Orchids & Onions

homeland security was a walking tour of very local food production in an 8 square block area of North Park. It was part of the weekend-long "There Goes the Neighborhood" art project. homeland security mapped intentional and inadvertent local food production – local deviations from our industrialized food system and challenges to the aesthetic status quo of most neighborhood landscapes. Changing our homeland-scapes from monocultures of lawns into polycultures of food requires a re-imagined aesthetics that allows for improvisational strategies, opportunistic acts, and a little chaos in the garden. There are political as well as social and environmental implications to the simple planting of a tomato or peach tree, since if the average carrot travels 1500 miles from farm to table (and it does), and the average San Diego-grown orange is eaten in China (and it is), and the average turf front lawn uses up to 4 times more water than an equivalent square feet of vegetables (and it does), then there are repercussions for our community food security if there are disruptions in transportation or communications networks, and the oil that fuels our economy is harder to get and more expensive, and the water that nourishes our bodies and landscapes is rationed.

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The Sustainable Sites Initiative is the first rating system (similar to LEED) for green landscape design, construction and maintenance. It is an interdisciplinary partnership led by the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin and the United States Botanic Garden to transform land development and management practices with the nation's first voluntary rating system for sustainable landscapes, with or without buildings. This year the Sustainable Sites Initiative announced the selection of 150 projects from 34 states as well as from Canada, Iceland and Spain to participate in an international pilot project program to evaluate the new SITES rating system for sustainable landscapes. Three projects in San Diego County were selected to participate: two designed by the Schmidt Design Group, Inc. of San Diego (Cottonwood Creek Park and Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens) and one by Helix Environmental Planning of La Mesa (Helix Environmental Planning Headquarters). Cottonwood Creek Park (former Orchid recipient) was selected based sustainable practices such as: the daylighting of two creeks to create a native riparian habitat corridor, stormwater management and bioswales that improve the water quality of the urban runoff that flows through the park. Other sustainable elements include native plant material throughout, sustainably harvested IPE wood decks and fencing, pervious concrete that provides infiltration in the parking lot and pathways; and interpretive educational nodes along the restored creek. Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens (former Orchid recipient) was selected based on sustainable practices including: combining entertaining and recreation within a stormwater basin, water quality improvements, use of local and reused materials, as well as Mediterranean, native and edible landscaping to create a unique and regionally appropriate garden. The garden is also 100% organically maintained. Helix Environmental Planning Headquarters was selected based on sustainable practices including: removing high water use lawn areas, installing a native plant garden, as well as managing and re-using rainwater on site.

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With the type of budget most restaurants put into their bathrooms, the blah's un-design was put together and opened in less than six weeks. Tapping into the power of Craigslist, the Blind Lady's interiors consist of the barstools out of El Cajon's longest standing bar, the chairs from the Hard Rock La Jolla, oak flooring from a warehouse in east village, a 1960s Hamm's billboard out of some guys garage in Oregon, shelves and a bar made out of pieces and scraps left behind by the previous owner, mountains of wood out of people's backyards, a cold box from a subway sandwich shop and a host of equipment purchased at auctions. The sum of all these parts is a warm, livable, enjoyable re-vamp of a space that didn't fill our already busting dumps—in fact, some of the interiors came from the dump. Heart & Soul.

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Emerald City Surf Shop did a complete renovation and transformed their large, old existing space into a beautiful, sustainable, environmentally conscious store, in line with it's purpose as a steward of the ocean. Locally owned and operated by Kelly and Larry Krause, the store has been in business on orange Avenue for 23 years. The newly renovated store’s architecture features exposed brick walls, high wood beam ceilings, custom metal framing, industrial lighting, and a wave mural by Aaron Chang. In remodeling Emerald City, the brothers made certain the building was restored to match its earlier splendor and was environmentally friendly. The architect removed the drop ceiling to reveal the original, gorgeous high-arched ceiling so it is now visible upon entering the store. The nearly 3,000-square-foot display area will be used to open up view corridors. A protruding overhang at the entrance was removed, and the arched display windows invite natural light and an enticing view from the street. The Krause brothers made a commitment to sustainable technology and added 90 solar panels on the roof and salvaged wood from the ceiling and used it throughout our interior design and as our dressing room doors. The new décor also includes a wall mural by iconic surf photographer Aaron Chang, innovative window displays, and creative dressing room art. The design vision is the work of interior designer Jules Wilson. The brothers plan to host art shows once a quarter to celebrate ocean art and area artists, with a continually evolving “look” to the inside of the store.

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Artist David Krimmel has created a wheat field in a vacant lot in urban North Park. The project untilizes locally grown grain to promote awareness of current issues in commerical food production uniting agriculture with culture. The resulting grain will be hand-processed during the “Bringing in the Sheaves" event on September 11th, 2010. By introducing wheat to the street, participants in this installation will have an increased awareness of what growing local can entail. David's WhEATharRvesT also includes participatory public art and community engagement programming including performance events, film screenings and food production event for ARt Produce Garden. In addition, David works with local school children teaching them the art of urban agriculture. This is a great example of community grass roots urban agriculture! For more information go to http://wheatharvest.org/

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