Imagine Magazine interview

The wonderful folks at Imagine Magazine asked me a few questions recently. Take a peek:
   
http://emag.imaginenews.com/#page/8 

Give a Kid a Garden

I’d like to share something wonderful with you in the midst of feeling unsettled after last week. So many of us are feeling very separated from our country, but please, I encourage you to now find a stronger connection to your community. I did just that this year. I met some amazing kids and teachers here in Boston and I want to tell you a tiny bit about them. 

I’ll begin with this one student, maybe around my son's age (9), who was telling me about the garden he loved, a garden CitySprouts brought to his school. This shy little boy suddenly became animated and full of gardening advice. I was immediately inspired. He told me about what he has grown, what new things he’s eaten, how he takes care of the soil… and so much more. I couldn’t write it all down, I could barely keep up with his joy. I asked him what he liked most about the garden at his school and he told me, very softly, “I just like how it makes me feel.” 

I met another student who told me all about her CitySprouts school garden with so much pride and love I thought she was going to burst. One thing she said to me that I will never forget was, “I didn’t even know I liked science.” I also met children who had never seen broccoli until they were twelve. And guess what, one of them told me how much he likes broccoli and that he even makes his mom cook it for him at home now. 

Right here in my neighborhood and all over Boston, there are lots of kids who have no connection to nature. The garden at their school is all the nature they have, that is, if they’re lucky enough to have a school garden. Some students spend their entire summer babysitting their younger siblings every day without ever leaving their apartments. Think about that.

So you want to change something after last week’s election, then begin here — empower our children. Give a kid a garden and not only does that one child change forever, their community changes! I’ve seen it. I’m lucky to have met some of those children. I’ve met the parents who are also changed. And I’ve met the teachers who are there in the gardens with their students, growing alongside them. 

Begin here, with CitySprouts. Watch this video I shot this year and recently edited with Chris Santo of Element. 
http://vimeo.com/191152616

Or better yet, please donate:
https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/citysprouts

#schoolgarden #kidsinthegarden #gardeningwithkids #edibleschoolyard #kids #students #boston #innercitykids #cambridge #massachusetts #dogood

Slow Summer

Shooting kids, shooting grown ups, shooting stills, shooting video. July into August is usually my slow time and I get to goof off and enjoy Summer... not this year. Phew! Lots of good stuff going on. Will share more at the end of August. Or follow me on instagram @kimlowephoto 
   
Hope you're goofing off and enjoying Summer!!

Seedling Sale | 2016

Shopping locally is awesome. Shopping locally from a 6 year old is even more awesome!

  The young students of the Boston Public school, Philbrick Elementary, are selling seedlings on May 15th to support their nature and garden based learning programs especially in light of harsh budget cuts recently. They're partnering up with the Boston Nature Center as well, to sell tomato, cucumber, basil, and various flower seedlings. 

   

Tomatoes include Jellybean grape, Juliet grape, Golden Pearl cherry, Supersweet cherry, Sun Gold cherry, Orange Pixie cherry, San Marzano plum, Speckled Roman plum, Garden Peach, Brandywine, Black Krim, Celebrity, Green Zebra and Beefsteak. They've got close to 400 seedlings!!

Buy a seedling to help another "seedling" grow.

 

  

Earth Day | 2016

Let's be aware of what we're growing. On this day, Earth Day, let's begin to choose our steps carefully. Let's be present. Whether it's with recycling, with waste, or with starting a garden.
   
Sow a seed—any seed. Just plant something. One teeny, tiny seed will change your life and in turn, will change the life of our planet. Don't think about the reasons why not. One tiny seed makes you feel like you are a part of something big—that you are a part of helping Mother Earth grow. Choose to strengthen this beautiful planet, not weaken her. 
   
Sow a seed like this six year old, like this thirteen year old. These two boys live very different lives, in two very different countries. One is a six year old boy living in a big city in the United States and the other is a 13 year old boy, living deep in the countryside of Haiti. They are both gardeners. And these are their seedlings.
   
We are all gardeners. And we get to decide what we grow. How incredible is that?! 
   
What will you grow today?
   
More from this six year old gardener on this blog and in the latest Family Fun magazine "A Boy and his Garden."

A Boy and His Garden

"I put seeds in the soil. And then we get babies. Not like a baby in your belly but a baby flower." -Oliver, Age 6, on gardening 

Check out the April issue of the always amazing FamilyFun Magazine. "A Boy and his Garden" was written beautifully by Catherine Newman — who takes you in to the little green world of a six year old boy, Ollie. All the gardening was done by my son, Oliver. I had the easy part, the taking pictures part. 

Inspiration.

I'm not sure if I’m tired this morning because of the margaritas from Rosa Mexicana and Committee Boston last night and wine from the amazing McBride Sisters at the AdClub Women’s event yesterday OR if my exhaustion comes from the amazing female speakers whose inspirational words flooded my mind and heart yesterday at the Women’s Leadership Forum.

I’m still trying to process it all — from the young mountain climber Sasha DiGiulian, who climbed even though the dudes climbing next to her told her ’This is no place for a girl.’ (talk about climbing mountains!) to Reshma Saujani who began the non-profit and movement, Girls Who Code, striving to get more girls into STEM fields. From Kelli Carlin, daughter of George Carlin, telling us that if you don’t have your own truth, you don’t have your own power, to a local mother and nurse, Christine McSherry who not only saved her son, she saved thousands of other children who were dying from rare diseases in this country by never giving up. Unbelievable!! You’re tired just reading this right?!

And that was just who was on stage. There were 1200 amazing women in the room!! (And a small handful of brave men.) Not only was I lucky enough to hear these incredibly inspiring stories from the speakers, I got to spend the day connecting with amazing women right here in Boston: Amy Flanagan, Andrea Becker, DeMane Davis, Jane Hirschi, Rachel Houk-Seeger, Carol Lee Kelleher, Sue Kingsbury, Molly Scannell, Kathy Kiely, Ellen Lacey, Noreen Moross, Margie Sullivan, Julie Paquette, Michelle Coughlin, Kathleen Schiffman, Margaux Stunzi, Julianna Akuamoah and so, so many more. What a day!

I felt so lucky to be in that room and to have played a small part of the event by filming and photographing some of these incredible women. With my ad in the WLF program reading “Inspiration is contagious. Congratulations, you’re a carrier.” I was trying to speak to each individual person at the event, but I’m also speaking to you now. We are all carriers of inspiration. Small or big. Think about that for a little while. And I hope it makes you tired, too.

[ View the videos here: http://vimeo.com/kimlowe/videos ]

NEW WORK: Unfiltered

Sometimes the trickiest part of a shoot for me, as a director or as a photographer, is actually just picking up the camera. THIS was one of those shoots.

On this day, there were so many moments I didn't want to be shooting — I wanted to put the camera down and just start talking with the amazing women I was shooting. I was moved and inspired by them repeatedly. It took all my energy to lift my camera and do my job.

Here's just one of many videos:
http://vimeo.com/154069780

To see five other videos from this shoot and be inspired yourself, click here: http://vimeo.com/kimlowe

Happy 2016!

Hope you started your NEW YEAR off with love and laughter — if not, then let this video help! HAPPY 2016! 

[ Cats VS. Dogs ]