growing people newsletter - fall 2003

8/4/2019 Growing People Newsletter - Fall 2003

1/8

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.


2/8

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 [email protected].

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 [email protected]. 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


3/8

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

[email protected]

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.


4/8


(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


5/8


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


6/8


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!


7/8

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 ____________________


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


8/8

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

growing people newsletter - fall 2003

Documents