growing people newsletter - fall 2003
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Project Report: Church of Our SaviourCommunity Garden
Two members of The Church of Our Saviour on Jim Miller Road, Rebecca Smith andJack Boedecker, started dreaming about a garden almost two years ago. Their dream waskindled during a GICD presentation sponsored by Fr. Ed Sholty, who was then priest atthe church. (see GICD Grows People! on page 2).
The community garden idea germinated for many months and, with the guidance of
GICD, a garden plot wasdesigned early this year and acover crop planted. At thatpoint, progress almost stoppeddue to a lack of gardeners.
GICD again helped out byconnecting the church withanother gardener, Bob Curry,adding forty yards of compost,cottonseed meal, driedmolasses, donated plants and
seeds, and a large dose ofvolunteer labor for a work dayin early May.
By June, the crops werebeginning to mature anddonations were starting for theSoutheast Dallas Emergency Food Bank. Still, the garden was understaffed withvolunteer gardeners. To make matters worse, the two key founders, Rebecca and Jack,both developed physical problems what limited their ability to work.
Providence intervened in the form of a neighbor, Teri Laguardia, the wife of the ministerat the neighboring Umphress Road Methodist Church. Teri and the majority of the
church congregation are from the Philippines and have a strong cultural tie to gardening.Before long, Teri brought four additional gardeners and prospects for the garden werelooking up.
Even with the additional people power, the garden was still not fully planted. Bermudagrass and nut weed were fast becoming major beneficiaries of the wonderful soilpreparation. Another work day in late summer, again supported by volunteers and seedsfrom GICD, helped remove the weeds then planted greens and beans for a fall crop.
As the summer came to a close and school began, the gardeners contacted the principalof John Ireland Elementary School across the street from the garden. As fate would have
(Continued on page 4)
VOLUME 9, NO. 2 Fall 2003
Project Report: Church of
our Saviour Community
Garden
1
GICD Grows People! 2
Produce Donation
Projects
2
A Thank You Festival 3
Chicago Awes GICD
ACGA Convention4
Photo Spot: Gardening
Helps Our Kids Grow!5
GICD Supporters
SummerFall 20036
Tiah's Garden Recipe:Curry OkraStir Fry
7
Garden Notes 7
Inside this issue:
Growing People NewsGrowing People NewsG a r d e n e r s i n C o m m u n i t y D e v e l o p m e nt
Upcoming Events:
East Dallas
Community Garden
Safety & Health Fair
November 22, 2003.Details to be Announced!
Annual Spring Plant
Sale 2004
Saturday April 24 &
Sunday April 25
East Dallas Community Garden
1416 N. Fitzhugh, Dallas
Jack Boedecker and kids from John Ireland Elementary School picking mustard greens.
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VOLUME 9.2GROWING PEOPLE NEWSFALL 2003PAGE 2
Produce Donation Projects
For the first time this year GICD gardens have donatedvegetables to local food banks.
In our north sector the Kramer School CommunityGarden, together with Don & Tiah's Garden, havetaken 546 pounds to the Network in Richardson.
Our Saviour Com-
munity Garden hasnow donated over 800
pounds of vegetablesto the SoutheastEmergency Food
Center.
Community and back-yard gardens can growa lot of food, and makea significant impact onlocal food security.
We need help: Would you like to volunteerto help with picking and transportingproduce to food pantries and food banks?Donation Project volunteers can callDarlene Smith at 972-690-1752 or emailcdarlene@ev1.net.
has grown along with the need forweed control, plot management andseeds and plants for fall crops. GICDwas there!
This fall, when we wanted to interestthe neighboring school in extendingtheir science classroom to the garden,GICD was there!
The Church of Our Saviour is nowplanning on the addition of orchard andvine arbors. GICD is there!
It is comforting to know as we growand plot against hunger; GICD willbe there! True to their motto, they aregrowing people!
What began as a biennial showspromise to become an evergreen thanksto Gardeners in CommunityDevelopment. The seed was sowed two
years ago when Fr. H. Edward Sholty,current vice-president of GICD, invitedTiah and Don Lambert from GICD, togive a presentation on communitygardens to the parishioners of theEpiscopal Church of Our Saviour.
Eventhough members were interested,the church was going through a lot ofchanges and the timing was wrong.Several of us kept the subject on thevestry agenda until the timing wasright. The garden would be a missionof outreach and fellowship to the
community. Vegetables would beorganically grown for the SoutheastDallas Emergency Food Bank.Families would be provided with aplace to garden to supplement theirdiets and grow friendships. There wasmuch groundwork before ground wasbroken. GICD was there with guidance,garden tours, education, evensponsoring trips to seminars oncommunity gardening!
This February we were finally ready to
break ground on a 100 x 55 gardenand GICD was there with gardeners,tools, and seeds for the cover crop andexpertise!
While the cover crop grew, we neededhelp recruiting gardeners. Bob Curry,our garden champion, needed a garden.GICD was there!
May brought the need for expensivecompost, dried molasses, cornmeal andextensive toil and tilling. GICD wasthere!
On May 25, Rogation Sunday, at theChurch of Our Saviour we took time togive thanks for and bless Our SavioursGarden, the gardeners and guidance,
the donated seeds and plants and thecommon ground that connects us infellowship and friendship in the love ofGod in His nature. GICD was there!
June brought the first crops of Malabarspinach, squash, okra, watermelons,tomatoes and peppers. We made ourfirst weekly harvest for the SoutheastDallas Emergency Food Bank. GICDwas there!
Since June, the number of gardeners
GICD GROWS PEOPLE!by Rebecca Smith, garden co-manager
Our Saviours Garden is located at1616 Jim Miller Road, Dallas, Texas75217. Our phone number is214-391-2824. Our email address isosc@airmail.net. Work in the garden isan ongoing event, but Tuesdaymornings, 8:00am-10:00am, are setaside as harvest time for the food bankand Saturday mornings, 8:00am-10:00am, are set aside as a time togather and work together. Helpinghands are always welcome.
Produce delivered at the Network and Southeast Emergency Food Center
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PAGE 3GROWING PEOPLE NEWSFALL 2003VOLUME 9.2
Joanna L. HamptonJeffrey LambDon Lambert
STAFF
Don Lambert, Executive DirectorBunyay Nhonh, Education Assistant
HONORARY BOARD ASSOCIATEMary Jane Beaman
BOARD ASSOCIATES
Ethel Sirls CampbellNavy CheanJennifer ConradBob CurryJanet DeLeeJim HobbsEllen KhurshudianChharveth Kiv
Tiah LambertTori Lambert
Jan MatlackAmy May
Reed McAlisterBunyay NhonhSophorn Pich
Lance RasbridgeChanda SovanRebecca Smith
Susan StahlPaul Thai
Darlene SmithAnn Whitus
2003 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Gerald G. Carlton, PresidentH. Edward Sholty, Vice President
Kai Kunnapas, SecretaryRick Guerrero, Treasurer
GARDENERSIN COMMUNITYDEVELOPMENT
Gardeners inCommunity Development
901 Greenbriar LaneRichardson, TX 75080
972-231-3565214-675-8473
grower@flash.net
For information about newsletter contents, orpermission to reprint, contact our acting editor,Don Lambert, at 972-231-3565.
A Thank You Festival
On Saturday evening, Sept. 27th, East Dallas communitygardeners, had a party for themselves, their families, and specialfriends of the garden. As these Cambodian and Laotiangardeners celebrated another successful garden year, they also
thanked those who care about the garden and help support it.They shared traditional foods, and invited visitors to join them intraditional dances. Guests wandered the pathways where 20some families grow an amazing array of vegetables. One visitor,Rod Dreher, from The Dallas Morning News staff, wrote thiseditorial piece:
Urban GardensFruits of labor are spiritual as well as physical
Reprinted from The Dallas Morning News Friday, October 3, 2003.
The East Dallas Community Garden on Fitzhugh Avenue is a
kind of social club for elderly Asian immigrants, most of themrefugees from war-torn Cambodia and Laos. Since 1986, thegardenone of three nonprofit gardens like it in the Dallasareahas provided a place for these refugees to grow vegetablesas they used to back in the old country. The intense Dallas heatis just like home for the 50 or so gardeners who till the soil there.One old woman is even known to sleep in the garden sometimes,to remember what life was like before the communist KhmerRouge destroyed her native land.
On most days during the growing season, you can drop by,meet the gardeners and buy their fresh produce. The garden is
only minutes from some of the city's most desirableneighborhoods, but it looks and feels a world away. Many of thegardeners speak little English, and you can tell by the way theydress and the weary look on their faces that these are poor peoplewho have lived through suffering and hardships beyond theimagining of most contemporary Americans. But these aren'tunhappy people. In fact, what you noticeand what they tellyou, if you stop to askis that working the garden with theirfriends from back home gives them pleasure, solace andstrength. Enough, anyway, to live on. These folks don't ask formuch.
Last weekend, the gardeners held an open house to show off
their accomplishments. If you stood among the vine-drapedarbors, watching the families dance and mingle, you may havelearned something about America. There among the world-weary grandfathers and grandmothers were their grown childrenand grandchildren, kids with fresh American faces, speakingshopping-mall patois, with nothing more serious to worry aboutthan their SATs. Just as they took a vacant lot and turned it intoa place of abundance, so did these gardeners plant their bereftfamilies in the fertile soil of this country and made them thrive.You shall know them by their fruits.
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VOLUME 9.2GROWING PEOPLE NEWSFALL 2003PAGE 4
(Continued from page 1)
it, the principal and science teacherare enthusiastic about gardeningand wanted their science club totake some remaining space. Duringthe first week of October, 25
gardeners from third through sixthgrade made their way to the garden.They helped with the weekly foodbank harvest, thinned crops, andplanted GICD donated seeds intheir own plot.
As a another bit of communitylinking, the bumper crop of freshbasil led to KalachandjisRestaurant, the highly rankedvegetarian cuisine provided bymembers of the Krishna
Community in East Dallas. StartingOctober 7, the Saviour garden hasbecome their supplier of fresh basil.
The garden and gardeners have
made a lot of progress during theyear and there are still many tasksfor the future. The garden needs afence, improved watering system,compost bin, and a solution to thepersistent nutgrass which
encroaches from the adjacent field.Because the church has a smallcongregation and limited funds, thegardeners will be expanding theirefforts to raise funds fromorganizations and individuals in thecommunity.
As the garden grows, the gardenersgrow with it in many subtle waysthrough the sharing that occurs aspeople get to know each other. Thecrops grown in the garden reflect
the backgrounds of the gardeners.Gardeners from the Philippinesgrow sweet potatoes just to eat theleaves, a concept unknown to most
Dallasites. The food bank and theschool wanted more greens tosatisfy the many African-Americans. Mexican-Americansenjoy the spicy peppers. Asgardeners get to know the crops
each other enjoy, there has beenactive recipe sharing that hasencouraged everyone to learn andexperiment.
In many ways, the Our Saviourgarden has been a miracle. Inaddition to their communitydevelopment, they have donatedalmost 700 pounds of produce to thefood bank. The church is now inthe beginning stages of starting afruit orchard. Without the initial
and ongoing support of GICD, thegarden wouldnt be there today.
Story by Bob Curry
Our GICD members attending theAmerican Community GardeningAssociation (ACGA) Conference inChicago, July 31-Aug 2, were BobCurry, Don Lambert, EllenKhurshudian, and myself, DarleneSmith, thanks to a grant from
Heifer Project International.
We all were impressed andsurprised at Chicago's beauty,numerous parks, greening effortsand recycling. We where shownmuch to support the claim thatChicago's Mayor Richard M. Daleyintends to see Chicago become thegreenest city in the nation.
Equally impressive was how wellthe conference was presented, andthe number of organizations andvolunteers that work together oncommunity greening and gardening
projects. The host team consistedof community gardening, urbanagriculture, communitydevelopment organizations andagencies, and
hundreds ofindividualgardeners workingthe earththroughoutChicago's 72neighborhoods.We liked this city,had fun, and benefited by sharing,networking, and learning from theover 250 participants from acrossthe United States, Canada and
Europe.
Our favorite events were thewelcome reception at Daley Bi-Centennial Plaza, workshops andseminars, tours of communitygardens and projects, the ACGAannual meeting, and the diner andsilent auction at the ChicagoBotanic Garden.
Attending her first ACGAConference, Ellen Khurshudian, thestar volunteer at KramerElementary School Community
Garden, besides
finding it fun to beout of Dallas in themiddle of summer,learned numerousways that a schoolgarden can beincorporated intothe school
curriculum. She learned aboutschool garden recycling projects,and use of solar power in a watergarden. She appreciated
opportunities to see and hear aboutsuccesses of other gardens, and tofind that gardens she saw on thetours were no more spectacular thanher own, at Kramer, here in Dallas.Like other school gardeners, shestruggles with the same problems offinding enough communityvolunteers and of teachers havingso many curriculum demands thatthey have a hard time incorp-
Chicago Awes GICDAmerican Community Gardening
Association Conferenceby Darlene Smith
"...the conference was areal eye opener the
breadth and depth of ideaswas astounding..."
Bob Curry
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PAGE 5GROWING PEOPLE NEWSFALL 2003VOLUME 9.2
orating gardening. Over all, Ellenhad a very positive experience.
Bob Curry, also a first timeattendee, has been instrumental ingetting Our Saviour CommunityGarden up and productive. Hesays, "the strong support from theChicago Mayor was impressive. Iwish the Dallas government wouldshow the same strength." Attendingthe conference changed Bob'scommitment to communitygardening in Dallas. He states that"I can see a greater range ofpossibilities for the types of gardenswe might encourage and how theyimpact communities." He nowbelieves we can increase theeffectiveness of GICD in thecommunity. "We need to develop acore team of committed andtalented people, and develop a longterm strategy that encompasses bothgovernment and private sectors.Don has been doing the workalmost all alone and if we can givehim support we can develop many
more gardens." Bob continues,"Our biggest obstacle is the lack ofa clear cut vision,and ourinability to powerfully articulate[GICD's vision]...for developing
community gardens. The secondbiggest obstacle is the Dallas mindset which tends to advocatedevelopment over a goodenvironment." Bob sees greatpotential and a lot of interest incommunity gardening out there.
I was impressed that Chicago seesgardening as way to improve thecity. In just one example, at a CityFarm in downtown Chicago,gardeners sale much of their pro-duce to restaurants. This acre ofgarden on city land, now estimatedto be worth $5 million will soon bedeveloped. But, the city is com-mitted to provide replacement landand support so this gardening andjobs program can continue its con-tributions to the good of the city.
Don Lambert executive director of
GICD, serves on the ACGA boardof directors, and feels that ACGAconferences, like this one inChicago, provide all communitygardeners and the communities they
serve, with opportunities formutually beneficial networking, andwas pleased that GICD had somany participants attending. Hesees that supporting ACGA andattending such conferences, is asignificant way to provide trainingand personal connectionopportunities that will increaselocal team work and inspiration forour own efforts here in Dallas.
To learn more about theAmerican Community
Gardening Association go to:www.communitygarden.org.
Please consider becoming amember and supporting this greatnon-profit organization.
Gardening
Helps our
Kids
Grow!
Learning about planting leeks, garlic, and bunching onions at the
Kramer School Community Garden
John Ireland sixth graders weed their plots at
Our Saviour Community GardenPhoto Spot
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VOLUME 9.2GROWING PEOPLE NEWSFALL 2003PAGE 6
GICD SUPPORTERSSUMMER FALL 2003
Communities Foundation of Texas
The Real Estate Council (TREC)
Les Dames dEscoffierHeifer International
Huitt-Zollars
Mary E. Cronin
Michael DiCarlo & Jimmy's Store
Keely Helton, Fun on the Farm
Chek & Moi Poh
Redenta's Garden
Linda Snow
Emily Summers
Tom Thumb Good Neighbor Program
Carol Weinstein
Linda Ahrens
Suvapote Atiyawijitr
Mary Lee Broder
Mr. & Mrs. Ted Dornseifer
Stephen B. Jones
Carol Lyons
Tom & Pungut Korytowski
Don & Tiah Lambert
Bernice Meyerson
Special VolunteersIt really would be impossible to have a great community gardening program without generous help fromvolunteers, many whose names never get recorded. At our plant sale each year, volunteer teamwork makesit all possible. At Kramer Elementary, Our Saviour, and East Dallas gardens, volunteers mow, pick uptrash, and help with construction and general gardening. Community Gardeners and their family membersroutinely spend several hours each month on general garden maintenance. Recently, volunteers pickedvegetables and herbs for food bank donations. And, of course we have wonderful Board of Directors andAssociate volunteers, that work to keep GICD viable, on track, and are known to volunteer additional timeas needed. The following are just some of the great helpers we note for this year:
Barbara Baughman
Mary Jane Beaman
Jack Boedeker
Carolyn Bush
Pat Bywaters
Ethel Sirls Campbell
Jerry Carlton
Navy Chean
Ex Chith
Bob Curry
Norsiah Daniels
Sophia Daniels
Janet DeLee
Sonny Din
Sally Ee
Pum Fey
Rick Guerrero
Joanna Hampton
Krong Heum
Yai Kam
Sue & Vanh Keovixay
Kai Kunnapas
Ellen Khurshudian
Jeffrey Lamb
Aaron Lambert
Don Lambert
Tiah Lambert
Sok Lon
Mau Lun
Amy May & Chuck
Saporn Moeul
Nyet Mon
Krath Mou
Bunyay Nhonh
Ek Noeun
Mom Nov
Sophat Ok
Ruth Oldham
Ngone Phomphakdy
Peter Pich
Sophorn Pich
Leap Pin
Steven Platt
Voeun Prak
Lance Rasbridge
Khamkong Satsoy
H. Edward Sholty
Ly Seng
Darlene Smith
Rebecca Smith
Soeurt Khann
John Thompson
Rosa Thompson
Tres Thompson
Paul Thai
Khamkong Throndara
Nang Ting
John Tatum
Ocie Vest
Ann Whittus
Noy Xayaseng
Lee Ming Zheng
Lin Li Zheng
Ting An Zheng
& others
Blooming Grove Landscapes
Blue Mesa Grill, Liz Baron
Bruce Miller Nursery
Java & Cha Co., Ron Faruqui
Green Lake Nursery
Jimmy's Food Store
King's Creek Garden in Cedar Hill
Lakewood Garden Center
Lawns of Dallas
Organic Dynamics, Bob Kephaft
Pickerings
Plant Market
Rohde's Organic Nursery and Nature Store
Sunshine Farms at Wills Point, Nathan Hullum
TruGreen Lawncare in Irving
Vickery Greenhouse
YC Nursery
Plant Sale 2003
Donors
Thank you Dallas areabusinesses for
donations to our annualplant sale!
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Become a Community Gardening Supporter
Individual or Group Business or Corporation
Principal Supporter $100 or more ____ Program Supporter $500 or more ____
Organizations1 $ 35 ____ Garden Supporter $ 250 ____
Individual/Family $ 25 ____ Small Project $ 100 ____
Other Amount $ ______________
1 Households, GICD gardening teams, organizations Make checks payable to: GICD
Gardeners in Community Development is a 501(C)(3) organization
Please mail your contribution to:GICD, 901 Greenbriar Lane, Richardson, TX 75080
Your name _________________________________________________________________________________________
Address ___________________________________________________________________________________________
City __________________________________ Zip ___________________ Phone ____________________
PAGE 7GROWING PEOPLE NEWSFALL 2003VOLUME 9.2
Tiahs Garden Recipe:Curry Okra Stir Fry
Ingredients:
Method:
Heat oil in frying pan. Saut garlic and onion for 3 minutes, and stir in curry powder.Add chicken granules, peppers, and okra, stir well and cook for 5 minutes.Add tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste.Cook for another 2 minutes, until cooked and tender.
Serve with steamed rice.
1 lb okra, chopped in 1/2 inch lengths2 sweet banana peppers, chopped
bite size10 cherry tomatoes, cut in two1 medium onion, chopped coarsely
2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly2 tsp curry powder1 tsp chicken bouillon granules2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
GARDEN NOTES:
Secret Gardens Sacred Grounds
A wonderful garden tour organized byPreservation Dallas of 13 specialgardens with spiritual and sacredqualities. Many visitors remarked thatit was a "happy surprise that places likethe East Dallas Community Gardenexist in Dallas."
Blessed Earthworms
We took some of our earthworms onSt. Francis Day to Our Saviour Church,where a Blessing of the Animals washeld for a few fortune dogs, cats, andother critters, including our worms.May this be the beginning of asuccessful vermiculture compostingproject for GICD, as we work towardsgetting more Dallas schools involvedwith worm bins. Rev. Raymond
Jennison said that in over twenty yearsof blessing animals he had neverblessed earthworms before.
A Gift of Manure
A call from Keely Helton, ofFun onthe Farm, resulted in the donation of 4pickup loads of very special manure, amix of horse, sheep, goat, llama,alpaca, emu, and various poultry. Thisgift came from her educational farm inLucas, TX. www.funonthefarm.net
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GROWING PEOPLE NEWSFALL 2003
Fall 2003
Gardeners in Community Development
Growing People News
901 Greenbriar LaneRichardson, TX 75080
Saturday April 24 & Sunday April 25
EAST DALLAS COMMUNITY GARDEN
1416 N. FITZHUGH AVENUE
PLANT
SALE
THE 2004 ANNUAL COMMUNITY GARDEN
The next time youre at Tom Thumb, remember to link yourReward Cardto our number.Tom Thumb will pay us a percentage of your total purchases providing another way foryou to donate. So be sure and use your card every time you shop!
GICDs Good Neighbor
Number is: 6714
Tom Thumbs Good Neighbor Program BenefitsGardeners in Community Development
IGIVE.COM Another way to help GICD to is to shop at the IGIVE.COM site on the internet. Eachpurchase you make will provide benefits for our community gardening program.Go to IGIVE.COM , register as a Gardeners in Community Development supporter. Be sure when asked to typein your cause to enter Gardeners in Community Development. Once registered, you can return anytime and yourshopping will be linked to supporting GICD. They will send us the donation, and you can enjoy easy low-cost onlineshopping.
Thank you!
GARDENERS IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT NEWSLETTER, GROWING PEOPLE NEWSFALL 2003, VOLUME 9.2
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