Category Archives: Agriculture

Water Street Commons, drenched in rain, begins to show signs of life

By Mark | May 29, 2013

It’s the first real rain since we seeded our acre of Water Street a few weeks ago, and I’m incredibly happy. I’d intended to go out this evening, with my friend Jeff, to dig up some spotted knapweed and put a few more transplants in the ground, but, seeing as how it’s raining, I thought [...]

Also posted in Special Projects, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged Billy Bragg, Black Eyed Susan, Dandelion Bodies, Eben Mannes, flowers, forbs, hairy beardtongue, Iggy Pop, invasive species, Jeff Clark, native plants, QR code, seed bombing, showy goldenrod, sound poetry, spotted knapweed, Teresa Gillotti, Victoria Emanuela Pozyczka, Water Street, Water Street Redevelopment Project, weeds, Wild Ones, wildflowers | 12 Comments

May Day in Ypsilanti… a beautiful success

By Mark | May 1, 2013

I’m sunburnt and in much need of sleep, so this won’t be as exhaustive of a post as perhaps it should be. I did, however, want to say, before passing out, just how happy I am about the way things went today. What I saw unfold this afternoon on Water Street, I’m certain, will keep [...]

Also posted in Special Projects, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged community, community coming together, community development, community organizing, community potlucks, defining community, Doug Coombe, seed bombing, Water Street | 30 Comments

Making seed bombs with the awesome kids of Ypsi Middle School, and plotting to bring Billy Bragg to our May Day celebration

By Mark | April 29, 2013

I skipped breakfast this morning and headed over with Jeff Clark to make seed bombs with 7th and 8th graders at Ypsi Middle School. It was an incredible experience. The kids were enthusiastic, inquisitive, and just all-around awesome. And, thanks to their hard work, we now have over 500 seed bombs prepared for Wednesday’s big [...]

Also posted in Education, Environment, Special Projects, Ypsilanti | Tagged Billy Bragg, buses, child labor, colony collapse, commons, David Chapman, dismantling of public education, food forests, free skool, Jeff Clark, Jesse Tack, labor history, May Day, Phil Patterson, potluck, public education, seed bombing, threats to public education, Tonia Porterfield, Water Street, West Middle School, Ypsi Middle School, Ypsilanti Free Skool, zines | 10 Comments

Thanks to all of you who made seed bombs with me yesterday

By Mark | April 27, 2013

I woke up this morning with stiff, frozen claws for hands, after a day filled with mixing clay and rolling out seed bombs. It started over lunch, with an intense seed bomb making session at a local school, and ended along the banks of the Huron, at the kickoff of Totally Awesome Fest. Thanks to [...]

Also posted in Mark's Life, Special Projects, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged Jason Tallant, native plants, seed bombing, Totally Awesome Fest, Water Street | 1 Comment

STATUS REPORT: The Seed Bombing of Water Street

By Mark | April 22, 2013

We now have almost everything we need to carry out the seed bombing of Water Street on May 1, as you can see from the above photo, which I just snapped in my living room. The seeds arrived today from Native Connections, and, on my way home from work, I purchased 100-pounds of red clay [...]