Blog by Ruth Hartung

One year ago, David Crow came to Sedona to share his vision of plant-based medicine and the importance of growing food locally through backyard gardens, community gardens and regional agriculture. His presentation, “ The People’s Pharmacy” and the theme of replanting the global garden initiated a weekend of teaching on medicinal aromatherapy. As part of that presentation, I added a panel discussion of local leaders in the area of sustainability and invited the community to see who was interested in helping organize a farmers market and a community garden.  One hundred people showed up to listen and share their interest and concerns about the land, resources and issues of sustainability.

Since that weekend, a much greater vision has unfolded with passion and momentum as individuals and organizations have started to come together and create projects and committees around what is now being called the Agricultural Renaissance of Northern Arizona.

Sedona is well-known as a mecca where a diversity of spiritual paths converge within the backdrop of the indigenous culture of the Native Americans. it appears that regardless of the difference in traditions, there is common agreement that relationship to the land as mother is an intrinsic part of all spirituality. The community is now coming together in an unprecedented show of unity around the importance of plants, the medicine and food they provide, and conscious and sustainable agriculture, whether from a garden or a farm.

This is some of what has happened here since last Thanksgiving:
) Gardens for Humanity has made its primary mission the “renaissance of agriculture in Northern Arizona.”  The primary goal of this movement is to create a food safety zone for Northern Arizona with the intention to feed 120,000 people through locally grown food within next three to five years.
) The first annual Sedona / Verde Valley Spring Planting Festival: a week with 16 events: 3 gardening workshops, evening panel discussion with experts on current issues of sustainability, 3 community garden work projects, 3 concerts, a universal dance of peace, 3 yoga classes a local herb walk, a presentation on eco-projects and a weekend retreat of contemplative aromatherapy…most events were free.
) First season of Sedona farmers market with regular 35 vendors participating to great success.  Many small family businesses started.
) Some innovative restaurants are now working with local growers and highlighting them through special menus
) Showing of the film Food, Inc – sponsored by Gardens for Humanity for consumer education. Record number of movie goers attended.
) Sedona Film Festival adds  a sustainability track to their 2010 International Film festival with a “Locovore reception” to benefit the Agricultural Renaissance movement.

Come and join us for the second annual Sedona/Verde Valley Spring Planting Festival March 14-21. David will be giving a retreat on the weekend of March 20/21st on “Contemplative Ayurveda and Aromatherapy.” The weekend will start on  Friday March 19th  when David will be giving an inspiring  talk about “Taking Medicine to the People: An update on the grassroots healthcare revolution.”
In the afternoon we will be doing a distillation of native juniper with Max Licher, who specializes in Southwest botanicals and is known for his extraordinary knowledge of plants.

Visit the Seven Centers Yoga Website for more info

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 7:29 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.