Grow Well Workshop Series, The Food Project
The Food Project’s Grow Well workshop series is designed to help gardeners maximize their space and increase their yield. Upcoming workshops and dates include:
Workshop 3: Planting Tips & How-To’s, March 13th, 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.; Workshop 4: Tips For Getting Started Early, Saturday April 7th, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.; and Workshop 5: Pests, Diseases, & Harvesting Tips, Saturday May 12th, time TBD. All workshops are being held at the Dudley Greenhouse, 11 Brook Avenue, Roxbury. For more information, contact Kathleen: buildagarden@thefoodproject.org or 617-442-1322 x 12.
CSA Shares from Serving Ourselves Farm!
Serving Ourselves Organic Farm is offering CSA shares for the 2012 season! Sign up to receive a box of fresh, organic, farm produce each week from June 19 to October 16. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and refers to a mutually beneficial direct relationship between farmers and customers. The customer pays a subscription fee at the beginning of the season in return for a box of fresh produce each week throughout the growing season.
The share: A box of assorted fresh vegetables distributed weekly from our farm straight to the Dorchester House. Over the season you will see vegetable such as snap beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, collards, cucumbers, eggplants, fennel, garlic, herbs, salad mix, Swiss chard, kale, leeks, lettuce, onions, bell peppers, hot peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, scallions, summer squash, winter squash, cherry tomatoes, paste tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, salad turnips, and zucchinis.
The pick up: Tuesdays 12 – 1 p.m. at the Dorchester House Farmers’ Market (1353 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester MA), June 19th through Oct 16th.
The price: The cost of a farm share is $375 and will be due by March 31st. Please make checks payable to Serving Ourselves Farm, and send with the completed SOS sign-up sheet to PO Box 220648, Boston, MA 02122.
Questions? Please feel free to contact Erica LaFountain, Manager of Serving Ourselves Farm, at (617)534-6107 or ELaFountain@BPHC.org.
Sustainability: 100-for-100
Sustainability Guild, a new Dorchester-based social enterprise and its sister non-profit organization, Vision In Action Development Corp., is launching a creative pilot initiative that will engage Dorchester residents in exciting projects that will deliver entrepreneurial skills, experience and opportunity. We call it 100 for 100. The 100 for 100 pilot is a grassroots, community-based initiative that engages 100 inner city residents in the design and market testing of 100 projects focused on clean energy, community beautification, urban gardening, and food access. 100 for 100 taps into the knowledge and skills of inner city residents – and expertise from within and beyond the community – to develop successful, mission-driven solutions and systems that address inner
city challenges and create inner city beauty, health, and prosperity. The overarching vision of the 100 for 100 initiative is to establish a flexible model for building capacity, engagement and sustainability in our community. More importantly, the initiative wants to work with neighboring residents and organizations to engage in shaping ourcity’s and region’s green and knowledge economy.
The initiative launches May 2012. By September 2012, we will:
● Create a total of 100 beautiful and beneficial community-based sites, products, events, and services
● Establish 100 opportunities for employment, collaboration and networking
● Introduce community residents to opportunities for experienced-based skill building and business development
Read more here - sign on to support the project (print and fax, scan, or insert a digital signature)! For more information, contact Jhana Senxian: +1 617-930-6508; jsenxian@sustainabilityguild.com.
Green Jobs: Paid Summer Internships for Students
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Internship Opportunity is a workforce development initiative offered through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC) that focuses on enhancing the talent pipeline for Massachusetts companies engaged in the clean energy industry. The program facilitates the placement of students and recent graduates who are considering career opportunities in clean energy through paid summer internships across the state. For additional information, download the following documents:
Winter Woods Walk in Franklin Park, Mar. 10
Team up with local experts for an invigorating walk in the woods. Together, participants will learn to identify trees using bark and twig characteristics and investigate the urban ecology of Franklin Park. Please register for this event by calling 617-542-7696 ext. 20 or emailing mathew@bostonnatural.org. Event is FREE & open to all! View a flyer here.
Saturday, March 10, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
meet at Valley Gates Parking Lot, midway along Circuit Dr.
Change in the Air, Mar. 28 (UPDATED)
Harvard’s NIEHS Center for Environmental Health will hold “Change in the Air,” a forum on Asthma and Air Quality in Dorchester and Boston on the evening of Wednesday, March 28. The forum will run from 6:15 – 7:30 p.m. at the Dorchester House Multi-Service Center (1353 Dorchester Avenue). National Environmental Health Official Linda Birnbaum, PhD will join local panelists in a conversation with guests to discuss the complex picture of issues and policies that impact asthma rates and clean air. Your input could help shape the priorities for future projects in your area. Check out an (updated) forum flyer or view the press release.
The forum will run as a moderated dialogue between the panelists and members of the community. No presentations, no lectures. Bring your questions and ideas. All are welcome to participate! Vietnamese, Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian Creole translations will be available. Light refreshments will be provided. Read more after the break.
Boston Compost Visioning Meeting, Mar. 29
Got healthy soil? The answer in today’s Boston, is, sadly, “probably not.” But fear not! Gardeners, environmental advocates, and pro-composters are (once more) convening! Join them at the Boston Nature Center at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 29. Learn the history of composting in Boston and the status of current Boston leaf composting program (through a viewing or tour of the site). Participants will envision a new compost infrastructure and determine what would need to be done to achieve it! Please RSVP to betsy@bgjohnson.com. Continue on for the full invitation. Continue Reading »
Gardens by Ruth: Dot Garden Biz!
Local economies are crucial to community growth – as such, GreenDorchester is happy to highlight local, green businesses! Here’s a growing endeavor that caught our eye recently: Gardens by Ruth. Dot resident Ruth Sadie Rose Roudiez, a lifelong gardener who hails from Nantucket, MA, offers organic garden design, installation, and maintenance services with environmentally conscious integration of edible and native New England plants. Ruth has gardened and grown overseas as well as domestically. Studying, and later volunteering, in Senegal, she picked up a few tricks not often seen stateside. She subsequently returned to the United States and launched GBR. Ruth intends to garden for the rest of her days – so if you need some garden help, give her a call!
(Unrelated, but we have to say the GBR logo is really cute, too.)
To learn more about Ruth and GBR, check out http://gardensbyruth.com/. You can also email rjstar@gmail.com or call (508)221-1830.
Composting Workshop for Gardens and Yards, Mar. 8
On Thursday, March 8th from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. BNAN will be offering a workshop at their 62 Summer Street office led by urban composting expect Bruce Fulford on effective methods of composting in community gardens and backyards. Learn about how to effectively deter pests, how to rotate your compost for best results and various options for compost containers. Please spread the word. If you wish to attend please RSVP to info@bostonnatural.org. Follow the link for a composting workshop flyer.
Boston Green Thumbs: Free Garden-at-Home Program! Deadline Mar. 31
Want to grow food or flowers on your balcony, rooftop or in your yard? Ready to work with other gardeners to make Boston greener? Apply to Boston Green Thumbs! Boston Green Thumbs is a new skill-building training program for Boston residents who garden at home. Join us for weekends this April and go home with everything you need to know to get your urban garden growing. Click here for more information and to apply. Limited seats, applications are due by March 31!
For 10 years BNAN has trained Boston gardeners through the Master Urban Gardener programs, and is using that experience to design this exciting new training series. Boston Green Thumbs is an easy way to learn all the basics of home gardening whether you grow vegetables, ornamentals or both. Topics include:
- Soil and Compost Basics
- Planning Your Garden
- Choosing and Caring for Your Plant Continue Reading »
