South Central Farm and Talk:McLean, Nebraska: Difference between pages

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[[Image:South_Central_Farm_2.jpg|thumb|250px|One of many banners on and around the fence of South Central Farm]]

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The '''South Central Farm''', also known as the '''South Central Community Garden''', is a 14-[[acre]] (~0.056 km²) [[Urban area|urban]] [[farm]] and community [[garden]] located at East 41st and South Alameda Streets in industrialiezed [[South Los Angeles|South]] [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[California]] (formerly known as South Central Los Angeles). It is considered one of the largest [[Urban agriculture|urban farms]] in the [[United States]].

[[Image:South Central Farm NASA 1.png|thumb|250px|South Central Farm Seen from an elevation of 10km.]]

==History==

Before the creation of the garden, the land belonged to nine different owners the largest of which was Alameda-Barbara Investment Company, a real-estate firm which purchased its share 1980. The company held 80% of the property that would become the present urban garden. [http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-garden31oct31,1,7435458.story] The city of Los Angeles acquired the land, by [[eminent ___domain]], in 1986 for the purpose of building a waste-to-energy [[incinerator]] known as the Los Angeles City Energy Recovery Project. This idea was abandoned due to [[community]] opposition, led by [[Juanita Tate]] and Concerned Citizens of South-Central Los Angeles. When the project was abandoned a group calling themselves the South Central Farmers Feeding Families have transformed the property into its present green state.

The garden was sown by members of the (mostly-[[Latino]]) community as a program of the Los Angeles Regional [[Food bank]] and has been run by the South Central Farmers ever since. The property on which the farm is located has been sold to a private developer, Libaw-Horowitz Investment Company, and eviction of the farmers is expected.

==Plant life (Biodiversity)==

[[Image:South_Central_Farm_44.jpg|thumb|250px|One of many cactus patches that serve as natural fencing and food]]

[[image:South_Central_Farm_1.jpg|thumb|250px|The son of a farmer showing off seeds he will plant in their farm]]

[[image:south_Central_Farm_32.jpg|thumb|250px|Different variety of tomatoes and beans for sale at the sunday farmers market at the Farm]]

The SCF contains an estimated 100 to 150 species of plants (37 of which have been identified by [http://depts.washington.edu/anthweb/people/faculty/DPena.php Dr.Devon G. Peña] professor of [[Anthropology]] at the [[University of Washington]], [http://www.acequiainstitute.org/pages/6/index.htm Acequia Institute]) According to Dr. Peña the inventory of plants present at the farm represent its connection to Mega-Mexico, a [[Vavilov Center|Vavilov center]], one of the original Anthropological locations where plants were domesticated. This Vavilov center stretches from the southern end of Mexico (Chiapas) up to South-Western United States. Some of the plants present have been reintroduced to the area by the farmers, decendents of the original inhabitants of Meso-America. The relationship between the farmers and the plants is not like modern farming. Many plants that are seen as weeds by modern farmers have multiple permacultural use to immigrant farmers. These plants function as crops, herbal medicine, spiritual use, and/or as companion plants.

*[[Avocado]]

*[[Banana]]

*[[Bean]]

*Butterfly plant

*[[Cactus ]]

*[[Calabash]]

*[[Roman chamomile|Chamomile]]

*[[Chamomile]]

*[[Chayote]]

*Chiplin

*[[Chokecherry]]

*[[nettle| Dwarf nettle]]

*[[Floss silk tree]]

*[[Green amaranth]]

*[[Guava]]

*[[Tomatillo|Husk tomato(ground cherry)]]

*[[Jimsonweed]]

*[[Maize|Maize, corn ]]

*[[Malabar gourd]] (a.k.a. Fig-leaved gourd)

*[http://plants.usda.gov/gallery/standard/masy_002_svp.jpg Mallow, cheese flower]

*Mexican honeysuckle

*Mexican Parseley

*[[Tagetes|Mexican tarragon]]

*Pipicha

*[[Portulaca|Purslane; pigweed]]

*[[Pot marigold ]]

*Red Aztec spinach

*Rootbeer plant

*[[Rose]]

*[[Sapodile]]

*Seepweed

*Silver wormwood

*[http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=TRSE6 Small tallowtree]

*[[Sansevieria trifasciata|Snake Plant]]

*[http://www.ppws.vt.edu/scott/weed_id/anocr.htm Spurred anoda], Alfafa:buffalo herb; Lucerne

*[[Succulent|Succulents]]

*[[Sugarcane]]

*[[Tomato]]

*[[Epazote|Wormseed]]

*Yerba mora

==The Farmers==

[[Image:South_Central_Farm_51.jpg|thumb|250px|South Central Farmers at their general meeting]]

The '''South Central Farmers''' consist of approximately 350 poor families from the neighboring community. They are a self-governing organization. This group has transformed the property from a junk filled space into one of the largest urban gardens. Since the notification of the impending destruction of the garden, the group has become politically active and have gathered supporters in politics, higher-learning, entertainment, and abroad.

The operating framework of of the SCF is made made up of elected [[role|roles]] recruited from the ''General Assembly'' of the farmers. Some of these positions, are publically visible [[Representation|representatives]] of the SCF, such as Rufina Jaurez and Tezozomoc. These two "voices" are often mistaken for the organization's leaders, because they often need to interact with the outside public. All [[role|roles]] taken by members of the SCF exist soley to fulfill a [[need]] or set of needs to continue the healthy [[life span]] of the farm. On the farm women fullfill a majority of the roles from accounting to that of lot monitors.

==Notable supporters ==

*[[Joan Baez]], [[Activist]] and [[Folk music|folk singer]]

*[[Michael Balzary|Michael 'Flea' Balzary]], of the [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]] writing in his [http://www.redhotchilipeppers.com/news/journal.php?uid=235| Fleamail]

*[http://www.cagreens.org/press/pr060525.shtml| California Green Party]

*[http://www.csun.edu/~hfoao078/faculty.html Dr. David Diaz, Professor of Urban Planning at Cal State Northridge]

*[[Leonardo DiCaprio]]

*[[Danny Glover]], Actor

*[[Daryl Hanna]], Actress

*[[Julia "Butterfly" Hill|Julia "Butterfly" Hill]], environmental activist

*[[Immortal Technique]], [[Hip hop music]]ian

*[[Ron Kovic]]

*[[Tom Morello]], of [[Audioslave]] and [[Rage Against the Machine]]

*Daniel Ortega, Professor of Architecture at UNLV

*[[Ozomatli]]

*[http://depts.washington.edu/anthweb/people/faculty/DPena.php Dr. Devon G. Peña], Professor of Anthropology [[University of Washington]], [http://www.acequiainstitute.org/pages/1/index.htm The Acequia Institute]

*Leslie Radford, [http://la.indymedia.org/ Los Angeles Independent Media Center].

*[[Zack de la Rocha]], lead singer of [[Rage Against the Machine]]

*[[Antonio Villaraigosa]], [[Mayor of Los Angeles, California|Mayor of Los Angeles]]

==Critics==

*Ralph Horowitz, developer

*[[Dennis P. Zine]], [[Los Angeles City Council]]man

*Former South Central Farmers

==See also==

*[[Chávez Ravine]]

*[[Chicano Park]]

*[[Environmental racism]]

*[[Eminent Domain]]

*[[Food security]]

*[[Indigenous peoples]]

*[[People's Park, Berkeley]]

*[[Permaculture]]

*[[Property]]

*[[urban agriculture]]

== References ==

*[http://www.carpediemfilms.org/bushel_of_complaints.html Bushel of Complaints], Daniel Hernandez,David Zahniser (contributer), LA Weekly, Tuesday, 21 March 2006.

*[http://www.lacity.org/council/cd3/cd3press/cd3cd3press14237074_04132006.pdf Councilman Zine Issues Statement Regarding South Central Farm Incident].

*[http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-farmers20may20,1,5968428.story “Deal to Buy South L.A. Community Garden Running Short on Time”], Steve Hymon, Los Angeles Times, May 20, 2006.

*[http://www.clamormagazine.org/issues/36/people.php 14 Acres-Conversations Across Chasms in South Central Los Angeles], Jessica Hoffmann, Christine Petit, et al. ''Clamor'' magazine, issue 36, spring 2006.

*[http://www.acequiainstitute.org/images/Farmers_Feeding_Famlies__Lecture_UC_Berkeley_Oct_10_2005_.doc Farmers Feeding Families: Agroecology in South Central Los Angeles], [http://depts.washington.edu/anthweb/people/faculty/DPena.php Dr. Devon G. Peña], Professor of Anthropology, University of Washington, [http://www.acequiainstitute.org/pages/6/index.htm Acequia Institute Acequia Institute], Lecture presented to the [http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/espm/ Environmental Science, Policy and Management Colloquium], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UC-Berkeley University of California – Berkeley], October 10, 2005.

*[http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/032206_war_past.shtml "The Future at War with the Past"], Jamey Hecht, FromTheWinderness.com, 2006.

*[http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/3027 "L.A. Urban Farmers Fight for Community Garden"], Jessica Hoffmann, The New Standard, April 5, 2006.

*[http://www.tpl.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content_item_id=14565&folder_id=266 "No Place to Play -- Los Angeles Parks Report"], The Trust for Public Land, November 2004.

*[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7e/PRELIMINARY_LIST_OF_BOTANICAL_SPECIES_GROWN_AT_SOUTH_CENTRAL_%28Final_draft%29.pdf "Preliminary List of Botanical Species Grown At South Central Community Garden"]. Dr. Devon G. Peña, Tezozomoc.

*[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5160542 "Owner Threatens to Raze Garden in Industrial L.A."], [[National Public Radio]].

*[http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-garden31oct31,1,7435458.story "Seeds of Dissension Linger-Farmers in the South Central Community Garden decry the loss of the land to a warehouse project. Some plan to resist the bulldozers."], Erika Hayasaki, Los Angeles Times, October 31, 2005.

*[http://www.southcentralfarmers.com The South Central Farmers Official website].

*[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/South_Central_Farm South Central Farm photos on wikimedia], Jonathan McIntosh, photographer.

*[http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=1955&IssueNum=98%20 "Tezozomoc: The organizer with South Central Farmers on surviving eviction, feeding the poor, and rethinking city parks"] Dean Kuipers, Los Angeles City Beat, April 21, 2005.

*"Third-space Farmers", Devon G. Peña Ph.D., Vision Magazine Catalyst for Conscious Living, Nov 5. Available at: http://www.visionmagazine.com/11_05/la.htm.

*[http://la.indymedia.org/news/2006/05/160508.php "Until the Farm is Secure"] Leslie Radford, Los Angeles [[Independent Media Center]], May 27, 2006.

==Further reading==

*[http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=889113 "The Effect of Community Gardens on Neighboring Property Values"] Vicki Been and Ioan Voicu, NYU Law and Economics Research Paper No. 06-09, March 2006

== External links ==

*[[Google Earth]] community Link To [http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=428849 SCF]

*[http://www.tpl.org The Trust For Public Land]

*[http://plants.usda.gov/index.html USDA Plants Database]

{{commons|South Central Farm}}

[[Category:Agriculture in the United States]]

[[Category:Agriculture organizations]]

[[Category:Alternative economy]]

[[Category:Community building]]

[[Category:DIY Culture]]

[[Category:Gardening]]

[[Category:Land management]]

[[Category:Landmarks in Los Angeles]]

[[Category:Organizations in Los Angeles]]

[[Category:Property]]

[[Category:Urban studies and planning]]