That means the end! Or is it? Anyway, the internet's slow, so hopefully this post will actually go through! It's been a grueling last month. Extremely busy. Seriously, you guys should see our calendar! There was always something to do, whether it was plan a barbeque, do one last veggie heroes skit for our adoring fans (if you missed it, I'm extremely sorry) doing our food life maps, making good-bye cds, it's non stop! But I'll try to bring you up to speed as to what we've been up to, and hopefully find some good pictures to prove it.
So, first off, the demo garden. It's been bloody well...bloomin! My eggplant and watermelon came back! I was so happy. They started flowering! I transplanted my cucumber into the greenhouse because it wasn't happy outside. In place of it, I planted peas which have taken off slowly, but surely. And my beets or radishes or whatever the heck I planted (I really should have labelled them) are quite big. And my carrot!!! Well....they're bigger then Whitneys, haha. And the mystery pot is...well...a mystery. I should have put more thought into that as well. It's grown up with like 6 different plants. But because there's variety, I can't tell what's a weed or not. But they're big! The potatoe patch has sprouted not only a lot of weeds, but potatoe plant-look alike weeds. Go figure. The zucchini and pumpkins are growing great as well. The grass is so thick though, it's hard to find them amongst the grass. But the pumpkins are there! They're about dodgeball sized. And most of our tomatoes are starting to turn red. That means we gotta pick em soon because lots of them get bugs quickly after that. The sad thing, BECAUSE we've been so busy, we haven't been able to go to the site and weed, or even mow the grass! So at least no one can say we're lazy! We're just busy in other departments.
I'd like to mention a blurb about manhunt as well. We've been hosting Recess, a nightly activity on Thursday nights to which we play a game; so far, it's been manhunt and sardines. It's a great energy game. We've had only a few dedicated people come every week which is a bit disheartening. There ARE kids out there, bored, with nothing to do. Almost every mention of manhunt makes kids smile in memory of past games they've played. So the question is, why aren't they coming? Do NOT be discouraged by the age range. Those little 12, 13 year olds can book it, sometimes faster then me! Sneaky buggers too! So, if you are a parent reading this, push your kids to at least check out our games every Thursday at 7pm. I implore, that the more, the better. If you're a bored teenager, online all the time, get out and give it a try! You don't even have to be a fast runner. It's more strategy then speed. Just a small hint of many; you can "herd" people with even walkers, pushing the chased towards the sprinters. See? Not so hard. It's uber fun!
I also feel the need to talk about a green leaders conference I went to over the past weekend. I was sad to miss Whitney's arts showcase that she put so much effort into ( I hope you enjoyed my treats; I heard the muffins weren't that great though) :( At the conference held in Prince Rupert, I was the representative for Hazelton; nay, all the communities past Terrace it seemed! But I hardly felt singled out. There was a great age range from 14-21, including older leaders and supervisors for youth groups for Terrace, Prince Rupert, and even the Queen Charlottes! I was very impressed at everyones maturity and enthusiasm to the issues brought up, one being the importance of the Sacred Headwaters water shed and how it affects EVERYONE on the community. Please, even if you hardly consider yourself an activist, please visit their website and send an email or something. http://www.sacredheadwaters.com/ We had a few guest speakers as well, including Jeff Gibbs and Nathan Cullen who explored a community mapping exercise with us, showing how we were all connected. He was a great speaker who really put things in perspective. I really felt comfortable there. It was inspiring to see how everyone was just themselves, during and after the conference, going to the carnival, chilling in someones backyard. It was kind of symbollic as to how we don't have to be great politicians and green peace people to make a difference. Regular people, people you go swimming with or hang out with; THOSE are the people who make a difference. And as I told a reporter at the conference, "great problems call for great solutions, and great solutions come from great people" It's time for those great people to come together.
So, as my hands are getting tired from typing so much (I can go all night long, but I have experience with long letters. People have a short attention span) I will leave it with a few pictures that might say more than I could, without blushing or laughing hysterically. The three month endeavor seemed like a lot longer, and was extremely rewarding. I've learned a lot, from gardening to food issues to what games kids like. Apparently, playing bus stop is the way to go with the youngin's. So now I have a month off to do odd jobs, train on my bike, and hang out with my friends before I jet off to Canada World Youth and share the wealth of knowledge I've gained. Amazing Apple, AWAY!!!!
