Posts Tagged ‘community organizing’

The new 15th street contraflow bike lanes go right past this great place – the Temple Garden.  It’s a community garden “established in 1990 on land owned by the Scottish Right Masonic Temple.”  Unfortunately, it only serves zip codes 20005, 20009 and 20036, so I’m out of the catchment zone.  Anyone in this area have a plot here?  I’d love to chat with you and come see your garden!

Nicole Norfleet tackles one of the defining aspects of most small non-profits: the sustainability of funding streams.  In this story, she looks at urban farming and non-profit gardens. Katie Aldworth used Kickstarter to find funding for her organization, Beet Street Gardens.  Kickstarter is a web 2.0 site that connects small funders with good ideas.  With 121 funders, she surpassed her goal of $5,500 by raising $6,121.  That’s an average of $50.58 per donation.  Not that bad when you consider how much you can spend on a nice dinner out. Has anyone else found interesting funding sources for urban gardening projects beyond the traditional grant writing?

In collaboration with key partners across the Chesapeake area, Engaged Community Offshoots, Inc. is organizing and hosting Sowing Seeds Here and Now!: A Chesapeake Area Urban Farming Summit on Friday, June 18th, 2010 from 8:30am-5:30pm. The keynote speaker and inspiration is Will Allen, CEO of Growing Power in Milwaukee, WI. Will Allen is a pioneering urban farmer whose organization Growing Power does exemplary work and who was named a MacArthur “Genius” Fellow in 2008. The goal of the one-day hands-on learning and strategizing event is to catalyze and support urban farming throughout the metropolitan area – Washington, DC, Prince George’s and other local counties, and Baltimore –which we call the Chesapeake area. Please note the organizers are looking for presenters: “We’re looking for the most engaging, enthusiastic, and educational workshops and presenters at this summit. We have funding for travel costs, and would love for you to present and use

I highly recommend this fantastic article about the Brooklyn Food Coalition by Eleanor J. Bader. A little teaser to hook you in: Imagine the concrete jungle recast as a place where farms sit next to tenements and empty lots become oases of flower plots, fruit trees, and vegetable patches. It seems far-fetched, I know, but if members of the Brooklyn Food Coalition (BFC), a loose network of community groups from 11 diverse neighborhoods, are successful, this pipe dream will become reality. If you’re reading this blog, chances are you’re interested in the contradictions in our urban food system – and in our country as a whole.  How can we be one of the richest countries, yet have so many people malnourished?  Why are some of the poorest people the most obese?  Why does an apple cost more than a bag of corn chips in an inner city bodega? Bader’s article

This came across my email box – it looks like a fantastic panel. What: “Food Access Solutions: Urban Agriculture, Local Food & Community Development” When: Friday April 16, 2010 from 10 am to 2 – pm;  Post-panel reception begins at 1:15, appetizers will be served! Where: THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20020 How: Registration required – Click to register. Issues to be discussed: Food access in low-income DC neighborhoods, acknowledging work being done under the radar, the dire health consequences of failing to act, community food security trends nationally, the difficulties in bridging cultures, and the possible creation of a DC food policy council. Event Description: An umbrella group of urban gardening activists (Rooting DC and DC’s Field to Fork Network) will be convening a community food security panel discussion East of the River in Washington, DC on April 16th from 10 to 2.  This location was chosen

A great idea out of Springfield, Missouri.  Resident Curtis Millsap and his sister-in-law Melissa Millsap plans for a program – centered around gardening, that will link elementary school students, university students, and community residents. The program touches on one of the key aspects of gardening:  it is a social activity that often builds and deepens relationships among participants.  In this respect, it is a fantastic community-building tool. “Melissa says, ‘Our goal is not to install these school gardens and walk away. We want to implement these gardens and support them… we really want these gardens to sustain themselves and in order for that to happen, there needs to be a large support group from within the school and the community.’” Struggling communities can look at other successful communities for guidance in strengthening their own programs.  And the gardens have another benefit – food security for disenfranchised residents.  Curtis says in