capturing a few moments at Mt Coot-tha...

... in a quiet corner of the Botanic Gardens a Mt Coot-tha around midday on Friday I did not pass a soul as I walked through a rainforested section of the gardens were sprinklers were playing in every direction and the sun was filtering through the overhead canopy making it such a cool, moist and quiet spot to wander after a very busy morning.

A spot that made me stop and gaze a while was this pond with lily pads and water flowing over some rocks into the pond. I took out my camera and clicked without worrying too much about angles and sunlight. And just now after downloading photos I'm reminded how for me the one's I might have thought quite poor actually have some redeeming features....as with this one above which to my mind is delightfully almost painterly.

I found this place mesmerising...the water, light, lush green and sound of water. 

Earlier on Friday Morning I met up with teachers and students from Cannon Hill State School for a session with 3 different classes from Grade 2, 3 and 4. All these children are involved with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program which has been set up in their school...so my presentation about the Homage to the Seed project and my art work was not an unfamiliar topic for these children. 

We had a wonderful morning... 3 classes came through and spent time with me and were excellent  participants in discussion about why seeds are so important and what part they play in our lives and. I brought in all kinds of things to show them and it was a lively morning that was over before I knew it.

We covered a lot of ground in a short time and it was inspiring to watch the light bulbs going off... children making connection between the materials I had brought in, what they have been learning and the importance of saving seeds. When the question came up about their favourite seed we all agreed most of us are very keen on chocolate...a seed they were off to see the tropical rainforest in the Geodesic Dome where there is a cacao tree.

I was delighted to hear they have been learning quite a bit about local indigenous culture from an aboriginal Elder who has been visiting their school. Many of the children were familiar with symbols in art as a result of these sessions with the Elder ... which made it much easier to explain the work I have been doing with cross-sections of rainforest fruits and other seedpod forms that are somewhat abstracted  and hold considerable symbolic resonance. 

This was an audience of switched on minds!

I was able to share the last packets of Select Organic seeds I had with the children to take back to their school garden. These were sent from the lovely people at Eden Seeds for the Open Studio Week in July.

Alf Finch founder, in 1987, of Eden Seeds and now Select Organic.

“I am pleased to be able to offer this selection of the world’s finest certified organic seeds”.

Old Traditional Open Pollinated Seeds,
No hybrids & No GMOs, No chemical treatment,
World's Finest Certified Organic Seeds

We offer an extensive range of certified organic seeds, & many books as well. You can browse through our product catalogue & order online with our secure shopping-cart facility, or if you wish to phone or mail your order please see the details on our Contact Us page.

The other wonderful seed product I was able to share with the classes was also from the Studio Week. I was given a bag of these soap nuts by the people at www.gogreenathome.com.au and the co-convenor that week, Marilena, had been successfully using them for some time and could vouch for their success as a natural seed product that can replace the use of harsh washing detergents at home.

Soap Nuts - The magic of nature  -  (Sapindus Mukorossi)

How would you like a 100% natural cleaner that grows wild in the Himalayas and has been used for centuries in India, China and Nepal. It's even on supermarket shelves in Europe and it's cheaper than chemical alternatives.  They come direct from India.

Simply place a few of these amazing soap nuts into our small Wash bag and throw them in with your washing. They will leave your laundry clean and fresh for around 6 washes, no need for any other cleansers or fabric softeners. At around 10 cents per wash, why would you use anything else?

For more information about these amazing berries (click here)

or if you would like to try out some cleaning solution recipies (click here).

Soapnuts are 100%:

• Pure and natural
• Chemical free
• Economical
• Non allergenic (not a nut, really a berry)
• Antibacterial, antimicrobial, antifungal
• Biodegradable
• Wild harvested (organic)     
• Beneficial to grey-water and septic systems
• Not tested on animals
• Easy to use  ...... and most importantly, effective

So the children and teachers left with a sample of these to try out in the class room and perhaps at home in the teacher's case!

Jamie Oliver is transforming the way we feed ourselves, and our children.

These series of links were found at or through the TED blog.

Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food | Video on TED.com

Why you should listen to him:

Jamie Oliver has been drawn to the kitchen since he was a child working in his father's pub-restaurant. He showed not only a precocious culinary talent but also a passion for creating (and talking about) fresh, honest, delicious food. In the past decade, the shaggy-haired "Naked Chef" of late-'90s BBC2 has built a worldwide media conglomerate of TV shows, books, cookware and magazines, all based on a formula of simple, unpretentious food that invites everyone to get busy in the kitchen. And as much as his cooking is generous, so is his business model -- his Fifteen Foundation, for instance, trains young chefs from challenged backgrounds to run four of his restaurants.

Now, Oliver is using his fame and charm to bring attention to the changes that Brits and Americans need to make in their lifestyles and diet. Campaigns such as Jamie's School Dinner, Ministry of Food and Food Revolution USA combine Oliver’s culinary tools, cookbooks and television, with serious activism and community organizing -- to create change on both the individual and governmental level.

Join Jamie's Food Revolution: 

Planet Green's top 5 eco TEDTalks - 28 may 2010

Paul Stamets on 6 ways mushrooms can save the world >>

Chris Jordan pictures some shocking stats >>

Jamie Oliver's TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food >>

Al Gore on averting climate crisis >>

Michael Pritchard's water filter turns filthy water drinkable >>

Found at the TED website:
 

Repeating Islands

News and commentary on Caribbean culture, literature, and the arts 


Beverly Bell writes about the complex relationship between Haitian peasants and Monsanto as they react to the company’s announcement that it is donating millions of dollars in seeds to Haiti.

“A new earthquake” is what peasant farmer leader Chavannes Jean-Baptiste of the Peasant Movement of Papay (MPP) called the news that Monsanto will be donating 60,000 seed sacks (475 tons) of hybrid corn seeds and vegetable seeds, some of them treated with highly toxic pesticides. The MPP has committed to burning Monsanto’s seeds, and has called for a march to protest the corporation’s presence in Haiti on June 4, for World Environment Day.  READ MORE HERE.

Announcing the 2010 TEDGlobal Fellows!

May 25, 2010

The 2010 TEDGlobal Fellows reflect both geographic and discipline diversity. From Venezuela to Ghana to Brazil to Costa Rica to Sri Lanka to Yemen, these pioneers are breaking new ground in technology, engineering, programming, biology, genetics, environmental science and invention. Fellows also are innovating in filmmaking, photojournalism, architecture, music, poetry, entrepreneurship and activism, among other disciplines.

“We are excited to host our second class of TEDGlobal Fellows in Oxford. They represent a spectacular concentration of cross-disciplinary talent and share a common goal of improving the state of humanity. We look forward to their active participation in the TEDGlobal community and the amazing collaborations that inevitably result from the Fellows' time together," said Tom Rielly, TED Fellows director.

If you click on TED Fellows it will open at the page that links you to all the individuals selected for this year.

and finally to see this video of Viktor Frankl go to the TED talks site .

Viktor Frankl: Why to believe in others

Neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl pioneered an approach to psychotherapy that focuses on the human search for meaning.

from seed to harvest - inspired learning for children

above: nuturing of seedlings

This year in 'Homage to the Seed' I will be posting on, and where possible, connecting more directly with programs that have a strong relationship to the importance of seed saving. Alice Waters launched the Edible Schoolyard, a program conducted by the Chez Panisse Foundation in the US in the mid 90's,  offering an extraordinarily valuable educational model of critical importance for the future.

When around 2000 the respected Australian cook, restaurateur, food writer and champion of the quality and diversity of Australian food Stephanie Alexander  was putting her incredible knowledge and enthusiasm behind a similar program and launching the Kitchen Garden Foundation I was heartened to think this opportunity might find its way to school children across this continent. Ever practical and wise Alexander and the Foundation grounded the program in a workable model before expanding. A brief early stint in secondary school teaching gave Alexander a keen awareness of how schools function and her business skills honed in successful endeavours over many years provided the knowhow for planning, bringing others on board, and getting the strategies in place that lead to individual schools working with State Education Departments partnering with govt and others to slowly launch this program in a growing number of school across Australia. The level of school and community commitment required to ensure the program thrives and the fact people are willing to go the distance on this speaks volumes as to the value and belief in this work that is being generated in communities.

To read a letter from a child and parent who have shared a remarkable story read here. This story is what inspired the post today!

A plan from the website for the garden at a local Brisbane school - Wellington Point State School.

A school kitchen garden as shown on website.

Please Note: The Brisbane Botanic Gardens holds many events throughout the year, some specifically for children. An extensive education program is highly utilised by schools over the year as well. Inquiries maybe made through the  the Garden's website for more information - Due to a temporary malfunction when attempting to load the weblink here if you google Brisbane Botanic Gardens and click on the link to Mt Coot-Tha you will have success.