by David Cook
posted March 26, 2008
 David Cook |
Two projects are being born right now in our downtown, and they are both rooted in equality and environmentalism.
Take Root Chattanooga is a new city program designed to honor Mayor Littlefield's 2006 signing of the Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement, which pledges to replace thoughtless and destructive environmental practices with sustainable ones.
Simply, the city is planning on doubling its number of downtown trees. Kind-hearted donors from across the area will work to buy and plant more than 1500 trees throughout the city, giving twice as much canopy space as before. (More information can be found at takerootchattanooga.com)
Like any good garden, this idea needed several things to grow. Last year, according to the Times Free Press's excellent Kathy Gilbert, owners of downtown's Chazz Coffee knocked on the city's door to see if they could create a way to plant more trees downtown.
Around the same time, the folks from Leadership Chattanooga began searching for an environmental project to help green our city. The two groups merged together, and a Green Team was created, led by Thomas Rusk, Paul Belk, Anita Polk-Conley, Rafe Goldbach, Janis Hashe, Mike Griffin, Janis Hashe, Helen Johnson and the graceful and wise Millie Callaway.
Working with UTC's graphic arts department, the Urban Century Institute, Chattanooga State, and the Community Foundation, the Take Root project began with its first tree-planting: a willow oak at Battle Academy.
In her story, Ms. Gilbert quoted Urban Forester Gene Hyde, who said, "Trees are an incredible green machine. They do all kinds of neat, cool wonderful things for our city. Their stormwater, anti-air pollution, cooling benefits are worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Can you imagine Chattanooga without trees? It would be like the Gobi Desert.”
Unfortunately, there are parts of Chattanooga that, in ways, resemble the Gobi Desert.
They are called Urban Food Deserts. Existing in poor neighborhoods, Urban Food Deserts are areas devoid of any quality, healthy, local, fresh food.
"Many residents in the Chattanooga region live in food deserts,'' claims the Community Research Council. "These areas lack traditional grocery stores and supermarkets, thereby limiting the availability of nutritious and affordable food for neighborhood residents.''
Simply, poor people do not have the choices to eat healthily. It is about survival, not organic food. When one can only afford Doritos, eating at Greenlife is not an option.
The good news: a growing movement across the nation is seeking to change that. Community gardens, federal grants, student projects, and the growing influence of such local farms as Crabtree Farms, Slow Food Chattanooga, Earth's Harmony Landscaping and many many others are helping to right the wrongs by making healthy food a right, not a privilege.
On Thursday, the city is hosting a Chattanooga Food Desert Summit, bringing together national speakers and dozens of local leaders to discuss issues of justice, nutrition, food sovereignty, food access and economic equality. The Summit starts at 1 pm at the Development Resource Center and more information can be found at 425-5613.
Our city finds true development when poor people have good healthy food to eat. Our city finds true development when there are more trees than parking meters. Our city finds true development when citizens act on their ideas.
This is progress. I thank all those involved in developing our downtown city in such a sustainable, thoughtful way.
(David Cook is a former journalist for the Chattanooga Times-Free Press. He currently teaches American history at Girls Preparatory School and can be reached at dcook7@gmail.com)
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