The Newsletter of

Volume 1, No. 2 Spring 2000

Gardening for Respect, Opportunity, and Wellness

South Bay Community Services Project GROW program focuses on the development of a landscape maintenance company. It is an economic development project that strives to give women who have survived violent relationships the opportunity to become economically self-sufficient. Women who have the courage to leave violent relationships have the strength to become independent. A vital component of such independence is economic self-sufficiency. Women who are the sole providers of their families need jobs that pay living wages. It is the goal of Project GROW, South Bay to give women the opportunity to learn landscaping skills and business skills, so they can move into the market place with knowledge and the selfconfidence they need to compete. SBCS Project GROW is working with 10 women in their transitional

housing. The women will receive landscape training, business training and develop an economic/education plan for their futures.

Project GROW coordinator supervise the training and access community resources for additional landscaping training. Recently, these two women, both key leaders in the project, talked about what the experience has meant to their lives. To protect their confidentiality, only their first names will be used.

What made you interested in Project GROW? Maria: The first thing I was interested in was being part of On-the-Job Training at SBCS our own business and learning During the summer, two how to run a business. Ive women attended a nine-week always dreamed of having my Groundskeeping course at own business that the whole Southwestern College. One of family could work together. I those women, Maria, is was scared too because I working full-time landscaping didnt know anything about SBCS affordable and business and really didnt transitional housing projects. know anything about Valerie, a new resident of landscaping but I wanted to do SBCS transitional housing has it and learn. joined as a CalWORKS Valerie: I loved the chance to participant. SBCS pays 15 work outdoors. You get to see hours of work and another 17 new faces and meet new hours are spent in on-the-job people and working with your training. Maria and the
(Continued on page 3)

Edited by Kaliko Amona, Occidental College Community Food Security Project: An affiliate of the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute (UEPI). Illustrations by Joe Linton. For more information or to send in letters, articles, photos, drawings, calendar listings or other entries, call (831) 466-0755. Project GROW is sponsored by the California Department of Health Services.

Agencies:
Center for Community Solutions Off-Site Garden Liz Porras 858-272-5777 (Ext. 34)--message 619-697-7477 (Liz) Community Resource Center Garden-to-Table Nutrition Education Traci Chester 760-942-5485 Rural Human Services Off-Site Garden/Moms & Kids Cook and Learn Claudia Frances 707-465-3013 Kings Community Action Organization Moms & Kids Cook and Learn Juanita Galaviz 559-582-4386 Ocean Park Community Center Horticultural Therapy Pat Butler 310-264-6645 Plumas Rural Sevices Off-Site Garden Tina Wood 530-283-5675 San Leandro Shelter for Women and Children Horticultural Therapy Katharine Noel 510-297-6906 (2#) South Bay Community Services Job Training Joan Pelkey 619-420-5094 Interval House Garden-to-Table Nutrition Education Christine Delabre and Lydia Hychong 562-594-9492

The Occidental College Community Food Security Project (TAT-EC Consultants):

Department of Health ServicesDomestic Violence Section :

Kathony Jerauld Program Consultant (916) 653-4691- phone (916) 653-2125 - fax

Susan Stuart Program Manager sstuart@cruzio.com (831) 466-0755-phone/fax Amy Blandford Contract Manager Michelle Mascarenhas (916) 654-9945-phone Director, CFS Project (916) 653-8655 - fax mm@oxy.edu (323) 259-2633-phone Zipora Weinbaum (323) 259-2734 -fax Research Specialist (916) 657-3921-phone Robert Gottlieb Co-Director of UEPI Blue Shield: gottlieb@oxy.edu (323) 259-2712-phone Marianne Balin Kate Stafford Public Affairs Specialist Horticultural Therapy (415) 229-5861-phone Consultant (415) 229-5070- fax (831) 335-3250-phone On the Web: katecougar@aol.com www.uepi.oxy.edu Marilyn Prehm Please send comments or sugEvaluation Consultant gestions to mm@oxy.edu (916) 973-9567

South Bay Feature .................................1, 3 PG Contact Information ............................2 Greetings!..................................................4 Our New Logo ..........................................5 San Diego Resources ................................5 Entreprenurial Gardens:

(Continued from page 1)

I got my first real paycheck in ten years. It opened a whole new world for

hands you get to see a job get done. You see what you achieved. I was a little worried, but Maria was already doing it, and I look up to Maria so it was easier for me. Maria, you went to Southwestern College for the nine-week Groundskeeping course. What was it like to go to college? Maria: I always wanted to go to college. I was really excited when I found out the course we were taking was going to give us college credit. But, I was nervous too. We were worried that we wouldnt be able to do the things they wanted us to. We had a really good teacher and he helped us feel better. We found out that we could do the work as well or better than the men in the class could do. What do you tell women you talk to about the project when they say landscaping is mens work? Maria: I learned we are women and we can use our minds too. You dont have to do everything. If weve got a job that is physically too heavy for us we can get help. Valerie: Its a big boost to your self-esteem when women step up to do what people think is a mans job and do it well. It helps

women see what they can do in this world.

Working with your hands calms your

You learn how to communicat e better with other

What is the most satisfying part of landscaping work? Valerie: There is real satisfaction in making something look better. When youre working you can stop and see what youve Attention to Detail is done. Working What would you Part of the Job with your hands say to funders calms your mind. Weve about what impact their already seen other people money achieves through on the block come out and Project GROW? start to clean up their Maria: Project GROW yards to get them to look gives women a chance to as good as ours. learn they can change Maria: Working together their lives. It teaches them and with other women. that there is something You get to talk and share strong inside of them and thoughts. You learn how they can go out and be to communicate better someone. They can make with other people. a success. Valerie: I like to say What was the biggest thank you for giving experience for you since women a chance to learn you started this project? that they can do things. It Maria: My first day helps us in every way working full-time for the because it gives us hope agency and Project and there always has to be GROW. I was so hope. nervous. I didnt know Maria: Yes, you always what to do. Everybody need hope to make it in knew me as a client and this world. now I was a staff member. Maria and Valerie: And But after a couple of days, also being in the open and I started to relax and feel working with plants your like I was part of a team. mind gets cleansed every Ive come a long way day. since I came to this agency. My dream is to Photos and Article Submitted have a successful family by Joan Pelkey, SBCS Coordinator business and buy a big

house, big enough for my whole family to live in. Valerie: My whole first week was amazing. I was moved into SBCS housing, I got a job and I got my first real paycheck in ten years. It opened a whole new world to me.

Nine Unique Recipes Its hard to believe that we are already entering the second year of Project GROW. The planning and start-up of the first year produced a bounty of activity. Asphalt and suburban lawns were ripped out and replaced with fruit and vegetable gardens, horticultural therapy activities were piloted as a way to help children work through the trauma of abuse, women in shelters attended cooking classes which integrated seasonal produce into simple meals, partnerships were formed with local gardeners and farmers, and women began to receive training in landscaping while a landscape microenterprise was launched (see the lead article focusing on South Bay Community Services). And in the midst of it all, Project GROW staff (with the help of consultants, volunteers and participants) found the time to develop agency asset maps, photograph activities, create evaluation tools, participate in an annual meeting, present at

the MCH domestic violence conference, write program reports, and participate in learning circle teleconferences. In order to capture the experience of Project GROW and learn from its successes and lessons, two of the major emphases of the second growing year will be learning from and adapting activities and documenting the barriers, opportunities, and successes of Project GROW. Marilyn Prehm, a nutritionist who has worked with the evaluation of garden projects nationally and internationally, joined the collaborative DHS-Oxy Evaluation Team in December to help with this process. In February, Marilyn led the first of a series of learning appraisal teleconferences with all of the nine GROW projects. Besides providing a format for weed-pulling or troubleshooting and the exchange of ideas, the learning circle calls were a snapshot of what it takes to get a new and experimental grass-roots project off the

ground. They are part of a larger formative approach to evaluation which acknowledges that programs such as Project GROW are always adapting to local conditions and needs. Additional means of capturing data about the growing pains and benefits of the nine pilot projects-survey tools, on-site interviews with staff and participants, photodocumentation, and garden journals--will be combined with the learning circles and other interesting techniques to create a full picture of the Project GROW story in the coming year. The final result of this process will be a document that can be utilized by other domestic violence programs interested in setting up similar types of GROW projects in their agencies-of course, with their own unique flavor. Susan Stuart, M.P.H. Program Manager, Project GROW

One of the best places to start seeds is on top of the refrigerator, where there's a steady supply of bottom heat.

Getting Ready to Plant?

Steep Hard Seeds While warm water is good for soaking seeds, many hard seeds benefit from being soaked in strong tea overnight as well. The tannic acid in the tea works to soften the outer covering of the seeds.
Contact Michelle Mascarenhas if you would like a copy of the logo on disk.
From Organic Gardenings "300 Expert Tips and Techniques"

WIC ProgramAmerican Red Cross (619) 583-4853 San Diego County Public Health Department (619) 692-8500 SHARE (800) 773-SHARE EFNEPExpanded Food and Nutrition
Education Program

California Native Plant Society, San Diego Chapter (619) 685-7321 Sierra Club San Diego Chapter (619) 299-1744 Water Conservation Garden (619) 660-0614 info@thegarden.org Quail Botanical Gardens (760) 436-3036

619-694-2850 UC Cooperative Extension 619-694-2845

A different region of the state will be featured in each newsletter.

Like prairie plants, many good projects have deep roots. They are diverse, flexible, and multi-faceted in their nature. They can withstand a variety of difficulties and become stronger through them. They are beautiful and nurturing. They give back to their communities, just as their communities energize them and appreciate their caring efforts. The Womens Organic Flower Enterprise (W.O.F. E.), a part of the Homeless Garden Project (HGP) in Santa Cruz, CA., is just such an endeavor, and has a story that Project GROW can savor. The HGP initially began on a vacant city-owned lot in Santa Cruz in the spring of 1990. It has since provided jobs and job skills; respite and sanctuary; and many community connections including counseling, housing, and medical assistance. Today it is composed of two garden sites as well as an office and retail store. In the early years of the Project, most of the homeless workers were men. In time, more women came to the HGP. One young mother, Tomlyn, was particularly drawn to growing flowers and became instrumental in creating the W.O.F.E. Under the horticultural direction of Jane Freedman, she learned how to grow varieties of flowers especially suitable for drying

and was soon creating wonderful dried flower wreaths. Along with HGP staff and many community supporters, Tomlyn developed a new HGP site (rescued from being a trashstrewn lot). The staff then sought out a grant from the S.F. Womens Foundation and started a business that could offer beautiful products year-round.

holiday seasons to W.O.F.E. The programs success at these sites is a reminder to all starting such an enterprise that a fine product, great location, and deep community support make all the difference! Project GROW can learn much from the Womens Organic Flower Enterprise. It points daily to the courage of people facing difficulties and the way that life can be fully embraced when hope, compassion, nature, beauty, meaningful work, real friendship, and time are recognized as our wisest teachers and healers. Project GROW groups are invited by W.O.F.E. to tour its site and/or participate in its operations. Call (831) 436-3609 One of WOFEs creations. for an appointment. Story and Photo By Kate Stafford Artist, Horticultural Therapy & Garden Design Consultant for Project GROW.

Some of WOFEs beautiful flowers.

The wreaths were sold at farmers markets, health food stores, craft fairs, coffee houses, and eventually through the 7th Generation catalog. After several years, Tomlyn graduated from the project and went further North with her family, gaining employment in an area she loved. In 1995 the HGP hired another highly talented floral designer, Dena Watson. Dena shared her skills with many women, encouraging them to see the many talents that are always waiting within to be revealed. One of the great gifts to the project is a donation of hightraffic retail space during the

Involving the community at a WOFE fundraiser

Recently, market gardens have gained attention as a way to enhance community economic development, increase community food security, and employ local residents in meaningful jobs. These gardens are complex yet promising vehicles for providing job training, life skills, educational opportunities, improving the quality of life and forming creative collaborations in local communities. Researchers from the University of California, Davis interviewed 27 of these entrepreneurial gardens,

including the Womens Organic Flower Enterprise. They gathered information on how these entrepreneurial gardens operate and the conditions under which they prosper. Some of their recommendations include:
Build

Explore

selling services as well, or instead of, goods. South Bay Community Services landscaping program is an example of a service that could be turned into an enterprise. Continue to focus on longterm sustainability of the project. Their publication includes contact information for entrepreneurial and also summarizes some of the resources available. For information on ordering it (Publication 21587), call 1-800-994-8849 or email danrcs@ucdavis.edu.

and maintain good connections to maintain community support.** Develop stability in the garden before adding an entrepreneurial component. Include some high-value items like flowers or herbs to improve income generation.

**A list of resources for entrepreneurial gardeners is on the next page.

Recycle Your Citrus Peels! You can use the skins of oranges and grapefruits youve eaten by making them into pots for germinating seeds. Cut the fruit in half and after youve eaten or juiced it, scoop out any of the leftover pulp and poke holes in the bottom. Fill the half with soil and plant your seeds. Once they are ready to go into the ground, plant the entire half. The citrus peel will decay slowly and help to fertilize the soil. (From Organic Gardenings 300 Expert Tips and Techniques)

Welfare-to-Work Grants Information on the program is on the web: wtw.doleta.gov Jim Curtis (Employment Development Department) (916) 654-8275 USDA SARE Grants Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (202) 720-5203 www.sare.org UC-SAREP (Including Grants) Gail Feenstra (530) 752-8408 gwfeenstra@ucdavis.edu

Service Core of Retired Executives (SCORE) Confidential business counseling and mentoring are provided free of charge. Email counseling is also available. (800) 634-0245 for a chapter near you http://www.score.org Small Business Development Centers (800) 8-ASK-SBA Other possible options: Business schools at local colleges or universities Members of local companies that produce similar products Local business incubators: generally work with forprofit small businesses, buy non-profits receive assistance as well.

When they are cut more frequently, perennials tend to flower more often. By cutting the flowers, you interrupt the reproductive cycle of the plants, leading them to send out A WOFE bouquet. more blossoms.

Perrenial Flowers: Keep Cutting

Remove leaves from stems and add a tablespoon each of sugar and vinegar to 3 cups of water in a vase. The Photo by K. Stafford. sugar will provide food for the flowers and the vinegar will inhibit the growth of bacteria.
(From Organic Gardening, March/ April, 2000)

Keep those Bouquets Fresh!

Some examples of perennial flowers: black-eyed Susan, purple cornflower (echinacea), garden flox, peony, yarrow,

Notes from Project GROW, Rural Human Services Harrington House Crescent City, CA Del Norte County receives over 120 inches of rain annually and tucked close to the shore, is blanketed by fog when the inland valley temperatures start to climb. RHSs Harrington House, Del Norte Countys resource center for battered women and their children, has a 26-bed facility only one-half mile from the ocean, making gardening quite a challenge. The shelter facility had very few options for a fullblown garden, so large half-barrels have provided an aesthetic and nutritionally productive alternative. Herbs and flowers compliment the entrance and provide access to fresh, flavorful additions to the kitchen.

Linette said that the front-page newspaper coverage of our project last summer gave her inspiration to delve Plant an Extra Row into the Extra Row The basic premise of the project that she had seen PSAs about on project is to encourage television. This is just gardeners, old and new, to one more reason for all plant an extra row in their Project GROWseek out participants to more media coverage of home gardens to help the great work being combat hunger in our area. done through gardening throughout the state! They are given a list of You never know if it may registered groups to whom inspire someone in your come they can donate food from community toyet another through with their extra row to. valuable resource for you and your program. This spring, a new Master Gardener program began classes in Del Norte County. It has been almost 10 years since the last program was active. One of the new participants, Linette, contacted our program to gain our participation in a new food security project, Plant An Extra Row. By Claudia Frances Project Coordinator, RHS Harrington House If you have any questions on starting or participating in such a program, call Claudia at (707) 465-3013.

alternative food resources such as local Food Banks, Christian Food outlets, and the purchase of a share of a Community Food Garden. The one share has provided the program with twice weekly deliveries of fresh fruits and vegetables for a six month period. The shelter residents have learned the value of good nutritional cooking and new varieties of produce.

Harrington House has become one of the prime recipients for the Plant An Extra Row project, giving us yet another valuable resource for fresh fruits and vegetables. The Master Gardeners will also be assisting with the continuation of the Project Grow on- and off-site.

A community garden located just a few blocks away at Crescent Elk Middle School gives the program 6 raised beds for fresh vegetable gardening during our very short, cool and foggy growing season. Food Security Strategies Project GROW at Harrington House has been focused mainly on food security and accessing

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Cut tofu into 2 or 3 flat Ingredients: pieces. Sprinkle with 1 carton firm tofu oregano. Place on lightly A pinch of oregano oiled baking pan and bake at 1/2 cup soy sauce 350 degrees for 25-30 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar minutes. Let cool. 1 clove garlic Combine soy sauce, vinegar, A pinch each of thyme, garlic, thyme, oregano, and oregano, and pepper pepper to make a marinade. 2 carrots 2 tomatoes Break tofu into small pieces 2 celery stalks and place in a flat dish. Cover with marinade and refrigerate for 3 hours. Cut up vegetables (or grate

carrots) and combine with tofu. Use the marinade as a dressing. Serves 2-4 Adapted from the Healthy West Hollywood Cookbook Tofu is a good source of protein and may reduce the risk of heart disease.

Part of what makes you so thirsty after eating sweets is that sugar slows down how fast food empties from your stomach. As a result, the fluids you drink cant get through to your intestines where they are absorbed. The best way to quench your thirst is to drink watersugary drinks like soda can actually slow down rehydration.
(Discover, September, 1999)

Eggplant???

"Peppers and eggplant are good container gardening choices because of their relatively compact size and growing habits."
(National Gardening Association's "Little Book of Expert Tips)

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Its hard to watch television or read a magazine these days without seeing a presentation on global biodiversity. Usually, the focus is on the tropics, where vast numbers of species coexist, and where the existence of many is threatened. Closer to home, California also has a wealth of biodiversity, with many more species of plants and animals than most areas of similar size. The bad news, of course, is that many of these species are also threatened, but the good news is that we can do more to preserve them, because we live right here among them. A direct way to help preserve Californias diversity is to grow native plants (plants that were here before European settlement). Why Grow Natives? Why Grow Natives? vThe plants will be less threatened by extinction
vThey will be accompanied by

natural resources and reducing runoff to the ocean.

vThey are easy to grow! vNative plants provide a

diversity of beauty. For eyes accustomed to roses, geraniums, and petunias, the flowers of native plants can be novel and delightful. Diversity of form

Annuals (bloom from seed the first year, then die, but often reseed themselves) California poppy (Eschscholtzia californica). Orange flowers, easy to grow. Lupines (Lupinus bicolor, L. nanus, etc.). Blue and white flowers, easy. Baby blue eyes (Nemophilia menziesii). Will grow in shade, easy. Tidy tips (Layi platyglossa). Yellow daisy-like flowers. Will grow in sandy soil. Clarkia species (Clarkia sp.) Large pink to lilac flowers. Easy. Perennials (bloom second year, live several years) Monkey flower (Mimulus species). Orange to red flowers. Drought tolerant. Matilija poppy (Rhomneya coulteri). Large, spreading plant. Large white flowers. Shrubs (all drought-tolerant once established) California lilac (Ceanothus species). Blue clustered flowers, nice form. Manzanita (Arctostaphylos species). White flowers, nice foliage. Sages (Salvia species). Many types, excellent for pollinators. Wild currant and gooseberry species (Ribes species). Loved by hummingbirds.

and color, in gardens as in lifewhats not to like? Following is a short list of some California native plants fairly easy to grow in urban and suburban gardens. For seeds and more information, you can visit the websites of the Theodore Payne Foundation (http://www. theodorepayne.org/) and the California Native Plant Society (http://www.cnps.org/index. htm).

animals that depend on them, such as butterflies and hummingbirds. Growing natives helps to protect these pollinators.
vChildren and others can learn

to recognize and protect them.

vThey require less water and

fertilizer, thereby conserving

Article by Gretchen North, PhD, Professor of Biology at Occidental College

April 22 EARTH DAY! 26-28 California Healthy Cities and Communities Annual Conference 916-646-8680 May 1 May Day 14 Mothers Day 31-June 1 Maternal and Child Health Conference 916-498-6964 June 10-11 Community Food Security Workshops on Food Systems assessments and Community Economic Development (Los Angeles) 310-822-5410 September 11-13 (tentative) Project GROW Annual Conference 14 CANFit Conference in Southern California for nutrition and fitness tips working with 10-14 year olds. 510-644-1533 23-27 5th International Family Violence Conference 29 East San Francisco Bay Garden Tours 510-527 -3773

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Project GROW Occidental College c/o PPERC 1600 Campus Road Los Angeles, CA 90041

Tidy Tips, layi platyglossa Photo by Brother Alfred Brousseau

One of the best places to start seeds is on top of the refrigerator, where there's a steady supply of bottom heat.

Paintbrush Sowing When you use a trowel or your h to cover small seeds with soil, sometimes bury them too de inhibiting germination. Try using a paint instead. It gives you better co over the amount of soil you put seeds.