February 2009

Our friends the Sleeths will be in town on Saturday at Hunter Presbyterian Church at 10 am. Both Matthew and Nancy have written extensively about Creation Care and the intersection(s) of faith and sustainability. Do visit their website, and find a time to hear these folks speak about their conversion experience. They are living a story that I find challenging and inspiring.

Viv proudly posing with her composter

Ok, in the interest of full disclosure from the outset, I must confess. Viviane Breazeale, our first Bluegrass Believer, is not just any believer that we happened to select first. Viv Breazeale is my mom. But really, when it comes to identifying role models and personal heroes, can you really start with anyone else? Not in my book. But putting my filial bias aside, there’s much more to her significance than her obvious genetic contribution to my existence.

Viv would never single herself out as to deserve a title such as a Bluegrass Believer. In fact, she’d adamantly insist that she in no way qualifies. And yet, in so many ways, that’s one of the very reasons she fits the bill. She isn’t leading the charge on sustainable initiatives. She isn’t banging down doors of legislators, demanding that they amend their ways. She isn’t even likely to label her own actions as conscious statements of her stewardship to the earth. But that just exemplifies the fact that her actions are not intended to impress others, or to be fashionable and noteworthy. They, instead, come from her heart and simply reflect her principles.

Viv has been an active gardener her whole life – a skill she learned from her own mother who tended a garden since her childhood in France. She grew up eating fresh produce and didn’t think twice about ensuring the same luxury to her own children, even when that meant forging a plot in a gravelly patch in downtown Lexington, flanked on either side by parking lots. From this she produced all sorts of vegetative wonders, including tomatoes, sugar snap peas, and spinach. She also used her garden to grow more exotic treats that she couldn’t reliably find locally, such a tender haricot verts (not to be confused with green beans!), edamame, and even fresh black-eyed peas.

I can say from experience, that it was always a joy to sit down to meals with their roots nurtured by her garden, and we relished the trumpeting of the gardening season each year when the trays of tomato seedlings were precariously balanced on every windowsill in the house.

But it must be said that Viv does not simply garden. Her every action in this space comes from an innate love of her plants. She coddles each seedling, checking their status daily, and mentally noting which plants could need further attention. No surprise then, she defends them with shocking ferocity, sitting for hours in the hot sun scanning for tiny weedlings to pull or aphids to squish. I don’t think it would ever occur to her to use chemicals on herbeloved plants – much better to protect them with adoration. The same can be said with fertilizer.

In fact, while she never preached the gospel of organic, she’s been a devoted follower her whole life – routinely making the pilgrimage to the horse park to shovel her minivan full of rotted horse manure. It was just the best way to do it. And why wouldn’t her plants get the best?

Yet, while Viv would certain admit to her devotion to her garden, she is actually committed to a much larger truth. She believes in the sanctity of our earth and the need to protect it and conserve its precious resources so that they can be savored eternally. This belief is in the marrow of her bones, not in the axioms of her brain, and it echoes throughout.

It’s the reason she faithfully shuts off the water unless absolutely required (she can do an entire load of dishes on one small bowlful).

It’s the reason that the only customized piece of furniture in her kitchen is a huge, stand alone wooden box to collect recyclables; and yes, she’ll root through the trash with bare hands, past slime and grit, if someone inadvertently tosses a #2 plastic!

It’s also the reason that she became a convert only in the last two years to the composting movement. You need only to see this woman trudging through the snow and ice in the depth of winter with a bucketful of coffee grounds to add, or watch her hoist her entire body weight into a 70+ gallon composter, filled to the brim with scraps and grass clippings to aerate the compost thoroughly, in order to testify to her dedication.

While each of these efforts and tasks may seem rather ordinary, and in fact they’re shockingly simple, their combined effects bear witness to the impact that one person can have.

Viv won’t single-handedly reverse global warming. But she’ll certainly do her share.

Not only will the earth be a little happier as a result, but we can also find joy and resolve through her inspiration.

With all this excitement for new programs this spring and new opportunities in our nation, it seems fitting that we join in this movement of joy and hope with our website content. It is in this spirit that we’re starting a new series on our site, called Bluegrass Believers.

This series will focus on the unsung heroes and inspirations in our community. While our culture allows plenty of room for celebrity idolizing and worshipping, it’s rare that we acknowledge the folks who simply do the right thing day in and day out . And really, its those individuals that make the difference at the end of the day. It’s their basic actions and gracious attitudes that cement their reputations as role models, and it’s a shame to think how rarely we tell them that. In fact, it is our intention in this series to bring these behind the scenes folks front and center, to say a heartfelt thank you.

Following the Seedleaf spirit, we’ll be focusing on people who are already taking actions to living a more sustainable life, and in so doing, are demonstrating their belief in the Bluegrass region with their actions, not just their words. We hope you will become inspired by these Bluegrass Believers, possibly learning some simple techniques that you too could fold into your life, and realize that in joining hope with action, we truly will preserve the beauty of life in central Kentucky.

To let us know you like what we’re doing and to follow us regularly, don’t forget to Join Us in our work!

Hello to all the Seedleafers out there, and let me just start my first official blogpost for Seedleaf with a heartfelt expression of gratitude for my great fortune in joining this team at Seedleaf. As my bio states, I come here with a background in teaching and education, and I’m beyond thrilled to help Seedleaf continue to grow its mission by helping to create new educational material and opportunities, for both interested community members, but most importantly, the youth.

We’ve got some exciting opportunities in the works, including a number of promising partnerships with already established youth programs. Not only are we hoping to offer some curriculum and classes through these channels, but we’re also going to be rolling out whole new programs at Seedleaf gardens, including some fabulous harvest celebration and garden parties!

Overall, we’re going to have a busy year ahead of us, with bountiful opportunities to dig in the dirt, meet new folks, gather more expertise, get inspired by others, and forge new collaborations and developments for this movement towards sustainable living in the Bluegrass region!

I know I’m on board. Are you? Join us now!

Stay tuned to our blog for some exciting new announcements and content features!