Lynchburg Grows SpringSummer 07 newsletter

Text Box: Dear LG Wish List, We would ♥ … □ a Kawasaki Mule □ electric golf cart □ picnic tables □ sturdy gardening tools □ benches

Text Box: coat of paint. The Center’s upgrades include restored walk-in coolers, new industrial sinks and work tables and the ADA restroom repairs. On-site improvements include a new entrance sign made from old growth recycled wood from the root cellar and recycled metal from the neighboring Allen-Morrison buildings, a new security and surveillance system, outdoor raised beds and the important swamp cooler in the First and Second greenhouses that that allows the temperature to remain at a cool temperature year round. We are always looking for volunteers to help with the constant warm weather task of keeping the grass cut. Here is the existing site plan scan of the property. To learn more, to volunteer or donate tools, please contact Scott Lowman, Director of Stewardship at ScottL@LynchburgGrows.org

Text Box: The Lynchburg Grows urban farm and greenhouses have come a long way since we started working at the Schenkel property in 2004. As you may know, the Schenkel’s ran a large rose growing operation here for 50 years after the Doyle family used the commercial property beginning in the 1920’s. The Schenkel operation closed in 1999 and the greenhouses had been sitting neglected for 5 years before LG starting working on the property. Needless to say, the farm buildings, greenhouses, the farmhouse and the field needed much work. We’ve been busy updating what needs immediate attention and getting better organized with the ins and outs of the property. To highlight the recent farm updates, the $40,000 from the Easley Foundation grant has been crucial in the facility upgrades and improvements. The future Environmental Education Center, a.k.a. the Packing Shed, received some roof repair, clean-up and a new

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Text Box: Even though Keith has only one day off during the school year and two during the summer, he loves working at LG. Keith was raised in Lynchburg and graduated from Heritage High School in 2001. He has two younger sisters and attends Holy Cross Catholic Church. His hobbies include watching TV, writing in his journal for the past 10 years that started with his sister’s suggestion, chores at home including letting out the dogs from their pen and watching Hillcats baseball when he can. Keith has grown into a dependable volunteer supervisor making sure his peers are hydrated in the heat and stay focused on the many farm tasks such as cleaning up and preparing for upcoming events. Most important, Keith is not afraid to get his hands

Text Box: dirty and get the job done. Thank you Keith!

Text Box: Lynchburg Grows is proud to spotlight our longest serving volunteer, Keith Kervin. This is his third summer volunteering at Lynchburg Grows and Keith is a great volunteer. He helps us in many ways. This summer he is helping Dereck plant vegetables, work with the plant composting and help sell the LG vegetables at the Lynchburg Community Market on Saturdays. Keith is most helpful on Tuesday’s or CSA days with giving out the bags to our subscribers as well as helping stock the bags each week with food and the “What’s in the Bag” flyer. Keith has a busy life and he is active year-round. During the school year, Keith is a dishwasher at Liberty University in the main dining hall. He has enjoyed this position for the past eight years and also spends Saturday mornings helping Dereck at the Lynchburg Community Market.

Text Box: Volunteer Keith Kervin has been with the group virtually since it’s founding and is a great person to work with.

Text Box: Summer greetings Lynchburg Grows (“LG”) supporters and welcome to our second newsletter. We are grateful to be able to communicate with you through our newsletter. A special thank you to everyone who stopped by the annual Mother’s Day Rose Bush Sale. Our major new addition to our LG operation is the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) subscription program. We now have 30 members and we have heard great things from our subscribers. See the CSA article on page 3 of this newsletter for more information. Please consider subscribing. We were happy to get the news coverage in May on local news channel WSLS TV, Channel 10. Michael did a great job with talking about the benefits of buying local foods and the real threat of food security. Also in May was Michael’s presentation at the 1st annual Virginia Food Summit hosted by the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech in Charlottesville discussing LG and our role in growing an urban sustainable food system economy. Good work! The farm family at LG has some new members - young chickens enjoying life in the fixed-up chicken coop. They look happy and please come by for a visit. We are excited about having fresh eggs down the road. Behind the greenhouses are the new raised beds that include the pumpkins for the U-Pick Pumpkin Patch in the fall. There are also watermelons, decorative Indian corn and cantaloupes. Inside the greenhouses we are having fun experimenting with hanging vegetables. On Saturdays at the Market we have okra, squash, peppers, herbs, cucumbers and melons for the summer. You might already know, but we are selling here. Please call us at (434) 846-5665 and order for a Wednesday or Thursday pick-up. We hope to see everyone as a summer volunteer. This is a great activity for out of school kids and after-school students. Thank you for all of your support. Dereck Cunningham, President

Text Box: Points of Interest: Summer Volunteers needed! (see below) The first annual U-Pick Pumpkin Patch starts Saturday Sept 29 and lasts until Oct 27th! Saturdays only from 9am to 1pm. Come find your perfect family Halloween pumpkin! Check us out on the web at Local Harvest website http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M17306 This site is a great resource. Watch for upcoming bird house building workshops for the fall/winter. Chickadees, Bats and Screech Owls! Special thanks to volunteer Susan Wood for newsletter content and layout. *

CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE:

www.LynchburgGrows.org

Thank you to volunteer Tom Sparhawk for building and maintaining our website. Great job!

Address: 1339 Englewood St off Fort Ave.

Hours: 9 - 5 / Mon - Fri

Location: directly south of Lynchburg City Stadium See Google Map HERE!

Office Phone: (434) 846-5665

Email: contactus@lynchburggrows.org

August 2007

Lynchburg Grows

Volume 1, Issue 2

Changing lives one garden at a time...

Text Box: Dereck and summer intern, Julia inspecting the tomato plants in Greenhouse No. 1.

Text Box: Spend the summer with us! Schedule a weekly volunteer visit to the farm during your summer! (The main greenhouse is air cooled now!) We need your help with harvesting vegetables and flowers for the Lynchburg Community Market, tending the roses, caring for the giant pumpkins, watering the plants, feeding the new chickens,

Text Box: the bag? The bags can be picked up on Tuesdays at Lynchburg Grows office between 2:30 and 6PM. Please contact us to make arrangements if you are unable to stop by. Third, where is the food coming from? Ideally, all of the food would come from Lynchburg Grows, but we must supplement our bags with organic produce from a local distributor. Our goal is to be the sole provider of the vegetables in the near future. Fourth, what’s in the bag? It hard to say since each week is different. Here’s the “What’s in the Bag?” flyer that includes the food list and a recipe on the back and it is found in each CSA paper bag. Here’s a copy for the week of July 16th, 2007:

Text Box: Lynchburg Grows started a year-round CSA program in December and we want you to subscribe! We offer whole and half shares. A whole share is good for 3-4+ people ($30 wk) and the half share for 1-2 people ($15 wk). The minimum order is 4 weeks. For more information or to learn more about our CSA, contact us at csa@lynchburggrows.org or find us on the web at http://www.LynchburgGrows.org/CSA.html. The new electronic CSA sign-up form is HERE. (print out or submit by email with electronic signature) First, what is a CSA? CSA means Community Supported Agriculture and it is very popular in the US. The idea started in Japan over 30 years ago. The concept is that the citizens who want fresh food will pay in block amounts in order to support the local farm or farms. By ensuring you are going to purchase each week with a four week minimum, the farms can plan ahead by planning plantings, crops, etc…Second, when do I get

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Text Box: starting seed trays and much more. Great activity for summer camps, churches, civic groups and families. We will train you with everything you need to know. Please bring your own gardening tools or we will supply them. Who can help: All ages!

Text Box: (Children under 15 need adult supervision). Whatever your age or ability, there is a volunteer position for you. Become a volunteer gardener at Lynchburg Grows! See the flyer HERE. Pass it along! Please contact us by office phone: (434) 846-5665 or email us: volunteer@LynchburgGrows.org

As of January 2005, there are over 1500 CSA farms across the US and Canada. There are approximately 53 CSA’s in Virginia.

Text Box: □ farm tools and machinery □ working push or riding law mower □ diesel farm-use truck □ farmer’s market van □ color laser multifunction office copier/scanner

Text Box: □ folding tables and chairs □ office file cabinets □ digital multimedia projector h new chickens! If you can donate, reach us at (434) 846-5665 or at contactus@lynchburggrows.org.

Text Box: 1st graders learning how to care for plants and transplants with a beautification activity of an on-site parking strip.

Text Box: Pre-K students learning about worms like what they eat, their stages of life and how to observe the worms with a magnifier.

** Download and print the newsletter HERE. (4 pg. color Adobe .pdf, letter size) **

Text Box: Lynchburg Grows is committed to bringing the love of gardening to young school students in and around Lynchburg. Our dream is their learning will spark a lifelong appreciation for gardening. We are using the Roots n’ Shoot Gardens environmental education teaching model that began in California in 1985. Simply stated, a Roots and Shoots Garden brings together the Shoots or children with Roots or adults in an outdoor learning classroom. The Roots and Shoots school program, “will broaden the scope of its current environmental education offerings and integrate environmental education with many school disciplines”. For Virginia, this means bringing together the grade specific SOL learning standards with the outdoor living classroom, the school garden. We offer simple lessons to all elementary class and a blueprint for a successful school garden. Waddell Elementary School in Lexington, Virginia has a successful Roots and Shoots garden (read more

Text Box: …) that started as a 2nd grade classroom garden. It grew into an entire school garden that includes these theme gardens: the Alphabet Garden representing the 26 letters of the alphabet, the Colonial Herb Garden incorporating history with the herbs colonists and pioneers used, the Sunflower Garden and Butterfly Garden. The many benefits of incorporating gardening with the classroom are more opportunities for hands-on learning, learning the love of nature, appreciating the mystery of growing plants and learning the responsibility of tending a growing garden. Lynchburg Grows has reached out to two schools this spring including Elizabeth Early Learning Center and Rustburg Elementary. Congratulations to our partner, Camp Kum-Ba-Yah for a successful new Roots and Shoots garden. Great job! Hi Educators! Get involved with hands-on learning. Contact us and start planning for next year! Topics include building a school garden,

easy to use SOL based lessons and activities and having a simple classroom window box garden. If you are interested in working with us, contact us at

communityoutreach@LynchburgGrows.org

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** Download and print the newsletter HERE. (4 pg. color Adobe .pdf, letter size) **