Dear North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Interfaith Food Shuttle, and all the readers of the blog.

To begin with we could solve a lot of problems by having buses to state parks where people can do all sorts of activities, like hiking, swimming, gardening, riding bikes, and yoga. That’s the kind of revolution we are waiting on. We need to start an environmental movement and it starts with healing at our local parks, local land conservancies and state parks.

Creating an organization like Garden Rangers involves people taking care of landscaping at these parks, the they get involved in invasive plant removal and forestry. Some other things that Garden Rangers do are growing food and starting tree seedlings. There is an abundance of work for every ones capabilities. Some work is easier than landscaping, like washing vegetables, planting seeds in a greenhouse, or working inside as a secretary or as a cook.

We need to do something drastic, we need to change our state institutions and mental hospitals. The state needs to start many many local parks and give up on big mental institutions. We need to bring people together not segregate and isolate. We want to create a discussion about creating a group called Garden Rangers who help save the environment and cure mental health together. Garden Rangers work at Gardens for Earth. This is where we all pull together.

The days of leaving people outside on the street need to be over. The institutions like state medical hospitals need to be over. We need to divide people up and create five healing farms for every homeless shelter. They can work along side Garden Rangers and volunteers. It can be a business, like growing cucumbers for pickles, or lettuce tomatoes and cucumbers for salads.

Garden Rangers can work with people who are homeless. Garden Rangers are like forest rangers or fire fighters. They do environmental work like planting trees and growing gardens. They find that nature heals not only them but people around the world.

We need to start changing the environment and the economy bit by bit, and give people actual work when the get out of the mentail institution. It does not work with out volunteers and people who care.

Could you please help us get started brainstorming? Like how could an organization help mental illness and the environment together?