Debrief of the 2013 Lexington Strong Camp

Posted on July 21, 2013 by hinahara

By Amahlia Lena, 2013 Lexington Strong Camp Program Leader

Originally posted on July 11th, 2013

Full Circles Foundation Lexington began our debrief session on Monday July 8 with a successful program leader meeting. At this meeting we discussed our hopes for next year, which focus on expanding and improving Strong Camp. One aspect that we hope to change for next year is to tighten up the camper enrollment process, which was not as timely and organized as it could have been.

On our second day of debrief, the whole team gathered; this meeting included all three program leaders, our two summer fellows, and two of our volunteers. We went through and discussed each aspect of this year’s camp agenda, and commented on what we thought went well or what didn’t go so well for each activity.

In the Middle of it All

Posted on July 16, 2013 by growingfoodandsustainability

By: Katie Clements

Location: Middleton, WI

Cross-posted from Growing Food and Sustainability

Growing Food and Sustainability has now reached it’s halfway point this summer, and I could not be prouder. The interns have grown closer and found work rhythms together, the kids are already giddy about coming back for the next session of garden camp (and as are we to receive them), and we are beginning to plan our upcoming community events including a benefit dinner and harvest festival. There have been major construction team accomplishments, and the garden is looking beautiful. While it seems strange to see the chard get harvested and watch the radish bed lay dormant, it is after all the middle of July. It seems about time for these things to happen, and we can simply look on our accomplishments, savoring our hard work and our harvest.

This coming week feels ripe for reflection. Continue reading →

Painting Windows and Building Community

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Eli Shepherd

By William Perry of the Iowa City, Iowa program

After a week long orientation with our group leaders Nick Gerken, Eli Shepherd, and Kate Anstreicher, we split up into subgroups run by each leader geared toward specific causes. Eli is in charge of ‘Our Power,’ which is an energy sustainability initiative with an end goal of addressing the split incentive issue for city counsel in regards to rental properties in Iowa City. Kate leads ‘Iowa City Roots,’ which is a community gardening force working with the Iowa City landfill to implement a composting collection service for downtown businesses. Then there is ‘Sustainable Art,’ the program that I am in. Nick heads this subgroup and our weekly activities for a range of summer camps with the goal of educating about waste and waste management through hands on activities and recycled artwork. Our group of about four people just recently came up with an idea we are very excited about: downtown window painting.

: Children painting windows as part of the Iowa City Downtown District’s ‘Kidows’ initiative. Continue reading →

Perspectives on our Garden Progress

Posted on July 15, 2013 by hinahara

Location: Hartford, CT

Originally posted on July 12th, 2013 on Summer of Solutions Hartford

Perspectives on our progress in the garden from two participants:

Wesley Colbert Zion Street Community Garden:

Working on Zion St was a big task. We had many challenges that we got through and made a tremendous change in the Zion St garden appearance as in weeding , cutting, planting and growing. We’ve made it all happen in just three weeks and we are still working to make it better . Continue reading →

Gaining momentum through community engagement

Posted on July 14, 2013 by lryouthaction

LR Summer of Solutions hosted a booth on 12th Street to sign up residents for free home energy assessments.

By: Kara King
Location: Little Rock

The Little Rock Summer of Solutions team is officially half way through our 8 week program and our projects are really beginning to take off! We began the week by tending to the 12^th and Oak garden. When I stepped into the garden this week after being away for over a week, I was blown away by the appearance of our garden! Despite some failed attempts in some of our beds and having to uproot some of the seasonal plants, the rest of the garden is flourishing. Our sunflowers are the height of most average adults and our tomatoes are constantly producing fruit! We continue to expand our garden by clearing new beds and planting new seeds. Continue reading →

Dedication of the Zion Street Community Garden

Posted on July 14, 2013 by growingfoodandsustainability

Location: Hartford, CT

Originally posted on July 3rd, 2013 on Summer of Solutions Hartford

A year ago today Wesley Colbert, our neighbor at the Zion Street Community Garden, passed away. He has been our most enthusiastic supporter and advocate, he taught our whole team how to properly shovel, and he came to every event we ever put on at the garden.
We met Wes our first day working on Zion Street. We had just started cleaning out the lots, when a man poked his head over the fence and said “are you guys building a garden or something?” When we said yes, he didn’t wait for any explanation, grabbed tools from his house, and came over. He helped us every day that first summer and in no uncertain terms made the Zion Street Community Garden possible. We are so grateful for his enthusiasm, love, understanding, and astounding gardening skills. We miss him dearly.
Today we will be officially naming the Zion Street Garden after him – The Wesley Colbert Zion Street Community Garden.

A Seed for Every Season

Posted on July 13, 2013 by hinahara

By: Farming Bards, a Hapeville, GA Local Initiative

Can you plant anything when it is hot and raining like this summer in Hapeville? I went on a research expedition to find out!

Apparently, according to the Planting Calendar created for gardeners by Georgia Organics, now is the best time for planting arugula lettuce, summer squash and snap beans. I honestly was relieved to see that there are still vegetables we can plant right away, because it’s time for us to get our garden started! We have decided to talk to everyone in Hapeville, whether it’s schools, church leaders, or the City Council, who can help us find a small piece of land to use to create a community garden. We want to get started doing what we’re all about at Farming Bards, bringing new friends together to enjoy nature and have fun getting to know each other.

Continue reading →

Finding Milo

Posted on July 12, 2013 by soshartford

A Garden Takes Root in Minneapolis

Posted on July 10, 2013 by patricialamas

By: Aly Young
Location: Twin Cities, MN

The storms that felled trees in Minneapolis and St. Paul have come and gone, and the Gandhi Mahal/HECUA garden project is in full swing! Solutionaries have been hard at work weeding, watering, planting perennials, and scraping and painting the fence.

This summer, we’re growing eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, basil, beans, strawberries, cilantro, okra, tarragon, and more! Here’s a taste of what’s growing:

Continue reading →

Campers Enjoy Planting Our Newly-Fenced Farm!

Posted on July 9, 2013 by growingfoodandsustainability

By: Ilana Haimes
Program Location: Middleton, WI

It’s been a very productive week here at Growing Food and Sustainability. We finally finished our fence. That means no more rabbits nibbling our plants!

The proud construction team with the completed fence!

This week our camp theme was water. This included not only the water cycle, but also how plants are affected by rain and drought. The older campers created their own rain sticks and learned about the chemistry of water molecules. They also learned how to plant melons. Meanwhile, on Friday, our younger campers had the chance to diagram the water cycle and learn how weather and outside factors impact plants. They also planted summer squash. Continue reading →