May Newsletter (back at market, big updates, and lots of job opportunities!)
Christian M
Morning everyone,
We've got ourselves in the rhythm of the season again and springing forward on the farm. That includes the volunteer newsletter. After today's newsletter, which has a lot of announcements I meant to make in the past (especially internships and jobs!), you'll be hearing more from the different voices on the farm more regularly.
Lots of produce is coming out of the land and we hope you join us Thursday mornings and Saturdays to grow and harvest it all. Enjoy the lengthly, long overdue update.
~ECO City Farms
4913 Crittenden Street
Edmonston, MD 20781
Volunteer Hours: Thursday 8a-12p, Saturdays 9a-3p
Facebook and Tweet Us!
Quote:
Plants convert solar energy into food for animals (ourselves included), Then the wastes from those animals, along with dead plant and animal bodies, "lie down in the dung heap," are composted, and "rise again in the corn."
This cycle of light is the central reason that composting is such an important link in organic food production: It returns solar energy to the soil. In this context, such common compost ingredients as onion skins, hair trimmings, eggshells, vegetable parings, and even burnt toast are no longer seen as garbage, but as sunlight on the move from one form to another.
~Susan Sides, Mother Earth News~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At The Farm
We had such a variety of produce at market this week, and it will continue to expand. From salad mix, to baby spinach, beet greens, pea shoots, red and green leaf lettuces, cherry belle radishes, red and green baby pac chois, swiss chard, and kale! Expect to see basil, tomatoes, cucumbers, ground cherries, arugula, and more in the coming weeks.
If you haven't been by this year, we have 6 new residents: hens! Donated from a family in our training program, we are taking care of 3 Rhode Island Reds, a Leghorn, and a Cornish bird. They have some funny personalities and have got us thinking about and eating eggs. We do plan to sell eggs as we build up the flock, but for now come see their new coop under the solar array. In addition, our friends in the back, the bees, are coming out a lot more as the weather warms up. We already got almost 2 jars full of honey to sip on. We plan to sell honey later this year, and double the amount of hives!
In case you're wondering, we are making our produce available at the following markets:
*Riverdale Park Farmers Market: Thursdays 3-7pm
*Eatonville Restaurant: Swiss Chard, Beet Greens, and Pea Shoots
*Crossroads Farmers Market: When they begin on May 18th, we'll be there 230p-630pm on Wednesdays
*Takoma Park Coop: When we start bringing food to Crossroads Market, we'll make a delivery to the Takoma Park Coop while we're at it.
*On the farm! Although we're hindered by a few obstacles of cold storage and staffing, if you come out on Saturday volunteer day, we make time to sell some food during the last hour (2-3pm). We hope to build up this side of our marketing more in the coming months.
We have so many new projects! Thanks to our interns and senior staff, we have dipped our feet in some new stuff. Benny Erez and Renee Catacalos are working to community composting to a town near you! We have begun a compost collection at the Riverdale Park Farmers Market, and soon will do the same at Crossroads Market. Bring your compostables to drop them off! We are limiting the compostables to non-animal based food scraps. There are some other items we'll allow, but you gotta come to market and check it out to find out! In addition, they are working to develop a larger-scale compost facility and setup composting all over the local communities. We just did a workshop for the City of Hyattsville on composting. Finally, we evaluating the vermiculture system, which has done well all things considered, but are looking to go for a 2.0 model that self-sifts in place.
In addition to the community composting campaign, we have trialed some bio-char on site. This process sequesters carbon and can improve poor heavy-clay soils. Benny has been doing a larger-scale project and is incorporating this into our composting system. We can also cook hot dogs on it! Go to this link for more information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXMUmby8PpU This is something new we are adding to the compost course we offer.
Adam, our Facilities Coordinator, has been upgrading the site like crazy. One exciting project is the welcome kiosk/weather station. He's making a fresh welcome station for everyone who shows up to the farm, while adding a windmill on top to generate energy, along with some other goodies.
Our interns, Cara and Emma, have been a huge help throughout the last few weeks and will be getting their hands dirty on some new stuff. They'll be helping the farm grow mushrooms (shiitake and oyster), operate a smoothie bike business at the Farmers Markets, build up our nursery operation to help us offer more vegetable transplants to the public, and more.
All in all, things are blooming. We have lots of beneficial beds of perennials and annuals around the farm instead of resorting to chemical sprays (even organic ones!), some new patches of forest gardening (figs and blackberries and raspberries and peaches!), an upcoming project with the Anacostia Watershed Society to demonstrate remediation with the river just behind us, plastic is coming off the hoophouses, and compost is cooking like crazy!
New Urban Farmer Training Program
Its almost over! The program ends near the end of May and many of the trainees have taken a new direction already. One is working on the Ecosystem Farm at Accokeek Foundation and will help their immigrant training program, another will be on our staff to do a summer youth program, and 2 others are about to secure some land in Montgomery County to start farming! We plan to offer this program again in the near future once we re-evaluate the program and plan for some new land we've acquired. The trainees just visited the USDA's Compost site and Dairy Biodigester. Come on a saturday soon to get to know them and their aspirations for urban farming.
Prince George's Community College
Below in the "Events/Opportunities" section is more information on our upcoming round of summer classes in community composting, hoophouse construction and use, and an introduction to urban farming. In the fall, we'll offer the Certificate again, but more expanded.
Blog
Be sure to stay in touch with us with Natalya's, our intern, blog!
http://www.ecoffshoots.org/category/blog/
News
2 Articles on UN's report against corporate-controlled chemical-intensive monoculture farming:
http://www.alternet.org/health/150158?page=3
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/03/08-2
Article on the central link of food prices in the global revolts we've seen on the news:
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/02/27-1
Events and Opportunities
1) ECO City Farms' Events and Opportunities
a) Register for Urban Farming Classes through Prince George's Community College
This summer, ECO City Farms is partnering again with PGCC to offer courses in urban farming. In May, we'll have a course introducing urban farming, and in June and again in August, we'll have courses on Community Composting and Hoophouse Construction and Use.
In the Fall, be on the lookout for our Certificate in Urban Farming, which includes the compost and hoophouse courses, as well as many others.
For questions on registration, contact Helen McClure at mccl...@pgcc.edu
For questions on the course content, email in...@ecocityfarms.org
For the course catalog, go to: http://www.pgcc.edu/Media/Website%20Resources/pdf/schedules/SummerNCsched2011.pdf
To register for the courses online, go to the link below:
2) Other Events and Opportunities
a) DC Central Kitchen is looking for a Director of Revenue Generating Programs
DC Central Kitchen turns leftover food into millions of meals for thousands of at-risk individuals while offering nationally recognized culinary job training to once homeless and hungry adults. Our mission is to use food as a tool to strengthen bodies, empower minds, and build communities. Our programs provide a comprehensive continuum of care to the people we serve. First, we provide breakfast, outreach, and counseling services to chronically homeless people living on the streets. Next we recycle 3,000 pounds of food each day, converting it into 4,500 meals we distribute to 100 shelters, transitional homes, and rehabilitation clinics throughout the DC area. These partner agencies then refer clients to our Culinary Job Training program, where they receive the tools to start new careers.
http://www.dccentralkitchen.org/employment.php#foods
b) GREENER PARTNERS IS HIRING!
Greener Partners is contributing to the resurgence of farming activity within the Greater Philadelphia region. By reestablishing sustainable, organic farming operations, Greener Partners is impacting the way people think about their food and the environment.
As a fast growing organization and leader in the local food movement, Greener Partners seeks creative, hardworking and motivated individuals who are committed to Greener Partners’ mission and programming to join our dynamic team.
Available Positions:
- Farm Manager at Norristown Hub
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Educational Farm Manager at the Radnor
-
Education Programs Manager at Norristown Hub
- Farm Educators at the Radnor and Norristown Hubs
- Farm apprentices, through our 2-year Agripreneur Program: at Media, Radnor and Norristown farm hub locations
c) Breaking New Grounds is Hiring!
- Executive Director
- Assistant Urban Farmer
- Urban Agriculture Apprentice
Are you or someone you know between the ages of 18-29?
Have food or farming impacted your life?
Are you active in your community?
Want to be part of a national movement of young people transforming our food system?
If you answered yes to the above, Live Real’s Real Food Fellowship is for you! We seek candidates with the creativity, charisma, and courage to change the world!
Live Real is a new initiative uniting youth and communities across the country. Our mission is to build community around food cultures and policies based in respect for ourselves, each other, and the earth.
The Real Food Fellowship is a nine-month program beginning June 2011 that supports 8-10 emerging leaders (ages 18-29) around the county to become powerful voices for food justice in their communities and on the national scene. We welcome organizers, artists, and generally awesome people who are newer to the food movement as well as food justice advocates looking to deepen their work.
The program will connect fellows with peers and mentors, and it will develop their communications and leadership skills. Fellows will serve as connectors and spokespeople in a growing movement for an equitable and ecological food system. They will identify new leaders in their communities, represent Live Real at conferences and other events, and influence the national debate about food through media/art projects.
More information about fellowship goals, timeline, benefits, and expectations are available here (www.realfoodfellowship.weebly.com).
Who We’re Looking For
The following are considered in the selection process for Year 1:
- 18 to 29 years in age
- People with experience living and/or working in communities struggling with an unjust food system, and with some experience addressing social justice issues, including immigration, education, criminalization, affordable housing, and environmental justice.
- People with the passion and commitment to create a food system that works for people and the planet.
- Commitment to Live Real values, including movement-building.
- Strengths and skills in creative expression (cooking, art, music, dance, poetry, facilitation, graphics, film, social media, etc) and willingness to apply them in local work and in national campaigns.
- Applicants are sought throughout the United States. We especially encourage applicants from Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
Applications are due Friday, May 6, 5pm PST.
Finalists may be contacted for an interview the following week. All fellows will be informed of their selection by the end of May. The first event will be an in-person orientation scheduled for June 24-26. Travel, lodging, and food will be provided.
Applicants may submit materials in three ways:
- Online
- E-mail (fello...@liverealnow.org), or
- Mail to: Live Real’s Real Food Fellowship 24 Croxton Avenue, Oakland, CA 94611
Inquiries can be directed offline to Hai Vo (fello...@liverealnow.org).