10-2SG Billerica Green Thumb
Grant Round:
2010 September
Grant Program:
Small Grants
Grant Type:
Other Grants
Grant amount requested:
1,000.00
Grant amount awarded:
$1,000.00
Attachments
Please provide a brief description of the project for which you seek funding.
In 2008 The Carriage House Club and Greenwood Club co-sponsored a grant request for funding to kick off a community garden. We called this Project Green Thumb. We received funds through a grant from The Billerica Arts Council by doing a pictorial of our garden and the gardeners. We bought supplies and all the seeds and seedlings were donated. This pictorial was displayed at the 2008 Annual Yankee Doodle Homecoming event in September. Our garden did wonderful! Residents of Billerica Housing, all low-income Seniors, Veterans and Disabled, tenderly and proudly cared for their vegetables. We achieved successful support through donations and grants from various businesses in town. Comcast and O’Connor’s Hardware donated materials for a chicken wire fence. Volunteers, participants and local politicians came to help us install the fence and then we joined efforts to plant our spring crop. In 2009 we developed ourselves into a corporation; Billerica Green Thumb, Inc. through the Billerica Selectman’s Community Grant program. We had held our first meeting as a corporation to select potential permanent names, establish officers, and to draft a mission statement. We applied and obtained a state registered Employee Identification Number (E.I.N.) and we hope to apply for tax exempt status as a non-profit 501(C)3 organization. We were left with a balance of $425.29. In 2010, using $401.30 of our funds for seeds, seedlings and supplies, brought a great harvest. We gave back to the community through making purchases locally at a discount rate. But we depleted our funds with a remaining balance of $23.99. We are in need of a more secure, stable and safe fence. And without funding for 2011 we won’t be able to get the fence, replace and purchase additional tools, purchase compost or the vegetable seeds and seedlings, or administrative and accounting fees. The fence is necessary because the chicken wire simply is not stable of secure enough for protection. We have had problems with animals. The raw edge of the wire injured a tenant this year, and the fencing is in need of improvement. We must ensure safety of the population and participants. Each year we are in need of additional funding because we have only applied for small grants ($500) in the past for each year’s specific need. And due to fuel costs we must allocate some funds to the community volunteers who use their equipment for tilling and compost pick up and delivery.
Project Summary
Billerica Green Thumb received a grant in 2010 for project materials (seedlings/seeds, etc) for the 2011 growing season.
Primary Issue Area:
Food
Please break-down/categorize the program expenses:
| Proposed Item | Estimated $ Amount | Would grant funds be used for this item? |
|---|---|---|
| Fence | $3,095.00 | |
| Seeds/Seedlings | $500.00 | Yes |
| Tom & Bean Stakes | $100.00 | Yes |
| Tools | $100.00 | Yes |
| Compost & Delivery | $100.00 | Yes |
| Pepper Wax Spray | $50.00 | Yes |
| Fertilizer | $40.00 | Yes |
| Lumber & plot markers | $20.00 | Yes |
| Mothballs | $15.00 | Yes |
| Postage, Paper, Ink | $20.00 | Yes |
| Accountant | $45.00 | Yes |
Whom does your group need to make this project happen?
Please explain how your group will engage members from your community in this project.
We promote education by sharing our gardening discussions, sharing experiences with each other and through our mentors. Beginning our first year we invited the owner of Griggs farm to speak and for question session. Many of us have publications and books that are available for anyone’s use and reference. We begin and end each season with an informal meeting for the purpose of discussions of success and problems that have taken place. Our Garden Expert/Advocate and Vice President who is an established farmer, and both men serve on our town compost committee and very experienced gardeners, mentor us teaching us more each year when we are preparing to plant. In Billerica, we have a nursery and a farm. The staff is always available for educational purposes and guidance. We learned about planting depths of tomatoes, putting match sticks around our tomatoes for the sulpha benefits, how to plant potatoes as just a few examples.. When any question arises we have the resources to get the answers. As we meet and gather in the garden the lessons begin. Through our garden we are providing activities, nourishment and socialization to the general population. Many residents who can no longer garden come and watch our vegetables grow. We often talk over the fence or while taking a break on a bench. The simple act of gardening is a welcome addition of activity and interest in our lives. The experience of having community volunteers, many who never planted a seed before helping us, has encouraged an increased interest in gardening and many leave with plans of their own to begin their first garden. We hope to work with the Boy Scouts in 2011 so they will be able to learn and earn community service credit for their badges. I spoke to the regional supporter who forwarded our contact information to the Billerica Boy Scout Leaders. And we hope to have a more stable, protective fence installed. We network and advocate for support with various political, civic and business groups in and
If your group receives a NEGEF Grow grant, how do you plan to pay for remaining expenses?
| $ Amount | Source |
|---|---|
| $1,000.00 | NEGEF Grant |
| $1,000.00 | Billerica Community Alliance |
| $1,000.00 | Billerica Housing Authority |
Please list these materials or services
| $ Amount | Item |
|---|---|
| $1,095.00 | Fence Materials |
| General Volunteer Labor | |
| Salt Box Nursery 15% discount |
Please describe what changes will occur in your community and its environment when your group's project is successful.
This garden project promotes healthy activities, supplemental nourishment, agricultural education and environmental awareness for our general population. It has forged friendship, co-operation, and understanding. This has brought the community together. We have been supported by various groups and businesses in the Town of Billerica and in turn supported their causes as well. Publicity and promotion of our garden is accomplished in our community through our local B.H.A. newsletter that is distributed to all residents, fliers posted in all buildings and public sign up lists posted in each community room. We have sent letters and personal of gratitude to organizations and businesses and to the local media. One member entered a current photo contest with a picture of our participants and the 2010 volunteers. There are over 150 tenants on location. We have a 100ftx60ft garden with approx. 8 plots. This year we split one plot into two for an additional gardener. As we harvest crops, we share produce with non-participants supplementing the diets of about 60-75 residents. Our gardeners consist of low income senior, veteran and disabled residents who live in Billerica Housing. The garden is a walk in style that slowly slopes up to a raised garden to make it easy for the senior population to enter. The disabled members have ranged from those with hip replacements, vertigo, one who was on oxygen (good news, he no longer needs it!), others with mental disabilities. We have participants from a variety of cultures, ages, and nationalities making us quite diverse. We have overcome social stigmas as a result and have been a good example of acceptance and tolerance to our community.
What relevant skills does the group need (but does not currently have access to) to help move the initiative forward?
We now have funding competition from the larger town community garden. We need to expand our financial resources and get more administrative volunteers. We are in dire need of Accounting services. Funding each year takes incredible work. We only have one member with self taught grant writing capabilities. We are not professionals, we are volunteers. To become a 501(c)3 we are in need of an Accountant’s assistance to go further and we do not have the budget to pay for services. Because the residents of Billerica liked our community garden idea, there is now a larger one in town who competes with us for grants and donations. We need some expanded funding resources and support and additional administrative support to lighten the burden of the treasurer.