I have a few more details concerning the Community Seed Swap! March 27th at Edward's Greenhouse. I'm still a little fuzzy on the timeframe, but it's happening at the same time as "Swing into Spring", which lasts all day on that Saturday. There will be classes going on that day with the subjects of containers, new introductions, natives, and soil. I will hopefully be speaking briefly between the various classes, and handing out informational materials.
As I previously mentioned, Edward's has graciously offered their space for the event. Which is great... this means they're going to help me with advertising. And frankly, it's just a great venue for people to get inspired to garden. For anyone who hasn't been out to see their massive greenhouses, massive selection, and overall beautiful grounds, I would highly recommend it! That is, of course, if you aren't planning to head down for the Community Seed Swap! They also have a Farmer's Market with live music every Tuesday evening during the summer. I have yet to attend this, but it sounds awesome. I live right in the neighborhood, after all! On top of helping us so much with this event, they've also offered to act as a drop-off point for produce and canned goods. So bring your extra garden produce to Edward's, and they'll make sure it goes to the right place!
The logistics are still being determined, but my hope is that once gardeners arrive, they will proceed to the informational booth where either I or a volunteer will be sitting. They'll have access to promotional and seed-saving materials, and be asked to fill out a notecard concerning their seeds. My hope is to get people excited and knowledgeable about saving seeds (if they aren't already) and to have a general good time. I hope gardeners will meet each other for the first time!
On that note, I've spent a lot of this week setting up a social network for people involved in or associated with food projects (i.e. community gardens, refugee gardens, donation programs, etc.) in Boise. It's my hope that everyone can talk together, meet, and swap information. There are so many projects going on, and I think they would all benefit so much by being part of a larger community. Kim Metez of the Abundance Project (Another great project to benefit refugees in our area) has helped me out a lot so far. One of the first items on our agenda is to gather these folks for an informal get-together.
So don't be shy... if you'd like to join the network, go to boisegrowers.ning.com and sign up. You don't have to be from Boise at all despite what the name suggests.
In other news, I got the approval today for a concert, fundraising, and promotional event at the Visual Arts Collective (VAC) on May 7th. Keep that date in the back of your mind... I can't tell you much at this point because we are so early in the planning stages, but I can tell you the event is called the Homegrown Hootenanny. With a name like that, how can you go wrong? I mean, honestly?

Community Seed Swap!

Mark your calenders!
The date has been set for the first ever Community Gardens of Idaho Community Seed Swap! Head on over to Edward's Greenhouse on March 27 to kick off the 2010 growing season. Meet fellow gardening enthusiasts, learn about what grows best in this local climate, and learn invaluable information on biodiversity and the importance of seed saving.
More details to follow! Keep this date open!

Back in the Saddle Again

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!
I spent a few days relaxing up in northern Minnesota. The lack of snow was distressing, but the warmer weather meant I could spend a lot of time by Lake Superior.
After a much-needed break, I feel ready to dive in to the tasks ahead! Christmas is less than a month away and I have many things I need to accomplish before then, especially since I will be spending more vacation time with family.
The volunteer meeting is right around the corner (December 9th at 7 PM! Here at the Foodbank, 3562 S TK Ave in Boise! Food provided! Should be pretty low-key) and I hope to hold the first meeting of the Garden Committee as well. I also need to start seriously planning for the Community Seed Swap, which is coming up in February (mark your calenders!! Exact date still to be determined, but I'll put it up here as soon as I meet with Edward's).
Tell your friends! Become a fan of my Facebook page and join my Facebook group (both called Idaho Foodbank Community Gardens)! Haha, how much more advertising can I do? :)
I'm going to put up an ad on Craigslist as well and submit something to the Boise Weekly. I'm really excited to meet other people interested in gardening, and to hear other people's input! I'm tired of only hearing my own ideas all the time. This is meant to be a project for the community, and will not be the efforts of just one person.

On a side note, I can't believe it'll be December tomorrow... as I mentioned before, there's still part of me that's stuck on a student's schedule. And since I haven't started school yet, there's some area of my brain that still thinks it's early September... not quite!!

Good News!!

This past Tuesday, I drove out to Edward's Greenhouse to have a meeting there. Now I may have mentioned this before, but just in case, I'll say it again. I am from Minnesota, in other words, land of the Midwest where you don't ask for things. Therefore I have never asked for a donation in my life, and I wasn't entirely sure where this meeting would go.
Almost as soon as I sat down with Anju Lucas, one of the managers, she asked me straight out "What do you want from us?" I stuttered and mumbled something about the Community Seed Swap in February. She immediately asked me if I needed a place to hold it, and if I would need anything donated. I was, frankly, fairly flabbergasted. I feel like I've been spoiled for all my future non-profit dealings... I didn't even have to ask for anything! Who knew it was this easy to get donations?!
Moral of the story, the Community Seed Swap now has a venue and a sponsor. They told me they're on board for whatever I want to do, and I just need to call them as the event gets closer. This is such great news... I had never been to Edward's before, and as anyone who has been there knows, the facilities are incredible. What a place to start off the growing season!!
Things are also progressing in other ways. I spent most of yesterday before lunch walking around downtown and Hyde Park putting up flyers (with the gracious help of one of my friends). I also sent an e-mail to the Boise Weekly, and I hope to have something in the Idaho Statesman. Edward's have also said they will help with advertising, and when I met with Anju she gave me a number of leads.