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Posts tagged ‘urban gardening’

Sep 19

It’s Not Too Late: Go Pesticide Free!

Since last spring, little green hexagonal signs have been blooming in Salt Lake City gardens. These Pesticide Free Yard signs are part of the Salt Lake City Pesticide Free Campaign in partnership with Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF). HBBF encourages residents to protect our families and the environment by eliminating pesticide use.

Salt Lake City’s Sustainability Department teamed up with Beyond Pesticides to guide residents who want to keep their gardens beautiful without using harmful chemicals. And it’s working! Since 2018, over 340 individuals have pledged to go pesticide free.

And even though summer is coming to a close, you can still go pesticide free in your yard. Eliminating your use of toxic chemicals is a year-round challenge that will protect your family and neighborhood.

Read more

Aug 15

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Welcome Supreet Gill!

Supreet Gill is SLCgreen’s new Sustainability Program Manager.

SLCgreen is thrilled to welcome Supreet Gill to the Sustainability Department as our new Program Manager!

Supreet brings 15 years of experience in community food systems and a passion for improving urban and ecological resilience through sustainable agriculture and equitable community engagement.

Supreet has engaged in food systems on all levels — as a farmer, program manager for a refugee agriculture project, coordinator of urban farming and farm to school programs, and nutrition educator, to name a few!

In her prior position with Salt Lake County’s Urban Farming and Open Space program, she worked on numerous projects focusing on public lands management and community food systems. She also served on Salt Lake City’s Food Policy Task Force (now Food Policy Council) and has deep connections in the local food community.

As Sustainability Department program manager, Supreet will continue building our existing programs as well as developing new ones to strengthen the capacity of community residents and leaders to enhance the regional food system.

In short, her work is dedicated to improving community health and well-being, as well as making sure all residents have access to healthy, affordable, local food.

That goal entails a deep focus on community partnerships. She’ll continue making connections in the community– with farmers, local food producers, and other stakeholders. She’ll also work to ensure that communities, groups, and individuals with lower-access to resources are involved as deeply as possible in Salt Lake City’s work.

Finally, Supreet’s role will also include bridging with other government entities– within and outside of Salt Lake City– to prioritize strategies related to social and environmental justice, improving the local food system, and fostering equitable access to healthy food.

We’re thrilled to have her on the team!

Say hello when you see her at an upcoming community event . . . or a garden around town!

Oct 22

Urban Gardening with the Bells

Blog post by SLCgreen’s Laura Schmidt.

Thinking of starting an urban garden? Dig right in!

Recently, the “Live More with Less” conference highlighted urban gardening as a practical and meaningful way to be more connected to your food and to improve your quality of life.

Kevin and Celia Bell, urban homesteaders for over ten years, have turned their yard entirely into a garden.

DSCN1224

Wanting to know more about the Bell’s urban homestead, they took me on a tour. Upon wandering onto their property, I was instantly captivated by the colors and the accessibility of food. The front yard has a diversity of life growing: apples, grapes, roses, currants, hazelnuts, cherry, horseradish, and service berries.

map

After admiring the front yard, we entered the backyard through a gate. Every inch of the backyard was covered with life! I toured their half acre plot of land in Autumn and not in the full growing season. Among the 40 beds, each 4 x 25 feet, I saw plenty of greens, reds, oranges and yellows.

Garden Color

“I just harvested about 600 lbs of winter squash from 450 sq ft!” said Kevin Bell.

Winter Squash

These urban homesteaders also raise chickens and bees.

Chicken and Bees
Surrounded by several urban gardens, Celia and Kevin have a community of farmers right next to them. Their farm is adjacent to B.U.G. Farms, a community garden, Wasatch Commons, a cohousing neighborhood, and two beautiful llamas.

Llamas
It might be unrealistic to transform your entire yard into a garden, but we all have to start somewhere. Perhaps a good start is to grow plants in your house or apartment. Tomatoes seem to be a easy first plant. If you’re looking for something a bit more substantial, a small plot is easy to manage. Using the Arable Land Map, you can assess how much of your yard is available for gardening. With a little time and care, you can be eating the food you grew with your own hands!

Heirloom Tomato
If you need more inspiration before joining the Urban Gardening revolution, join us at Brewvies Cinema Pub, tonight for a viewing of Growing Cities, a film about urban farming in America, examines the role of urban farming in our culture and its power to revitalize our cities and change the way we eat. Learn more. Doors open at 6 p.m. Seating is limited. Movie starts at 7 p.m.

Aug 22

Popperton Plots: A Community Garden for The Avenues

Today Mayor Ralph Becker gathered with Jeramy Lund of the Community Foundation of Utah, Ashley Patterson of Wasatch Community Gardens and local gardeners to dedicate the Popperton Plots community garden in the Avenues neighborhood.

“Salt Lake City recognizes the important role community gardens play in supporting our local food system,” said Mayor Becker. “We are delighted to dedicate Popperton Plots, the first community garden to open under our expanded Green City Growers program.”

This spring, Green City Growers was awarded $50,000 in grant funds to support the development of two new community gardens including Popperton Plots. The award included $25,000 from Partners for Places, an initiative launched by the Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN).

Partners for Places is a matching grant program that creates opportunities for cities and counties to improve communities by building partnerships between local government sustainability offices and place-based foundations. The Community Foundation of Utah provided the $25,000 grant match and will manage permanent endowments.

“We are committed to sustainable nonprofits and sustainable communities, and this project is a demonstration of both,” said Community Foundation of Utah Board Chairman Jeramy Lund.

Five additional parcels of city-managed land are currently available for community garden access. Residents are encouraged to review the available parcels on SLCgreen.com and, if interested, complete an application for the organization and creation of a community garden.

Applications are due November 1, 2014.

Salt Lake City works directly with Wasatch Community Gardens and community members to develop gardens within City limits. Wasatch Community Gardens is a community-based nonprofit that has served Salt Lake County for over 25 years.

Other media coverage:

Jun 24

Get Inspired with Urban Garden & Farm Week

Wasatch Community Gardens is excited to host the 2014 Urban Garden and Farm Week — taking place all this week!

Urban Chicken Keeping Workshop. Join the fun on Wednesday, June 25 at 6:00 p.m. at the Grateful Tomato Garden for a workshop that will help you understand how to be a successful chicken keeper in the city.

Don’t miss out on the famous Urban Garden and Farm Tour. This self-guided tour takes place on Saturday, June 28 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and features chickens, sustainable lifestyles, small space gardening, rainwater catchment, and more.

Wasatch Community Gardens hosts the Urban Garden and Farm Tour in order to gather energy, raise awareness, and share ideas about urban gardening in the Salt Lake Valley.

The tour will inspire you to create a growing space of your own in order to provide healthy, real food and an educational experience for the entire family.

So whether you are a budding gardener, a seasoned grower, a backyard poultry keeper, or an urban dweller with herbs in a window, Urban Garden and Farm Week will have an event for you.

Learn what is happening in Salt Lake and with our local food movement, and how you can become a part of it!