SEE YOU IN THE LANEWAY!
By Kit Shepherd
12th of December 2020
The laneways near my home in Bondi have been my highway to well-being in the time of COVID, lockdowns, and restrictions on social contacts. They kept me buoyant during the fires last year.
And tending the laneways has been a form of vigil or prayer to Earth amidst the wild and fluctuating weather that is an effect of warming oceans.
For four years I’ve adopted several small verge spaces and the result is fulfilling. You are invited to join us!
Why you should do it?
- to keep these often neglected areas looking good
- to stop them from becoming a place to dump rubbish
- to provide habitat and flowers for insects and small lizards
- to experiment with methods and plants that I’ve learned about (including successional planting, growing lentils, alfalfa, chickpeas, and peanuts as well as cuttings from locally thriving plants)
- to make contact with neighbors and passers-by
- to be part of something big – learning how to grow food, observing the weather and the seasons, thinking about the environment and how we can work well together.
- to join the widespread movement for growing food in cities (we’ll need more of this after the bushfires)
It takes time and commitment and there are rewards both practical, social, and inwardly… we grow ourselves as we tend plants – we develop attunement, patience, dedication, resilience, and creative visioning.
Kit, Convenor Transition Bondi
