Rewilding

I had an opportunity a few weeks ago to hear Cindee Travis Klement talk about her work on the little urban plot of land that is adjacent to the Lawndale Art Center. She spoke about how the area has been cultivated- or maybe uncultivated- to encourage plants that benefit local fauna, most visibly bees, butterflies, and birds. She illustrates the progress of the soil by plunging a bamboo rod into the ground where plants have formed an extensive root system. The rod goes in almost a foot, compared to barely breaking ground elsewhere.

I loved this meeting of art and nature in our fine urban environment. This meeting place, so seemingly incongruous yet delightful in its joining is where we come to peace with the matter that made us. Our clothing can be the same. Fibers grown on local fields and dyed with plants that grow easily for us support our community by paying for local agriculture, and acknowledge that everything we need is already here.