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Rural Roots
August 19th, 2009 by Joe Bartmann
A friend of mine sent me this well-known illustration of many prairie grasses, including the roots we usually don’t see. I love the powerful comparison to the bluegrass on the left–this is the stuff most of us have in our lawns. (You know, the stuff we water and fertilize so we can mow it more often.)
At the Midwest Rural Assembly earlier this week, I heard more than one speaker talk about needing to find a powerful answer to the question many in urban areas ask about rural: “But there’s nothing out there, is there?” Mary Ellen Connelly, the friend who sent me this image (she’s also an accomplished garden author and nursery owner) shared a wonderful insight as we were discussing the connection between the roots of prairie grasses and the love of living here on the prairie. She said, “Well, you have to look deep on the prairie You have to see the roots. And looking deep leads to enlightenment.”
Let’s help people–the people who’s support we need–to see the roots of life in rural places. Learning how to tell that story just might open our own eyes to the full beauty we sometimes forget about.
Photo Credit: US Environmental Protection Agency
Editor’s Note: Regular readers will remember Joe Bartmann from his days as a Rural Learning Center staff member. Joe is currently leading the Sioux Falls Green Project, but we’ve never closed his “authorship” privileges and welcome future posts.
Tags: ReImagine Rural, Roots, Rural, rural communities, rural living
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