Reaction/analysis to in-class presentation Community Garden

student/USA / Disi Gao

 The in-class presentation Community Garden have well solved the financing problem that most poor community facing. The raised donation from various company. They also developed several inexpensive method to design the garden including reuse of tires , tubs and junked car . I think these are very good idea for a very small budget. On the other hand, I think they could design it a little better to make the garden a little more aesthetic, because it is really not good to make the garden like something growing out of a junk yard. It would be better to reuse without seeing the reused material. They could also designed the garden to fit the needs of community, for example, some more chairs for elders and pregnant woman, some playground for kids. Another thing that's a little contradictory is they want to make an edible garden, so the community can sell the food to support itself, however if they grow food and put a fence (cactus) to prevent people to take from the garden, the the garden is not very a community garden anymore. A community garden is for every one in the community. 

•Overall understanding or interpretation of sustainability

 In ecological view, everything man-made is a subset of the ecological system as the nature and all the other life-forms. Tree is an appropriate symbol for ecological word view, that everything in the system is interconnected and interdependent to each other. In industrial world view, the system is a triangle, the power and resource is distributed from the top and become less and less when it gets to the bottom. In ecological world view. the power and resource is distributed equally based on diverse and complex world. Sustainability can be understood as maintaining well-being without damaging the reproductivity in the future. The methods include water conservation, green building design, energy optimization, waster treatment, etc. Sustainability is not only an environmental concept, but also economic, social and political. 

 Before taking this class, I haven't thought about the economic, social and political relation to sustainability. I viewed it as only a environmental issue. The class inspired me that the problem in our system is not only environmental, and the actions we have done today are mostly "not good enough", there are many things need to change. I realize how difficult it is to come from where we are to there, but I also found the direction that can take us to there.