11-2SG GROW Windham
Grant Round:
2011 September
Grant Program:
Small Grants
Grant Type:
Other Grants
Grant amount requested:
2,500.00
Grant amount awarded:
$1,500.00
Please provide a brief description of the project for which you seek funding.
"Green Up" Windham seeks to promote a sustainable and just local food system in one of Connecticut's most challenged communities. We propose to create community gardens as a means both to empower local residents to grow their own food, as well as to foster a local culture that celebrates environmental stewardship, civic unity and responsibility, and healthy, local food. Specifically, Green Up will build raised beds at Terry Court, a low-income housing complex, and create a youth organic produce garden in a vacant lot next to Windham Youth Services, to be cultivated by the "Positive Steps" Youth Program (PSYP). This project will include a "Market Cart" outreach program for PSYP to sell their produce at local venues and simultaneously educate the community about the benefits of fresh, local food.
These projects both build directly upon previous successful collaborations. The Terry Court Garden was inspired by the great demand for more garden space at another area low-income housing complex where GROW Windham conducted an afterschool garden program. The PSYP Youth Garden is an extension of a collaboration started last summer, when the PSYP planted and maintained two high-profile garden beds constructed by GROW Windham volunteers.
Green Up is sponsored by GROW Windham, a collaboration between the Town of Windham, the Willimantic Food Co-op, and Sarah Milius, a veteran educator, that works to promote community gardens in the region. The collaborators first met in November, 2010, to brainstorm and prioritize potential garden locations and community partners. GROW Windham subsequently engaged these partners, assessed need and, from that process, the Green Up projects emerged.
The projects have separate timelines. For the Terry Court Garden, this Fall, Terry Court staff and residents will choose the garden location and conduct soil testing; in March, they will build the beds; in April, host a Welcome Party/Workshop/seed-and-tool-share; and next Fall, host a Harvest Party/clean-up. The PSYP Youth Garden will begin this fall with nutrition education targeted to support PSYP in generating educational materials for the Market Cart outreach; this winter, our farmer mentor will assist PSYP to plan the garden and conduct soil testing; in March, they will build the garden/compost bin and amend the soil; from April-September, plant, maintain, harvest, and conduct "Market Cart" outreach at various venues throughout the community.
Project Summary
GROW Windham received a grant in 2011 to create community gardens as a means both to empower local residents to grow their own food, as well as to foster a local culture that celebrates environmental stewardship, civic unity and responsibility, and healthy, local food. Specifically, Green Up will build raised beds at Terry Court, a low-income housing complex, and create a youth organic produce garden in a vacant lot next to Windham Youth Services, to be cultivated by the "Positive Steps" Youth Program (PSYP).
Primary Issue Area:
Food
Please break-down/categorize the program expenses:
| Proposed Item | Estimated $ Amount | Would grant funds be used for this item? | Type Of Expense |
|---|---|---|---|
| wheelbarrow and hose for Youth Garden | $100.00 | Yes | Materials |
| building materials for Youth Garden and compost bin | $900.00 | Yes | Materials |
| lumber and hardware for Terry Court raised beds | $550.00 | Yes | Materials |
| transportation (gas money/maintenance) for program coordinator | $450.00 | Yes | Materials |
| operating expenses for GROW Windham (office supplies, postage, tools and materials) | $250.00 | Yes | Materials |
| conference fees | $100.00 | Yes | Materials |
| publicity/outreach materials for GROW Windham (plywood, paint, banner, flyers) | $100.00 | Yes | Materials |
| soil testing | $50.00 | Yes | Materials |
Whom does your group need to make this project happen?
Please explain how your group will engage members from your community in this project.
The Youth Garden and their market cart will command an immediate and receptive audience: the PSYP students, their families, and the great number of clients served daily by the Windham Regional Community Council, where the Youth Services Bureau is located. Furthermore, their market cart will reach wide audiences at local community venues and events such as the Willimantic Food Co-op, weekly Farmers Market, and popular monthly "Third Thursday Streetfest". Because the PSYP is year-round and long-term, there is great potential for significant impact on its participants, who in turn represent 25% of their school class. There is an on-site kitchen so they can learn to prepare and enjoy the food they grow, and create healthy recipes to include with "kits" of produce that they can sell and promote in their market cart.
At Terry Court, garden space is in great demand, so we can expect eager resident participation. One potential challenge may be to successfully and respectfully promote organic and sustainable agricultural practices, an issue that has arisen at other area community gardens. As our focus is to encourage participation in the broader food system, rather than simply the garden beds, our first priority will be to cultivate a robust garden community at Terry Court. Rather than conduct "meetings", we will integrate educational activities into social events, and in this context present convenient, well-supported strategies for organic and sustainable gardening practices.
More generally, GROW Windham has established a reliable network of donors and volunteers to draw upon for seeds, plants, supplies, project consultation, program outreach, and labor for periodic workdays.
If your group receives a NEGEF Grow grant, how do you plan to pay for remaining expenses?
| $ Amount | Source |
|---|---|
| $0.00 | we have no cash income for these projects |
Please list these materials or services
| $ Amount | Item |
|---|---|
| $150.00 | donated garden cart for Youth Garden |
| $100.00 | donated tools and supplies for Youth Garden |
| $150.00 | donated plants and seeds for Youth Garden |
| $100.00 | soil and compost for Terry Court Garden (donated and delivered) |
| $100.00 | soil and compost for Youth Garden (donated and delivered) |
| $50.00 | mulch for Youth Garden (donated and delivered) |
| $150.00 | donated plants and seeds for Terry Court Garden |
| $60.00 | Professional Landscaper consultation and assistance for Youth Garden (3 hrs @ $20/hr) |
| $120.00 | "Farmer Mentor" assistance with design, plan and follow-up for Youth Garden (6 hrs @ $20/hr) |
| $600.00 | Community/University volunteers to assist with garden construction (30 hrs @ $20/hr) |
| $80.00 | EFNEP Nutrition Educator to prepare for and conduct workshop with PSYP (4 hrs @ $20/hr) |
| $800.00 | 10-month stipend for program coordinator (20% discount at Food Co-op) |
| $20.00 | "Farmer Mentor" assistance with location of Terry Court Garden (1 hr @ $20/hr) |
| $600.00 | program coordinator: Terry Court planning, construction and follow up (30 hrs @ $20/hr) |
| $1,300.00 | program coordinator: Youth Garden planning, construction, planting and follow-up (65 hrs @ $20/hr) |
Please describe what changes will occur in your community and its environment when your group's project is successful.
The Green Up projects are catalysts for positive change in a community that suffers from "critical" food insecurity and ranks last in CT in an index of income/wealth indicators, according to a 2005 "Town Level Assessment of Community Food Security in Connecticut".
To directly address these issues, the Green Up projects will annually generate hundreds of pounds of locally- and sustainably-produced food. Furthermore, they will improve food access by bringing gardens and market carts to the area's most food-insecure residents, for whom transportation is a chronic issue. Finally, albeit on a very small scale, they will enhance future local food production by promoting sustainable agricultural practices in these gardens.
More broadly, these projects will engage community members in conversation and action around the importance of a just and sustainable local food system. The PSYP Youth Garden will involve 60 5th-graders in all stages of the renovation of a vacant lot into an organic vegetable garden. Their market cart will create a new colorful and engaging youth "voice" at community events, offering fresh food and broadcasting its importance. The project has great potential for youth-driven growth, as it engages the same students through high school; their garden will develop and mature as they do.
At Terry Court, where there are no organized activities for residents, the garden will be a meeting place for community members to gather formally and informally around the shared goal of food production. To begin, the project coordinator, with the assistance of our farmer mentor, will sponsor an introductory "Welcome Party/Workshop" at which participating residents can socialize, share resources, and learn about and commit to using organic practices in the garden. This farmer mentor will be on call to support the gardeners throughout the growing season. In addition, one of the beds will be reserved for a youth garden organized by the project coordinator.
Please list how many people in your community your group expects to actively engage in this project.
180
What relevant skills does the group need (but does not currently have access to) to help move the initiative forward?
We need help with presentation, namely, how to establish a more official front for our organization. To this end, we welcome advice about protocols, publicity (website development, newsletter), and legal and financial status.
We also need help with fundraising, especially in pursuing middle-range grants that can support broader outreach, long-term programming, and a consistent stipend for a part-time program coordinator. We undertook our first major foray in this area this year with an application to the USDA "People's Garden Grant Program". We will continue to pursue such opportunities in collaboration with various community organizations Windham.
What relevant skills do current members of the group have to help move the initiative forward?
We are a diverse group with a wide range of skills, including:
* Organic/Sustainable Farming Expertise;
* Community Organizing/Outreach among a wide range of institutions and populations;
* Resourcefulness: we are expert scavengers, and are extremely flexible in our planning and methods;
* Education, including gardening, nutrition and cooking, and multi-disciplinary food-system topics;
* Spanish language fluency;
* Service-based curriculum development, including integration with K-12 state standards, university courses and programs, and community education programs;
* Marketing/Outreach for both commerce and publicity;
* Landscape/Garden Design, including expertise in retaining wall construction, drainage, and access to heavy machinery.
Helpful Resources
- FRESH New London
- Hartford Food System
- Community Farm of Simsbury
- Northeast Organic Farming Association
- Community Food Security Coalition
- American Community Gardening Association
- Nuestras Raices
- Knox Parks Foundation
- Holcomb Farm
- Friends of Burlington Gardens
- Asset-Based Community Development Institute