SUMMER ROUND UP! www.cityschoolyardgarden.org
August 2018 Newsletter Give to keep youth growing!

Welcome Back to School!

The team at City Schoolyard Garden is excited to welcome students and families to the 2018-2019 school year. We hope you will take time to visit your schoolyard garden, participate in a community workday, and harvest from the bountiful crops. Before we dig into the school year, however, we wanted to catch you up on summer happenings.

Harvesting fun with Summer Camps

The summer is an amazing time for any child. Who wouldn’t feel an outrageous amount of excitement away from school? They can finally spend time as they wish, which is why when they choose to spend time in the garden, it’s a pretty big deal!

This summer two Charlottesville area day camps brought students into the CSG gardens for some fun growing and eating the summer harvests: Southwood Boys and Girls Club, which was held at the Jackson-Via and Burley-Moran gardens, and Greenstone on 5th, which was held at the Buford Garden.

The camps were packed with activities with a TON of excitement about the cooking. The kids encouraged us to adjust our camp time to 50% garden and 50% cooking. Campers would pick veggies from the gardens and go through all the steps to bring it to the table to eat. Step that up a bit and add an outdoor mobile kitchen and stove top and you can imagine this was pretty popular. Most of the snacks were different variations of stir fried leafy greens like kale or chard mixed with garlic, peppers, or herbs (simple but tasty).

Although we had go to recipes, we also took the summer to do some experimenting as well. We had an array of recipes from this summer--each week highlighting a different crop in the garden. Southwood compared the taste of cucumbers in vinegar with with pickles that we prepared and sat in the brine for a few weeks---which was a big hit. Some even said they wanted to try to make their own pickles at home. Greenstone on 5th spearheaded our new favorite salsa recipe...which made a bigger commotion than I thought it would. Everyone loves salsa! Right? We started creating a salsa before telling everyone what the end result was to have them guess. I guess watching a bunch of tomatoes and peppers turn into slush would initially confuse anyone. It wasn't until the tortilla chips were pulled out that it all clicked. Turns out it was pretty good salsa and we brought the recipe to the Southwood camp where it was an equally large hit.

Building Leadership through Food Justice

Summer 2018 was an exciting one for our Summer teen interns, and not just for the time spent in the garden. Although they spents hours of their time weeding and improving the gardens in the Charlottesville community, there was so much more! This year, CSG rolled out the Food, Rights, and Sustainable Food Futures unit during our youth internship program. This six-week educational unit introduced the six interns to the issue of food justice that span both the Charlottesville community and on a national level.

The unit was designed to allow the interns to flex their critical thinking skills and examine some of the systemic inequities that impact food security. One exercise involved a shopping trip where students were split into two "families" and experienced what grocery shopping is like for people with varying level of financial resources. We came together after and compared the shopping carts of two fictional, but typical families. One family was affluent with minimal limitations when shopping while the other struggled at the poverty level. Out of this exercise came the realization that, besides income, issues like the availability of public transportation play a key role in a family’s access to fresh fruits and vegetables.

The unit wrapped up with the students interviewing two Charlottesville food justice leaders. Brooke Ray, of the International Rescue Committee, and Farmer Todd Niemeier, from the Office of Human Rights, graciously offered their time to be interviewed to shine a light on food inequities experienced by residents of Charlottesville City.

It was a wonderful opportunity for the interns to see that becoming a food justice youth leader is well within their grasp. In the words of Makayla Howard, one of our outstanding interns, “Being a leader is to recognize your abilities and share them with others.”

To see more pictures from our Food Justice Unit and to hear about the CSG interns opinions on What Makes a Leader, check out our blog

Farewell to Karen Kennedy

For the past 4 years, Karen Kennedy has been strong voice and supporter of CSG and has been an asset to events and community relationships since joining the board in 2014. We are sad to see her leave the board but are excited for her new adventures on the West Coast. Thank you Karen for all your support!

A message from Karen: "...Serving on the board and as Philanthropy Chair these past 4 years has been a great honor and joy. Their vision that young people thrive with the 'opportunity to engage in nature, discover through experience, build equity, lead & cultivate healthy living skills' is one that deeply resonates with me. Thank you City Schoolyard Garden for the tremendously important work that you do each and every day for the Charlottesville community."

GARDEN CORNER

Now is an amazing time to root through those brambles and find some deliciously sweet raspberries. With only a few more months of harvest--we thought we would get you going for next year!

Planting

- Plant bare-root transplants early in the spring as soon as soil can be worked or late summer so they can take root before frost.

- Prepare soil with compost, preferably in the full sun, and till well before planting.

- Space the raspberries about 2 to 3 feet apart, in rows 8 feet apart.

- Depending on the variety you plant, you may need a support, such as a trellis or fence. Be sure to establish these at or before time of planting.

Caring for Raspberries

- Keep a thick layer of mulch around the plants throughout the season, it is very important to conserve moisture and keep the weeds down.

- Water about 1 inch per week.

- The roots send up many shoots, called canes. Aim to prune the majority of them, so that the survivors can produce more berries.

Harvest

- In early summer, berries will ripen in about 2 weeks. When raspberries are ripe, they will leave the vine willingly.

- Raspberries can be kept refrigerated for 5 days and also can be frozen.

Health Tip: Raspberries are a great source of Vitamin C and provide more fiber than any other fresh fruit! One Cup of raspberries supplies more than 40 percent of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C and manganese and 1/3 of the fiber you require.

Welcome to
Kimberlee Daniels!

While saying 'goodbye' to one board member, we are very excited to welcome another. Kimberlee Daniels is a new board member for CSG and currently works at UVA Medical Center.

As with all of our new team members, we interviewed her and got some insight about her goals with CSG. Here are her answers to our interview:

1) Tell us about an early experience with gardens and nature.

My earliest experience with gardens and nature was during my elementary and middle school years. I visited my grandparents in North Carolina and Georgia each summer. I helped them with the summer crops and the farm animals.

2) How did you get involved in CSG?

As a transplant to the Charlottesville area, I was looking for an opportunity to connect with the community. I wanted to volunteer my efforts where I could see the direct impact of the investment of my time. In speaking with a colleague, she shared with me that CSG might be exactly what would interest me and she was right! The opportunity to see youth learn important life lessons about healthy eating, realize the positive benefits of hard work and experience the gratification of participating in something that helps an entire community paired nicely with what I’d hoped to find.

3) What’s your favorite part of being involved in CSG? (or going to be)

I believe I will most enjoy seeing young people become empowered as entrepreneurs as they learn to manage the gardens and are exposed to new fruits and vegetables. It will also be gratifying and rewarding to witness the longitudinal effects of an improved quality of life resulting from incorporating nutritious foods in the diet and developing a lifestyle of eating healthy.

4) What are your dreams for CSG in the future?

To become a leader in promoting healthy eating.

5) If you were a fruit or vegetable, what kind would you be and why?

I would be a strawberry. When I am ripe and at my best, I am firm and focused on my goals and life plan and sweet and refreshing in my execution.

CSG sends out a hearty thank you to each and every one of the individuals, businesses and foundations that support making youth garden connections. We thrive with your partnerships. Thank you!

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Join our Cultivar Partners. Donate to City Schoolyard Garden today!

Volunteer

Harvest of the Month Volunteer Workdays -Wednesday, September 5th from 2-4pm (food prep); Thursday, September 6th from 10:30am-1:30pm (snack delivery); Monday & Tuesday October 1 & 2 from 2:00-4:00pm (food prep,)

For more information on Family Garden Workdays at your school & to sign up to help out, contact Jordan at volunteer@cityschoolyardgarden.org

Save the Date!

Friday, October 5th - 9th Annual Fall Harvest Festival at Buford Middle School -open to all CCS students and families!

At City Schoolyard Garden, we have a vision: that young people thrive with the opportunity to engage with nature, to enhance their academic learning through hands-on experience, and to cultivate skills for healthy living.