Lansing State Journal Lansing, Michigan, USA 27 Jan 07
Wanna dig it? Classes to teach proper planting, managing skills By Christine Rook These days, Jill Kacel is thinking about green onions and lettuce. It's not that she's hungry. She's been chosen by her company to run a community garden. Her employer, Sutton Advisors in Lansing, wants to reach out to kids at the Lansing Boys & Girls Club, and what Kacel chooses to plant may determine whether the children stick with the gardening project. Green onions and lettuce are early bloomers that just might hold a child's interest until those August tomatoes ripen. "The more you tend to them, the more they grow," Kacel said of the children. Although the same can be said for plants, Kacel's point illustrates that leading a community garden requires more than knowledge of soils and seeds. As a result, she plans to enroll in a free training program in March designed to turn local gardeners into garden leaders. The four-class training program will be offered by the Garden Project, a program of the Greater Lansing Food Bank. In 2006, the Garden Project supported more than 30 community gardens in Greater Lansing. Training coordinators is a way for the project to expand its reach, officials said. Classes will focus on awareness of the work a community garden requires, managing volunteers and resolving conflicts. "Every season somewhere there's going to be some issues between plot neighbors," said Anne Rauscher, who helps run the garden program. Classes also will help garden leaders identify resources such as a volunteer who has access to a flatbed truck or another with a particular knowledge of pest control. Dates for the classes are not yet set. ? For more information, call the Garden Project at 887-4660 or e-mail gardenproject at ingham.org. Hunter Park update ? Construction on a community greenhouse in the Lansing Park will begin April 9. An open house is set for May 12. Community projects: Lansing resident Eliazar Montes volunteers for the Garden Project in 2004. The project is sponsored by the Greater Lansing Food Bank and helps teach people how to grow their own food. Community garden leaders will attend free training sessions in March to prepare for the upcoming season. http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070127/NEWS01/701270328 Contact Christine Rook at 377-1261 or clrook at lsj. com.
