The Rock Garden of Chandigarh

One day 36 years ago, Nek Chand, a humble transport official in the north Indian city of Chandigarh, began to clear a little patch of jungle to make himself a small garden area. He set stones around the little clearing and before long had sculpted a few figures recycled from materials he found at hand. Gradually Nek Chand's creation developed and grew; before long it covered several acres and comprised of hundreds of sculptures set in a series of interlinking courtyards.

After his normal working day Chand worked at night, in total secrecy for fear of being discovered by the authorities.When they did discover Chand's garden, local government officials were thrown into turmoil. The creation was completely illegal - a development in a forbidden area which by rights should be demolished. The outcome, however, was the enlightened decision to give Nek Chand a salary so that he could concentrate full-time on his work, plus a workforce of fifty labourers. Nek Chand's great work received immediate recognition and was inaugurated as The Rock Garden of Chandigarh.

Now over twenty five acres of several thousand sculptures set in large mosaic courtyards linked by walled paths and deep gorges, Nek Chand's creation also combines huge buildings with a series of interlinking waterfalls. The Rock Garden is now acknowledged as one of the modern wonders of the world. Over 5000 visitors each day, some 12 million people so far, walk around this vast creation - the greatest artistic achievement seen in India since the Taj Mahal.

Source

Free Farm Stand

The Free Farm Stand happens on Sundays 1-3pm in Treat Commons Community Garden located at Parque Niños Unidos at the corner of 23rd St. and Treat Ave. San Francisco, CA

http://freefarmstand.org/

Thanks Chef Stephanie!

Tempe woman gets wallet with cash she lost 5 years ago in Washington

by Ryan O'Donnell

Ryan O'Donnell report two teens in Washington State found something that belonged to a woman who lives in Arizona.

Source

From Seedlings to Servings: 11-Year-Old Grows Tons of Veggies for the Homeless

By Diane Herbst

 It sounds like a sub-plot from Jack and the Beanstalk. When Katie Stagliano brought a single cabbage seedling home from school as part of a third-grade class project, the 9-year-old planted it in the soil in a tiny plot in her family's back yard. She watered and weeded appropriately. Next thing she knew, that seedling grew into a monster-sized, 40-pound cabbage.

None of her classmates' cabbages grew so large. Katie didn't even add any sort of magic fertilizers, or receive any special gardening tips from adults. "Absolutely not," her mom, Stacy, tells Tonic. The biggest known OS Cross cabbage ever — the "OS" in the name stands for "oversize" — was 55 pounds, according to Bonnie Plants (the company that provided free seedlings to Stagliano's class as part of a nationwide school gardening initiative). So this wasn't a record, but it certainly was something.

Some might call it beginner's luck, yet others might call it fate—because what Katie did next turned her story into a heartwarming tale that's touching people all over the world. Katie decided that her green-leafy pride and joy should be donated to a local soup kitchen, where it was made into meals for 275 people (with the help of some ham and rice). "I thought, 'Wow, with that one cabbage I helped feed that many people?'" says Katie, now entering sixth grade. "I could do much more than that."

So with the help of her parents, Katie started her own nonprofit, Katie's Krops, and began planting vegetable gardens specifically to feed the needy. She has six right now, including one the length of a football field at her school in her hometown of Summerville, S.C. Classmates, her family and other people in the community help plant and water, and Bonnie Plants donates seedlings. This past year, Katie took her commitment to a new level, providing soup kitchens with over 2,000 pounds of lettuce, tomatoes and other vegetables. Katie and her helpers are now harvesting the spring planting, and another 1,200 pounds will be donated by October.

"She just walks in like a proud little girl with her treasures in her arm," says Sue Hanshaw, CEO of Tricounty Family Ministries, the soup kitchen in Charleston, S.C., where Katie first brought her 40-pound crucifer. "I love what she exudes, caring for others. It's made a big impact on a lot of people."

Says Elois Mackey, 49, a formerly homeless mother of two who has received a weekly vegetable delivery from Katie since September: "She is showing that you can help other people no matter how young you are. I love the vegetables she brings."

Katie is a well-spoken 11-year-old who juggles the life of a school child with that of a world-changer. Swim practice, tennis matches, and studying (she has had the highest GPA of her class for the last four years) are sandwiched between daily waterings and tending.  "It makes me feel good," says Katie. "I feel bad for those people who have to go to Palmetto house [a homeless shelter where she and residents recently planted a garden], but I feel good that I'm helping people."

Katie's desire to help as well as create sprouted early. "She's always been very inquisitive and wants to go above and beyond," says her mom, Stacy, 41. "It's like, 'What about this and why aren't we doing this?"

Since the age of four, Katie has placed first in competitions that include inventing a toothbrush now on sale that teaches water conservation, for the Dr. Fresh company. "When you put the toothbrush in your mouth to brush," says Katie, "it plays a rap song that says, 'Turn off the water when you brush your teeth, and you can save eight gallons of water.'"
As a third grader, upset about a local drought, Katie decided her school, Pinewood Prep, needed to conserve water. Katie wrote the headmaster over Christmas break, suggesting how the school could better conserve. Soon after, the high school's advanced placement environmental studies teacher called to meet with her and work on a water conservation project. Katie's suggestions for rain barrels to catch water and other ideas were soon implemented throughout the school. "As a parent, I am so moved," says Stacy. "I say to her, 'I hope some day when you are a parent, you have a kid who is as amazing as you so you can see it from a mom's perspective.'"

Much of the thanks goes to Stacy and Katie's devoted group of helpers, including her 7-year-old brother, John Michael, who has toiled in two of the gardens to plan pumpkin patches.

Since February of last year, master gardener Lisa Turocy has not only sat shoulder to shoulder with Katie planting and giving advice, she's transformed her entire front yard into a garden with 600 seedlings. "If I can help her change the world," says Turocy, "that's awesome."

Locals Linda and Bob Baker, golf professionals with 41 acres of farmland set along a rutted dirt road on the outskirts of Summerville, gave Katie some acreage for a garden. Bob lugged his John Deer tractor to Katie's school to till the soil, and taught Katie how to drive the machine. Says Bob: "It makes you feel so good to see someone that young with that amount of compassion, step in there and really make a difference."

Since she started, Katie has been contacted by schools and parents as far away as South Africa looking for advice on planting gardens of their own, specifically to help needy individuals in their communities. And Katie’s story has inspired supporters to donate to Katie’s Krops to help her buy irrigation equipment, fertilizer and other supplies for her six gardens.

As one of Katie's best friends told Tonic, most kids their age mainly like to watch TV and play on computers; they don't like to do what Katie does. Another friend, Anna Semar, 11, who was inspired by Katie to grow her own vegetable garden, says: "If there were more people like Katie the world would be a better place."

Source

Good Samaritans save life of Rio del Mar bicyclist who suffers heart attack

By Cathy Kelly

RIO DEL MAR -- George Hurley suffered a severe heart attack while riding his bike up a hill on a lonely stretch of San Juan Road on Memorial Day. He fell, lost consciousness and was without a pulse for several moments.

Luckily, he was not alone.

Hurley, 59, of Rio del Mar, called out to his brother as he fell.

Vince Hurley, a 60-year-old Seascape attorney, was riding with his brother, who was a short distance behind. He said he would normally not have stopped until he reached the top of the hill.

But something in the way his brother called his name made him turn around.

"I still shiver remembering that call," he said.

He couldn't see his brother, so he wheeled around, swinging into the road, he said.

He spotted him on an embankment beside the road, pulled him down and began performing CPR.

Vince Hurley is a former police officer who had CPR training years ago, but he was rusty.

Moments later, a passer-by stopped, and then a second.

In what the group calls amazing odds, both motorists who stopped to help had CPR training.

Tyler Scofield, 25, of Aptos said he recently received recertification at Reiter Berry Farms, where he works as a ranch manager.

"It just clicked into gear," he said.

Then Lori Fiorovich of La Selva Beach, an owner of Crystal Bay Berry Farm, ran up as well.

She coached the other two on the timing of the chest compressions, but it soon became apparent he was not breathing and they turned him on his side to dislodge something in his airway. Fiorovich said she began praying.

Firefighters arrived soon after, used a defibrillator and got a pulse.

Vince Hurley estimates eight to nine minutes elapsed; he said it seemed like a lifetime. He said he was composed until firefighters asked who the man was. He told them it was his brother, and that he has a wife and three kids.

"It was the most intense 10 minutes I'll ever live," he said. "Working on your own family member and holding it together is not that easy."

All four say the experience changed their lives.

George Hurley, an engineer and builder, said doctors at Watsonville Community Hospital and Dominican Hospital told him the CPR saved his life.

He was in a drug-induced coma for five days, and some worried he might have some cognitive loss, but he is expected to make a full recovery. He doesn't remember anything about the bike ride or the days after.

"It's just amazing," he said. "God's hand was all over this."

He said the experience has led him to make some changes.

"I'll live my life differently," he said. "We were a pretty healthy family, but we will live in a healthier way. And I have to look at balance, especially with work. I've been taking on a lot the last couple of years."

His wife, Susan, said it seems like many things came together that day to guide her husband's recovery.

"I'm so grateful they all listened to that inner voice," she said. "It was an amazing journey on several levels."

The American Heart Association website states effective CPR can double a victim's chance of survival. It states that approximately 95 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital.

The Santa Cruz County Chapter of the American Red Cross offers CPR and other life-saving training courses, and organizes at least one free training per year. Emergency Services Manager Patsy Hernandez said they train some 8,000 people in the county each year. The Red Cross requires annual recertification training.

For information, call 462-2881.

Source