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2008, Living Mandala
creative services by: 360 Degrees
In Association With
Daily Acts
iGROW Sonoma
Go Local
Plus 100’s of Participating Organizations, Businesses, & Sonoma County Citizens
Overview
On a single weekend, May 15-16, 350 Sonoma County landscapes will be transformed into bountiful gardens, which save water and carbon emissions, grow food and habitat, and promote greywater and low-impact development, all while educating and empowering community and supporting local businesses. This can be as simple as planting a fruit tree or a tomato plant in a pot. But it is also an opportunity to create innovative gardens on front yards, apartment patios, school and church grounds, and business premises. The 350 Garden Challenge was inspired in part by the 350.org international campaign to find and implement solutions to climate change. We use the term "waterwise" to emphasize the need to conserve water in all aspects of life including as we increase local food production.
Partnerships
Daily Acts, iGROW Sonoma, GoLocal & Living Mandala are collaborating with the Sonoma County Water Agency and dozens of community groups and companies to create the 350 Garden Challenge. This county-wide project will engage citizens, organizations, local businesses, media and civic leaders to save water and improve access to healthy, fresh local food while positioning Sonoma County as a national leader in the local food movement and water conservation.
Community Organizing for the
350 Garden Challenge
350gardenchallenge@livingmandala.com
Community Organizing Leads
One person or a small group or people will be the Community Coordinators for each area: the main people communicating with the lead team and with the local community organizing team. This can be one person or several people sharing this role. The main responsibilities are:
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1.Community Coordinator will keep in contact with the Core Leadership to eliminate any duplication of outreach, logistics, fundraising, volunteers, etc.
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2.Attend coordination meetings with the Core Leadership Team and other community organizers, biweekly.
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3.Help assemble a community organizing team for your area.
Community Organizing Teams
Community Organizing Team are a group of people will work on the following for each community:
1. Outreach: other organizations, service groups, schools, churches, neighborhood associations, neighborhood watch, boy scouts, girl scouts, etc- to publicize the event, bring in partners and get more gardens and volunteers- see “How you can get involved” sheets. Ways other groups can support the 350 Garden Challenge : adopt a garden, organize volunteers, spread the word, workshops.
2. Model Gardens: we hope that each area will have at least one high profile model garden -- a front yard food farm, a permaculture food forest, a raised bed garden with drip irrigation, a new community or school garden, a gray water garden are some examples. Community organizers will brainstorm and decide on a model garden for their area. This should start as soon as possible as it may need quite a bit of time to put together especially if it is on public property.
3. Materials and Logistics: Create regional hub for gathering and dispersal of materials, ie. plants, compost, mulch; Look for local resource donations (check with Core Leadership Team on what and who they have already contacted). Find source of tools. Connect homeowners with materials (homeowners will be responsible to pick up). There is still a lot to figure out in this area- are we giving out materials to everyone? Or just model sites and low income gardens? Depending how much the each city gets involved will also make a difference- they might donate materials. This will become clearer in the next weeks.
4. Promotion/Media: Farmers markets, events, group meetings, poster, e-mail list. We need your help to contact as many people and groups as possible. Major media will be dispersed at the Core Leadership Team.
5. Volunteer Coordinator: Each area will be responsible for organizing volunteers in their area. Volunteers will come from the website and community organizer sign ups. Most of this will be for the days of the Challenge. Examples: Supply community floaters to check out sites on the day of the event. Help plug volunteers into different projects.
6. Documentation: Help us line up video and photo coverage of weekend at every site, or find a roving reporter to go around documenting the different projects.
Join the 350 Garden Challenge on Facebook
Join the 350 Garden Challenge on Facebook and invite your friends!
Contact
For questions and more information regarding the 350 Garden Challenge visit www.igrowsonoma.org
email: 350gardenchallenge@livingmandala.com
phone: 707-565-6681
350 Garden Challenge!
May 15 -16 2010
Sonoma County, California
350 Garden Challenge Goals
The goals are simple:
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1. Create a healthy homegrown food supply.
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2.Save water and cut greenhouse gas emissions
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3. Support local businesses
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4. Build community and beautify our neighborhoods
How To Get Involved
You can get involved in the 350 Garden Challenge in four simple ways...
1) Grow Your Own Garden
2) Join a Garden Crew
3) Become a Community Organizer, or
4) Support the Garden Challenge
1) Grow Your Own
Everyone can have a garden. Grow herbs in your kitchen, a potted garden on your balcony, a fruit tree in the front yard, or replace your whole lawn with an edible food forest. Growing food can also help you cut your water usage
dramatically, very important in our Mediterranean climate. Our resource page is full of guides to help you plan
edible estates big and small. We can even help supply volunteer labor and the know how. It is the responsibility of the homeowner to come up with the design and materials for the garden (subsidized materials may be available from our business sponsors). Help us meet our challenge by signing up your site today!
Simple Steps :
1. Register your garden project at www.igrowsonoma.org
2. Connect with your community organizer
3. Plan your garden (see “Get Growing” at www.igrowsonoma.org for ideas and resources)
4. Collect your supplies
5. Get ready to plant on May 15 & 16
2) Join A Garden Crew
Volunteers will be needed at many garden sites. Whether you are a life-long gardener or are looking for a reason to get your hands dirty for the first time, you can volunteer to help plant 350 gardens in a single weekend. Have some
experience working in a garden or planting trees? Become a mentor and share the knowledge you have on how to Grow a Garden with others. Are you an artist? A musician? A culinary genius in your own right? Do you have a truck and a good sense of direction? Perhaps something else of value you’d like to suggest to volunteer to our cause? We need you, too! Sign up to volunteer at www.igrowsonoma.org
3) Become a Community Organizer
Every city or neighborhood will have a Community Coordinator and an organizing team to help coordinate
volunteers and materials for the Challenge. If you have great organizational and communication skills we need you as an organizer. Please call Beth at 707-565-6681 for more information.
4) Support the 350 Garden Challenge
This is a big project and you or your organization or business can help in several ways....
• donate garden materials or plant starts
• make a financial contribution to support the project
• help us get the word out
How your Group Can Get Involved
The 350 Garden Challenge’s success is dependent on many organizations, groups and individuals getting involved. We hope you are as excited as we are about catalyzing this moment of interest in food growing, water conservation and community into one mass mobilization in Sonoma County. We are looking for partners and have many ways your group can get involved.
1. Get involved with organizing the event - we need help in each community with organizing demonstration projects, publicizing the event, recruiting gardens and volunteers, doing outreach to groups.
2. Adopt a garden project - your group can take on putting in a garden at a public spot, an individual’s home, a business, or a church. We need lots of groups working in many places to make 350 gardens. If you don’t have a spot but are willing to take one on, let us know and we can connect your group with a garden project.
3. Publicize to your network - we hope to partner with as many groups as possible to get the word out. Send out information to your email list, write about it in your newsletter, put up information in your office.
4. Recruit volunteers - you have connections to hundreds of people we might not be able to reach, can you use your network to put out the word that we need volunteers to help both before and during the weekend.
All organizations that partner with us will be listed on the igrow website. If your group or organization can help in any way and would like to get involved contact Sara McCamant - Outreach Coordinator by emailing: saramc@emeraldearth.org
Sponsorship & Donations
We need your help to make the 350 Garden a success engaging citizens, organizations, local businesses, media and civic leaders to save water and improve access to healthy, fresh local food while positioning Sonoma County as a national leader in the local food movement and water conservation. Become a sponsor of the 350 Garden challenge by donating on the link below. Sponsors will be recognized in 350 Garden Chllenge promotional materials. For more information on sponsorship opportunities email: k.rajala@golocal.coop
