growing people newsletter - summer 2009

8/4/2019 Growing People Newsletter - Summer 2009

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YC Nursery Donates Greenhousepurchased through GICDs

Phase I Heifer grant.

One of the most gratifying

aspects of the greenhouse

project has been the bringing

together of so many volunteers

who not only helped construct

it but then transplanted and

tended over one thousand

seedlings of tomatoes, peppers,

eggplant, basil, and other herbs

and vegetables. It was truly an

old-fashioned barn/greenhouse

raising project and represents a

perfect example of the

community in community

gardening.

Thank you YC Nursery, Dave

Leinen, and all who made our

new greenhouse a reality.

For more pictures of the

raising go to page 6.

Saviours experimental straw

bale greenhouse, it was

through the generosity of newboard member Dave Leinen

and YC Nursery that a 26x32

professional greenhouse was

donated to GICD and now

stands at Our Saviours

garden. The donated material

included the metal frame,

plastic covering, front end

wall, sliding door and heater.

The rest of the materials were

For many years nearly all of

the vegetable plants sold at

GICDs annual fundraisingplant sales have been grown

in the 10x12 greenhouse at

the East Dallas Garden and in

Don Lamberts equally small

home greenhouse with

some trays even spilling

over into his house.

Seedlings were constantly

having to be monitored and

moved outside on warm

days, then transported back

into the greenhouses during

inclement or cold weather.

Needless to say, it was a

constant and laborious labor

of love on the part of Don,

Tiah and GICD volunteers.

Though several options for a

larger greenhouse were

explored over the years,

including trying for a grant

and the building of Our

Heifer ReportStatistics on GICD

Jan. 12, 2005-June 30, 2009

Harvest donated to foodpantries: 32,538 pounds

Number of families receiv-ing donations: 16,551

Individual plots gardened

by 155 families

Community gardeningtraining events: 246 or

1280 hours

Number of people trained:2923

...and GICD keeps onGrowing!!

Gardeners In Community Development

Community Gardens Are Hot!!!

Mission: improving the quality of life in neighborhoods through community gardening

Summer 2009

Gardeners In Community

Development

901 Greenbriar Lane

Richardson, TX 75080

www.gardendallas.org

In this issue:

P. 1 Community Gardens

P. 1 GreenhouseP. 2 Plant Sale

P. 2 New Intern

P. 2 East Dallas Market

P. 2 Corner Bakery

P. 3 Growing and Giving

P. 3 Your Support Needed

P. 3 Hope Coordinator

P. 3 Butterfly Nursery

P. 4 Garden Gleanings

P. 5 Letters

P. 5 Dr. Mark DeHaven

P. 5 Harvest Shares

P. 6 Greenhouse

P. 6 ACGA Conference

Ever Growing

Dallas Area Community Gardening

Have you noticed all the TV

spots, magazine and newspa-

per articles about growing

your own vegetables and

gardening? From the White

House organic garden to our

local community gardens that

have waiting lists, the inter-

est in vegetable gardening is

burgeoning.

Gardeners in Community

Development has for over

two decades been in the

forefront of community gar-

dening in Dallas and has

been receiving many requests

for workshops and garden

tours. Within the last two

months, two articles in the

Dallas Morning News have fea-

tured GICDs gardens and Don

Lambert, Executive Director,

and Rebecca Smith, Education

Assistant, have given presen-

tations on community gardens

in Waco, the Dallas Arboretum,

and they took their travelling

worms to a class on vermicul-

ture at St. Thomas Episcopal

Church.

Seedlings in our new greenhouse

1940s Poster

60+ years and still growing


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Ever Growing Summer 2009 Page 2Gardeners In Community Deve lopment www.gardendal las.org [email protected]

Fresh From the East DallasCommunity Gardens Market

It may be over 100 degrees with an evenhigher heat index but at the East Dallas Com-

munity and Market Garden, 1416 N. Fitzhugh.

the exotic vegetables are really cool.

Freshly picked, specialty

tropical Asian crops such as

bitter melon, water spinach,

Asian eggplant, long beans,

taro stem, etc. are available

every day, with the week-

ends being the most busy

time.

Plus, if you cant afford avacation this year to a far

away land, just coming to

the garden with all of its sights and sounds

will take you on a journey to South East Asia.

Buy really local !!

Produce that travels ZERO

MILES to reach its market !!

GICD Welcomes New InternGICD is delighted to have an

intern, Jessica Soto, with us

for the summer. Jessie first

came to Our Saviours gar-

den with Ms. Greens 5th

grade John Ireland Elemen-

tary Schools Sci Club. The

children would help harvest

and have science lessons in

Plant Sale

Business

SupportersBlue Mesa Grill

Bruce Miller Nursery

Garden Caf

Green Lake Nursery

Jimmys Food Store

NorthHaven Gardens

Rohdes Nursery

Waltons Nursery

Whole Foods LakewoodYC Nursery

Yellow Rose Landscaping

Thank You !!

Taro

Plot Against Hunger sale

2009 Plant Sale A Success

Corner Bakery Donates to GICD

To forget how to dig the earth

and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves.Mohandas K. Gandhi

Gardeners in CommunityDevelopment organization hasbeen selected to receive adonation, from the CornerBakery Cafe CommunityGarden Grant.

This donation is a part of theStay Localprogram CornerBakery Cafe islaunching thissummer.Through theend ofSeptember,Corner BakeryCafe will uselocally-sourcedtomatoes in its BBLT sandwich,

a double-bacon twist on theclassic BLT. And, to honorthose that grow locally everyday, Corner Bakery will donatea portion of this summersproceeds, up to $500, from theBBLT sandwich to 15community gardens nationwide,including the Gardeners in

Community Developmentorganization. Also, as part of thisprogram, starting on July 1, 2009Corner Bakery Cafe will invite thepublic to post a photo, video or

even just a sentence on the newCorner Bakery Cafe Facebookwall, representing what they aredoing this summer to Stay

Local. As a thankyou, Corner BakeryCafe will sendparticipants a couponfor a free sweet withthe purchase of aBBLT or any otherlunch or dinnerentre. The more wallposts there are, themore coupons will be

sent out, and the more BBLTs will

be purchased, which in turn, willresult in more proceeds. So,make sure to spread the word!Go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=118814&id=66624661003&saved#/pages/Corner-Bakery-Cafe/66624661003

the garden. That planted

the seed of interest in gar-

dening and horticulture asa career and she began

studying horticulture at

Skyline where she will be-

gin her senior year this fall.

Welcome, Jessica!!!

GICDs fundraising plant sales were held atthe East Dallas Community Garden on

April 18-19 andthe Plot AgainstHunger PlantSale on April 25,2009.

GICD sincerelythanks all of ourbusinesssponsors, plantsale volunteers,and supporterswho made thissale the mostsuccessful ever.


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Growing and Giving by Katelynn Ogle

2009 HARVEST

DONATION

3012 Pounds

donated to area food

pantries from

January 1-June 30

each time I go to the garden I know I amdoing something special for other peoplewho dont have as much as I have and theprivileges I havegotten. We also doactivities and cer-

tain crafts. Likethe other day, wemade soaps for asale. We sold thesoaps to raise moremoney for the gar-den. Another thingwe did was takinga bag of seeds, puta note card with it,and then we put alittle icon with ittoo. Then we sta-pled them all to-

Growing and Giving is our motto atthe garden and I love it. We learn somuch and we are teaching other peopletoo. When we make soaps for a sale ormake note cards and recipes and how togrow vegetables, not only are we reach-

ing other people, but we are learning allof that too, and we take that all in everytime we go. For the growing part: Inour garden we grow fruits, vegetables,and herbs. We water, pull weeds, com-post, and HAVE FUN!!! For the givingpart: We grow our fruits, vegetables andherbs and then donate them to foodbanks. For example we grow spinachand when its time we pick them, putthem in bags, and then transfer them tothe food banks. Some other things thatwe grow are tomatoes, corn, and water-melon. I love he giving part because


gether and gave them away at the pa-rade. In our garden we do about anhour and a half of working in the garden

and getting it all cleaned up,looking nice, and making sureour plants are well taken care

of. Then we usually have aboutthirty minutes of free timewhere we get to hang out withthe other kids. Thats a lot offun because you get to meetvery nice kids and the parentsare very involved too. We alsodo stuff to help the church aswell, we even got to help set upfor a parade! This is why I lovethe garden because we helppeople, it teaches us so much,and prepares us kids for thefuture.

* Suggest ideas for fundraisers/persons

to contact/etc.

* Help write grants/Solicit donations

from area businesses

* Volunteer to serve on GICDs board

* Contribute a monetary donation

No matter how large or small your con-

tribution may be in terms of money,

time, or suggestions, it is all of us work-

ing together that will see us through

these times and allow GICD to continue

to Grow People.

Hope Garden Has a New CoordinatorIn February, Judy Fender

assumed the position of Hope

Community Gardens

coordinator. Though new to

the garden, she had kept up

with its progress for many

years and brings experience in

running her own landscaping

business, Designs from the

Garden, had previously worked

for several years at an area

nursery and is a Dallas County

Master Gardener. In addition to

all these attributes, she had her

best employee, Salvatore Ortiz,

help us prepare and till the

garden for our early spring

crops. Thank you, Judy, for

assuming this position!!

GICDs Butterfly Garden Nursery

Growing and Giving Group

Your Support Enables GICD to ThriveLike many non-profit organizations,GICD has seen its level of funding de-

cline during the past year. As a result of

the trickle down effect in this econ-

omy, Heifer International was unable to

fund their Phase II Heifer Grant to GICD

which would have provided funds to

start more community gardens and to

keep GICDs gardens alive. Though Don

Lambert, executive director, has been a

excellent financial steward, even being

given the Accountability Award from

Heifer International for two years, GICD

needs your help to continue to finance its

gardens already in existence, pay its small

staff salaries, and to continue to be a vital

resource for community gardening in Dal-

las.

How can you help?

* Check on matching company funds

* Harvest Shares/Adopt a Garden

* Use your grocery reward cards (contact

Don Lambert for details)

Community Gardens are good not just for

people but for nature too. Many of our

gardens have planted

wildflowers along the

perimeter to attract

beneficial insects;

and Hope Community

Garden has been

certified as a National

Wildlife Federations

Backyard Wildlife Habitat. Herbs such as

parsley, fennel, and dill are not only

appetizing for us but are a

host plant for Eastern Black

Swallowtail caterpillars.

Each year our GICD gardens

become butterfly nurseries

as we share our bounty with

our gardeners, the people

we serve, and nature.Caterpillar on dill becomes an Eastern

Black Swallowtail butterfly


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Garden Gleanings:

Yleana Gutierrez


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Harvest Shares Help GICD

And We Get Letters..


Gardeners in Community Development

A 501 c (3) Non-Profit Organization

Board of Directors

Amanda Brown

Carolyn Bush

Leo Guitterrez

Lee Jovidnia

Don Lambert

Dave Leinen

Azenath Wright

Don Lambert, Executive Director

Rebecca Smith, Education Assistant

Support Community Gardening

Your tax-deductible donation will support GICDs

community gardening programs.Any and all donations are gratefully accepted!!

Please make check payable to GICD and send to

901 Greenbriar Lane, Richardson, TX 75080

It is with a grateful heart thatwe write to thank the HopeCommunity Garden for theirsupport of MethodismsBreadbasket. Your donationof fresh garden produce to ourclients is a welcome and muchneeded addition to our cannedgoods and other non-perishable items. Our clientsreceive your bounty with greatdelight! It is through thegenerosity of groups such asthe Hope Community Gardenthat we are blessed to be a

blessing to others. Fornearly 40 years,MethodismsBreadbasket has been abeacon of light, a placeof hope, and a placethat shares the bread oflife! As these times ofeconomic crises affectour society, we find thatour brothers and sisterswho are mostvulnerable; thedisabled, the elderly,and families with

Every year two of GICDs gardens, Hope

Community Garden and Our Saviour

Community Garden, plus some

individuals gardens donate a significant

portion of their

produce to area food

pantries. wont you

help us continue this

much needed service

by pledging to matchwith the number of

pounds donated with a

monetary amount.

Under our Harvest

Shares program you

can pledge to match a

penny per pound, dollar per pound or

whatever amount you chose. In doing

this you not only help fund GICDs

programs and gardens but also

challenge our

gardeners and

volunteers to produce

even more to donate

to the community.

Look for moreinformation about our

Harvest Shares

program and how you

might participate in

future newsletters.

Interested in volunteering?

East Dallas Community Garden: contact Don at (972) 231-3565 or [email protected]

Hope Community Garden: contact Judy at 214-367-8799 or [email protected]

Our Saviour Community Garden: contact Rebecca at ( 214) 564-5801 or [email protected]

Jonas O. Ehiogu

GICDs projects feed the community

A critical element for improving healthand wellbeing in many communities isincreasing the availabilityof high-quality freshvegetables andfruit. Community gardensare increasingly recognizedas an important source offresh fruits and vegetablesin many inner-city urbanenvironments. Allindications coming frommedical, public health, andpreventive servicesorganizations support thegrowing importance of

community gardens as a

resource for improving nutrition and

reducing chronic disease in urbanenvironments.

Mark DeHaven, Ph.D.

Professor and Chief,

Division of Community Health

Sciences;

Director, The

GoodNEWS Lifestyle

Enhancement Program, based

at UT Southwestern Medical

Center, DallasMark De Haven, Ph.D.

Local Community Health ResearcherSupports Community Gardening

2009 Produce

Donated To:Methodisms Breadbasket

Dallas International Street Church

ECHAD Senior Housing Apartments

Wilkinson Center

Buckner Crisis Relief Center

Neighbors in Need

Volunteer Harvesters

children to feed and clothe, need theservices that Methodisms Breadbasketprovides now more than ever. Pleaseexpress our abundant appreciation to themembers of the Hope Community Garden.We are especially grateful to you for yourhelp in facilitating these donations. Wethank God for the Hope Community Gardenand for your support of the work that we arecalled to do. We pray Gods blessings onyou as you continue to bless others.

Sincerely,

Cynthia M. MartinExecutive Director


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Gardeners In Community Development Ever Growing901 Greenbriar Lane

Richardson, TX 75080

Pass-a-long this newsletter: help sow the seeds of community gardening.

To subscribe or un-subscribe, or to offer suggestions, contact [email protected]


For more information go to

www.communitygarden.orgACGA Toll Free number:

877.ASK.ACGA (275.2242)

Growing the Greenhouse

Installing the covering

Hanging the door

Aug. 6-9, 2009

Framing

Building the frame

growing people newsletter - summer 2009

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