Columbia should have an extension office from the land grant university. In Michigan, Michigan State University Extension sponsors a program called Master Gardeners which gives a certfiicate, and one of the requirements is a certain number of community service hours. These master gardeners, though frequently focusing more on flowers than edibles, should be able to help plan a garden and then help work to establish it. In addition, until recently the Kent County extension office had a full-timer helping community gardens throughout Grand Rapids. Funding for that position fell through, but they still have a commitment.
I guess I assumed all land grant universities would have some version of Master Gardeners, but maybe not. However, they still should be able to help you with referrals. Cynthia Price Timberland RC&D P.S. Come to think of it, a lot of RC&Ds (a nationwide program where locally-led conservation 501c3's have a cooperative working agreement with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) are involved with community gardens. All of them would have access to the NRCS info and contacts about community gardening. I can find out what RC&D covers your area if you want. -----Original Message----- From: Honigman, Adam [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2002 1:24 PM To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' Cc: 'Samuel Feinson' Subject: RE: [cg] Columbia, SC Community Garden Project Some really fast suggestions, Sam: 1) Set an evening aside at your computer. Make a pot of coffee ( or whatever adult beverage you drink) fill your printer with paper and read everything on the American Community Gardening Association web page and links. Seriously, the amount of free content on this page is scandalous http://www.communitygarden.org <http://www.communitygarden.org> . 2) Make yourself another pot of coffee, etc, etc. and go to the community garden archive of Mallorn.com ( the ACGA list serve) which has discussions on every CG topic under the sun: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden <https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden> In addition to subscribing to the listserve , the hits you can get via "string" or subject can be pretty remarkable. 3) After all of this, you should have even more questions. Send these this listserve and to the community gardens in your area that might have regional insight and leads on possible horticultural assests you might be able to access: http://www.communitygarden.org/links/index.html <http://www.communitygarden.org/links/index.html> 4) Outside of screening your group leaders for criminal records and reported instances of pedophilia ( sigh - it's a sad world), for sustainability sake, I think you should have some public meetings in which neighbors, project participants and local organizations ( churches, the staffers of local politicians, the cops, schools) can learn about your project and possibly buy into it at the grassroots level. It is helpful to try to judge the potential level of support before you sink too much dough into a project. Best wishes, Adam Honigman Volunteer, Clinton Community Garden, NYC http://www.clintoncommunitygarden.org <http://www.clintoncommunitygarden.org> -----Original Message----- From: Samuel Feinson [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, October 17, 2002 11:50 AM To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]' Subject: [cg] Columbia, SC Community Garden Project Hello, I'm a member of the Columbia, SC chapter of City Year. While our primary focus is on education and service learning with youth, we work on a host of other service projects each year. One of the legacy projects we'd like to start this year is the creation of a community garden in an economically depressed area of the city. While we have connections to potential sponsors, the largest obstacles in our project will be finding individuals or organizations to help plan the garden and help teach gardening courses there. Could anyone on this list help me by suggesting local/regional contacts that might be able to help us? As far as specifics, City Year is a program involving 17 to 24 year olds, doing a wide variety of service, centered around children. Some of us teach a character education and citizenship program to elementary school students, others lead a service learning program in middle schools, one team creates and presents seminars and classes on public health issues, and we all take part in general community service ranging from helping in set-up for community events to assisting preschoolers with computers. I'm a member of the Civic Engagement team, which is involved with recruitment, planning service events, and coordinating volunteers and sponsors. While we're still in the planning stages with this project, we'd like the community garden to be an ongoing project for the Civic Engagement team as well as the entire Columbia corps. Any help or suggestions that you could provide will be greatly appreciated. Yours in service, Sam Feinson Civic Engagement Team City Year Columbia << File: ATT00009.html >> ______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
