Despite the Rain, Wildflower Seeds Spread Across Bed Stuy
The first phase of the Bed Stuy Meadow project took place on Saturday, with almost 100 volunteers showing up to fling wildflower seeds into the deserted lots of Bed Stuy despite the inclement weather. “Flowers are great, but what really energizes me is the fact that most volunteers had their own ideas about making the…
The first phase of the Bed Stuy Meadow project took place on Saturday, with almost 100 volunteers showing up to fling wildflower seeds into the deserted lots of Bed Stuy despite the inclement weather. “Flowers are great, but what really energizes me is the fact that most volunteers had their own ideas about making the world a better place!” wrote organizer Deborah Fisher on the 21st Century Plowshare website. “I had conversations with people about organized clothing swaps; litter; street trees; helping landlords make better choices about insulating and choosing good windows–the list goes on and on!” The next phase of the project is about to get underway: Anyone who donated at least $10 to the project will receive a seed bomb in the mail in the next few weeks to throw wherever they please. More photos here.
The Seeds Have Been Planted! [21st Century Plowshare]
April Showers Bring Seed-Sowing Volunteers [NY Times]
Flowers for Bed Stuy [Brownstoner]
Photo by Kate Glicksberg
There were men present as well as men and women of color. Yes, the majority were white women, like the organizer, but as it’s been noted the way she organized probably got a whiter, younger demographic in the first place.
The people I seeded with were all local residents, most having lived in Bed Stuy a few years and two were also members of community gardens. As a gardener myself, I do recognize that there are infinitely better ways to plant seeds and take care of them, but that is not the ultimate point.
Also, everyone we ran into was positive about the project. One woman thanked us and another asked about how to grow flowers in her backyard. I think getting people talking with each other could be the ultimate goal and in that case it succeeded.
I understand the comments about involving the community board, but isn’t this supposed to basically be a graffiti-like action?
Wouldn’t getting the community board involved take away from the quickness of the gesture?
I think this is a great project. I think this weekend being a holy weekend for many African Americans in the community many people were spending time with family, church etc… Also many people who live in the southern Bedford Stuyvesant have no idea that this is going on. I am not sure if she went in front of CB3 to get her message out. Anyway if she dose it again I will be out working and supporting.
Amen, Brooklynista, amen. I agree with every word, and hopefully the organizers will reach out to the community in the old fashioned way, in person, in the future. They should especially get in touch with the local churches.
Bed Stuy has some of the largest, most socially active congregations in the city. To ignore their potential power in any community activity is to leave out legions of people who are eager to help. These are the people who have kept Bed Stuy together since the 1940’s, and their children and grandchildren do so today with the same dedication they did.
It is a great project. I hope next time more “locals” will be a part of it.
I agree it was a good effort. I even donated money to them.
It was all done online and BedStuyBlog was all over it. No, there wasn’t any leafletting or door-to-door effort but I don’t think that was necessary.
Not sure which locals were upset about it!!!!
Whether the seeds grow or not, I applaud the effort! Someone got an idea about how to make a simple, natural, and positive change in the community and decided to test it in practice. Maybe the idea will work, maybe it won’t. But at least it’s a try! How cool is that? IMO, it’s a very creative attempt to cultivate, organize and unleash some collective energy towards community good. Better yet, it’s a way in which folk can move to be the change they wish to see instead of just sitting online complaining about what they don’t like about the community in which they have chosen to live. I hardly ever agree with 11217 on anything but on this. . . I agree. What a terrific project!
As for the locals not being “invited,” I can definitely see how this project might be taken negatively by the “locals” at first blush (although I would definitely challenge my brother and sisters to lighten up a bit on this one). My guess is that there would be less local knee-jerk objection if the intial organizers had also taken the step to include some of the oldtimer locals in the initial planning process. Instead, they appear to have relied primarily on internet organizing as a means of getting the word out. Well, the unfortunate truth about that approach is that there really does still exist an age, race and class-based digital divide. Community organizing and engagement via internet-based platforms tend to be a very efficient tool among a younger, whiter, more middle-class demographic. This is not to say that older, working class people of color don’t have and use internet access. Of course they do! But when it comes to organizing in the color communties, the most effective strategies still happen in a very personal, make eye contact, live engagement kind of way — on the street, on the stoops, in the bodegas, at the churches, leaflets under doors, etc. This style of communication between the most well-intentioned/change-energetic newbies and the most fearful/skeptical oldtimers will always work a whole lot better than a blog discussion or evite.
if bedstuy ‘locals’ were interested in making bedstuy appealing they wouldn’t use it as a trash bin/toilet as often as they do.
I heard this morning on NPR that some people in the neighborhood were upset that longtime residents weren’t invited. The program’s founder countered that she received so many volunteers through her initial advertisements that it didn’t make sense to expand her reach. When confronted about the response of the longtime locals, she said she would be more thoughtful going forward.
I heard this morning on NPR that some people in the neighborhood were upset that longtime residents weren’t invited. The program’s founder countered that she received so many volunteers through her initial advertisements that it didn’t make sense to expand her reach. When confronted about the response of the longtime locals, she said she would be more thoughtful going forward.