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CONTENTS WINTER 2012 • VOL. 03 ISSUE 04 >> THE BLUES
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Paint it Blue
Deforestation Awareness
Australian Artist Hopes to Educate People about Deforestation
BY AMANDA WILLIAMSON
to draw attention to the issue of
trees a startling sapphire blue. The
S
deforestation. Blue Trees started in Melbourne in 2005, and then included Vancouver, Sacramento
coloring naturally washes away after a period of time and does not harm the trees in the process.
and Seattle. In total, Dimopoulos has transformed trees in nine cities, and plans to continue on to New York, Houston and Boston. “Though we are passionate about our trees, though we care about our trees, that passion does not get translated,” Dimopoulos said. “In order for people to see the forests, I had to get people to see the trees.” Claiming not be an environmentalist, but an artist, he paints the
“The reality is that there are no blue trees. Blue trees don’t exist. They are a part of my imagination,” Dimopoulos said, using the color to draw attention to the trees. He remembers watching a mother and daughter walk past a newly colored tree, and the daughter ran from her mother to hug the tree, shouting, “Mom, a blue tree!” Dimopoulos said he believes that was the first time the child truly saw the tree.
trange blue trees appeared recently on the University of
Florida campus. People pause their daily commute to class, admire the trees and wonder why they have suddenly donned the blue coat: a tribute to the football season, homage to the coming winter months? It is in these moments of reflection that Australian artist Konstantin Dimopoulos knows he has accomplished what he set out to do. His project, “Blue Trees,” attempts
By Amanda Williamson
PHOTO BY ALEX WHITESIDE
For the next several months, students, teachers and visitors will see trees painted blue on the UF campus. Australian artist Konstantin Dimopoulos painted the trees in October to bring attention to the plight of deforestation.
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Take a walk through UF campus and you are likely to see an unusual sight: blue trees. Konstantin Dimopoulos wants to draw attention to deforestation and to that end, the Australian artist began his Blue Trees Project. In October he brought his art to Florida.
>> BULLY-FREE ZONE
86
Keep the Peace
Peace, Love & Joy
River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding
BY JEWEL MIDELIS
R
oman West would wake up and not want to go to school. Not because he didn’t do his homework or didn’t study for a test. And not because he hated waking up early or didn’t get enough sleep at night. West didn’t want to go because every single day he was bullied at his high school in Tennessee. He was bullied so badly he didn’t want to attend college after graduation. He was bullied to the point where he became depressed for about five years. West said his family has traveled across the world, and he considers
himself “hardly American.” His former classmates seemed to notice as well, and they would not let him forget he was new to the area. He said everyone bullied so much that it became the norm at his school. “Anyone who was different, they would break them down,” he said about his former classmates. “It’s really sad. I couldn’t count a day where I wasn’t called a name.” Despite his depression, West said he found strength in friends and in music. Now, the 20-year-old works at Five Star Pizza and volunteers at the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding.
By Jewel Midelis
The RPCP is a local organization created by Heart Phoenix and her family to promote peaceful lifestyles and to put an end to violence. West said working with the Phoenix family is “completely surreal.” “I’ve never met a family that expresses love as much as they do,” he said at a recent rally against bullying held in downtown Gainesville. Heart, a mother of five, strives to make a difference for people like West, a young man who was once depressed, dismantled and discouraged and now wants to pursue a career in music. Heart, her husband, Jeffrey Weisberg, and fellow activist
PHOTO BY JEWEL MIDELIS
Dozens of children played, ran and looped in hula-hoops at the Unity Day event on October 10th. River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding Executive Director Dot Maver, Board President Heart Phoenix, and her husband and director of programs and outreach Jeffrey Weisberg, were all pleased with the outcome from the Unity Day event. Maver said, “We are delighted there are so many people here.”
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Early in 2012, Heart Phoenix, along with her husband, Jeffrey Weisberg and fellow activist Dorothy Maver created the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding. Named in memory of her son, actor River Phoenix, the goal of the center is to reduce, interrupt and prevent violence in all forms in the community.
>> GREEN BUSINESS
Gardens from Garbage
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Take Out the Trash
Compost Network Diverts Food Scraps Away From the Landfill
BY KELSEY GRENTZER
distributes to local gardeners and
was being thrown away at local
C
uses to nourish urban gardens in the community.
restaurants, he said. He recognized the potential for a larger scale
down the streets of downtown Gainesville with a trailer of food scraps in tow. At first glance, it’s garbage. But to Cano and
“Our goal is to take something that would be trash and turn it into something valuable,” he said. Along with the food scraps, Cano
project that could put those scraps to good use. It began with just five local businesses in September 2011: The
a network of local gardeners, it’s treasure in the making.
collects dead leaves from community members and curbsides
Midnight Cafe & Bar, Karma Cream, Reggae Shack Cafe, The Jones
Every week, Cano bikes around town collecting leftover vegetables, fruits, coffee grounds, eggshells and more from restaurants to use for
to add into the mix. The compost he makes gives plants a chance to thrive even in Florida’s sandy, nutrient-depleted soil, he said.
Eastside and The Bull. He bought a trailer from a friend and began pedaling his way around town to collect scraps at
composting, a process that breaks down food and other organic mat-
Cano’s compost project started as an experiment. When he and
participating venues. “It started with just me and
ter into valuable fertilizer. Cano, a 25-year-old University of Florida graduate, started Gainesville Compost about a year ago as a way
his roommates started a garden behind their house, they looked to restaurant-owning friends for food scraps to use to create compost.
my bicycle and my bicycle trailer,” he said. But a year later, Cano said the project has grown into something
of turning local restaurants’ food scraps into useful fertilizer that he
Collecting these food scraps made Cano realize just how much
bigger than he ever imagined. With the help of community members,
hris Cano pedals his bike
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By Kelsey Grentzer
PHOTOS BY KELSEY GRENTZER
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Chris Cano, 24, examines plants at Gainesville Compost’s garden at Tempo Bistro To Go in October. Cano, owner of Gainesville Compost, bikes past the Hippodrome in downtown Gainesville, on his route to pick up food scraps from local restaurants. Cano arrives at The Midnight in downtown Gainesville to collect the food scraps. His business started as an experiment when he and his roommates started a garden behind their house. They looked to restaurant-owning friends for food scraps to use to create compost.
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Chris Cano collects trash. He can often be seen riding through town on his bicycle, pulling a trailer of food scraps. Cano started his business about a year ago as a way of turning local restaurants’ leftovers into fertilizer that he distributes to nourish urban gardens in the community.