While in Asheville, I spent a few hours wandering the trails at the Botanical Gardens. According to a sign posted there, the Southern Appalachians have the richest diversity of native plants anywhere outside of the tropics. Who knew?

The Botanical Gardens, which abut the UNC campus, were filled with people enjoying the shaded glens and free admission. Students played frisbee on the grass; young girls scampered along the creekbed; a flock of tourists followed a guide along the trails. Me, I just walked and looked. Here’s some of what I saw.

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Post tags: agritourism, Asheville, buy nothing, ecotourism, ecotravel, environment, featured posts, flowers, garden, nature, North Carolina, outdoors, photography, tourism, travel

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1. Hear live music on a streetcorner.

On a sunny day, the downtown area is always populated with buskers. Sometimes it’s your basic guy-with-a-guitar setup; sometimes there are a few dudes in overalls or tweed; sometimes it’s a full band with amplification. One sure thing is that you won’t have to walk far to find a street performer to tickle your ears for free (donations appreciated).

2. Feed your head at Malaprop’s Bookstore.

Granted, Malaprop’s is a business, so they also appreciate monetary contributions. But if you’re broke, spend a buck on coffee and peruse their incredible selection of literature.

This store is one of the places that convinced me so utterly of Asheville’s uniqueness. In fact, Malaprop’s seems to assume that its clientele is highly intelligent, educated in self-sufficiency, and actively committed to social/environmental change.

And there’s the proof: a book on Cattle Health in the Green Living section? We’re not in San Francisco any more.

3. Take a nature walk.

While exploring downtown, I picked up a map that indicated there was a botanical garden next to the UNC campus. Heading out that way, I stumbled across the Reed Creek “interpretive trail”, which was a hugely educational resource. It guides you through an area that was once occupied by buildings; along the trail, a series of signs informs you of what was here, what’s here now and why. In the space of a city block or two, I learned a ton about local history and botany.

The Reed Creek trail lets out near the Asheville Botanical Gardens, a huge and beautifully-managed set of trails, greens and buildings. It’s an easy walk, and just like at Reed Creek, the Botanical Gardens are full of information on native species. Make sure you stop at the creek, an excellent spot for a wee nosh and/or nap in the dappled sunlight.

Click for more photos of Reed Creek and the Botanical Gardens.

4. Go on a self-guided art tour.

As I mentioned recently, Asheville is full of art both strange and beautiful. From the underpass mural, to political graffiti, to statuary both commissioned and independent, there’s art all over the place. And that’s just on the sidewalk—but there are also tons of art galleries for your browsing pleasure.

Don’t miss Chicken Alley, a strange little street that looks straight out of New Orleans or Oakland. It’s haunted by living artists and one dead doctor: Dr. Jamie Smith was killed in a 1902 barfight and still hangs around the place.

If you’re more into modern-age ephemera, guess what? Chicken Alley’s got free wifi. Yippee!

5a. (for hippies) Hippie out at the Drum Circle.

photo by BillRhodesPhoto

Apparently this is a big deal, but I am somewhat opposed to drum circles. If they’re your thing, that’s super! There’s a giant one here every Friday night, on Patton Avenue. Just follow the smell of patchouli and sounds of wild djembe.

5b. (for nerds and queers) Get your summer Shakespeare fix.

photo by Zen

What self-respecting town doesn’t have a free Shakespeare-in-the-park series these days? Asheville is right on point, offering free performances all summer (Friday, Saturday & Sunday nights only). The address is #1 Gay Street, so you ought to feel right at home.

Want more, more, more free stuff? I know right? Cheapskate your heart out at Asheville’s official Free Things to Do page.

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Post tags: adventure, alternative, Asheville, buy nothing, ecotourism, ecotravel, energy-efficient, environment, featured posts, freegan, garden, nature, North Carolina, outdoors, photography, starving artists, sustainable, tourism, travel

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Added Value’s community garden in Brooklyn.
See more photos from New York’s community gardens

So there I was in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood. Just out of the way of public transportation and once heavily controlled by the Mob, this area has become somewhat of a car-oriented wasteland in recent years. Blocks are wide, full of brick buildings and parking lots. A brand-new Ikea sparkles in one corner, beckoning Brooklynites with all its fabulously disposable wares.

And right next to the Ikea? Why, a huge, flourishing community garden!

A garden grows in Brooklyn.
See more photos from New York’s community gardens

The Added Value Urban Garden is a volunteer-driven, youth-oriented community garden that also happens to be planted right on top of the asphalt here in Brooklyn. The farm is funded with grant money and is considered a public land in New York—which means that it’s open to everyone. Two days a week, volunteers come from all over town to help with planting, weeding, composting and harvesting. During the summer, a weekly farmer’s market brings in cash and public interest. And in between, Added Value works with young kids from the neighborhood, providing paying jobs.

That paid work is incredibly important. I talked to a Red Hook teenager who used to make money selling water on the streets. That’s a sight better than selling drugs, but still not a great job for a 14-year-old. He heard that the NY Department of Youth and Community Development was helping kids find work, and went down to the recruiting office looking for better work. They placed him here at the Red Hook garden, where he’s now a leader in the youth program.

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Read the rest of Try This at Home: Join a community garden (444 words)

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: agriculture, Austin, buy nothing, Chicago, community, Detroit, diy, education, environment, gardening, green living, locavore, New York, outdoors, sustainable, volunteer

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Yesterday I told you all about Farmer John’s struggle to save his family’s farm and preserve his unique identity (The Real Dirt on American Counterculture: How Farmer John made ideals come true).

From a family farm, the place has grown a lot. These days, Angelic Organics does a lot of education, from on-farm training to urban workshops to sustainable-building courses. See all they do here.

I visited an urban garden in Chicago’s South Side, just one of many teaching gardens founded with the help of Angelic Organics. It was a sunny day and the birds and bees were out. Here are some photos of the garden and the things living in it:

The next day, we drove out to Caledonia to visit the farm where Angelic Organics began. Unfortunately, it was a gray day and the Learning Center was mostly deserted. The farm itself is off-limits to tourists, with good reason; unfortunately, this meant there wasn’t much for us to see. We wandered around the grounds a bit, pet the goats, and went on our way.

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Post tags: agriculture, agritourism, alternative, animal, biodynamics, Chicago, chickens, community, counterculture, ecotourism, ecotravel, education, environment, farm, farming, flowers, gardening, Illinois, insect, locavore, organic, outsider art, photography, radical, sustainable, teaching, travel, voluntourism

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This is Evelina. Evelina’s a friend of mine from the Burning Man Dept. of Public Works, and she’s also one o’them Chicago bike punks. When Earp and I needed a place to crash, she gave us space on the floor of the spare room, next to the lizard and the python.

But that’s all beside the point, which is: sprouts!

Alfalfa sprouts are those little wiggly green things you get on fancy sandwiches and salads. They’re chock-full of nutrients and kinda fun to eat—but they’re expensive. Evelina’s got a way around that: sprout your own at home. It’s easy and cheap too, and your friends will be so impressed. Here’s how it’s done.

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Post tags: buy nothing, Chicago, featured posts, freegan, gardening, how-to, Illinois, locavore, organic, starving artists, sustainable

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Way back in May, I told you a little about the gorgeous gardens at Zephyros Farm, gave you a bit of the background behind Daphne Yannakakis’ gardening skills, and showed you some photos by Karina Salinas Heredia, a farm intern from Ecuador.

For new readers: Zephyros is an organic, family-run farm in Paonia, Colorado, where I WWOOFed for two weeks this spring. So far, out of all the places I’ve visited, it’s been my favorite. Read all about it here: Zephyros Farm and Garden.

Just the other day, Karina sent me more photos from the farm—and so I’m passing them on to you. Spring and summer have been good to the gardens, apparently. Here’s how things have blossomed in the past few months.

Note: these are just my favorite shots. See all of Karina’s photos here.

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Post tags: agritourism, Colorado, ecotourism, farm, flowers, gardening, nature, organic, Paonia, phenology, photography, summer, voluntourism, WWOOF

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Please note: NO ILLEGAL ACTS were committed during the course of this exercise. Though it did feel strangely badass.

© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: adventure, community, environment, featured posts, flowers, gardening, guerrilla gardening, Kentucky, Louisville, nature, outsider art, summer, video, volunteer

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Hostels, done right, are some of my favorite places to stay. They aren’t always awesome (see Abominable Snow Mansion), but the ones that have their act together are great places to meet people, live (and eat!) for cheap, and generally get the most out of whatever town you’re passing through.

I’d heard that the Austin hostel was one of the good ones, and as I read more about it, I decided it was definitely worth visiting. I didn’t need a place to stay, thanks to my friend Rhoda Hell’s generous housesitting offer; instead, I just walked down to Town Lake to check the place out. And I’m happy to say that not only is it an excellent hostel, it’s also a great example of a green business. In fact, it’s been designated as a Sustainable Living Center by Hostelling International.

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Post tags: alternative, Austin, energy, energy-efficient, gardening, green building, hostel, lodging, recycling, review, solar, sustainable, Texas, tourism, travel

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It was a hot day, and the Housewives of Travis County were on a mission. Swimming was the goal, and on a day like this Krause Springs was the perfect destination.

They call themselves housewives, this set, but it’s really a posse of unemployed professionals, welders, artists and cooks (okay, and one real housewife) who were tired of sitting home feeling sorry for themselves, and ready to grab unemployment by the horns and rock its little world. Joblessness in Austin is at 6.1%, and some folks are tired of constantly looking for work and never finding any. Hence, swimming!

Ten of us trooped out to Krause Springs, a huge swimming hole in Spicewood Texas (less than an hour’s drive from Austin). The water there is cool and clear, flowing from deep springs into a shallow, kid-friendly pool. From there it drops over mossy boulders and into the grotto– a deep, shaded pond surrounded by tall cypress trees.

Both pools were full of people: young punks preening on beach towels, college kids with cheap beer, mothers and grandmothers sipping lemonades in the shade, dads with camcorders, kids careening through the air on the rope swing. And us, a bunch of noisy 30-somethings with floaty toys, coolers and face paint (neon pink!).

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Post tags: Austin, camping, community, ecotourism, environment, flowers, nature, outdoors, photography, starving artists, summer, Texas, tourism, travel, video, water

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Catherine Gockley, owner of Fire Mountain Farm and Apiary, didn’t start out as a farmer. She didn’t even start out wanting to be a farmer. But once she sets her mind to things, they get done: having decided to become a grower later in life, she spent ten years learning and working to reach her goal. Fire Mountain is a beautiful example of an organic, chemical-free farm built on small acreage and with a reasonable budget— and Catherine made it all happen on her own gumption.

A bit of background: a trained geologist, Catherine worked as a backcountry ranger in Denali and Yosemite before deciding to become a grower. She found a couple of farms in the hills of California where she could work and live, picking up skills and experience from the landowners. She took a special interest in beekeeping, becoming an apiarist and even teaching chemical-free beekeeping workshops. And then she took the plunge, buying four acres of sloped, sunny property on the Pitcairn Mesa.

Catherine was my rideshare from Boulder to Paonia. I thought she was fabulous and fascinating, and I was intrigued by the idea of visiting a brand new organic farm. How do you get started setting up a small farm? Where do you begin, and where do you go from there? So I invited myself over to get a better look at Catherine’s method.

Fire Mountain Farm is small, but it’s the perfect size for Catherine: soon she’ll be able to support herself completely on this little piece of land. Here’s how she began.

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© jessicareeder for Uprooted, an eco/travel blog, 2009. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: agritourism, chickens, Colorado, community, environment, farm, gardening, how-to, organic, Paonia, permaculture, rideshare, sustainable, travel, voluntourism, WWOOF

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