Neighborhood Kids

[DrakeMaiden]

Checking back to say that I just searched the term "P-patch" and it IS a term only used in the Seattle area. The "P" stands for the name Picardo, the owners of the farm where the first P-patch evolved.

 

[OaklandCityFarmer]

P-patch is a word (maybe just regional to my area) for a community garden, where people can rent space to grow whatever they please.

It would be better, of course, if no one had to pay rent.

I have often thought that using school property for a community garden would be a great idea, if you could get teacher's interested in teaching the students about gardening/ecology.

Yeah, I looked it up and it's something in the Seattle regional area, is that you?

They tried to institute something like that a few years but it floundered. One of the biggest issues here is trying to get the city council on the same page and getting people to commit to doing what they say they will.

I live across the street from a school and they have a small patch of land. I would love to get some folks involved with that. Teacher retention is another problem we have though.

I'm seriously going to work on an organizing project to try and get more community members involved.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Yes, right now I'm living outside of Seattle, but I used to live in Seattle proper. The term "P-patch" is used so ubiquitously here that I never realized it was just regional.

Are there others in your neighborhood who garden? Is there a local garden center? I'm just trying to gauge how many like-minded people live near you.

I once read a brief article (I can't for the life of me remember where) about a woman who started a garden for inner city kids in, I believe, LA. She had some amazing stories.

I also watched a series on PBS once about gardeners who have tied in artists and other gardeners into some interesting city projects. The details evade me right now, but it was inspiring to see.

I think the potential pay-off is huge for those sorts of projects.

 

[OaklandCityFarmer]

There are some definite resources here, I just need to organize people around them. This shouldn't be too hard since I'm a community/labor organizer by trade.

I'm going to contact a few local electeds and community leaders and get a petition/count on me started in the neighborhood.

Thanks for the ideas and input DrakeMaiden!

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Hey, you're welcome, OCF! That is so exciting to hear. This is the sort of project I'd love to undertake. Keep us updated!

 

[Backyard Buddies]

That's awesome, Carlos! I spent a year working with gang/at-risk kids as a part of a job I was doing and I cannot tell you how much these inner city kids CRAVE to create something. In a world where life is so hard and where they see so much negativity around them, whether it be poverty, drugs, death, or just a general struggle to survive in a tough neighborhood, being able to DO something and to be able to say, "I made that" or "I grew that" can have such a profound and transformative affect on them. But then, you probably already know that!

I agree that there are likely some grant monies available to help fund your project and it sounds like you're just the guy to make this happen.

I'd love to exchange stories with you when we finally get a chance to meet up when you're down this way. Please keep us informed! I'm so excited for you!

 

[OaklandCityFarmer]

I agree that there are likely some grant monies available to help fund your project and it sounds like you're just the guy to make this happen.

I'd love to exchange stories with you when we finally get a chance to meet up when you're down this way. Please keep us informed! I'm so excited for you!

There are probably some grant monies out there, I need to start doing searches. Luckily I have a few people helping me out on this.

Sure thing, hopefully we'll down that way next month. We'll chat!

 

[SewingDiva]

Carlos, you'e an inspiration!

The other magical thing about gardening is that I've noticed any kid will eat a any vegetable they either grew themselves, or have picked themsleves. I can't even count the number of times I've seen friends of my own kids, whose parents tell me they hate vegetables, happily eat the ones that come out of our garden when they stay for dinner.

Funny how that is!


:coolsun
~Phyllis

 

[Tutter]

I've had the same experience, SewingDive.

My own children loved vegetables, but some other people's children didn't. Some wouldn't eat anything green. One child wouldn't eat red "things." (How can you eliminate entire colors from your diet?) Others didn't eat fresh produce, period.

One brother and sister never ate any type of produce. But when they saw things coming out of the ground, they were interested. We actually won them over first with some frozen fresh blueberries, right out of the freezer, on a very hot summer day. (Their dad announced they wouldn't like it. Boy, was that not helpful. So we said, no problem, and proceeded to eat them in front of them. They tried them, and we couldn't stop them from then forward.

When they came over, they wanted blueberries, then carrots from the garden, and it grew from there.

The girl just graduated from HS a week ago, and she and her brother's eating habits will be better through their lives, because they wanted to try what was in the garden that they helped pick. I can't imagine them having eaten a carrot from a can, the store, or in a restaurant.

 

[calee]

You are so awesome for including those kids in your garden. Playing with animals, growing things, and eating things you've grown are the most magical things a kid can do.

Maybe approaching a community or school garden from a nutritional standpoint would help get things rolling? There may already be parents or a nutritional council talking to them about a healthy lunch program. Here's a contact I found online for California Nutrition Networks Food and Nutrition Education Action Committee:

Brahm Ahmadi
Peoples Grocery
3265 Market St.
Oakland, CA 94608
P: 510-652-7607
F: 510-652-7607
brahm@peoplesgrocery.org
http://www.peoplesgrocery.org

Otherwise, a nature or earth science class may be willing to take it on. They could use it for studying plant lifecycles and insects.