[RP TownTalk] Master Peace Community Garden update

[Dwight Holmes]

Vinnie, this is so awesome! You guys (volunteers, workers, students,
everyone involved) totally rock.

On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 3:39 PM, Vinnie Bevivino <okrastar at gmail.com> wrote:
> Its been too long since we've found our way into your inbox, a product of us
> being way too busy using and expanding our garden.  Bounties of tomatoes,
> okra, eggplant, basil, beans, and cucumbers are always pouring out of the
> garden, and its sometimes hard to slow down and do simple things like write
> emails to our supporters.
> Some Key Points:
> - Save October 18th for our fall festival, and October 19th as a rain date.
>  We've planted more than a hundred pumpkin plants back in July for this, and
> its looking like it will be a pick-your-own pumpkin festival.  This is also
> to commemorate the work that was paid for by the Rodale Institute's grant
> (see below for more information)
> - Keep coming to the Riverdale Park Farmers Market!  While we're always
> proud of what we've harvested, the produce that's available there from other
> farmers is wonderful.  Every Thursday from 3 until 7pm next to the MARC
> train station in Riverdale Park, on Queensbury Road, two blocks from Rt. 1.
> - Keep volunteering!  We rely on volunteers, come over every and any
> Saturday from 9 until 2, and we'll put you to work and send you home with
> produce.
> - Keep visiting!  The garden is always open, there is no lock on our gates.
>  Come by if your in the area, and bring a picnic.
> Since we've last updated you on our work:
> - We've had our second Free Minds Collective summer program. Building on
> last year, we've taught 12 middle school students Monday through Friday in
> July about nutrition, gardening, and cooking.  They learned a lot about
> "seed to plate horticulture", and the politics of food advertising, and had
> a lot of fun too!
> - From the help of the Rodale Institute's WaterWorks program, we've had a
> 1200 gallon rain cistern installed in the garden.  Check out the photograph,
> its huge.  Now we're just waiting for rain!  This grant is also paying for
> our fence to be expanded, wonderful art to decorate the fence and cistern,
> and lots of other great beautification projects.  We'll have more photos on
> all this in a few weeks.
> - We have built a 17' x 48' high tunnel that we'll be using to extend our
> seasons in the spring and fall (see photo).  This was paid for by a grant
> from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Eduction program of the USDA,
> and built by the help of some amazing volunteers, both within Maryland
> Cooperative Extension and from the neighborhood.
> - We've hired Christian Melendez using money from sales at the Riverdale
> Park Farmers Market.  Christian has been a huge help this year, being
> responsible for almost all aspects of keeping us productive.  He started
> interning for us back in February, and is being paid for throughout the
> summer.  He's a great personality to have, he's wonderful with kids, and
> organizes family potlucks in the garden for our community gardeners.  He's
> also very active in student organizations on campus and helpful in our
> outreach to new volunteers.  None of this work could have been possible
> without him.
> - We continued to sell much more produce this year than last year.  This
> is not only possible from the great help back in the garden, but also from
> the help of student volunteer Kristen Mui, a senior undergraduate Urban
> Planning major.  She is studying urban agriculture from a planning
> standpoint, and helps sell our produce every week.  Another person that
> enables all this to happen.
> Simple ways that you can help:
> - Come by and volunteer.
> - Tell a friend or neighbor about what we're doing, and tell them to
> volunteer.
> - Purchase some vegetables from us at the market.
> See you soon in the garden!
> -Vinnie Bevivino and the staff of the Master Peace Community Garden
> 6200 Sheridan Street
> Riverdale, MD 20737
> www.engagedu.umd.edu
> 301-405-0656
> The Master Peace Community Garden is a project of the the University of
> Maryland Cooperative Extension's Engaged University and Food Stamp Nutrition
> Education Program.  We work to increase access to healthy food and the
> knowledge and skills needed to grow healthy food.
>
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> For more information about Riverdale Park, visit
> http://www.ci.riverdale-park.md.us
>



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