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Resources for Community Gardeners

FIND RESOURCES: Education Fundraising Gardening Tips Job Training Supplies

Below you will find resources which are available to community gardens.

In addition, you are encouraged to take a look at these sites which offer even more ideas on groups and programs that you may be able to team up with:

American Community Gardeners Resources Page features newsletters, research and videos on the role of community gardens in our cities.

Alliance for Sustainable Communities- Lehigh Valley (www.sustainlv.org) features a directory of organizations in the Lehigh Valley who are dedicated to a sustainable future.

EDUCATION

Partnering with Neighborhood Schools

Community gardens provide great opportunities for bringing in resources and programs for students, families and the community. One great resource for partnering with local schools can be found at

http://www.global-gardens.org/

You can connect your community garden to your local school by contacting the school and asking the following questions:

Does your school have a Community School Coordinator (a person who serves as a liaison between the community and the school)?

If so, ask to speak with the person. If not, explain that you represent a community garden and would like to schedule a meeting to meet with that person to present the program idea and see if this program is or would be in alignment with the action plan for the school and/or in alignment with the school's/district's goals.

Does your school have a person who is in charge of and coordinates all after-school programs?

If so, schedule a meeting with that person or forward the information to his/her attention.

If the school does not have a Community School Coordinator or an After School program, ask to speak with the principal.

Most schools have a PTO (Parent Teacher Organization). While the PTO would have to consult with the Principal, it could be a project that the PTO would decide to take on, plan, coordinate and execute after school hours or on the weekends with students, families within the community.

You can also contact your school district's Dean of Student Services and present the program to them in the hopes that he/she will disseminate the information to all principals in the district. The district may also have a "Ground's Beautification Team/Club" that may be interested in pursuing a community garden project.

Partnering with Lehigh Valley Agencies

Another great way to reach youth with your garden project is by coordinating and connecting with a local church or human services agency. The best place to start to find a good partner is through the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley. They lead a number of youth and neighborhood-based projects including COMPASS and The Neighborhood Zone. Learn more about these initiatives by clicking below:

United Way Partnerships

Partnering With National Groups

National Gardening Association

Kids Gardening Pages How to use gardening as a vehicle for encouraging children to make good food choices, augmenting classroom studies with experiential learning, building a love of nature, stimulating social interaction, facilitating cultural exchange, and more. Includes data from 2008 that quantifies the benefits of school and youth gardens

Rodale Institute

Organic Kids and Families Fun site that includes recipes and experiments you can use to show kids the power of healthy soil, healthy plants and healthy people.

The Edible Schoolyard

The Edible Schoolyard The mission of the Edible Schoolyard is to create and sustain an organic garden and landscape that is wholly integrated into the school’s curriculum, culture and food program.

Educators Newsletter

News on educational programs and grants Stay up-to-date with a free monthly e-newsletter featuring garden theme articles and activities, links to educational resources, and announcements of upcoming grants and new grant programs that are offered by subscribing to the Kids Garden News newsletter from the National Gardening Association.

FUNDRAISING

While in-kind donations may be your best opportunity to get help for your neighborhood garden, you can also seek various grant programs and fundraising ideas. Here are several that we have identified.

Gardenburger™: Community Garden Grant

www.gardenburger.com/Grants.aspx Community gardens not only grow real good food, they bring people together. Gardenburger™ Community Garden Grants were conceived as a way to encourage everyone to eat better by giving them access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and to support the spirit of community that comes from nurturing a shared plot of land.

EDUCATIONAL GRANTS

National Gardening Association

Grants for Childrens Gardens There are many grant sources that your school or group may quality for. This list from the National Gardening Association is a great place to start investigating:

Educators Newsletter

Echoing Green: Social Entrepreneurship Grants

Echoing Green Grants If you feel that your have a great idea or spin for your Sustainable Urban Neighborhood that will revolutionize your community, state, or our world. Apply for the Social Entrepreneurship Grant from Echoing Green.

United States Department of Health and Human Services

HHS Grants Possible sources of grant funding for youth programming

National Gardening Association Fundraising Program

Fundraising Flower Sale NGA endorses Flower Power Fundraising. This program gives schools and nonprofits a "healthy" option for fundraising — selling bulbs that will bloom into stunning floral displays.

GARDENING TIPS

For absolutely any gardening related question, your first stop should be the Penn State Master Gardeners of Lehigh and Northampton counties.

Penn State Master Gardeners

Ask A Master Gardener Our region is blessed with a group of committed, knowledgeable and responsive volunteers to help you with advice on every aspect of gardening: from choosing appropriate plants and seeds for our area, when and how to plant, and caring for your plants during the growing season to composting and organic fertilizers. This link will take you to a handy form to use to submit a question to a Master Gardener.

Gardening Lessons By Season

Here are some fun and informative activities for four seasons of successful gardening.

Spring

1. Clean Up

You Can Learn Series In this article the author discusses some of the things you can do in Spring to get your garden and landscape looking its best, including weeding, mulching and how to handle perennials

2. Getting Your Soil Ready

About.com Soil Secrets It’s easy to overlook, but the foundation of every garden is the health of the soil. This article takes you through the simple, yet powerful steps you can take to improve the fertility of your soil so your garden is more productive than ever.

Summer

1. Bugs Alive

Beneficial Bug Catalog Did you know that bugs can be beneficial? Learn which insects are actually beneficial to your garden and how to welcome beneficial bugs.

2. The Butterfly Garden

Local Butterfly ID Guide Take a look at local butterflies. Where are they flying to? What attracts butterflies? See how many of these butterflies you can spot in your garden.

Fall

1. Compost: Don’t Garden Without It

Mother Earth News Composting Ideas There is simply no better way to have healthy soil and healthy plants than to create and use compost. Not only does compost improve your production, but reduces your garden’s waste and provides a fascinating focal point for community gardens. Here’s a short primer on starting a compost pile.

Winter

1. Planning for Companion Planting

Companion Planting Suggestions What is Companion planting? Companion planting is based around the idea that certain plants can benefit others when planted next to, or close to one another. The winter is a good time to layout your garden using graph paper and decide what to plant and where. Click here for some ideas for plants that do well next to each other (and some that don’t).

JOB TRAINING

Workforce Development through Community Gardening

Community Gardens make wonderful classrooms! Teamwork, leadership skills, conflict management, project management, entrepreneurship, even carpentry can be learned, on-site, at a community garden.

Possible Partners:

Grant Funding, employment resources

Lehigh Valley Workforce Investment Board, Youth Coordinator

Kiwanis Club of Allentown, Kiwanis Foundation

Construction Planning, OSHA regulations, use of hand tools

Lehigh Career and Technical Institute

Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School>

Career Institute of Technology>

Associated Builders and Contractors>

Entrepreneurship Programs

Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation

SUPPLIES

There are several programs that can provide your garden with free or discounted supplies, including:

The Page Seed Company’s Plant-A-Seed Program

Seeds are offered between 12-15 cents per package to programs encouraging conservation, beautification, education, nutrition, and family and community sustainability efforts.

Discounted Seeds in Five Easy Steps:

On official letterhead…

1. Provide a brief summary about your organization, and describe how Plant-A-Seed packets will be used and distributed.
2. Provide the name, phone numbers, address, and email address of the contact person
3. Explain the impact your seed distribution efforts will have.
4. Include permission for Page Seed to use your information in future press releases.
5. Federal tax-exempt identification is required to process your order.

Check out their website www.pageseed.com, contact them at lmosner@pageseed.com or call 1-800-688-1896 with questions or for more information.

Fiskars Project Orange Thumb

The famous hand tools company encourages community gardening through this in-kind grant program.

Eligibility

Gardens and/or gardening projects geared toward community involvement, neighborhood beautification, sustainable agriculture and/or horticultural education are eligible. Community garden groups, as well as schools, youth groups, community centers, camps, clubs, treatment facilities are all encouraged to apply. Only group applications will be considered; single individuals are not eligible for a Project Orange ThumbSM grant. Within U.S. and Canada twenty (20) grant recipients will be selected. Each will receive up to $1,500 in Fiskars garden tools and up to $1,000.00 in gardening-related materials (i.e. green goods).

For more information please visit: Project Orange Thumb

Locally Designed Compost Tumbler

Engineering students at Lafayette College designed a compost tumbler that can keep your compost neatly contained as well as speed its decomposition. Proceeds support the Composting Team at Lafayette.

Download a brochure on the unit

or email Bryan McAtee at mcateeb@lafayette.edu.

Ask Your Local Stores!

Develop a letter or a script to ask your local neighborhood stores for donations or discounts. Often, stores in your area are willing to give back to the community that they serve and that patronize their stores. Don’t be afraid to ask for the manager or whoever owns the store for an in-kind donation or a small monetary donation for something specific. For example: You can ask your local hardware store for an in-kind donation of a shovel or topsoil. You can ask your local bank for the money to sponsor your fencing or seeds. You may even find some volunteers to help you get your garden off the ground.