Do you dream of sustainable urban landscapes when you sleep? Then I hope you don’t live in Orange County, which is just waking up to the fact that maybe mandating gas-guzzling lawns isn’t the best idea when we’ve got water shortages. Other SoCal cities are more water-wise, however, and want your help to get wiser yet. So enter the City of Santa Monica Landscape Design Contest and turn your dream into reality!

The city wants to install 3 new demonstration gardens at 3200 Airport Ave., across from Airport Park — and is crowdsourcing the design. According to the city press release:

These landscape designs must be simple to recreate, yet sustainable water-efficient garden design templates. Participating designers are encouraged to base their layouts on local neighborhood communities in Santa Monica, i.e., Ocean Park, Sunset, North of Montana, and incorporate outdoor living room features, elements from Mediterranean and shade gardens, climate appropriate plants, as well as permeable paving options. Recommendations for scaling up or down the garden design template to match appropriate neighborhood lot sizes should also be included.

Get your design in by Mon., March 15 for a chance to see your dream grow — literally.

Don’t feel confident enough to tackle a landscape design challenge? Maybe you will, after a couple free gardening classes — both happening next week before the contest deadline:

>> Take a FREE Surfrider’s Ocean Friendly Garden Class and learn about sustainable landscaping practices that will curb urban runoff and ocean pollution. The class — featuring light snacks — happens Wed., March 10 from 6 pm – 9 pm at Hostelling International Santa Monica, 1436 Second St., Santa Monica. RSVP required; contact oceanfriendlygardens@surfriderwlam.org or 310.694.8351 with first and last name, phone number and email address.

>> Co-opportunity’s also having a Free Gardening Event featuring Darren Butler and Margaret Oakley that will teach you about techniques for sustainable and edible gardening. Be there on Thurs., March 11 from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm at the Santa Monica Main Public Library’s Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica.

Gardening goodness doesn’t end there. Put these yummy events into your calendar for the Spring:

>> Learn from a free seminar, Secrets of Growing Delicious Heirloom Tomatoes, in time for the tomato season. The free class happens Sun., March 21 from 9 am – 10 am at the Ocean View Farms Community Garden’s’ 6th Annual Tomato-bration in West L.A. on S. Centinela at Rose Ave.

>> Take the 100 Gardens Challenge and pledge to plant your own edible garden during the weekend of April 24 and 25! I took this challenge last year — and I’m proud to say that my year-old chard plants are still going strong (though the basil died really fast and the lettuce barely grew). Help transform L.A. into an edible oasis over just one weekend by planting that garden — or get involved now with the Westside Permaculture Group, the organization behind this challenge, and help organize the big event.

>> Then head over to the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase and take a self-guided tour on foot or by bike to see pretty, eco-friendly gardens that save water — and money on utility bills. The free event happens on Sun., April 25 and is open to all; a map will be posted closer to date.

Earlier:
>> Book Review: Fresh Food From Small Spaces – Balcony gardens, simplified
>> Urban lawn garden in Santa Monica

Photo by Anika Malone

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There are those of us who bemoan the un-green-ness of our neighbors and the lack of community in our ‘hoods. Then there are others who actually take action — and create a green community by convincing neighbors that’s what they want too.

The latter, in essence, is what just a few Mar Vista residents have managed to make happen. This L.A. neighborhood’s put on both a popular Green Garden Showcase with 1000+ attendees and a Wise Water Use Expo with local celebs in the last year. Not only that, Mar Vista residents get treated to an eco-speaker and expert at the local farmers’ market each week. All those green initiatives helped make Mar Vista one of the pilot program areas for the City of L.A.’s free rainwater harvesting program, allowing Mar Vistans some of the first in the city to get free rainbarrels installed in their homes.

How did Mar Vista make all this happen? The green force behind all those eco-happenings is the Mar Vista Community Council’s Green Committee. Created less than 2 years ago by a few eco-minded MVCC members, the Green Committee today’s a vibrant part of the Mar Vista community, educating and connecting neighbors, serving as a hub for local green resources and knowledge, and throwing the occasional big green event.

“Our focus has been serving as a connector, says Green Committee co-chair Sherri Akers (above, in the center with name badge), “really finding a way for people in the community who have this passion for making change to find each other — but also to help them find the resources they need to support these choices — in our community.”

While the Green Committee’s now a successful community group, efforts to green Mar Vista didn’t always run so smoothly. Apparently, the first year was rocky for the Green Committee. Formed back in early 2008, the 3 – 5 people on the committee, according to Sherri, had lots of well-intended intended ideas, but “no handle on where to start.” The group tried to connect the community through an educational booth with a speaker at the farmers’ market, but “it quickly became apparent that people weren’t going to make an appointment [to sit and listen to a speaker] on a Sunday at the farmers’ market,” Sherri says. “Nothing was really happening.”

That’s when the Green Committee decided to plan an event to introduce the neighborhood to the group. So in Fall 2008, the Green Committee took over the MVCC’s open community meeting, bringing in speakers to talk about everything from composting to solar power. “The turnout was unbelievable,” Sherri says. “And it gave people the chance to find out that there were so many like-minded people in the community.”

That event served as a wakeup call of sorts, opening the way for a big Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase (above are the showcase participants) in April this year, which let 1000+ people take tours of 44 local lawns and gardens turned into drought-resistant or edible landscapes. Then came the Water Use Expo in July, featuring L.A. Councilmember Bill Rosendahl and actorvist Ed Begley, Jr.

All this greening work’s also gotten the Mar Vista community some nice eco-bonuses from the city too. After all, city councilmembers are more likely to select a location where they know people will get behind the programs. “They knew we’d do a lot to make it happen,” Sherri says, pointing out Mar Vista’s not only a pilot area for the L.A. rainwater harvesting program — but also on the list for a pilot green street program.

Now the group’s come full circle. The farmers’ market booth gets steady traffic all day, with the experts and speakers talking one-on-one with residents about how they can apply eco-changes to their individual lives.

Was the Mar Vista community simply more green than other communities to begin with, thus making the Green Committee’s work easy? “I don’t think it’s that Mar Vista has more eco-friendly people than anywhere else,” says Sherri. “We’ve just found this channel to find each other.”

Want your neighborhood to have a Green Committee? All it takes is a few people, Sherri says. “It really is neighbor-to-neighbor. Find 3 or 4 people who are like minded, then approach the city council or neighborhood association.” Then let your neighbors know the new green group exists. “Hijack something that happens anyway and give it a green flavor,” Sherri advises.

And rest assured that it won’t always be the 3 – 4 of you pulling all the weight. “One important key to our success is that this is such a hands on community, with so many people willing to volunteer and contribute,” Sherri says. When we put on events, it truly seems effortless because so many people pitch in!”

Are you a Mar Vista resident who wants to pitch in? Then sign up for updates from the Green Committee — including details about open monthly meetings — at MarVista.org (select “email notification system,” then subscribe and select “Green Committee”). You can also find out who the next speaker will be at the farmers’ market by visiting the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase site.

And don’t miss the MVCC Green Committee’s next big event: Mar Vista Goes Green. That event’s actually Mar Vista’s annual fall community festival — now with a green theme. Go for the food, the entertainment, the yoga, and the eco-informative booths on Sat., Oct. 3 from 10 am – 4 pm at Mar Vista Park, 11430 Woodbine St., Los Angeles.

Photos via MVCC Green Committee

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How to make sure your soap’s locally handmade: Walk into Soaptopia’s boutique store in Mar Vista to see and smell the yummily-scented process firsthand. Founded by an eco-preneur called Jolie Chitwood, Soaptopia makes deliciously junk-free, natural soaps in small batches — and customers can can actually watch the process happening at the back of the store as they shop!

If allergies and chemical sensitivities have you always opting for the fragrance-free stuff, Soaptopia will bring olfactory pleasures back into your life. Jolie actually started concocting her own personal care products due to her own allergies caused by the synthetic, chemical stuff. Now, she’s got a five-year-old business, a devout cadre of customers both locally and across the U.S., and a very eco-friendly line of soaps with scents ranging from Love Thyme All The Time to Red Hot Lover (cinnamon and clove).

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