GARDEN FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
NOVEMBER 2009 NEWSLETTER
- NOVEMBER WORKSHOPS AT THE GFE
- SPECIAL EVENT: The State of the Urban Farm with Novella Carpenter
- EVENT: Edible City Film Screening
- EVENT: Growing Nature in the City
- EVENT: SF Schools Soon To Launch Ecoliteracy Website
- EVENT: Hazon Food Conference, Registration Open
- IN THE NEWS
- GCETP GRADS AT WORK: Casey Allen
- YOUTH EDUCATION: SFPUC Support Doubles Youth Fieldtrips to GFE
- FROM THE BORDER: Fall Blooming Salvias
- TIPS FROM THE COMPOSTER: SF’s Recycling & Composting Ordinance
- VIEW FROM THE GARDEN: CSA Harvest & GCETP Students
URBAN COMPOSTING
Date: Saturday, November 7th, 2009
Time: 10AM – 12:00NOON
Location: WHITE CRANE SPRINGS COMMUNITY GARDEN, Southeast corner of 7th Ave and Lawton Street, San Francisco.
Cost: FREE
Fall can be a great time to start a new compost pile as you tidy up the leftovers of the summer’s bounty! Join GFE as we discover how to turn those leftovers, from the garden or the kitchen, into “black gold”. This fun, hands-on workshop teaches methods for both backyard and worm composting for all who seek to enrich the bounty of their garden and reduce their ecological footprint. Come learn what you can do to improve your garden and prevent biomass from ending up in the landfill! This workshop is FREE, open to all San Francisco Residents, and will be conducted at the White Crane Springs Community Garden on the southeast corner of 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco. Rot on!
To pre-register, please call (415) 731-5627, or email info@gardenfortheenvironment.org.
INTRO TO ORGANIC GARDEN DESIGN
Dates: Saturday, November 7th, 2009
Time: 10AM - 12:30PM
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Cost: Free
Learn how to grow a healthy and beautiful garden that minimizes the impacts on the environment. From building a healthy soil with compost to selecting beautiful plantings appropriate for the Bay Area’s climate, this workshop will give you the basics to implement sustainable gardening practices.
Topics covered include:
- Importance of healthy soil
- Organic matter
- Composting
- Selecting colorful plants for the Bay Area climate
- Climate appropriate plants
- California natives
- How to water without waste
- Preventing nutrient run-off
- Irrigation basics and watering schedules
- Natural pest and weed management
- Pesticide alternatives
- Non-toxic weed control
To pre-register, please call (415) 731-5627, or email info@gardenfortheenvironment.org.
NAVIGATING PERMITS AND BUILDING COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Date: Sunday, November 8, 2009
Time: 10AM – 3:00 PM
Location: SPUR Urban Center, 654 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA
Cost: $20
Have you been dreaming of starting your own urban oasis, a garden where you can grow you own food and find some piece of mind, but you don’t have any space and don’t know where to look to find some? This 3 part practical workshop series is for you. Attend one workshop, or all three. Garden City Workshop Series co-presented by SF Parks Trust and Garden for the Environment.
Nov. 8 - Part II - Navigating Permits
and Building Community Support
Nov. 15 - Part III - Getting your Garden Started
Please visit SFPT Parks Portal for more info.
Registration required: Call (415) 750.5110 or email Julia Brashares at julia@sfpt.org
MAKE MORE PLANTS: CUTINGS & DIVISIONS
Date: Saturday, November 14th, 2009
Time: 10AM – 12:00NOON
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Cost: $15
Join Carey Craddock and Garden For the Environment as we explore the enormous potential of propagating through cuttings and divisions. Cuttings and divisions are horticultural propagation methods by which you can make two or more plants from an original plant. You can use these easy techniques to make more of your favorite garden plant, for your own garden or to share with friends. In this 2-hour, hands-on workshop we will learn a variety of techniques to make successful cuttings and divisions and you will leave with plant starts to grow at home
To pre-register, please call (415) 731-5627, or email info@gardenfortheenvironment.org.
INTRO TO ORGANIC GARDEN CARE
Dates: Saturday, November 14th, 2009
Time: 10AM - 12:30PM
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Cost: Free
Planning ahead for low-maintenance design and sustainable products is a key element to a successful organic garden. Join us to learn about natural maintenance practices that will keep your garden beautiful and your labor to a minimum.
- Weed control
- Value of mulch
- Non-toxic weed control
- Proper watering techniques
- Moisture and weed seed germination
- Diseases and watering
- Growing healthy plants
- Alternatives to chemical fertilizers
- Natural plant foods
- Insects
- Natural pest management
- Beneficial vs. harmful
To pre-register, please call (415) 731-5627, or email info@gardenfortheenvironment.org.
GETTING YOUR GARDEN STARTED
Date: Sunday, November 15, 2009
Time: 10AM – 3:00 PM
Location:Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Cost: $20
Have you been dreaming of starting your own urban oasis, a garden where you can grow you own food and find some piece of mind, but you don’t have any space and don’t know where to look to find some? This 3 part practical workshop series is for you. Attend one workshop, or all three. Garden City Workshop Series co-presented by SF Parks Trust and Garden for the Environment.
Nov. 15 - Part III - Getting your Garden Started
Please visit SFPT Parks Portal for more info.
Registration required: Call (415) 750.5110 or email Julia Brashares at julia@sfpt.org
INTRO TO ORGANIC GARDEN WATERING
Dates: Saturday, November 21th, 2009
Time: 10AM - 12:30PM
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Cost: Free
Planning ahead for low-maintenance design and sustainable products is a key element to a successful organic garden. Join us to learn about natural maintenance practices that will keep your garden beautiful and your labor to a minimum.
- Weed control
- Value of mulch
- Non-toxic weed control
- Proper watering techniques
- Moisture and weed seed germination
- Diseases and watering
- Growing healthy plants
- Alternatives to chemical fertilizers
- Natural plant foods
- Insects
- Natural pest management
- Beneficial vs. harmful
To pre-register, please call (415) 731-5627, or email info@gardenfortheenvironment.org.
URBAN COMPOSTING
Date: Saturday, December 5th, 2009
Time: 10AM – 12:00 NOON
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Cost: FREE
Winter can be a great time to start a new compost pile or to jump start one that just isn't breaking down. Join Garden For the Environment for a fun, hands-on workshop teaching basic methods of both backyard and worm composting! Compost is a rich soil amendment that will greatly benefit your garden plants, houseplants, and the environment, by diverting compostable material from the landfill. Learn how to turn those food scraps or fallen leaves into "gardeners black gold". Rot on!
To pre-register, please call (415) 731-5627, or email info@gardenfortheenvironment.org.
INTRODUCTION TO RAINWATER HARVESTING
Date: Saturday, December 12th, 2009
Time: 10AM – 12:00 NOON
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Cost: $15
Interested in rainwater harvesting? Want to know more about it? Join GFE and Laura Allen of Greywater Action as we explore the benefits of collecting rainwater just in time for the our winter rains! Rainwater harvesting can be as simple as a barrel under your downspout, or more complex with a large tank and pumps sending the water inside for toilet flushing. Learn about rainwater options in an urban area and get some hands on skills with working with rainbarrels at the GFE.
To pre-register, please call (415) 731-5627, or email info@gardenfortheenvironment.org.
THE STATE OF THE URBAN FARM
An Evening with Author and Farmer
NOVELLA CARPENTER
Date: Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
Time: Doors at 6pm, Talk 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Location: Women’s Building, Audre Lorde Room, 3543 18th Street, San Francisco
Cost: $10 (Purchase Tickets Here)
Join Garden For the Environment and 18 Reasons as we excitedly bring you an evening with Bay Area urban farming hero Novella Carpenter who will present "The State of the Urban Farm." A New York Times book critic said of her newly published book Farm City: the Education of an Urban Farmer (2009, Penguin Press) that it is "easily the funniest, weirdest, most perversely provocative gardening book I’ve ever read. I couldn’t put it down."
On Wednesday, November 18th Novella Carpenter will read from this best-selling book, present a slide show about her own Oakland-based urban farm, discuss the state of the urban farming movement today and what she thinks we can all learn from the urban farmers she's met while traveling across the United States. After her presentation we'll stroll around the corner to 18 Reasons and gather to sip wine, enjoy a few nibbles, and mingle while Novella signs books.
Immediately following: After Party & Book Signing
Join us at 18 Reasons for wine, nibbles and book signing with Novella!
Time: 8:00pm - 9:30pm
Location: 18 Reasons, 593 Guerrero St. (around the corner from the Women's Building) at 18th Street, San Francisco
Cost: $5 with hand stamp from Women's Building event, $10 without hand stamp
(Poster by Sabina Nieto, 2009)
EVENT: Edible City Film Screening
Date: Sat, Nov. 5th, 2009
Time: 7pm
Location: The Studio for Urban Projects, 3579 17th Street, SF (Between Dolores & Guerrero)
Join The Studio for Urban Projects on November 5th for a screening of Edible City, a film in progress documenting the stories of Bay Area residents that are engaged with the local food movement as a response to industrialized agriculture. Directors Andrew Hasse and Adam Goldstein will discuss their forthcoming film and show a selection of clips. For more information, please visit www.studioforurbanprojects.org.
EVENT: Growing Nature in the City
Date: Sat, Nov. 14th, 2009
Time: 6pm - 10pm
Location: SF County Fair Building, 9th Ave & Lincoln Way
Nature in the City's first Gala Fundraiser. An evening of dinner, dancing, live music, community, and more! For more info, please visit: www.natureinthecity.org
EVENT: SF Schools To Launch Ecoliteracy Website
GFE is working with the SF Unified School District and other local organizations to make environmental education resources more accessible to teachers in the District. To that end, the District will soon be launching www.sfecoliteracy.com, a compendium of resources including field trips, service learning programs, classroom and assembly presentations, curriculum materials, school projects, and teacher resources. For more information, please visit www.greenthenextgen.com and, soon, www.sfecoliteracy.com.
EVENT: Hazon Food Conference, Registration Open
Date: Dec. 24th - 27th, 2009
Location: Asilomar Conference & Retreat Center, Monterey Coast, CA
Join the thinkers and doers of the New Jewish Food Movement – where contemporary food conversations meet ancient Jewish traditions. The fourth annual Hazon Food Conference is the only place in the world where farmers and rabbis, nutritionists and chefs, vegans and omnivores, come together to explore the dynamic interplay of food, Jewish tradition and contemporary life. For more info, visit www.hazon.org.
Nudging Recycling From Less Waste to None
Leslie Kaufman, NY Times
Oct 19, 2009
"Across the nation, an antigarbage strategy known as “zero waste” is moving from the fringes to the mainstream, taking hold in school cafeterias, national parks, restaurants, stadiums and corporations..."
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/science/earth/20trash.html?_r=4&em
Back to Earth
Michael Wale, Financial Times
Oct 9, 2009
“There are major environmental benefits as far as producing organically are concerned – pesticides, herbicides, animal welfare benefits. There is a wide range of public benefits, which on their own justify eating organic food..."
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d71a542c-b3a4-11de-ae8d-00144feab49a.html
Cutting Carbon, Feeding the World
Tim Groser, The Wall Street Journal
Oct. 6, 2009
"Over the next few decades, food security will become an increasingly urgent problem. At the same time, people will demand action on climate change. But how can we feed humanity while still responding to the imperatives of climate change?..."
Sacred Cows at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Editorial,
LA Times
Oct 16, 2009
"The university should be ashamed of its attempt to squelch an anti-agribusiness message to placate a donor."
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-pollan16-2009oct16,0,5147597.story
The Botany of Desire
PBS
October, 2009
Michael Pollan's best selling book The Botany of Desire is now a full-length feature film by PBS. Watch the whole film online!
http://video.pbs.org/video/1283872815/
CASEY ALLEN
GCETP Grad, Fall 2004
Co-Founder, San Francisco Landscapes
Casey Allen is a Permaculture Designer and a Qualified Bay-Friendly professional. He co-owns and operates a landscaping company in San Francisco, SF Landscapes, and has been volunteering at the Alemany Farm, a public food production site near the Alemany farmer's market. Casey also serves on the CNPS Yerba Buena Chapter board, the SF Bicycle Advisory Committee, and he is chair of the Joint Transportation Committee of the Sierra Club. He lives in San Francisco with his son near the Bayview Hill natural area, an intact grassland ecosystem.
WAY TO GO CASEY ALLEN!!!
Are you a GCETP graduate?
We are eager to hear from GCETP graduates! Please tell us about your work!
Email GCETP Grad updates to Blair at Blair@gardenfortheenvironment.org
SFPUC SUPPORT DOUBLES YOUTH FIELDTRIPS TO GFE!
Big News! Thanks to the support of San Francisco's Public Utilities Commission, GFE is able to double the number of field trips we offer to the youth of San Francisco this year! The unique part about these new field trips is that we will use the garden as a venue to teach water conservation and water pollution prevention. So, our students will spend a day in the garden, taking a closer look at rainwater catchment, grey water systems, compost, mulch, irrigation and organic gardening techniques. We are proud to collaborate with the SFPUC and very excited to extend our programming to more residents!
Questions about Youth at the GFE? Interested in volunteering with our youth field trips?
Email Nicole at Nicole@gardenfortheenvironment.org
Each month Hilary Gordon, GFE’s Perennial Plants Collection Manager, shares her wealth of gardening experience and knowledge in this monthly column, From the Border.
FALL BLOOMING SALVIAS
"Fall color is blazing in the borders at the GFE, with Princess Flower, Lantana, and Lion’s Tail blooming generously. Grasses are also blooming, backlit by long-shadowed autumn light, and the last daisies of summer are still open. But the glory of our borders right now are the late-blooming Salvias."
Read more of the November "From the Border"
(Photo: Salvia involucrata at the GFE)
SF’S RECYCLING & COMPOSTING ORDINANCE
Once again, San Francisco raises the bar with the introduction of yet another progressive environmental ordinance! Last month, on October 21st, 2009 to be exact, it became mandatory that SF residents correctly sort ALL of their waste into the appropriate green, blue or black bin! No ifs, ands or buts about it! Refusal to participate and you may find yourself forking over $500 (but only after multiple warnings and opportunities to be educated). However, the real intention for this ordinance to get people on board! SF has a goal of zero waste by 2020 and to make that happen we need everyone participating!
Now what does this mean for home composters? Well, a lot!
1. As a home composter, you have already fallen in love with making compost therefore YOU become the ambassadors and educators for this citywide initiative. Your enthusiasm will shape the public’s perception of composting especially those folks that only see the bad in this new ordinance!
2. Many of you began composting without access to the municipal compost bin. Now, with access to a green bin, you will be able to compost more completely! Even those chicken bones and leftover pasta noodles that are discouraged in urban home composting systems.
3. Home composters support the municipal composting program by reducing pressure on the City’s facilities so they can run more efficiently.
Before you go, check out this great interview with San Francisco’s Department of the Environment Director Jared Blumenfeld on NPR’s Morning Edition!
More about the ordinance:
SFE’s FAQ’s and other details about the Ordinance
SF’s Universal Recycling & Composting Ordinance
ROT ON!
Questions or comments about composting?
Email Suzi at Suzi@gardenfortheenvironment.org
Last Month in the Garden
Top: The Fall 2009 GCETP Students, touring the SF Transfer Station; Middle Top: CSA Harvest for Larkin Street Youth Services, 2009; Middle Bottom: Fall 09 GCETP Student digging in at GFE; Bottom: Salvia discolor at GFE, 2009.
(Photos by Blair Randall, 2009)
Garden for the Environment is San Francisco's organic demonstration garden.
Focusing on small-scale urban ecological food production, organic gardening, low water-use landscaping and urban compost systems, the Garden for the Environment offers free or low-cost public workshops nearly every weekend of the year. The Garden for the Environment is a non-profit project of the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council, supported by workshop fees, donations and support from foundations and city agencies.
REGISTER YOUR CITY GARDEN!
http://www.gardenregistry.org/
The San Francisco Victory Garden Registry is an online map and social networking
tool created to connect city gardeners and to locate current or potential food productions zones within the city of San Francisco. By registering your food production zone you are contributing
to an important portrait of land use! Please contribute a photo and information about your surrounding
garden space (used or unused).
Victory Gardens 2009+ is a program of Garden for the Environment funded by the City of San Francisco to support the transition of front yard, back yard and unused land into organic food production areas. For more information, please visit www.sfvictorygardens.org.
