Tri-Cities municipalities are ignoring a gem within their midst. Truly Living Well’s (TLW) natural urban farm in East Point is more than an organic garden. Led by Rashid Nuri, an agriculturalist with an impressive résumé, the farm on Washington Road has turned a kudzu-covered lot next to an aging apartment complex into a country garden.
As wonderful as the fresh vegetables sold each week from the garden may be, the greater benefit to the local communities is the knowledge that Nuri will enthusiastically share. The Tri-Cities area has many families in need and plenty of vacant land for community gardens. Through recreation programs, schools, churches and senior centers, people could be taught how to grow their own food and not to rely solely on chemically treated foods.
The farm grows produce and herbs using compost and other natural gardening techniques without the use of toxic pesticides or herbicides. By teaching natural growing techniques, TLW also shows gardeners how to preserve and protect the land by improving the soil and reducing erosion. Every year, Tri-Cites municipalities spend significant funds to address storm water runoff problems. Much of those problems are created by the silt being deposited into area streams because of soil erosion. Finding inexpensive ways to prevent soil erosion is a lot cheaper than paying fines and cleaning up the streams.
TLW provides instruction on composting to improve the soil. But the added benefit is that residents who compost slash the amount of garbage they discard. Since the cost of handling garbage is based on the amount being transported and dumped at near capacity landfills, composting can reduce sanitation costs.
Residents who complain about the cost of bagging yard waste need to understand that when the debris isn’t bagged, it blows into the streets and clogs the storm drains. Removing the debris from streets and out of storm drains requires intensive labor and expensive equipment. Instead of complaining about the cost of leaf bags and city services, why not compost to reduce those costs?
None of the three cities have established a working relationship with TLW. It is too easy for public works personnel to continue to spray herbicides, order more equipment, or routinely renew contracts for garbage haulers. Parks directors often view open space solely as potential ball fields, when small community gardens would bring more people of all ages to parks to work the land and beautify the park — all while providing healthy food for their families.
Our officials must become open to new solutions to old problems. “Organic gardening is just nonsense,” East Point City Council member Earnestine Pittman once complained when I urged the council to look at the services TLW could provide. Saving tax dollars, improving the health of our residents and building sustainable communities are hardly nonsense; they are worthwhile, achievable goals. As Truly Living Well’s Web site states, “What we return to the earth, the earth returns to us.”
Teresa Nelson is a former East Point City Council representative.
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