The internet enables us to satisfy our need for knowledge. It enables us to find people who share our interests and passions. And it has recently enabled a group of Victory Garden fan(atics?) to find each other. We've formed a Victory Garden Alliance Blog (VGA) that will enable us to share information with a broader readership to grow the Victory Garden movement/revival. The VGA blog will also enable those who read our individual blogs to hear new voices, and experience different takes on Victory Gardens, and a variety of other topics, including sustainable food systems, nutrition, gardening...life.
I've never met the other Alliance members in person. I have only heard the voices of three of them over the telephone. We hail from all over the United States, inhabiting different physical geographies, but sharing the same heart geography. These individuals share my core values and beliefs vis-a-vis the food system, and the power of individiuals to change the world through gardening.
While our collaboration is fueled by modern technology, in spirit and form, it's remniscient of the WWI and WWI Victory Garden Programs. Very grassroots. And like the Victory Garden programs of the past, we invite others who are interested in Dig for Victory, sustainable gardening efforts, etc., to join us. We seek the revival of a worthy American (and human!) tradition of gardening for a larger purpose and the greater good.
On the VGA Blog - which is essentially a portal - you will find many resources, including news stories, ideas on how to promote the movement/revival, and graphics that you can use to help promote Victory Garden efforts. If you have a blog or website, demonstrate your support of the Victory Garden effort by using one of these wonderful graphics, which hearken back to the posters used to mobilize the homefront during WWI and WWII. Through these graphic elements, we hope to create a strong national identity linking individuals involved in the Victory Garden movement/revival.
While this is a collaborative effort - and you can learn more about the individuals involved at the blogspot - our managing editor is Pam Price. A person extraordinaire with a wealth of talents, Pam organizes our efforts from her home deep in the heart of Texas. Her blog, Red,White&Grew, has provided hours of informative reading and inspiration for me and many others. It's a wonderful, thought-provoking and heart-warming place to visit.
Promoting the revival of Victory Gardens is clearly catching on across the United States. Please consider becoming a part of this effort by visiting us at:
http://victorygardenalliance.blogspot.com/
"A Garden for Everyone. Everyone in a Garden."
Author - Emeritus - UCCE Advisor in Digital Communications in Food Systems & Extension Education; Editor, UC Food Observer; Food and Society Policy Fellow