OBUGS is Gearing up for the Fall

[Oakland Based Urban Gardens]

 

OBUGS is currently gearing up for the School year.  We will be serving appoximately 500 childrent this school year through five programs: IN School- Garden-based programs supplement the regular school curriculum with hands-on science, language arts, nutrition and health, art, and ecology lessons.After School - Participants help plant, maintain, and harvest the gardens. They also practice healthy cooking using the vegetables they grew, make art projects, and play aerobic games. YOBUGS - A paid internship provides teens with a chance to give back to their community while receiving job training, nutrition and environmental education.Garden Resource Center - OBUGS' staff delivers curriculum training to community members at youth development agencies. In the spring of 2009, OBUGS will partner with KIPP Middle School to provide curriculum training to their teaching staff while delivering urban gardening classes to their 250 student body. The goal of the GRC program is to train representatives from community organizations such as schools and churches so that they can easily replicate our services and reach out to even more children in the community. Farm Stands - Tasting tables are stationed outside of liquor stores that are located near schools and community farm stands are set up in front of schools.   ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Enrichment mixed with Academics

This year, OBUGS is working more closely with OUSD to ensure that our garden enrichment programs greatly assist students in reaching their academic goals.  We will be introducing the children to new vocabulary words through hands on gardening activities every week.   Startling Statistics:Children from economically disadvantaged families have language input experiences that are enormously different.  Hart and Risley completed a research study in 1995.  As a comparison, Hart and Risely reported that: -Children from welfare families hear an average of 620 words per hour-Children in working class families hear 1,250 words per hour.-Children in professional families hear 2,150 words per hour By the age three, children of welfare families have 10 million fewer words of cumulative language experience than children in working class families and 20 million fewer words than children in professional families.  When children are so linguistically delayed at an early age, it is difficult and most commonly impossible to catch up.  _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

 

Whole Foods Partners with OBUGS to support our Programs through their Nickels for Nonprofit Program! From October 26th to November 22nd, bring your own bags to shop at Whole Foods Market Oakland and the store will donate a nickel per bag to OBUGS!  The store is located at 230 Bay Place (at the corner of 27th and Harrison) near Lake Merritt . 

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Oaktown Herbals OBUGS' YOBUGS entrepreneurship program is really taking off.  The youth's sales have been steady and the they  are gaining the strong spirit of entrepreneurship. Our youth gain valuable skills that greatly benefit their lives and our communities.  From 1993 - 2008, small businesses accounted for 36% of all jobs created in the private sector.  OBUGS is currently seeking donations from our supporters to be able to develop a commercial kitchen in our office.  Currently the youth make and sell dog treats and herb bundles, food items that do not require a commercial kitchen for preparation.  They make rosemary salt in the kitchen of one of our committed volunteer's commercial kitchen that is located in her home.  The youth have expressed the interest of selling more human consumption-able foods such as organic fresh fruit and vegetable pies.  We hope that we can depend on you for support in this effort.    

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