormant while you make background preparations for the changes you want to make.

This is a ritual you can do alone or with a friend or romantic partner.

You’ll need a few days to research and prepare for this ritual. You want to lay the groundwork and give your seeds the best possible chance to grow and thrive. First, you’ll need to know what are some of the native plants or grasses that grow in your bioregion. Here where I live in Colorado, buffalo and blue gamma are the native grasses that grow in the plains right up to the foot of the Rocky Mountains. For the ritual I’m doing, I bought a small amount of this seed at my local nursery. Learning about the native plants in your area is a way to know more about the land where you live, more than just where the nearest mall is. It’s the kind of knowledge our ancestors needed in order to live sustainably with their bioregion.

Once you have a list of native plants, you can visit your local nursery order seeds online. Purchase a small amount of some kind of grass, wildflower or plant that will grow without much human input in a meadow, open space or park near your home.

Next, find out what time the sun rises on December 21^st where you live. This will be important for your ritual. Also, think of a park, wild area or trail that has a good view toward the southeast horizon near where you live. Preferably, this should be a wild area that isn’t landscaped with grass, an area that would be good ground for growing the seeds you purchased. Ideally, it should be an area where the plants you purchased already grow naturally or where the ecosystem would not be disrupted with its introduction.

On the night before the solstice, take a small amount of the seeds and mix them with compost, garden soil or some kind of seed starter mix. Place the mixture in the middle of a square of brown paper bag, like a lunch bag or a grocery bag. Carefully wrap the mixture as if you were wrapping a gift, and secure it with thread or a very thin piece of tape. You will be taking this with you on the morning of the solstice, along with a pen or marker.

On the morning of the solstice, plan on arriving at the natural area or park at least 15 minutes before the sun is scheduled to rise. After parking your car or arriving on foot, take a minute to center yourself in the space and state your intention. What are you here for? Ask the land permission and blessing for your ritual. You and your partner should then begin to walk or hike on the trail in meditative silence, allowing yourself to be mindful of your surroundings. Notice the way the air smells, the way the wind sounds as it moves across the land or through the trees. Notice if you hear any wildlife. What does the sky look like in this moment at sunrise on the shortest day of the year?

You’ll want to walk or meander in this space for a short time, watch the sunrise if possible, and relax into the surroundings. Then, when you’re ready, take out the seed packet you prepared and the pen you brought with you. What do you want to let go of that you’ve lost in the last year? What new challenges or hopes do you have for the coming year? What “seeds” would you like to plant for your life on this day?

Write down some words directly on the brown paper that represent what you are hoping to incubate and nurture for next year. It could be things like a good relationships, a new understanding of someone you love, better friendships, a new job or career. Perhaps you want to nurture new, positive habits. Write down two or three words to represent your hopes and goals.

Let your heart lead you to a spot where you know your seeds have the best possible chance to grow in the spring—a spot with lots of sunshine and good soil. Take the seed packet and place it under the snow or bury it a little bit on the ground (depending on the weather that day). Place it somewhere where it won’t easily be found, where it will remain sacred and safe.

Return to your home or car again in silence, to honor the moment and contemplate both the real seeds you’ve placed on the earth and the metaphorical seeds you’ve placed in your subconscious that will hopefully take root and thrive in the months ahead.

When you return home, have a big breakfast feast—lots of delicious sweet and savory things to nourish you. Share your impressions with your friend or partner. Talk about how you can help nurture each other’s “seeds” in the months to come. This is a new “outside of your head” way of bonding with them, and you may find yourself remembering in the days ahead how magical it felt to be out in nature at sunrise on the shortest day of the year, in a solitude we don’t often experience in the city.

See www.ContemplativeHiking.com for more information on ecopsychology and nature-based practices.