Fw: Check Out Our City Farms Galore Spring Newsletter Below from UCCE'S Urban Ag & Food Systems Program!!

[Rob Bennaton]

Hello Everyone, 

Check out our Spring City Farms Galore Spring Newsletter from 

UC Cooperative Extension's Urban Ag & Food Systems Program!! 

Please Enjoy our Spring Workshops, Articles and News Resources 

Below!   First webinar is next week!

 

Please subscribe below if you would like to continue receiving 

this City Farms Galore Newsletter! See also the Xerces Society  

California Monarch and Pollinator Habitat Kits available for  

Your site by application here:  

https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/habitat-kits/california 

 

Thanks to Julio Contreras, Community Education Specialist III  

for his work in developing the City Farms Galore Newsletter!  

Thanks also to our many collaborating partner organizations, including 

Common Vision/Growing Together, the Alameda, Contra Costa and 

San Mateo Resource Conservation Districts, ALL IN Alameda County, 

Interfaith Sustainable Food Collaborative, Contra Costa County's 

Office of Sustainability, UC Davis Western Institute for Food Safety 

and Food Security, DSAL, Berkeley Food Institute and many, 

many more!!  We couldn't grow community without you!

 

Please share widely.  Happy Forthcoming Spring Everyone!!   

 

Thanks, and Let’s Grow Together!, 

Julio Contreras (he/him/él) 

Community Education Specialist III 

UC Cooperative Extension Urban Ag & Food Systems Program 

http://ucanr.edu/sites/UrbanAg/ 

jco...@ucanr.edu - Call or Text: (510) 677-3524 (Hablo Español) 

 

Rob Bennaton, 

UC Cooperative Extension Urban Agriculture & Food Systems Advisor 

rben...@ucanr.edu   Current Ph: (510) 703 – 4119  Also, Email If Urgent!        

 

"For our success to be real, it must contribute to the success of others."  

   Eleanor Roosevelt 

 

Urban Ag & Food Systems Program's City Farms Galore Newsletter Leafy green starts from Faithlands Conference 2021 (Photo by Kristina Villa, Agrarian Land Trust)

Upcoming Events

Plant nursery at Merritt College Horticulture (Photo by Derek Emmons, Contra Costa RCD) Spring Seed Starting March 29, 4pm-5:30pm Spring is around the corner. Join this workshop to learn how seed starting gives your plants a head start. Otis Johnson, Bishop O'Dowds Farm Manager, has years of experience in farming. He'll share how successional seeds starting over the growing season can increase your crop productivity, companion planting options, and overall farm health. Register Here

Hoover Elementary Garden (Photo by Derek Emmons) Shared Network Learning  with Urban Farmers April 5th, 4pm-5:30pm Urban Ag in the Bay Area can be inspirational but also complex. To learn about opportunities and resources, join our roundtable discussion moderated by Julio Contreras, UCCE Community Education Specialist, and Colleen Hotchkiss, Alameda RCD Sustainable Agriculture Specialty. They will lead a discussion with local urban farmers and non-profit organization leaders. Register Here

Safe Soils April 26th, 4pm-5:30pm Learn about important safe soils consideration when starting a garden or if your site has a history of contamination. Rob Bennaton, Bay Area Urban Ag Advisor, will review how to manage your urban soils safely. This workshop will provide information on safe food growing in marginal soils, best practices in context of heavy-metal-safe-food-growing, soils sampling and understanding sampling results. The workshop will end with additional information on produce safety after recent floods and fires. Register Here

Cover cropping termination at Healthy Hearts Institute (Photo by Kamyar Aram, UCCE Specialty Crop Advisor) Carbon Farming May 3rd, 4pm-5:30pm This workshop teaches basic principles and applications for Carbon Farming in an Urban Farm setting. Jessica Bates, Alameda County Resource Conservation District, will review core basics of no-till growing & carbon farming for food production. You will also learn about polycultures for perennial and annual food production.  Register Here

Urban ag compost system (Photo by Derek Emmons) Composting in  Urban Farms & Gardens May 7th, 10am-11:30am Stop Waste.org  compost educators, Lori Caldwell and Trevor Probert, will educate and lead discussion on compost pile maintenance, compost quality, sourcing bulk compost and best practices for application. Register Here

Urban Farming Resources

Contra Costa hills & grasslands (photo by Ben Weise, Contra Costa RCD) This project is in collaboration with County of Contra Costa Sustainability Unit, U.C. Cooperative Extension Contra Costa, Contra Costa Resource Conservation District and Rincon Consultants. Healthy Lands, Healthy People UCCE's Urban Ag & Food Systems Program team is conducting a Carbon Sequestration feasibility study to identify, map and assess opportunities for storing carbon across different land uses through community engaged focus groups. This collaborative project is an opportunity for you to express your thoughts on ways to improve our local environments, conserve natural resources and mitigate climate change.    View Website

Agrarian Trust  Faithlands Toolkits This toolkit provides farmers, faith groups, and food systems communities guides and case studies to serve as examples for establishing and maintaining partnerships. It shows how through alignment of vision and goals, faith groups and food growers can access lands, work together on food production, partner on stewardship the land, and promote social equity and justice.   Digital & Print Toolkit

USDA Updates Farm Loan Program A new change for current farm loan borrowers of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s farm loan program is intended to provide equitable relief to certain direct loan borrowers who got incorrect guidance by the Farm Service Agency. Previous updates authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill are also highlighted; including flexibility in three-year experience requirements and expanding the definition of and providing additional benefits to veteran farmers.   View Website

ALL IN Eats: Forming a Farmer Collective ALL IN Eats is outreaching to urban farmers to grow a Farmers Collective to supply Alameda County residents with local food for food as medicine as part of their Recipe4Health program. Click on previous links for more information, and sign up to join in the form below.  Learn More  Growing Urban Ag to Cultivate Resilience This article contains 16 examples of successful urban ag and land projects that build connections amongst local community, organizations, and government/institutions. It highlights Cooperative Extensions System's role in building these networks and research based extension services.    View Article

For any questions please contact: Julio Contreras, Community Education Specialist: jco...@ucanr.edu Rob Bennaton, Bay Area Urban Ag & Food Systems Advisor: rben...@ucanr.edu UCCE Urban Ag & Food Systems Program Virtual Office Hours: Wednesdays 3pm-4pm

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“There can be no greater gift than that of giving one's time and energy to helping others without expecting anything in return.”― Nelson Mandela

[Rob Bennaton]

 

Hello Everyone, 

For Newsletter and other email notifications Subscribe Here

UC ANR is an equal opportunity provider and employer. UC ANR es un proveedor y empleador que ofrece oportunidad igual para todos.

Click here to unsubscribe