Eating the Greenbelt
2014
Live plants, Red Wiggler composting worms, soil, PVC tubing, plant light, wood,water. Approximately 5” x 2 ½”” x 34” (interior dimensions of window gallery)
The Greenbelt Act (2005), was originally intended to permanently protect "1.8 million acres of environmentally sensitive and agricultural land in the Golden Horseshoe from urban development and sprawl" (Government of Ontario). This included green space, farmland, forests, wetlands, and watersheds from development in areas such as the Niagara Escarpment and the Oak Ridges Moraine in Southern Ontario. However, on a number of occasions since its legislation in 2005, there have been many attempts to circumvent The Greenbelt Act and continue with development such as a proposed "Megaquarry" between Orangeville and Collingwood. Here the document has been repurposed; shredded, to be used as bedding and food for several dozen Red Wiggler worms. The worms transform the paper into useable compost for the microgreen plants which grow above during the course of the exhibition.
