Human Flower Project

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Think Florally, Act Humanely

A gardener in Seattle and a researcher in France shine two bright lights on human flower potential.

Fleiksa, through
a welcoming fence
Rose St., South Park
Seattle, Washington
Photo: Deborah Semer

The longest day of the year and our inbox runneth over…

Out of the clear ether, Deborah Semer has sent photographs from her house on Rose Street in South Park—Seattle, Washington. With young neighbor Jazmyne, Deborah’s caring for a radiant orange rose.

“When I garden, the 7-year old girl next door always wants to help,” Deborah writes. “It’s been a great way to build relationships with my neighbors....although they joke that now she won’t help at home.  She also gets her friends to help garden.  I had her help me plant a rose in front of my gate.  (I put up a large fence and cut hearts in the gates to make it more friendly).”

Deborah, who took these pictures with her iPhone, says she doesn’t know what rose variety this is. Can anyone help? If not, how about “Neighborly.”

Flourishing for Fathers Day
Seattle, Washington
Photo: Deborah Semer

One shrub, a saw, and a cell phone camera – just add generosity and there’s a human flower project in full swing. “The rose bush is doing great,” Deborah writes. We can see that! Last Sunday, Deborah encouraged her young friend to cut and take home a bunch of blooms for Fathers Day.

Jazmyne “always comments on how OUR rose bush is doing and wants to plant more,” Deborah says. The new girl on the block (Fleiksa, above) is clearly taking an interest too. And now Semer has begun “a little seed exchange in our neighborhood.” Who knows where this all may lead? What’s amazing is all that Deborah and Co. have accomplished already.

From the local, we sail off to a global project: EvE-Urgent is Kevin Desmond’s effort to encourage towns, states and communities across the world each to adopt an endangered plant or animal species. “EvE, “ as well as the first lady of Genesis, is a French acronym: “Espèce-Ville-Ensemble” or “Species-Town-Together.”

Desmond reminds us that in the ancient past tribes would assign themselves to a particular animal, as a means of physicial and spiritual protection (social solidarity, too). With 16,000 plant and animal species likely to go extinct in the next twenty years, he writes, now it’s time the humans acted as protectors.

Columbia, South Carolina, has adopted the endangered Rocky Shoals Spider Lily
Image: City of Columbia, SC

Kevin already has compiled a list of cities, states and nations that have adopted such totems (the list will go up on the Web later this month, stay tuned). Some are well established, like the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) which George Washington declared the national bird of the United States back in 1789. In 1925, Colorado chose its rare, native white and lavender Columbine (Aquilegia caerules) as state flower, and began to regulate its handling. More recently Columbia, South Carolina has adopted the endanged Rocky Shoals Spider Lily, and Nassau County, New Jersey, has adopted the birdfoot violet (Viola pedata).

Dominica, an island in the Caribbean, is dedicated to saving the sisserou parrot (Amazona imperialis)
Photo: Extincting Species

Based in Lignan de Bordeaux, France, Kevin is reaching out to municipalities and states across the world. His international list of such emblems (both plants and animals) already includes places in India, Grenada, Domenica, New Zealand, Guatemala, and Turkey, as well as the U.S.. The goal of EvE, of course, is to encourage more governments to do likewise, preserving some of the thousands of endangered species through human action and social identification.

Please if you know of other places that have taken up the challenge of protecting a threatened species—or to learn more about EvE.

Have you heard “Think Globally, Act Locally”? We’re taking liberties with that today ~ Think Florally, Act Humanely. At the solstice, greetings to all, especially to those carrying out human flower projects small and/or grand.