Growing Augusta: State Of The Region 2019

When my family moved back to South Augusta (not that we were coming from Portland or anything — we were just in Aiken), I legit believed that live music would be the ‘thing’ (the move) that I would be most excited about bringing into my neighborhood. And although I AM stoked about that, I find that forward movement concerning land use and organic community growth & development hold the most promise. For me, that is. For this is my goal for “creative placemaking.”

Leadership Augusta’s STATE OF THE REGION event tonight focuses on agriculture, and the Growing Augusta: Arts, Agriculture, & Agency team, will be present in the space. My nerves are toe’ up, as there is much more work to do… in order to provide adequate support and advocacy for farmers and growers in South Richmond (& Burke) County.

In the midst of all of this, I’m reminded about something that Denise Tucker would always say to me as she and B were working to open Humanitree House. Five, six years ago, she would say this to me, whether we were having brunch after church ( I had been to church. THEY had been working on the space all weekend)… or whether my peeps had stopped by the shop after the Saturday Market.

In times good and bad, she would say…

‘WORK THE LAND, NOT THE PEOPLE.

And I NEVER understood it. Until now.

It has taken numerous conversations with the Addersons, the McDonalds, Thomas & Alesha of Urban Grange, Carla from One Woman Veteran, Denise and B, reading and watching Queen Sugar.. and FINALLY being able to understand why my husband has consistently said “land is everything… we do not sell nor surrender it”… (of course, those are not his words. lol)

But… understand that the land is The Source. The dirt is from whence we all hail. God formed Adam from dust (the land). We are nothing without the soil. We do not exist without it. The land never lies. It is honest. It is true. And when our time here is over, if we are unafraid to acknowledge our natural state as souls in a temporary body, then we return to the land.

WE ARE HERE. Join us

Growing Augusta: Arts, Agriculture, and Agency | @growingaugusta | growingaugusta@gmail.com | +1 (762) 233–5299