Community Gardens

Making Changes in Families and Communities

A Presentation By Clorinda Jacobson

Why Garden? Increased Nutrition Awareness Increased Environmental Awareness Higher Learning Achievements Increased Life Skills

Keys To Successful Garden Based Learning Programs

• Youth Development and leadership

• Community Development and Involvement

• Using the internet as a Resource for your program

• Evaluation

What is a community garden?

•Any piece of land gardened by a group of people.

What would be the benefits for the Antelope Valley?

• Stimulates social interaction• Encourages self reliance• Beautifies neighborhoods• Produces nutritious food• Reduces family food budgets• Conserves resources• Creates opportunity for recreation, exercise,

therapy and education

* It Could reduce crime.

* Preserves green space.

*Creates income opportunities and

economic development.

•Reduces city heat from parking lots.•Provides opportunities for intergenerational and cross cultural connections.•It will provide a way for our community to feed our hungry through the nutritious food we will be able to grow right here in our community.

Components of the project

A working farmMural art

New Green ScienceA global village

A university learning center

"A garden is a friend you can visit any time.“ Anonymous

"As the Garden Grows, so does the Gardener“ Anonymous

"Gardening is a way of showing that you believe in tomorrow." Anonymous

"We come from the earth, we return to the earth, and in between we garden." Anonymous

"All my hurts my garden spade can heal."-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt." Anonymous

Watch this example of how Alameda involved youth in their

community garden.

Watch.htm

Now it’s time for us to plant the first seed!

References

Baker R April (1997) 'Where the sidewalks end, urban gardens patches of paradise from vacant lots,' Hope, Humanity Making a Difference, Apr, pp. 16-23.

Blair D, Giesecke C and Sherman S (1991) 'A dietary, social and economic evaluation of the Philadelphia Urban Gardening Project,' J Nutrition Education, 23, pp. 161-167.

Boston Urban Gardeners (1982) A Handbook of Community Gardening. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

Brooks C (1988) 'Adult physical activity behavior: a trend analysis,' J of Clinical Epidemiology, 41, pp. 385-92.

Brown LK and Vega W (1996) 'A protocol for community-based research,' American J Preventive Medicine, suppl 12(4), pp. 4-5.