TMVV Hub on the 6th Annual Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase

EVENT DATE: Saturday, April 26, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
EVENT LOCATION: 2454 Louella Ave., Venice 90292



Transition members who are also veterans of the annual Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase will remember gathering in past years at the lovely home of Ginny and her family—where the terraced front yard is an inviting place to take a break and admire the bioswale, an abundance of edible plants, and fruit trees. We’ve always enjoyed a full day of presentations related to local sustainability initiatives like Transition Culver City and Good Karma Gardens.

Although the Matteson Ave. residence is on hiatus from the tour in 2014, Transition Mar Vista/Venice will still organize around a hub of meaningful community activity, this time in Venice at our friend Julie’s house. In addition to demonstrating the creative ways you can transform a parkway from turf to something much more interesting, this house boasts a new greywater system, a backyard full of organically grown food, and a whimsical greenhouse made from found doors and windows.

Good Karma Gardens helped prepare the property by rallying a crew of volunteers to remove the old turf from the front yard and parkway, and lay down fresh mulch and compost. In half a day, the grounds were ready to start planting mint, artichokes, and other food, along with drought-tolerant flowers for the bees and birds. “It has been wonderful!” declared homeowner Julie, who is also founder of the Learning Garden and a veteran Good Karma Gardener herself. “The whole process of going more sustainable has brought more community, creativity, and awareness into my life.”

Ginny’s house sits right on the border between Mar Vista and Culver City, while Julie’s straddles Mar Vista and Venice. We feel like this coincidence nicely symbolizes the extent to which the Transition movement in our area embraces opportunities to share resources and cross-pollinate ideas. We hope visitors making the rounds on the Showcase will stop by our hub for a day of exciting, informational, and interactive talks, for great community conversation, togetherness, and homemade treats.

The tentative topics and schedule are:

• 10:00–10:30 Sacred Earth Community Salon
• 10:30–11:00 Good Karma Gardens Pay-It-Forward Edible Gardens
• 11:00–11:30 Little Free Library Nationwide Movement: Take a Book, Leave a Book
• 11:30–12:00 Creative Repurposing and Upcycling for Home and Garden
• 12:00–12:30 Westside Produce Exchange
• 12:30–1:00 What Is Transition?
• 1:00–1:30 Greywater and Water Harvesting
• 1:30–2:00 Maintaining Worm Bins
• 2:00–2:30 Making Kimchi and Sauerkraut
• 2:30–3:00 Beyond Cash Economies with Our Time Bank
• 3:00–3:30 Home Grown Gardens at Your Service
• 3:30–4:00 The Miracle of Compost Tea

Links:

• Find the Transition Mar Vista/Venice Hub event on Facebook
• Audio description of the Transition Mar Vista/Venice Hub, courtesy of Gardenerd.com
• 6th Annual Green Garden Showcase Blog
• MAP of the 2014 sites