Here are some things that might help reading the blog:
-it is just like a website, but the posts on top of the page are more recent, and the older ones are chronologically below.
-the posts are also labeled, and the labels are on the side of the blog.
-the column on the left are the posts that change and the column on the right are the static items
-the "blogging" know how comes in when you post things, and I can show you. It is super user friendly!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Letter Back to the City
2/24/09
Hi, Tina,
Thanks so much for looking over the plans, your support, and writing back so quickly. It has been such a pleasure to work with you throughout this process!
These questions are great ones, and we are very prepared to answer them! We have discussed all of them within the garden coordinators group and with community members for the various grants we have applied for. We have separated them by topic/question:
1. meet the terms and conditions of the Policy and the Lease Agreement
a. Absolutely. The practices and procedures laid out in the agreements are actually very much in line with how we would like to see the garden run.
2. How much community acceptance/support
a. To answer this question, we would love to direct the city to our blog in which all of our research on this subject has been published online. The link to graphs of that information is here:
i. http://sycamorehillscommunitygarden.blogspot.com/2008/07/survey-results.html
b. To summarize the information on these graphs:
i. We have 97% support of the garden from the neighborhood
ii. We have 31 households which are very interested in participating. That is approximately 60 people.
iii. We have 4 dedicated garden co-planners in addition to myself as the Curator and Founder.
3. 'group' that will be maintaining
a. The maintenance will be done by the families who choose to participate as part of their agreement to have a raised bed in the garden. Each bed will require one hour of service and clean up of the grounds a month. The agreement will also stipulate the conditions and time frame for putting the garden to bed in the winter. The layout of the garden is also going to help us be as maintenance free as possible by intentional design (i.e. paths covered by weed barrier and then woodchips as opposed to any grassy areas).
b. Any revisions in the maintenance plan will happen after our first year of operation when we reflect on what worked well and what needs to change.
c. We are also going to try to establish community connections to schools, churches, retirement homes, and the OSU Master Gardener group in terms of setting up service programs.
4. funds been identified
a. The grants that we have applied for are also on the blog, including our application information and budgets. That link is:
i. http://sycamorehillscommunitygarden.blogspot.com/2008/12/grants-we-are-going-for.html
ii. They are: Aveeno, Nature Hills Nursery, Fiskars Project Orange Thumb, and The Captain Planet Foundation.
b. We also will apply for the Healthy Sprouts Grant ($200-500) and the Columbus Foundation Growing to Green Grant ($4000).
c. We are also in the process of creating partnerships for local businesses.
i. So far, one lead has been secured: Strader’s Garden Center on 5th Ave will be donating goods.
5. the size
a. The garden design can be scaled down to a size that the city prefers. However, I would like to explain our reasoning for the size that I proposed.
i. The city park that this garden would be in is very large and I feel from my weekly walks and over 30 years of experience in this neighborhood that this would be a good use of only a fraction of the space.
ii. We have over 30 families that are interested in participating in the garden. If each family wants a garden bed for themselves, that will already account for the 20 beds that are planned and we can spill over into the raised beds that will be on the inside of the fence. However, if only a portion of those families want to set up a garden bed in our first year of operation, 20 raised beds will be a good amount for the families and for additional communal and educational beds (like a pizza garden) or service oriented gardens that we can donate to a local food pantry under the Grow a Row for the Hungry program.
6. Water
a. Our only plan for water is water collection barrels at this time. We were really hoping for the tap into the water supply, but we understand that in current economic situation that is not feasible and would hope that in the future this point can be revisited.
b. Because the park is located near a street, we would also provide water for the garden by requesting that community gardeners bring water in jugs with them, and invite helpful neighbors to collect water in their empty water/milk jugs to leave at the garden site.
7. Additional Questions/Developments
a. Would the city advise the SH Community Gardeners to identify themselves as Friends of Sycamore Hills Park? If so, we would like to apply.
i. It would provide us with a 5013c tax exemption code that we could offer to businesses that are interested in donating supplies to the garden, as well as for grant paperwork. Right now, we have been using the Sycamore Hills Resident’s Association tax code, but we would prefer to keep the funds separate.
Hi, Tina,
Thanks so much for looking over the plans, your support, and writing back so quickly. It has been such a pleasure to work with you throughout this process!
These questions are great ones, and we are very prepared to answer them! We have discussed all of them within the garden coordinators group and with community members for the various grants we have applied for. We have separated them by topic/question:
1. meet the terms and conditions of the Policy and the Lease Agreement
a. Absolutely. The practices and procedures laid out in the agreements are actually very much in line with how we would like to see the garden run.
2. How much community acceptance/support
a. To answer this question, we would love to direct the city to our blog in which all of our research on this subject has been published online. The link to graphs of that information is here:
i. http://sycamorehillscommunitygarden.blogspot.com/2008/07/survey-results.html
b. To summarize the information on these graphs:
i. We have 97% support of the garden from the neighborhood
ii. We have 31 households which are very interested in participating. That is approximately 60 people.
iii. We have 4 dedicated garden co-planners in addition to myself as the Curator and Founder.
3. 'group' that will be maintaining
a. The maintenance will be done by the families who choose to participate as part of their agreement to have a raised bed in the garden. Each bed will require one hour of service and clean up of the grounds a month. The agreement will also stipulate the conditions and time frame for putting the garden to bed in the winter. The layout of the garden is also going to help us be as maintenance free as possible by intentional design (i.e. paths covered by weed barrier and then woodchips as opposed to any grassy areas).
b. Any revisions in the maintenance plan will happen after our first year of operation when we reflect on what worked well and what needs to change.
c. We are also going to try to establish community connections to schools, churches, retirement homes, and the OSU Master Gardener group in terms of setting up service programs.
4. funds been identified
a. The grants that we have applied for are also on the blog, including our application information and budgets. That link is:
i. http://sycamorehillscommunitygarden.blogspot.com/2008/12/grants-we-are-going-for.html
ii. They are: Aveeno, Nature Hills Nursery, Fiskars Project Orange Thumb, and The Captain Planet Foundation.
b. We also will apply for the Healthy Sprouts Grant ($200-500) and the Columbus Foundation Growing to Green Grant ($4000).
c. We are also in the process of creating partnerships for local businesses.
i. So far, one lead has been secured: Strader’s Garden Center on 5th Ave will be donating goods.
5. the size
a. The garden design can be scaled down to a size that the city prefers. However, I would like to explain our reasoning for the size that I proposed.
i. The city park that this garden would be in is very large and I feel from my weekly walks and over 30 years of experience in this neighborhood that this would be a good use of only a fraction of the space.
ii. We have over 30 families that are interested in participating in the garden. If each family wants a garden bed for themselves, that will already account for the 20 beds that are planned and we can spill over into the raised beds that will be on the inside of the fence. However, if only a portion of those families want to set up a garden bed in our first year of operation, 20 raised beds will be a good amount for the families and for additional communal and educational beds (like a pizza garden) or service oriented gardens that we can donate to a local food pantry under the Grow a Row for the Hungry program.
6. Water
a. Our only plan for water is water collection barrels at this time. We were really hoping for the tap into the water supply, but we understand that in current economic situation that is not feasible and would hope that in the future this point can be revisited.
b. Because the park is located near a street, we would also provide water for the garden by requesting that community gardeners bring water in jugs with them, and invite helpful neighbors to collect water in their empty water/milk jugs to leave at the garden site.
7. Additional Questions/Developments
a. Would the city advise the SH Community Gardeners to identify themselves as Friends of Sycamore Hills Park? If so, we would like to apply.
i. It would provide us with a 5013c tax exemption code that we could offer to businesses that are interested in donating supplies to the garden, as well as for grant paperwork. Right now, we have been using the Sycamore Hills Resident’s Association tax code, but we would prefer to keep the funds separate.
Aveeno Grant a No :(
We didn't get it, but we will try again next year! The other garden seemed to have something very specific they were asking for, so we will try that method next time.
Living in the CI-TAY of Columbus
Here is the application for Friends status. 
Ms. Pinnegar,
It was a pleasure speaking with you this afternoon—congratulations on all your efforts in creating a community garden at Sycamore Hills Park. Attached, please find the “Friends of Columbus Parks” application. I would encourage you to speak to Tina regarding this effort to ensure that there isn’t any conflict in becoming a “Friends” group and creating the community garden, though it seems to me it would be an asset to you. Again, please do keep our office in mind as you continue your efforts—we always appreciate community members taking such a vested interested in our parks. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to be of assistance.
Thank you,
Rachel
It was a pleasure speaking with you this afternoon—congratulations on all your efforts in creating a community garden at Sycamore Hills Park. Attached, please find the “Friends of Columbus Parks” application. I would encourage you to speak to Tina regarding this effort to ensure that there isn’t any conflict in becoming a “Friends” group and creating the community garden, though it seems to me it would be an asset to you. Again, please do keep our office in mind as you continue your efforts—we always appreciate community members taking such a vested interested in our parks. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to be of assistance.
Thank you,
Rachel
Working With The City
I am so happy with the City of Columbus! They are GREAT!! Here are some very interesting things I learned today about our city, parks, city council, and community gardens with just a few quick phone calls. (I would like to add that phone calls actually get picked up by PEOPLE who are very helpful! YAY COLUMBUS!)
Lesson 1: It could be very valuable for our community garden group to apply for a Friends of Sycamore Hills Park status. I have the application now (thanks, Rachel!), but I will check in with Tina first.
If we become Friends of SH, we can actually apply for a $1000 grant to beautify the park AND become our own 501(c)(3) which means we could offer tax write offs for donations AND we would not have to be under SHRA 501(c7) status which might cause problems in applying for grants since they ask for the 501(c)(3) tax exemption number.
Just to put it in writing, my vision for the garden in relation to SHRA is that the Curator will be an elected seat on the SHRA board. I want this so that this project is not solely dependent on me, but can be run by others in the future as well. This will benefit the community, the garden, and bring new energy and ideas into the way the community garden works. So, regardless of the possibilities of being our own separate entity, I still do want to be a part of SHRA and I think being our own entity as well can only enhance this partnership.
Here is an image from the website about the grant and a listing of some of the other Friends Groups. There is always the possibility that the current budget cut backs will effect this grant possibility, but it is a good resource to keep in mind for the future.
Lesson 2: This is our councilwoman in charge of City Parks. I spoke to her Legislative Assistant, Rachel and she was a wealth of information. Rachel said that Councilwoman Tyson is very supportive of community initiated events, and that it would be great to tell her about the garden someday.
Lesson 3: I have been very lucky to have the assistance of Tina. She is very supportive of this idea. I found her through Bill Dawson at Franklin Park Conservatory, but this is another way I could have gotten in contact, too.
Moral of the story: contact your city! Strangely enough, these new lessons are all the result of calling 311 to ask a few questions because someone came and painted the street that I live on with official looking markings!
Lesson 1: It could be very valuable for our community garden group to apply for a Friends of Sycamore Hills Park status. I have the application now (thanks, Rachel!), but I will check in with Tina first.
If we become Friends of SH, we can actually apply for a $1000 grant to beautify the park AND become our own 501(c)(3) which means we could offer tax write offs for donations AND we would not have to be under SHRA 501(c7) status which might cause problems in applying for grants since they ask for the 501(c)(3) tax exemption number.
Just to put it in writing, my vision for the garden in relation to SHRA is that the Curator will be an elected seat on the SHRA board. I want this so that this project is not solely dependent on me, but can be run by others in the future as well. This will benefit the community, the garden, and bring new energy and ideas into the way the community garden works. So, regardless of the possibilities of being our own separate entity, I still do want to be a part of SHRA and I think being our own entity as well can only enhance this partnership.
Here is an image from the website about the grant and a listing of some of the other Friends Groups. There is always the possibility that the current budget cut backs will effect this grant possibility, but it is a good resource to keep in mind for the future.
Lesson 2: This is our councilwoman in charge of City Parks. I spoke to her Legislative Assistant, Rachel and she was a wealth of information. Rachel said that Councilwoman Tyson is very supportive of community initiated events, and that it would be great to tell her about the garden someday.
Lesson 3: I have been very lucky to have the assistance of Tina. She is very supportive of this idea. I found her through Bill Dawson at Franklin Park Conservatory, but this is another way I could have gotten in contact, too.
Moral of the story: contact your city! Strangely enough, these new lessons are all the result of calling 311 to ask a few questions because someone came and painted the street that I live on with official looking markings!
The City Wrote Back!
Hello Amy!The Garden plans/design look very professional and you can tell that a lot of hard work went into this project. A few questions have been asked regarding the possible community garden. Do you feel that the you/the Community Garden Group would be able to meet the terms and conditions of the Policy and the Lease Agreement? How much community acceptance/support has this involved? Who is the 'group' that will be maintaining the Gardens? Have the funds been identified to support the Gardens, both presently and in the future? In reviewing the proposal, this size/caliber of Community Garden may not be appropriate for the area. That being said, do you have an idea for a scaled down version of the Gardens? Additionally, unfortunately the City will not be able to aid in any funding for the project or any type of maintenance. Thus, the tap into a water line would not be permitted. Other than rain barrels, have you identified another source of water? There are some others, but for now, these questions must be addressed first. Again, we appreciate your work on this project, well done!
Thanks!
Tina
Monday, February 23, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
What is my title?
( just kidding!)
In order to download the application, I have to state my title. I don't know what to call myself. Any ideas?
Sycamore Hills Community Garden _________ (Organizer, Creator, Development Manager, General Manager, President, Chief Creative Officer, ????)
After some discussion, my man suggested Founder and Curator. I looked up the meaning and here is what wikipedia had to say:
Curator (from Latin cura, care), means manager, overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution (e.g., archive, gallery, library, museum or garden) is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections.
I like it! Founder and Curator it is (but only if asked)!
2009 Healthy Sprout Award Grant
This would be a great grant for our garden. We really want to involve kids in the garden, and this grant PLUS the captain planet grant could be really helpful in supporting our goals.Here are the details:
To be eligible for the 2009 Healthy Sprouts Awards, your school or organization must plan to garden in 2010 with at least 15 children between the ages of 3 and 18. The selection of winners is based on the demonstrated relationship between the garden program and nutrition and hunger issues in the United States. This year we will present awards to 20 schools or organizations. Each program will receive:
- gift certificates towards the purchase of gardening materials from our sponsoring company, Gardener's Supply Company. The top 5 will each receive a certificate valued at $500; 15 more will each receive a $200 gift certificate
- NGA's Eat a Rainbow Kit, chock full of engaging taste education and nutrition lessons 25 packets of seeds
- a literature package from NGA
Submission process: Applications are due by October 17, 2009. Here is the application:
Monday, February 16, 2009
SHRA Newsletter Update 2/16/09
Sycamore Hills Community Garden Update
From Amy
The garden planning has been in full swing during the winter months. We are currently waiting to hear back from the city concerning the Sycamore Hills Park location for the garden. If all goes well, we are hoping to break ground this MAY! All of the planning has been put onto a blog for you to look at, at your convenience. Search through the postings to find updates, photos, timelines, grant information, budgets, the garden design, communications, agendas, inspiration, and more at http://sycamorehillscommunitygarden.blogspot.com/ . Be sure to click on the orange subscribe button to have the updated posts sent to you! We are looking for community involvement and connections to sustain the garden, so if you have ideas, interest, or business contacts, please feel free to get a hold of me at pinnegar.1 AT gmail.com.
From Amy
The garden planning has been in full swing during the winter months. We are currently waiting to hear back from the city concerning the Sycamore Hills Park location for the garden. If all goes well, we are hoping to break ground this MAY! All of the planning has been put onto a blog for you to look at, at your convenience. Search through the postings to find updates, photos, timelines, grant information, budgets, the garden design, communications, agendas, inspiration, and more at http://sycamorehillscommunitygarden.blogspot.com/ . Be sure to click on the orange subscribe button to have the updated posts sent to you! We are looking for community involvement and connections to sustain the garden, so if you have ideas, interest, or business contacts, please feel free to get a hold of me at pinnegar.1 AT gmail.com.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Deer and Gardens
From Cory at the OSU MG extension:Roxanne Male-Brune, MGV in Athens County, has spent a lot of time studying deer and plants – arghhh! She has an excellent website that includes a deer resistance table based on her studies in Athens county (deer country for sure).
http://www.gardeningindeercountry.com/
Her list is based on a wide variety of plants in her garden and whether or not they are deer browsed. In addition, she is interested in hearing from other Master Gardener volunteer and their experiences with deer browsing. This could also turn into a research project for MGV’s across the state.
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