Sunday, December 9, 2012

Community Meeting

Last Thursday (November 29th), the members of Huerta del Valle had our first official community meeting, consisting of Maria, past community garden participants (Very Interested Persons), and Pitzer in Ontario volunteers.  We all discussed what we thought should be the core values of Huerta del Valle and came up with this list:

El jueves pasado (29 noviembre) los miemrbos de Huerta del Valle tuvimos nuestro primer meeting communitario. Ahí estuvieron Maria, participantes previos del jardín comunitarío (es decir, Personas Muy Interesadas) y voluntarios de Pitzer en Ontario. Discutimos qué pensamos deben ser los valores centrales de Huerta del Valle y esto fue nuestra lista:


Values of Huerta del Valle: Respect, Communication, Responsibility, Dedication, Harmony,  Listening, Sharing, Support, Love, Humility, and Good Conduct.
Valores de Huerta del Valle: Respeto, Comunicación, Responsabilidad, Dedicación, Armonía, Escuchar, Compartir, Apoyo, Humildad, y Comportamiento. 

María updated everyone on the work we've done in the past few months -- working with the city and receiving funding through the Heal Zone Grant from Kaiser Permanente.  It was a great experience for everyone involved to come together and share their thoughts about Huerta del Valle.

María le compartió al grupo noticias sobre lo que estuvimos trabajndo en los últimos meses -- trabajando con la ciudad y recibiendo fondos hacia la beca de Zona HEAL de Kaiser Permanente. Fue una experiencia valorable para todos de juntarnos y compartir las ideas sobre Huerta del Valle. 
 
  

María chairing the meeting.
María dirigiendo el meeting. 

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Soil Samples!

Arthur and Shannon went digging for soil samples a few weeks ago.  We divided the garden into Plot A and Plot B and took about 25 samples from each.  These samples went into a conglomerated "Plot A" and "Plot B" bin, respectively.  We also took individual soil samples from each of these 25 locations and stored them in plastic bags.  Right now, the two conglomerated bins are getting tested for contaminants.  If it turns out that the soil is contaminated with whatever materials (metals, chemicals, etc.), we will be able to test each of the 25 individual samples to pinpoint the contamination and act accordingly.  However, we don't really expect to find contamination.  Once we get the (hopefully clean) results back, we will be that much closer to getting work started in Huerta del Valle!

Arturo y Shannon fueron a cavar muestras de tierra hace unas semanas. Dividimos el jardín en dos terrenos-A y B-y tomamos acerca de 25 muestras de cada uno. Parte de estas muestras se mezclaron en un contenedor "Terreno A" y otro "Terreno B", respectivamente. También metimos partes de las muestras en bolsitas individuas y las guardamos. En este momento, se esta analizando las muestras mezcladas para determinar si se encuentran contaminantes. ¡Ya que recibamos los resultados (limpios, con suerte), estaremos un paso mas cerca a poder trabajar en la Huerta del Valle! 





Shannon digging for samples.
Shannon, cavando para las muestras




Where samples come from...
De aquí salen las muestras...




The conglomerated samples from Plot A (light blue bin) and Plot B (darker blue bin).
Las muestras mezcladas de Terreno A (contenedor azul claro) y Terreno B (azul mas oscuro)




The individual samples!
¡Las muestras individuas!


The Lawyers!

We have been fortunate enough to work with UC Irvine law professors Robert Solomon and Carrie Hempel.  They teach at the university's Community and Economic Development law clinic, which has third year law students practicing law.  We met with a group of students in September and they decided to take Huerta del Valle on as a client!  This means we will receive free legal advice and have the help we need to eventually incorporate into a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  

Estuvimos afortunados de trabajar con los profesores de UC Irvine Robert Solomon y Carrie Hempel. Enseñan la clínica de Desarrollo Económico y de Comunidad por el cual estudiantes de tercer año practican el derecho. Nos juntamos con un grupo de estudiantes en el mes de septiembre y ¡decidieron aceptarnos de cliente! Significa que recibiremos consejos legales gratuito y tener la ayuda que necesitamos para eventualmente incorporar como una organización 501(c)(3) no lucrativa.



Lucy, Maria, Simone, Wes, and the law students.
Lucy, Maria, Simone, Wes, y los abogados.

Designing the Land Use Plan

We recently met with Nisreen Azar (Restoration Fellow at Pitzer), who was able to help us design our land use plan.  After some discussion, we finally have a conceptual site plan, which we have turned into the city!

Recientemente nos juntamos con Nisreen Azar (Becaria de Ecología de Restauración), quien nos ayudó con el diseño de nuestro plan de uso de la tierra. Después de nuestra discusión tenemos al final un plan de sitio conceptual, ¡el cual entregamos a la Ciudad!



Designing the plan with Nisreen.  We had a satellite image of the plot of land and used trace paper to lay out possible site designs.
Diseñando el plan con Nisreen. Tuvimos un imagen satelital del terreno y usamos papel translúcido para dibujar posibles diseños del sitio.


The semi-finished product...
El producto medio terminado...


The Ontario Health Fair




On October 14, Wes and Shannon manned the Huerta del Valle booth at the Ontario Health Fair (held at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church off Mission Avenue).  We met many Ontario residents and spread the word about Huerta del Valle.  Many community members showed interest in the garden and  we were all able to learn about other health initiatives going on in Ontario!

El 14 de octubre, Wes y Shannon montaron una mesa de Huerta del Valle en la feria de salud de Ontario en la iglesia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe sobre la Mission. Conocimos a muchos residentes de Ontario y corrimos la voz sobre Huerta del Valle. Muchos miembros de la comunidad mostraron interés y ¡además conocimos otros iniciativos de salud haciéndose en Ontario!





Shannon, Max, and Hannah holding down the fort for Huerta del Valle and the Ontario Wheelhouse.
Shannon, Max y Hannah en la mesa de Huerta del Valle y la del Ontario Wheelhouse. 

The Fair!
¡La feria!

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Site visit

A few photos from our first site visit.  We went to the site with Karen and Cathy from city planning to talk about our visions for the space.

Algunas fotos de nuestra primera visita al sitio. Ahí fuimos con Karen y Cathy del departamento de Planificación de la Ciudad para hablar de nuestras visiones para el espacio.

                                    
Lucy and Maria talking with Karen about the future main entrance!
¡Lucy y Maria hablando con Karen acerca de la futura entrada principal!


And of course we had to do the whole walk around.  It was really uplifting to get a feel for how this whole operation will work.


                                  


We were also visited by some Pitzer students the week before doing a class on California Food Systems.  We got to show them the site from the outside and talk about local food issues with Maria.
This site will be so beneficial to everyone as an educational space.

También nos visitaron algunos estudiantes de Pitzer hace algunas semanas antes de tomar una clase sobre los Sistemas Alimenticias de California. Tuvimos la oportunidad de mostrarles el sitio desde afuera y hablar con Maria sobre algunos temas de comida local. Este sitio va a beneficiar tanto a la gente como espacio educativo.




At last!

So far in our short history Huerta del Valle has accomplished a lot.  Name changes, making lots of compost, growing healthy food and making connections all over Ontario that will benefit our project in the long run.

Hasta ahora en nuestra corta historia, Huerta del Valle ha logrado mucho. Cambios de nombre, hacer montones de compuesto, cultivar comida sana y hacer conexiones alrededor de Ontario que nos va a dar beneficio al futuro. ¡Todavía no hemos tenido un hogar hasta ahora!

We still have never had a location that we can call home until now!!!...

Why don't we zoom in a little bit here        

Closer...

Closer...

Can we just get there already?

We have arrived at HDVs new location for our community food project!  A 4-acre site next to a beautiful park in the heart of the city!

¡Hemos llegado al nuevo sitio de HDV para nuestro proyecto de comida comunitaria! ¡Un sitio de 4 acres al lado de un bello parque al corazón de la ciudad!


Huerta del Valle has been working with the city of Ontario (learn more about Ontario's health initiatives) to become a player in the HEAL grant from Kaiser Permanente.  Over the next three years HDV will transform this space into a community center and learning lab for healthy local food and more!  And we don't plan to be around for just three years, this is just the beginning.  Check back soon for updates!

Huerta del Valle esta trabajando con la ciudad de Ontario (aprenda mas sobre los iniciativos de salud en Ontario) para ser parte de la beca HEAL de Kaiser Permanente. ¡A lo largo de los próximos tres años HDV va a transformar este espacio en un centro comunitario y laboratorio educativo para comida saludable y local y mas! Y no planificamos estar aquí por sólo tres años, es nada más el principio. ¡Vuelva pronto para ver nuestras noticias!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

EL NOMBRE: Huerta del Valle

¿Qué hay en un nombre? Nada más que una representación del potencial que tiene un lugar. En cambiar nuestro nombre de "Jardín Comunitario Linda Vista" a "Huerta del Valle," representamos el cambio del sitio y también el renacamiento de propósito que otra vez tenemos mientras el proyecto transforma. 

THE NAME: Huerta del Valle



What's in a name? Nothing more than a representation of the potential of a space. In changing our name from "Linda Vista Community Garden" to "Huerta del Valle" ("Garden of the Valley")we are representing the change of site but also the rebirth of purpose that we yet again have as this project transforms. 

Monday, April 9, 2012

¡Kate y Aresh Visitan!

El 5-7 de Abril, un par de jardinero/organizadores comunitarios profesionales nos dieron una visita. Kate Temple-West y Aresh Javadi viven en Nueva York, donde trabajan con varios jardínes comunitarios y una organización que se llama "More Gardens!" ("¡Más Jardínes!") (http://www.moregardens.org). Dieron varios discursos y seminarios sobre sus proyectos en Nueva York, los desafíos con jardínes comunitarios que enfrentan, y las etapas que pueden fortalecer a tal proyecto.

Kate and Aresh Visit!
April 5-7th, a pair of professional gardener/community organizers gave us a visit. Kate Temple-West and Aresh Javadi live in New York, where they work with various community gardens, including the Children's Magical Garden, and an organization called "More Gardens!" (http://www.moregardens.org). They held various discussions and workshops about their projects in New York, the challenges that community gardens face, and steps that one can take to strengthen such a project. 


Kate también es herbalista y directora teátrica. Aquí da un seminario en el jardín de Pitzer sobre creatividad, marionetas, y la espiritualidad que se puede encontrar en la naturaleza.
Kate is also an herbalist and theatrical director. Here she is giving a workshop in the Pitzer garden about creativity, puppetry, and the spirituality found in nature.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

¡Inspiraciónes!/Inspirations!
Día de Buena Comida Los Angeles
En el 31 de marzo, 2012, gente se reunieron en 40 sitios diferentes para celebrar la producción, preparación, y consumo de buena comida local de Los Angeles. 
¡Mira este bonito jardín terrazado! 
(PHOTO)
Se llama La Academia de Liderazgo Los Angeles Urbano Proyecto Granja y uno de sus cargadas se graduó de Pitzer. Aquí hay un video sobre el proyecto:



Good Food Day LA
On March 31, 2012, people came together at 40 different sites to celebrate the production, preparation, and consumption of good local food in Los Angeles. 
Check out this beautiful terraced garden! 
(PICTURE?)
It's called the Los Angeles Leadership Academy Urban Farm Project, and one of its managers went to Pitzer. Here's a little video about the project: 


¡Más Jardínes! 
Una guía para empezar un jardín comunitario. Escrito por Aresh, quien visitó a Pitzer y los jardínes comunitarios de este area. Es escrito  específicamente para jardínes "guerillas" en la ciudad Nueva York, pero todavía es pertinente a jardínes en cualquier lugar.

More Gardens!
A guide about how to start a community garden. Written by Aresh, who visited Pitzer and the community gardens in this area. It's written specifically for guerilla gardens in New York City, but it's still pertinent to gardens anywhere.

How to start a community garden now! Yes Yes Yes!



Grow Your Own Zucchini Dreams!
An Un-Common-Sense Guide to Starting Your Own Community Garden
by Cathy Bussewitz and Aresh Javadi
Tired of eating genetically engineered food? Ready to grow your own peaches for breakfast? The community garden in your neighborhood may be the answer to your salad dreams. If your garden is filled for the season, as many are right now, you can request to have a space reserved for next fall or spring.
But if that’s too long to wait for your organic big apple bites, now is the time to dirty your hands planting the seeds of food revolution, and start your own community garden. Follow the steps below…your stomach will be happy you did.
Where can I plant? First, find your future garden. Once you’ve chosen a slice of land, you can find out who owns it by calling NYPIRG, or visiting www.cmap.nypirg.org or www.oasisnyc.net. In either of these sites, type in your zip code and you’re on your way. You should also talk to your local community board to determine whether there are immediate development plans. To find out which community board you are in, call the mayor’s office or visit www.nyc.gov/html/cau/html/cblist.html.
How do I start? If you want to play by the rules, talk to the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and contact the city parks’ GreenThumb office for support. However, rather than talking to these agencies right away, we recommend the following program.
(1) Free the land. Buy bolt-cutters at the local hardware store and open the garden gates. Replace the lock with your own, and make extra copies of the key for your fellow future gardeners. Take pictures of the lot as it is, to document the beauty you bring.
(2) Plant the seeds in your community. Talk to your neighbors and care-taking residents of the block. Throw a party to clean out the trash and weeds from your new plot of land. Invite community groups and church groups to the event. Post fliers to attract as many people as possible.
(3) Beautify. Organizations such as Bronx Green-up and Brooklyn Botanical Garden can hook you up with free trees. GreenThumb will provide free plants after you have registered the garden, but you will have to do some planting in order to register. There are also mail-order nurseries which offer nice discounts. Don’t shy away from hitting up local nurseries for donations.
(4) Start the feeding frenzy. When planting fruits and vegetables, remember that city soil is toxic. If you want to test your soil to find out just how bad it is, contact the EPA or Green Thumb with your soil sample. Using bricks, stones, 2x8 planks, or your favorite found objects, shape and build your large planter. Fill it with clean soil, and plant the seeds. You’re on your way to better dinners!
• Decide the yummies you wish to plant, and follow directions on the seed pack.
• In the spring, April is a good time to plant long-growing vegetables like squash, tomato, peas, beans, herbs, watermelon, and corn.
• In the fall, plant bulbs for onions and garlic before the first frost.
(5) Sustain. Post a sign on the gates to tell others when the garden will be open, and invite members to get involved. Throw parties and cookouts, and take pictures. Invite schools to teach lessons in the garden. Donate a portion of the food to a food pantry or soup kitchen. Grow plants that will help alleviate asthma, like Mullen and Echinacea. Draft rules of membership. At your parties and plantings, invite everyone to sign a petition to make the garden permanent. Save photos and fliers in a garden portfolio.
(6) Make your garden permanent. Contact your community board, and get on the agenda for their next meeting. Win the approval of your council member by inviting him or her to your parties. Bring your portfolio, petition, and member lists to GreenThumb or the Trust for Public Land, to apply for permanent status. Contact More Gardens! Coalition at www.moregardens.org for their “How to Make Your Garden Permanent” book.
Enjoy your home-grown garden paradise!
To learn how to save your seeds to re-plant next year, visit www.seedtrust.com. For gardening tips, check out www.greenthumbnyc.org/links.html. Most importantly, as you’re plowing along on the way to healthier meals, share the trees, bees, and peas with your neighbors and friends. Gardens are for everyone. Take back the land!




Monday, February 13, 2012

La Primera Venta

El 13 de febrero, 2012, hicimos nuestra primera venta de "spring mix" verdes para ensalada al Café Shakedown en Pitzer. ¡Les vendemos 7 libras a $10 por libra!
On February 13, 2012, we made our first sale of spring mix salad greens to the Shakedown Café at Pitzer. We sold them 7lbs for $10/lb!
Zavi y Ru con la lechuga
Zavi and Ru with the lettuce
 MMMMMMM
¡La venta!
The sale!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Transformaciónes

Transformations

Abril 2011- plantitas para el verano
April 2011 - seedlings for the summer
Junio 2011- Don Manuel creando surcos
June 2011- Don Manuel creating rows
Septiembre 2011- empezando a crear nuestra propio fertilizantes organicos
September 2011- starting to create our own organic soil



Octubre 2011- ¡Creando más surcos!
Octubre 2011- Creating more rows!

Semillas!
Seeds! 
 Las primeras plantas salen...
The first plants come up...

 Lechuga...
Lettuce...
 maíz...
corn...
...y en Enero, casi listo para la cosecha!
...and in January, almost ready to harvest!