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 Saturday, April 19th, the
City of San
Francisco
officially celebrated Earth Day. SFPT
commemorated
the day by hosting a city-wide garden clean
up day
with activities centered at Alemany Farm.
More than 10
sites participated by organizing clean ups in
their
neighborhoods. SFPT and DPW provided free mulch
delivery and green waste removal. We worked
that day
with
volunteers at 2 sites.
At Alemany Farm, the Alemany Resident Management
Corporation, the Student Conservation
Association
(SCA), DPW, local students, and neighbors
joined in
the celebration getting the farm ready for
spring.
Not too far from the farm, volunteers were
helping to
beautify the Sunglow Steps. The steps act as a
corridor connection between the Excelsior,
Portola,
and University Mound neighborhoods in San
Francisco. Volunteers from both sites enjoyed a
delicious barbeque at Alemany Farm as thanks
for all
of their hard work.
See pictures from Earth Day
Share your
Earth Day workday pictures
The Sunglow Steps project is still in the
planning
stages. Contact Julia
to get involved.
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Q: Why should I choose California native plants for
my greening projects?
A: California natives are low maintenance and
eco-efficient.
Native or indigenous plants are those that evolved
naturally in a particular area or region before humans
began to introduce plants from other countries and
regions. Natives are adapted to local soil, rainfall and
temperature conditions, and have developed natural
defenses to many insects and diseases. Because of
these traits, native plants will grow with minimal use
of water, fertilizers, and pesticides.
SFPT supports many native plant projects around the
city:
for erosion control on a hilly landscape, The
South Franconia Steps, a Street Parks project, was
furnished almost entirely in native plants.
for low-maintenance sidewalk gardens, Park
Partner Plant*SF
strongly endorses the use of native
plants in its permeable landscape projects.
see our recommended plant list for low-
maintenance ideas that are great for any garden (and
are approved by DPW for street parks).
check out californiagardens.com for even
more native plant recommendations
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| ABOUT TO SPROUT |
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This month Street Parks volunteers will work hard and
play hard! Street Parks members will enjoy an
exclusive, fun sailing day as reward for all of their hard
work, and later in the month volunteers will get dirty
again at our monthly Street Parks gardening day.
Street Parks MEMBERS EVENT,
Spring Sailing Trip
Date: Saturday, May 3rd
Time: 9AM - 2PM
Location: We will meet at the Transbay
Terminal 1st Street and Mission (map) in
San Francisco and
travel together to the Treasure Island Sailing
Center.
This event is open to Street Parks members only, but
it's not too late to join. Simply commit to four Street
Parks gardening days throughout the year. In return
you will get access to fun events like this one. Just
email
Jasmine or call 415-750-5110 for more
information. SPACE IS LIMITED
and you must RSVP to participate! RSVP now to
secure your spot!
Street Parks Gardening Day @ Douglass Street
Garden
Date: Saturday, May 17th
Time: 10AM - 2PM
Location: Meet on Douglas St. at Corwin
St. (map
)
Street Parks volunteers meet each month for a
fun gardening day and FREE LUNCH! You can drop-in
to any SPY gardening day or commit to four throughout
the year and be eligible for fun benefits. Please RSVP
by Tuesday, May 13th by calling 415-750-5110
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| GET THE GREEN |
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JOBS/INTERNSHIPS
YOUTH
Youth Making a Change (YMAC) is Coleman
Advocates' nationally recognized youth organizing
project. YMAC is seeking a part-time campus
organizer to help support base building, campaign
work, and more. $10 -$12 an hour DOE. Email or fax
resume and cover letter to 415-239-0584 Attn: Pecolia
Manigo.
ADULT
The Rainforest Action Network's (RAN), team is
seeking a well-rounded intern eager to learn the
basics of non-profit fundraising. This is a great
resume enhancer for anyone interested in
development and fundraising! Click here
to view a
full position description. Send your cover letter
(explaining why you want to work at RAN as a valuable
team member of the Development Department) and
resume to: Arielle Gingold, Membership Associate
ranmembers@ran.org
La'akea Community is a cooperatively-owned
intentional community on the big island of Hawaii.
This summer La'akea Community will be offering a
one month internship from July 23 - August 20, 2008.
Participants will enjoy eight workshops, half focused
on permaculture and the other half on
communication/interpersonal skills. The program
concludes with a medicinal herb conference which
will be held on the land at La'akea.
The fee is $600; which supplies all the delicious food,
mostly organic and from the land, and incidentals.
Twenty hours of labor each week is also expected.
The program is limited to ten individuals. Click here
for more information.
RESOURCES
Grow It! The Less-Toxic Garden.
Control Pests and Plant DiseaseUsing Less-Toxic
Methods. This guide describes
ways to grow a vibrant garden by creating healthy soil,
planting the right plants for San Francisco, using less-
toxic pesticides, and organic pest control methods.
Created by the San Francisco Water Pollution
Prevention Program
EVENTS
May 3 - Intro. to Organic Garden Design @
Garden for the Environment (map) 10AM - 2PM
May 3 - Street Parks Members' Event @
Treasure
Island Sailing Company, meet at Transbay Terminal
(map)
9:00AM - 2:00PM
May 10, Intro. to Organic Garden Care@
Garden for the Environment (map) 10AM -
2PM
May 17 - SPY Gardening Day @ Douglass
Street Garden (map
)
10AM - 2PM
May 17, Intro. to Organic Garden Watering@
Garden for the Environment (map)
10AM - 2PM
May 18- In Search of Good Food Bike Tour,
Meet at 16th Street and Mission. Donations for the film
will be accepted. 1PM. For more information visit
insearchofgoodfood.org.
May 22 - King Corn, a fun, informative food
film @ Conexions Center.
Cost for movie is $5 - $10 sliding scale
May 24 & 25 - Eco/green Holistic Health
Festival between Harrison and Treat at 17th Street in
San Francisco 11AM - 6PM FREE!
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IN THIS ISSUE:
YESTERDAY'S HARVEST
Past Events
TOOLSHED
News You Can USE
ABOUT TO SPROUT
Upcoming Events
GET THE GREEN
Jobs, Internships, and Opportunities
EVENTS
May 3rd- Street Parks Members' Event, Spring
Sailing Trip
9AM - 2PM
May 17 - Street Parks Gardening Day @
Douglass Street Garden (map
) 10AM - 2PM
Jason Mark
Co-Manager of Alemany Farm
Alemany Farm sits at the foot of Bernal Heights, near
Alemany Boulevard and Interstate 280. Not too long
ago this spot was an abandoned dumping ground, but
these days the 4.5-acre farm is San Francisco's
largest
organic food producer. Jason Mark, co-manager of
Alemany Farm, will tell you that tending to this farm is
no
small feat. The farm boasts a volunteer list of over 500
people and almost every weekend 30 - 40 volunteers
can be found planting, harvesting and tending to the
farm's needs. How did they acquire such a large
volunteer base? Volunteers came to the farm through
word of mouth and some strategic outreach. The farm
advertises volunteer opportunities in local, organic
grocers, like Bi Rite and recruits from eco-based
classes at City College. Of course, Jason realizes
that
not all city folk come with farm
skills under their belt, but volunteers definitely leave
with some.
Volunteers aren't the only helping hands on the farm.
Jason co-supervises 20 youth workers, many of
whom
live at the nearby Alemany Housing Development. For
6
hours each week these young people maintain the
farm and earn some extra money. In addition, the
workers are building job skills for the emerging green
economy. Plus, they stay
in good supply of fresh veggies.
Alemany Farm was also the proud recipient of a 2008
Innovator Award: grant presented
by SFPT to
support community-based organizations that are
committed to improving their neighborhoods, parks or
recreational programming in sustainable, forward-
thinking ways. That grant helped to fund the
expansion
of the farm's orchard and to fund the new irrigation
system.
So, what harvests are on the horizon? In the near
future, renovation will be complete on the on-site
green house. When complete, a portion of the green
house will function as a nursery/ plant exchange
managed with help from
SFPT. The nursery will serve as a resource for
community managed gardens to recycle unwanted
plants and to provde free plants to groups in need of
them. A native plant restoration project is in
the planning stages now and expected to begin this
fall.
Interested in volunteering? Alemany hosts a workday
the 1st and 3rd Sunday of each month and the 2nd
and 4th Saturday, from 12 PM - 5PM. Contact
community.gardeners@gmail.com
See
pictures of Alemany Farm
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