The objective of this guide is to create new narratives for food sys- tems. It is aimed at communicators, including media, journalists, opinion leaders, influencers, amplifiers, foodies and anyone interested in com- municating food-related issues. It focuses on food systems because food systems as we know them are failing us. They are failing us because the same narratives that sustain them –henceforth dominant narratives–, place us outside food systems, as if the nature we are part of was alien to us. Likewise, these narratives seem to ignore the main determinant for the existence of food itself, which is what we call the ecologies of food. By this term we refer to the set of beings and relationships that make it possible for food to exist in a material form and nourish us, both humans and other living beings or “planetary colleagues”. Therefore, this guide contains our programmatic contribution for new narratives to consider food systems as part of the ecologies of food, being more comprehensive and explicit about the interconnection and interdependence between the different forms of life that eat and are eaten on Earth.
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Our world is changing, and our food supply is no longer stable due to climate change, disruptions by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian-Ukraine & Israeli-Iran war and rising energy costs. There is an urgent need to make our cities more resilient to disruptions and price spikes. History has taught us that when societies become complex, they also become dependent on a fixed food supply chain, just as today’s society has become completely dependent on industrial food productions. A system that has no redundancies, with only a few people educated or knowledgeable in growing and harvesting our food.
My theory of change, and practical focus is the development of edible perennial hedges around the periphery of school yards (K-12). I call this the Perennial Hedge Development project or PHD project. This initiative will buffer our local food supply, increase the number of locally trained garden stewards/(volunteers), enhance biodiversity in school settings, and provide students and teachers with opportunities for experiential learning in how sustainability and biodiversity are interconnected.
Why Perennial Plants?
Most garden systems focus on annual plants, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, squash, corn, lettuce etc. These types of gardens are not conducive to school timetables since they require care during the summer break when schools are closed.
Vegetable gardens require seeds to grow, a reliable source of water, ground amendments and more planning than a perennial garden system.
In contrast, perennial plants are the first plants to emerge in early spring and many are in full bloom by the end of May, during the school season. Seeds are not required, and many perennials can be propagated by roots. A perennial hedge will give teachers the opportunity to use the hedge as a pedagogical tool for the students, with no obligation to take care of the hedge, as hedge stewards will take care of the hedge. Edible perianal hedges can be a generational resource, just like olive trees, and an opportunity to create localized socio-economic systems, for example school-based farmer’s market.