Saved from the gophers! Thanks CCC!

Thanks to the California Conservation Corps crew members for all their hard work gopher-proofing and cleaning up the Mendocino College Preschool Garden! It was a beautiful fall day. Keeping the gophers and other burrowing critters out of the garden beds will definitely allow the preschoolers to see the fruits of their garden labor!!

How to gopher-proof you ask?
We dug out the raised beds, laid in gopher-wire metal mesh, and nailed it to the bender boards 3 - 4 " apart. We then filled the beds back in with a mixture of the original soil and compost. In addition to keeping the gophers out, this work helped aerate and add important nutrients to the soil.

Want to see more photos?
Click here!

Interested in volunteering at workdays like this?
Let us know!

Celebrate Food Day and Volunteer With Us October 24th!

Celebrate Food Day 2014!

We all love food, so spend your Food Day making a difference at a garden workday and potluck, next Friday October 24th! 

Come support community gardens and have a good time working outside! We will be completing projects at Vinewood Park Community Garden and Village Circle Community Garden.

Where?

Meet at the Gardens Project office at NCO 413 North State Street in Ukiah, and we will carpool out to the gardens

When?

Friday, October 24th. Meet at 9 am

Lunch back at NCO from noon to 1pm

Lunch?

To properly celebrate Food Day, we will provide a harvest soup to share, bring a potluck dish to share if you are able!

What to bring?

Please bring a water bottle, work gloves, and good working shoes.

Bring your friends, family, or neighbors to share in the fun.

Please RSVP to Jessie at jruff@ncoinc.org or call at 467-3200 ext. 399 

RSVP-ing helps us greatly with lunch planning!!

See you there!

Can't attend this time but still interested in volunteering? Click here. Or give us a call!

To read more about the gardens in Ukiah, click here.

YouthBuild Revitalizes Nokomis School Garden

Fifteen young people celebrate the winter holiday by gifting Nokomis School Garden 10 new garden beds!

YouthBuild of Pinoleville Pomo Nation devoted the first half of their holiday break (Nov. 25 - 26) to support a garden revitalization effort by FoodCorps Service Member Keegan Niland. The project was coordinated by YouthBuild's Vaughn Pena and led by Licensed Contractor Mike Sherosick.

North Cal Wood Company sourced nearly a ton of beautiful Redwood to help in the effort.

The YouthBuild Team prepared, flushed, and constructed ten (plus two) garden beds on day one. They tore through the batteries of their power drills and had a great time doing it. The young folks showed their creativity, talent, and drive to gain experience in the trades. They even organized a game of pick-up football during lunch break!

On day two the team dug, sunk, and leveled the garden beds into the ground. This was not an easy feat and took patience and persistence. The YouthBuilders worked efficiently and were good to sprinkle in some humor along the way. 

The new 18" tall garden beds at Nokomis Garden were built with the intention of simplifying maintenance, emboldening the space, and promoting productivity for the 430 students and staff.

YouthBuild is an incredible organization -- help the Ukiah branch grow!

See more pictures on our Flickr account.

Pictures courtesy of Tara from YouthBuild 2013

 

Gardens Celebrate Earth Day!

This year, we decided to celebrate Earth Day by getting our hands dirty!

11 Gardens, 2 California Conservation Corps (CCC) crews and a whole lot of enthusiastic volunteers spent the week of Earth Day shoveling compost, spreading mulch, installing irrigation, battling weeds, building fences and planting starts! Whew!

Thanks to all the gardens that participated by hosting a work day:

Grow the Good Food Garden- Fort Bragg

Orchard Apartments Garden- Ukiah

South Valley High School- Ukiah

Yokayo Elementary School Garden- Ukiah

Grace Hudson Elementary School Garden- Ukiah

Calpella School Garden- Calpella

Willits Charter Elementary School Garden- Willits

Yuki Trails Garden- Covelo

Anderson Valley High School Garden- Boonville

Anderson Valley Elementary School Garden- Boonville

And thank you to all the wonderful volunteers and the hardworking CCC crews who gave their time and energy to getting these gardens ready for spring planting!

To see more photos check out our Flicker page
If you have photos from a Earth Day Garden Blitz work party please email them to nloots@ncoinc.org