Grow Your Local Sacred Space

by Hadley Louden

Have you ever thought of your local park or community garden as Sacred Space? Protected as communal "Common Grounds" and found on every part of our Earth and in every human culture, such spaces have been with us since time immemorial. These holy places served many communal purposes: sanctuary and preserve for all species; space for community gatherings, including rites of birth and death, planting, harvest and thanksgiving; peace zones and law courts. In most cases, natural beauty gave a spiritual significance to the space, encouraging communication between man, gods, spirits, and forces of nature.'Many woods and groves are consecrated to hidden deities seen only by the eye of reverence. Many a spring is protected by the Love Goddesses Ochun, Venus, and Aphrodite.

'From the Druids' sacred oak groves dating from the third millennium B.C.E., to the Emeryville Shellmound established by the Ohlone Indians in 500 B.C.E. and used continuously until approximately 1700 C.E. before becoming a shopping mall, sacred spaces are all around us.

'As society secularized, the concept of sacred space transformed into communal properties such as "The Commons," made famous by the Diggers in England—an area of shared community ownership where uses included farming and grazing—to our modern American concepts of parks and parklands, sometimes preserved as wilderness.

So how, in this modern age, may we find areas where the ancient traditions of common, even sacred, space survive? Where can we find both natural solitude and community to nourish our souls?—our great many East Bay Parks. Right here in neighborhoods like the Laurel we have the little-known Courtland Creek Park, where volunteers are needed in planting and conservation efforts and can truly reconnect with the ancient rituals of communal preservation of space. Contact Laurie Umeh to get involved: lumeh2\@yahoo.com.

'Similarly, the East Bay Regional Parks is always welcoming volunteers: www.ebparks.org/getinvolved/volunteer/operations. Consider working at the Native California garden at Joaquin Miller Park, where the fabulous refurbished waterfalls with vast bay views may invoke memories of the Oracle at Delphi: www.sausalcreek.org/volunteer/nursery.html

'Want to be proactive in your neighborhood? How about creating healing and caretaking ritual through community gardening in neglected properties? There's a property on Birdsall where neighbors hope to create a community garden. Contact Robin and Daniel: rdlovell\@gmail.com.

'How about growing sacred space simply by creating community? When I moved to Maxwell Park 15 years ago, I hardly knew anyone here until I started hosting free plant exchanges, and suddenly a community of fellow local gardeners sprouted. Join the highly informative local gardening elist at: themetrogardenclub\@yahoogroups.com.

'To find out more about great local free plant exchanges, contact: plantexchange510\@gmail.com.

'And what better way than conserving water to preserve our sacred spaces and honor the ancient Goddesses of Love? Oakland is fortunate to have the rain barrel program, where you can receive subsidized barrels to capture roof or container garden runoff and release it safely and slowly into your landscape. Barrels prevent high flows and erosion on Oakland's hill slopes and creeks and preserve the sacred waters. To order or get more information about August's distribution dates: www.oaklandpw.com/Page877.aspx.