Something To Chew On - Six Weeks in West Africa

I am just returned from a little country called Togo, in West Africa. While there, I paid particular attention to the agriculture. Here are some impressions from my time there:

Local Really Does Taste Soooo Much Better: The bananas in Togo were bangin’! I didn’t realize that bananas I’ve eaten in the United States taste like how a mealy, green-picked-and-shipped, industrial-agriculture-ripened tomato tastes compared to the taste of a vine-ripened tomato straight outta gramma’s garden. The bananas in Togo were grown there, picked when ripe, and sold and consumed within days of harvest. They tasted sweet, fresh, complex, and moist. Fresh food (which tends to be local) tastes so much better! I ate so many bananas in Togo that I experienced something new to me – constipation. And then I figured fruit would help so I just ate more and more bananas, not knowing that bananas actually plug up your system, wondering the whole time – ‘where are all these bananas going?!’

Everything We Need Is Here: My Togolese friend, Mati, took me to the farms that stretch along the riverbanks on the south end of the city. Watching how hard the farmers have to work to carry water by hand from the river to their crops, Mati said, ‘God left Africa.’ Afterwards, I spent a lot of time sitting by that river, talking to those farmers, working with them and watching the rhythms of Togolese agriculture unfold. The more I sat at that river, the more I felt this agricultural scene was the most beautiful site I ever beheld, and the more I disagreed with what Mati said. Seeing plants and food springing forth from such lousy, sandy soil, I realized how incredibly generous our earth is. Our world is so ready and willing to give, and all we have to do is pay a little attention and tickle it. Whenever we are ready, the earth already is. I walked up a mountain covered in a forest filled with mango, banana, apple, and avocado trees – a veritable food forest – with people harvesting from the abundance the mountain so willingly, graciously offers.

Woah! Climate change is real: many Togolese people I talked to were concerned about the increasing unpredictability of their seasons due to climate change. Their main concern is that unpredictable seasons will stymie their agricultural success, leaving them to starve. This threat is more frightening for subsistence beings that don’t have stockpiles of food, the economic power to import, or access to resources that will make adapting to unpredictable seasons easier, but these changes nonetheless concern everyone. How are we – the people of any nation or community – going to grow food, going to feed everyone, going to eat, if we can’t rely on the seasons? Climate change is not just an idea wealthy consumers have the luxury to consider at the cash register. Climate change is a global reality threatening people’s lives around the planet!

It’s All Up to Us/Political Will Does Matter: In Togo, there was no pump-irrigation for crops. It was the dry season, and all irrigation happened with watering cans. This limited the size of farms and keept them tethered to rivers. But when I crossed the border to Ghana, all of a sudden the farms were much larger and people were watering with giant hoses. There was infrastructure. The boundary I crossed was a man-made, political boundary, barely representative of any natural geologic or ecological boundaries. This showed me that while land and climate have a say in how agriculture is practiced, people are tremendously influential in creating the form their agriculture assumes. Political priority, funding, availability of resources: these factors are created by humans and able to be revised by humans – by us! – to create something more life affirming.

Gratitude: Even though the farmers by the river worked so hard that Mati claimed God had left them, they were still smiling and laughing and singing. They were grateful to be alive. The greatest thing I took away from my time in Africa is gratitude. I am more grateful just to be alive, just to be able to witness this beautiful miracle happening every day. I am grateful to be able to participate in the dance of life by growing food and by eating it, too!

thanks for reading!

Willits Kids Club Family Festival

The Willits Kids Club is a bustling, happy place for kids. They have a grand, well-equipped building and plans for an outdoor play area that will rival the best of playgrounds. But, best of all, Willits Kids Club is run by engaging and creative adults who work tirelessly to provide families with a wholesome after-school community center.

I know all this because I’ve had the pleasure of visiting the Willits Kids Club on a weekly basis for the past year. I visit and facilitate cooking demonstrations, taste testings, and nutrition lessons with a dedicated group of local teen peer educators from the BEANS (Better Eating, Activity, and Nutrition for Students) program.

Every few months we also get to participate in one of the Willits Kids Club Family Festivals. This month’s festival featured healthy snacks, smoothies (made by the BEANS teen peer educators), WiiFit games, outdoor activities, and a musical dance party sponsored by the local BEANS teens and the Network for a Healthy California. Our smoothies and our music were a hit! Please enjoy our feature smoothie recipe from the Willits Kids Club Family Festival.

Tropical Surprise Smoothie

Makes 4 servings. 1 cup per serving
Prep time: 5 minutes

In a blender, add the following ingredients:
1 cup frozen mango chunks
1 ripe banana
1 cup 100% orange/mango juice
1 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt
4 pitted dates (for added sweetness without adding sugar!)
1 cup ice cubes
AND the secret ingredients…
¼ cup cooked beets
and/or 10 leaves of fresh baby spinach

What a great way to get all the vitamins and goodness of fruits AND veggies!

Multiple Benefits of Community Gardening.

Multiple Benefits of Community Gardening

The benefits community gardens are as numerous as the people that use them. The Gardens Project of Mendocino County is proud of being a part of over 60 community and school gardens around the county. We are working hard to provide garden leadership trainings, tools, seeds, compost and labor to gardens that are providing food and community organizing to those who need it most. In the last three years we have helped obtain donations of over $10,000 of compost, thousands of dollars in seeds and starts, thousands of pounds of food into our schools, thousands of volunteer hours and taught nutrition education to hundreds of children. We have been able to do this in part because of donations from the community and the amazing grant writing and support of North Coast Opportunities.

Below is an article that describes some of the exiting developments and benifits of community gardens across the country. Please read and ask yourself if you want these kind of benefits in your neighborhood. If you do, please contact us and we will be glad to see if we can help you.

www.gardensproject.org


Thank you,



Mason Giem


The following was written by Gardening Matters, 2011. www.gardeningmatters.org

Multiple Benefits of Community Gardening

Carbon Footprint
• Food in the United State travels an average of 1300 miles from farm to fork, changes hands a half a dozen (Kloppenburg,Hendrickson and Stevenson, 1996, p. 33, 42), and consumes 10 calories of fossil-fuel energy to produce a single calorie of modern supermarket food (Pollan, 2008). Producing food locally greatly reduces the greenhouse gas emissions related
to transportation and marketing of food.
• Green vegetation itself can reduce heat island effects in urban areas, and so can help to reduce the use of energy-consuming air conditioning.

Municipal Costs
Community Gardens are economically beneficial to local governance:
• Community gardens have been shown to actually increase property values in the immediate vicinity where they are located. In Milwaukee properties within 250 feet of gardens experienced a decline of $24.77 with every foot and the average garden was estimated to add approximately $9,000 a year to the city tax revenue (Bremer et al, 2003, p. 20; Chicago, 2003, p. 10; Sherer, 2006).
• Been and Voicu estimate that New York’s “gross tax benefit generated by all community gardens over a 20-year period amounts to about $563 million. Under the scenario in which the local government would have fully subsidized the garden provision [which is rarely the case], the city’s total investment would have amounted to about $83.5 million. Thus, the estimated net tax benefit would be, in the aggregate, about $480 million or, per garden over $750,000” (2006,
p. 28).
• Developing and maintaining garden space is less expensive than parkland area, in part because gardens require little land and 80% of their cost is in labor (Saylor, 2005).
• Community gardens provide a place to retreat from the noise and commotion of urban environments, they attract people (including the ‘creative class’ of the new economy and small businesses).

Food Production
• Community gardens allow families and individuals without land of their own the opportunity to produce food. Oftentimes gardeners take advantage of the experiential knowledge of elders to produce a significant amount of food for the household.
• Urban agriculture is 3-5 times more productive per acre than traditional large-scale farming.
• Local agriculture conserves resources by shortening the commodity chain, saving on fuel demanding transportation and packaging (Bremer et al, 2003, p.23)
• From 1978-1989 $8.9 million worth of produce was grown in Milwaukee community gardens (Bremer et al, 2003, p.22, 56).
• “In 1999, the fifteen New York gardens organized as the City Farms program of the organization Just Food grew close to 11,000 pounds of fresh vegetables and fruits. Nearly 50 percent was donated to nearby soup kitchens and food pantries (Just Food 1999 Summary Report, as cited by Englander, 2001, p. 14). The Fancy Flowers Community Association in
the South Bronx alone produced 200 pounds of tomatoes and about 75 pounds of green and red peppers in 1999 (City Farmers: Tales from the Field, as cited by Englander, 2001, p. 14).

Health Benefits
• Studies (like the one conducted by Lackey and Associates) have shown that community gardeners and their children eat healthier, more nutrient rich diets than do non-gardening families (Bremer et al, 2003, p.54).
• Community gardens provide access to traditional produce or nutritionally rich foods that may otherwise be unavailable to low-income families and individuals.
• Eating locally produced food reduces asthma rates, because children are able to consume manageable amounts of local pollen and develop immunities.
• Increasing the consumption of fresh local produce is one of the best ways to address childhood lead poisoning as well as their exposure to chemical fertilizers and pesticides (Bremer et al, 2003,p. 54; http://www.cce.ufl.edu/past/commgardens/).

Exercise
• Gardens can be areas for recreation and exercise. According to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the “creation of or enhanced access to places for physical activity combined with informational outreach” produced a 48.4 percent increase in frequency of physical activity in addition to a 5.1 percent median increase in aerobic capacity, reduced body fat, weight loss, improved flexibility and an increase in perceived energy (as referenced in Sherer, 2006).

Crime Prevention
• Community gardens offer a focal point for community organizing, and can lead to community-based efforts to deal with other social concerns.
• Community gardens give youth a safe place to interact with peers and can involve them in beneficial activities (Sherer,2006).
• Community gardens build block clubs and increase eyes on the street (Kuo & Sullivan, 2001b).
• Community gardens increase a sense of community ownership and stewardship. They foster the development of a community identity and spirit.
• Scientific studies show that crime decreases in neighborhoods as the amount of green space increases and that vegetation has been seen to alleviate mental fatigue, one of the precursors to violent behavior (Kuo and Sullivan, 2001).
• Community gardening is recognized by many police departments as an effective community crime prevention strategy.
“In Philadelphia, burglaries and thefts in one precinct dropped by 90 percent after police helped residents clean up vacant lots and plant gardens” (“Healing America’s cities” p. 5-6, as cited in Englander, 2001).

“Pocket Parks”
• Community gardens add beauty to the community and heighten people’s awareness and appreciation for living things. In a Chicago survey this was the #1 reason given for the importance of community gardens – mentioned by 14.3% of respondents) while 83% of respondents felt that the garden has enhanced the beauty of the community (Chicago, 2003,
p. 34).
• A 1995 Regional Plan Association poll of individuals nationwide found that the major components of a satisfactory quality of life are safe streets and access to greenery and open spaces. In another survey, owners of small companies ranked recreation, parks, and open space as their highest priority in choosing a new location for a business” (Sherer,2006, p.5).
• However, urban green spaces are unevenly distributed and access is extremely limited near low-income neighborhoods populated by minorities (including recent immigrants). For example, in “Los Angeles, white neighborhoods enjoy 31.8 acres of park space for every 1,000 people, compared with 1.7 acres in African-America neighborhoods and 0.6 in Latino neighborhoods” (Sherer, 2006, p.6).

The Urban Ecosystem
Gardens help to improve the health of the city ecosystem in several ways:
• Filter rainwater and help to keep lakes, rivers, and groundwater clean (“Plants and the micro-organisms with which they symbiotically coexist help to clean and filter water as it percolates through the soil”)
• Reduce soil erosion and runoff, which lessens flooding and saves the city money (Bremer et al, 2003, p. 50, 56; Sherer,2006; tpl, 2004).
• Restore oxygen to the air and help reduce air pollution (Chicago, 2003, p.14; Sherer, 2006)), through the gas exchange systems of leaves and soils.

Youth Education
• Community gardens can serve as an outdoor classroom where youth can learn valuable skills, like those involving practical math, communication, responsibility and cooperation. They also provide the opportunity to learn about the importance of community, stewardship and environmental responsibility.
• In California, the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners has a program in Alemany, a community with an unemployment rate of %84, which employs 20-25 local youth during the school year and about 60 during the summer. They are trained in gardening, landscaping, habitat restoration, work skills and leadership development (Feenstra et al, 1999 p.40).
Cultural Opportunities
• Community gardens offer unique opportunities to establish relationships within and across physical and social barriers. (Bremer et al, 2003; Tranel & Handlin, 2004). In places like the Twin Cities, where there are large communities of first and second generation immigrants, community gardens have provided a space for:
- Inter-generational exposure to cultural traditions
- Cultural exchange with other gardeners
- Access to non-English speaking communities
• In gardens across New York that are supported by the city’s community garden association, GreenThumb, there are gardeners from 45 different countries and many regions of the U.S.
• A recent study found that compared to residents living near barren areas, those closer to green common spaces, are more likely to use them and as a result more likely to interact with neighbors (Kuo et al,1998,p.26).

Horticultural Therapy
• The benefits of Horticulture Therapy (Sherer, 2006) can be and are used to great advantage in community gardens.
• Exposure to green space reduces stress and increases a sense of wellness and belonging (Bremer et al, 2003, p. 55).
• “A ten percent increase in nearby greenspace was found to decrease a person’s health complaints in an amount equivalent to a five year reduction in that person’s age” (Sherer, 2006, p. 16).
• In Brentwood California, the Vets Garden employs 35 patients, many of whom have not been able to hold down a job since the Vietnam War. Since the garden program started inpatient stays have been significantly reduced and the gardeners have been making progress at faster rates and are better able to “participate more fully in the world and move on to jobs outside the hospital”. Employment opportunities such as gardening and landscaping throughout the city have become available to Vet gardeners and several program participants have even gone back to school. (Feenstra et al, 1999, p. 52).


References:
Been, V. & Voicu, I. (2006). “The Effect of Community Gardens on Neighboring
Property Values”. Law & Economics Research Paper Series Working Paper No.
06-09. Retrieved October 31, 2006, from http://tpl.org

Bremer, A., Jenkins, K. & Kanter, D. (2003). Community Gardens in Milwaukee:
Procedures for their long-term stability & their import to the city.– Milwaukee:
University of Wisconsin, Department of Urban Planning.

Cambell, D., Feenstra, G., & Sharyl, M. (1999). Entrepreneurial community
gardens: Growing food, skills, jobs and communities. Oakland: University of
California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Chicago Botanic Garden and the City of Chicago. (2003). Green connections:
A research assessment of community gardening in Chicago. Chicago: City of
Chicago.
College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. University of
Illinois at Urbana – Champaign, Human-Environment Research Laboratory.
www.herl.uiuc.edu

Englander, D. (2001). New York’s community gardens – A resource at risk.
Retrieved October 31, 2006, from http://tpl.org

Kuo, F., Sullivan, W., Coley, L, & Brunson, L. (1998). “Fertile ground for community:
Inner-city neighborhood common spaces.” American Journal of Community
Psychology, 26(6), 823-851.

Kuo, F. & Sullivan, W. (2001a).”Aggression and violence in the inner city:
Impacts of environment via mental fatigue.” Environment & Behavior, 33(4),
543-571.

Kuo, F. & Sullivan, W. (2001b). “Environment and crime in the inner city: Does
vegetation reduce crime?” Environment and Behavior, 33(3), 343-367.

Kloppenburg, Jack Jr., John Hendrickson and G. W. Stevenson.(1996) “Coming
Into the Foodshed.” Agriculture and Human Values 13:3 (Summer): 33-42. .
http://www.wisc.edu/cias/pubs/comingin.PDF

Pollan, Michael, (2008), “Framer In Chief.” New York Times Magazine, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html

Sherer, P.M. (2006). The benefits of parks: Why America needs more city parks
and open space. Retrieved October 31, 2006, from http://www.tpl.org

Tranel, M. and Handlin, L. (2004). Planting Seeds; Growing Communities. St.
Louis: University of Missouri Public Policy Research Center.

The Trust for Public Land. (Winter 2004). The role of parks and greenspace in
urban redevelopment. Retrieved October 31, 2006,rom http://www.tpl.org

Sunny and Successful Saturday at Orchard

Last Saturday turned out to be beautiful weather and beautiful company at Orchard garden. The garden welcomed three new members from the surrounding apartments who will be planting this spring and summer. The gardeners also worked on combating that dreadful Bermuda grass - a constant battle at Orchard. The Bermuda grass has made its way into the beds and have taken over the pathways. The gardeners have decided to combat the Bermuda grass by laying cardboard over the grass and will cover the cardboard with wood chips. Keep and eye out on the corner Ford and Sidnie to see some progress in the next couple of weeks!

Fresh From the Start Begins!

This Tuesday is the first day of the Fresh from the Start Nutrition and Cooking Program! From January until May, Fresh from the Start will be conducting 16 nutrition classes with the Young Parent Program of Ukiah High School. We aim to empower teen parents to adapt healthier lifestyles for themselves and their families by teaching them about nutrition, physical activity and how to cook healthy affordable meals. Fresh from the Start is a grant funded program through the Network for a Healthy California and is being administered by Adrienne Binder, an AmeriCorps VISTA of First 5 Mendocino, and Cassie Dillman, an AmeriCorps VISTA of First 5 and The Gardens Project.

We will be working with a class of 16 teen mothers over the course of the next month, exploring the basics of healthy living. Fresh from the Start will cover topics including: Portion sizes, label reading, how to manage a food budget, breastfeeding, child and infant nutrition, healthy breakfasts, and Re-Think Your Drink. We will be making yummy recipes with the mothers, ranging from Turkey Veggie Chili to healthy baby foods for their children.

Check in over the next few months to hear updates about the project!

January Winter Garden Tips

Thank you so much to Suzanne Millard for the garden tips!

What to do in Your Garden this month:

It is winter in the garden and it has been cold! January is a time of renewal and that certainly applies to the garden. While there was not a great deal of activity in the garden in December, January starts fresh with opportunities for planting and planning for the upcoming year.

For die hard seed starters, your catalogs have been trickling in over the last few weeks. Now is a good time to start your garden design and planning and to start purchasing seed for spring and summer. It’s also a good time to inventory your personal supply from seed-saving. Clean up, repair and replace any tools you’ll need for the new season in order to maintain your garden throughout the year. This is the time of year to prune your deciduous trees and feed them with a fresh application of compost. You’ll want to prune your cane berry and grape plants.

What to plant?

In late January you can directly sow spinach, radishes, carrots, turnips, beets, peas and Asian greens such as bok choy and mustard greens. You can also start seeds indoors for onions, lettuce, peas, leeks, Asian greens and brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, cabbage, etc.).

Flower lovers can start Hollyhocks, Scabiosa, Calendula, Gaillardia, Centaurea, Helenium, Viola, Yarrow, Rudbeckia, Columbine, Agastaches and Lavender indoors.

When in doubt, there is a tremendous body of knowledge about gardening in California, provided by University of California Cooperative Extension. This site, geared toward the home gardener can be found at http://cagardenweb.ucdavis.edu/.

Final thoughts…

Don’t forget about frost. Frost can cause severe and fatal damage well into April and sometimes May. Please refer to the Frost Protection for Citrus and Other Subtropicals guide from the University of California Cooperative Extension for additional information on the impact of frost damage to plants and frost damage prevention measures.

For year round tips on what to plant, click Greater Hopland Planting Guide (Peter Huff and Kate Frey's Monthly Planting Calendar for Inland Mendocino, also found at the "How to - Grow Food" page on The Garden's Project Website).

Happy Mendo Winter Gardening!

Noyo Food Forest Seeks Executive Director!

We are looking for our new fearless leader!

The Noyo Food Forest has a position open for a new Executive Director to provide dynamic and engaging leadership as the organization grows into its 6th year of operation.

The ideal candidate will be passionate about working from the ground up through grassroots-style community development and enjoy working with people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities in achieving our strategic goals and objectives. He/She will have a proven history of leading organizations and managing programs. The salary for this part-time position is $1,600/month. For a full job description go to www.noyofoodforest.org or call (707) 964-0218.

The application deadline is January 24, 2011 at 5pm. To apply, email a cover letter and resume to Anna Kvinsland, interim Executive Director, at noyofoodforested@gmail.com.

Orchard Work Day!

Beat the winter blues with the gardeners at the Orchard Community garden in Ukiah. Get outside and enjoy the crisp winter morning by helping remove the dreaded Bermuda grass, mulching some paths, and helping gardeners build up their beds. Meet some new community members, enjoy company of other gardeners, and get outside! Work day is January 22nd, starting at 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM on the corner of Sidnie St. and Orchard Ave. at Orchard garden. Contact Kelly Burwell for more information and to RSVP, 462-2596 x 185

New Food Mondays

My family has begun a new tradition… “New Food Mondays!” The idea is to try a new recipe or ingredient every Monday and to hopefully find some new family favorites. I have to say that so far, my family hasn’t loved any of the “new” foods… however, we all enjoy the anticipation of trying something new.

This past Monday featured a new vegetable for us called kohlrabi (kol-robby). I realize that we’re behind the times when I write that this vegetable is “new.” It’s not. But, for us it was our first time buying, preparing, and tasting kohlrabi. Boy! I thought it was one of the tastiest vegetables I’ve ever had!

Here’s the kohlrabi story. I found kohlrabi in the supermarket produce section nestled between some cauliflower and chard… it was only $2.49 for three large kohlrabi bulbs! At home, I peeled the bulbs, diced them, then sautéed them for about 10 minutes. Then, I combined the slightly-cooked kohlrabi in a casserole with chicken sausage and a cream sauce. I baked the mixture for another 20 minutes.

I found that the kohlrabi was still firm (though evidently it’s great to eat kohlrabi when it's firm and/or raw). I served a heaping spoonful to myself, my husband, and my kiddos. Mmmm! What a sweet, crispy veggie treat that kohlrabi turned out to be! I couldn’t stop making yummy sounds, but the rest of my family was not so impressed. Good for them to give it a try though!

I bet the next time I include kohlrabi in a coleslaw they’ll all like it, or I can try to winter roasted Kohlrabi recipe below. Maybe I’ll give it a go for one of the next “New Food Mondays!”



Winter Roasted Kohlrabi

1 1/2 pounds fresh kohlrabi, ends trimmed, thick green skin sliced off with a knife, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic (garlic is optional, to my taste)
Salt
Vinegar

Set oven to 450F. Toss the diced kohlrabi with olive oil, garlic and salt in a bowl. (The kohlrabi can be tossed with oil and seasonings right on the pan but uses more oil.) Spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and put into oven (it needn't be fully preheated) and roast for 30 - 35 minutes, stirring every five minutes after about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with a good vinegar (probably at the table so the kohlrabi doesn't get squishy).

We Miss Our Intern - Alison Petro!

The Gardens Project is truly sad to have to say goodbye to Alison Petro - an amazing student intern from the Community Services Dept. at UC Santa Cruz. Alison has been a great asset to the organization over the past six months.
As Alison learned, The Gardens Project is engaged in numerous projects with the overall goal of creating access to local, fresh produce and facilitating the rebuilding of our local food system. An area of great need, particularly in the Willits area, has been to develop the capacity to implement a Farm-to-School program with the Willits Unified School District. Alison’s main accomplishment has been developing this capacity.
* She developed a Farm-to-School resource binder with case studies from other schools focusing on successes and challenges.
* She assisted with the leadership and community development of the new WISC Community Garden through facilitation and participation in weekly events.
* At the Willits Farmer’s Market, Alison assists with the promotion of the Brookside School Farm and sales of their produce to support the Willits Farm-to-School program, as well as sell Brookside produce, along with the sale of bulk grains from a local grain promotion program - Grange Grains, promote the Farm-to-School program and the Brookside School Farm.
* At the Brookside School Farm she assisted with weekly harvesting of vegetables for food preservation workshops and for farmers market.
* She proactively facilitated meetings with the Food Service Director, helped organize food service staff trainings in the use of fresh produce, and is actively promoting food preserving classes to preserve foods for the developing program at Willits Unified.
* One of the other pieces to developing capacity in the Farm-to-School movement is providing food service staff with training to handle seasonal, fresh produce. Alison successfully facilitated the development of trainings for food service staff in Fort Bragg, Willits, and Covelo. The trainings, paid for by NCO, brought in a local executive chef to train food service staff in fresh produce preparation.
Once again, we are grateful to have collaborated with UCSC to host Alison at The Gardens Project of NCO. We hope to have the opportunity to work with Alison in the future. We miss you!