Author: NORBU SHERPA

https://www.flexclip.com/share/21577543000154c920ed0d90f3bf0252531e87f.html

https://www.flexclip.com/share/215775443f1e7bcd99071e68e1871ca5fc4def0.html

Script:

Host Intro: In NYC, many neighborhoods are considered “food deserts”, which are urban areas in which it is difficult for people to acquire affordable good quality foods. A community garden is a local plot of land that is used for the neighborhood’s local residents to learn how to grow and harvest some fresh fruits and vegetables while providing them with free access to the garden. To understand the importance of these community projects, I spoke to a local resident in Woodside, who is a frequent volunteer and contributor to their neighborhood’s garden.

ACT: Angela- Hey, so my name is Angela I am 26 years old and I’ve been volunteering at my local community garden since its opening in I think it was May of 2022. I’ve always kind of been aware of community gardening just through my other you know organizer friends but never really took the initiative to go and actually volunteer for this past year my neighborhood got its very own community garden right on 68th Street and it made it a lot easier for me to get involved.

Track: I followed up by discussing her interests in the garden, and why she decided to spend her time contributing to this community project.

ACT: Angela- Yeah, so I grew up in a lot of different parts of queens and I still live right here in Woodside you know, I also spend a lot of time in Manhattan obviously for work and other things and I think that all of us living here in this in New York can kind of notice the start differences in what’s readily available to our communities versus theirs and you know I think maybe the situation has gotten a little bit better throughout the years but still if you look in our local bodegas and you know these are places where our community’s residents and kids frequently visit when they’re looking for food and other things are largely filled with like heavily processed foods and there isn’t really as much fresh fruits and vegetables available as you might find in stores in Manhattan, so you know that’s kind of the first thing that really drew me into volunteering with the garden was the fact that they were going to provide the community with free access to the space and the things that we harvested so that in itself was a big interest for me since you know as part of volunteering we were learning how to grow things like lettuce kale tomatoes peppers tomatoes eggplant and you know things like that and so it was really cool that we were able to give back to our own community and you know that everyone can access these things for free and another aspect that kind of drew me into the garden itself was being connected with my neighbors. I was able to make a lot of friends through this experience and have gotten to know people from a lot of different cultural backgrounds who actually just live a few blocks away from me.

Track: I asked Angela if there were any personal benefits that she feels she gained from this experience. 

ACT: Angela- Yeah so I was completely new to gardening when I first started so it was a huge learning experience for me. I think that learning new things, especially as an adult is always special and important I personally found gardening to be very meditative and even spiritual in the sense that you feel kind of connected to other living things the connection and friendships with my neighbors were also something I considered very personally uplifting for me and of course being able to you know contribute to the Community Harvest where my neighbors and I could all enjoy delicious and fresh vegetables or fruits was also a really good feeling. I really recommend you to find and get involved with their local Community Gardens if you can you really get to meet new people you get to meet your neighbors, you learn a new skill, feed people and learn things like patience, consistency and care.

Track: After speaking with Angela, it is clear to me of the importance of these community gardens, and just how significant they are to these neighborhoods and their residents. And with that, for JRN 3510. I am Norbu Sherpa.

Ambi: Sounds of students talking in the background within the confines of a classroom.

Host Intro: Entering another year at Baruch, I caught up with a fellow student here entering his third year at Baruch College to discuss his experiences on campus, and online during the pandemic, as well as his overall background and lifestyle. I am now here with Daniel Andrade

Act: Daniel: My name is Daniel Andrade, I am majoring in Management of Musical Enterprises. This is my third year, but I am a senior and going to be finishing early.

Track: Although this is his third year at Baruch, Daniel has not been able to spend much time on campus due to the pandemic just like many other students that also spent most of their college life behind the cameras of their devices from their homes.

Act: Daniel: It’s been great, now being back in person, virtual wasn’t the best, I kinda disregarded everything and was just on my phone and didn’t really care, and now being back in person it’s great to be back for sure.

Track: He then continues on to explain his college experience now living in New York, after moving down here from upstate New York.

Act: Daniel: I am currently in the Bronx, up by 225th. Commute’s not bad, it’s around 45 minutes, it’s just taking one train down transferring at 42nd street, then taking the R/W to 23rd.

I grew up upstate through high school. I moved to the city right before the pandemic, which kind of sucked because I moved to the city to be around more people, and then the pandemic started.

Track: For Daniel, he is now grown fond of living in New York City, and finds the lifestyle here to be very different from the one he had lived upstate. Aiming to graduate this coming year with a degree in Management of Musical Enterprises, Daniel looks toward the future as he continues his studies at Baruch College. For Baruch College, I am Norbu Sherpa.

https://medium.com/@norbu.sherpa_65877/nyc-sees-the-return-of-the-west-indian-day-parade-1b1b0a07df10

For my photo essay, I am currently planning on covering the West Indian Parade which took place today, September 6th in Brooklyn. I took the train down to Brooklyn to get to the parade and experienced the festivities in person while taking photos of the event and speaking to a few people taking part in this occasion. I asked those involved about their thoughts on this event, and what it means to them. The event celebrates the West Indian way of life and allows people to express themselves and their culture all at once together with their counterparts.

Attending the event was quite a joy, and I really admired how many people showed up for the parade and took part, waving their flags and painting their faces in the color of their country. I find that this parade is very timely as it not only recognizes culture while bringing people together but also serves as a remembrance to all the lives that were lost during that pandemic, as the event pays its respects to them by having the theme of this year’s occasion be “life” and the celebration of it. I believe the parade will be a good choice for this photo essay, as it displays a rich amount of visuals that I caught on the day.