Garden Spaces Available

[Heather K]

Many people are looking for more garden space to grow their vegetables & fruit.

2011 Update- Bellingham Urban-Garden-Share website- http://www.urbangardenshare.org/bellingham/ 

 

Also post your needs & offerings on your neighborhood Transition groups site- http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/groups

 

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Past Discussion script prior to urbangardenshare posted below:

 

"LANDOWNERS" - If you can offer some sunny land for a gardener to improve the fertility & diversity of, either in the country or urban zones, please let us know by posting on this discussion.

(include your address location/neighborhood).  Then after you communicate with a potential gardener, you decide if it is a match for you.  

(Later community volunteers hope have a more effective online matching service through the "www.urbangardenshare.org".)

 

GARDENERS OFFERING THEIR SKILLS  to improve the fertility & diversity of anothers garden or land.   

If you are interested in edible gardening on some land posted here, please contact the person who is offering the land space through their comment page. 

Another good way to find  garden space, is to walk through the alleys in your neighborhood looking for gardens that could use your help, or land that would be good to garden. (Start out small if you are a beginner.) (Also try posting on the fourthcornerexchange.com network exchanging local 'life-dollars'.

 

"Land-owner" - once your offer of sharing land or garden space is met, please return to this discussion and 'X" out your reply post. reply post, move the curser to the right of the top line of your post.  (This is done by signing on to TW, than going to your st until the hidden "X" appears, then click on that X to remove your post.)

  

Also consider joining our TW Community Asks & Offers Group and posting your offer or need there.

http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/group/communityasksandoffers

 

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Also needed, is someone willing to coordinate & find an online garden-sharing & mapping system for our Whatcom area. If you know anyone who is already doing this in our county, please pass the word. Attempts have been made in the past with volunteers & interns, but the follow through has not yet happened! Any ideas on which local organization would offer office support & space for someone committed to making this happen?

 

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Some locations where people live are shaded by tall trees and there is not enough sun to grow edible plants. Those elder tree are beneficial to the whole neighborhood beyond the limits of the home. Its important that neighbors are encouraged to preserve their trees.

Sharing part of the sunshine on your land to a neighbor to garden on, could help those old trees stay standing. If you're not growing a garden in your yard, then plant trees & shrubs!

 

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Soon to include whatcom sharings:

http://www.urbangardenshare.org

 

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Other leads for finding possible garden space in the urban center of B'ham, would be through Chris E of BUGS - see his TW group , his website, or phone him.

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original discussion title was - Garden Spaces Available for Gardeners - Urban & Rural Locations

 

 

 

[Heather K]

Offered - Urban Organic Garden needs tending near Cornwall/Dean Ave near Assumption church.
This is Lindsay's place and she will not be able to tend the garden this year. She asked me to pass the word to find someone who would like to garden either for their own use, or for community use.
Contact her at [e-mail].

I will send her an invite to Transition Whatcom to encourage her to also network here
(Let me know when this exhange is completed so I can "X" this out.)

[Heather K]

Urban Garden Connection- link at http://bellinghamurbangardens.org/?page_id=19

Bellingham Urban Garden Syndicate (BUGS) would be welcome to post their most updated efforts here also.
The below copied from their page:
"Do you want a food garden? Do you have extra garden space? Do you have extra seed or garden implements you want to share? Post it here, and we can try and connect you with your urban farmer counterparts. Contact [e-mail] if you would like BUGS to help you with your garden arrangements"

[Forest Garden]

Hi Forest Garden is offering a BACKYARD BUDDIES program this winter.... so we can let you know what we find along the way, also

If you any kid's or young adults who would like to participate in our program please pass the word!

They can find our classes listed on NEighborhood-kids.com & the Bellingham Parks Dept Leisure Guide or contact us at

Center for Expressive ARTS -360 671 5355... [e-mail]....1317 Commercial St

[David MacLeod]

One space available for communicating about Garden sharing is the Community Asks and Offers Group:
http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/group/communityasksandoffers

Or in this Discussion Forum.

There is also Hyperlocavore.com, which uses the same "Ning" format as our site, and has a Bellingham group:
http://hyperlocavore.ning.com/group/bellinghamwaseekingyardshares

[Kay Dayss]

I live in Eastern Whatcom County near Maple Falls and am one of those people with tall 150' trees and no sun on my property. I only get sun around Jun 21 when we have a sunny day, so I need tips on how to grow in shade. I love my trees and will never cut them down. But I would like to be able to grow some food out here without having to drive for an hour into Bellingham where most of Transition Whatcom lives. I live out here where the volcano and the land is. 8-)

I would love to help by coordinating and finding folks willing to share a sunny spot or garden with their neighbors and matching them with researched people who need a garden space. I've always wanted to do this but just haven't had the gutsiness to go asking. 8-)

However, if I was the official Transition Whatcom East County Garden Sharing Coordinator/Mapping Person, I could do it. Out here people are very independent and tend to be Republicans who don't trust strangers, but I think if I was doing the coordination privately and they could control who would be able to use their garden, they would be happy to help. I don't think they'd be willing to open their land to the public, but for a handful of individual people, they might be happy to do it.

We could also offer deals. For example, I would be happy to offer free classes at Earth Creativity School (a magical art school for adults) in exchange for a sunny spot in their garden. Or of course, the grower could share their produce with the land owner.

I'm a senior citizen, the Founder of Whatcom Potlatch, the Director/Facilitator of Earth Creativity School, and a member of Sustainable Connections as well as Transition Whatcom, so I think that people would be willing to at least talk to me about it. I envision having two 3-ring binders -- one with land spots available and a map and one with people who want to grow their own little organic garden and a map of where those people live. This way, I could include photos and tell the stories in both of the binders so that we could match people to land. This will also encourage the local people to actually show up to do their gardening when they know that they have a spot and we know who they are. 8-)

The best part would be that these private land owners wouldn't have their land advertised to the public. They are often private people who don't want strangers messing about on their property.

This would be a great way to bring neighbors together too.

If you like this idea, please let me know what the next step is. I never come to Transition Whatcom events because they are in the city, and I don't go to the city. I would also be happy to have East County Transition Whatcom meetings here in my Earth Creativity School where we can beat the pow wow drum together.

Blessings,
Kay Dayss
[e-mail]
Earth Creativity School
http://earthcreativity.org
360-543-5628

[David MacLeod]

Kay,

Great ideas you have! There has been some discussion and some initial meetings I think of a "Transition Foothills," and I suggest you contact these other Transition members who live in your area: Brita Adkinson, Adriane Bonaparte, Kelly Kelsey, Alan Seid, and Paul Engel and Anne Baker.

http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/profile/BritaAdkinson?xg_source=p...
http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/profile/KellyKelsey?xg_source=pro...
http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/profile/adrianebonaparte?xg_sourc...
http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/profile/AlanSeid?xg_source=profil...
http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/profile/PaulEngel

David

[amy pennington]

Heather - pop me an email and let's discuss getting Whatcom county on Urban Garden Share. We have the technology set up - should be a pretty simple affair.

Best, amy pennington
www.urbangardenshare.org

[Heather K]

Spring garden sharing ideas flowing strongly!

Kay, I hope you run with your east county vision and keep us in the loop!
I hear in Russia & beyond the villagers bike out to the country to tend to their gardens and stay in small summer huts.
I've seen there is a community garden in Maple Falls area, and the Van Zandt community hall might be possible place to meet for a future east county seed-swap and garden-sharing connections. (my old neighborhood).

David, thanks for staying connected to this discussion. Yes at some point one of us should post on the ask & offers discussion, and also reference this discussion.

Amy, great to have you offer to connect us up to your online Urban Garden share network!
I hope our whatcom urban garden network can extend far out into the county.
With the possible sea levels rising through passing years, it makes sense for us to put our soil enrichment energies towards higher elevations. I could not find your email on your website, but I've sent you a TW friend request.

Shannon, Chris, Alain, & all....please share your thoughts and help if you can....I'm currently not online very often, but I'll try to check in.

[Heather K]

Re garden space sharing barriers: I'm aware that there are a few taxpaying 'land-caretakers' that are concerned with liability and have refused to share land with neighbors requesting edible garden space.

I'm wondering if there are any grant programs that would help cover costs of liability insurance, although I am not enthusiastic about money going towards a non-local or corporate insurance company.
Or, if there is some type of legal leasing agreement, that for the renting land at $1 per year, that the tax payer would have some protection. (who are our Transition Whatcom attorneys?).

I'm aware that in Island county, some of the "land-owners" are able to receive property tax breaks by having their neighbors farm & grow fruit trees on their land. I would sure like to find a way to reduce our land taxes in Whatcom county.

Amy, what are your thoughts & experience?

[amy pennington]

The experience on urbangardenshare.org has been very positive. We have not had users sign agreements, and we have not monitored the relationship between land owner and gardener off line. My thought was to build the website, make it functional, make it user-friendly and then deal with any issues that arose a la' minute. Thus far, it hasn't been an issue.

My hunch is that far more people would be willing to share than not. Why let a few bad apples spoil the bunch?

Heather K said:

Re garden space sharing barriers: I'm aware that there are a few taxpaying 'land-caretakers' that are concerned with liability and have refused to share land with neighbors requesting edible garden space.

I'm wondering if there are any grant programs that would help cover costs of liability insurance, although I am not enthusiastic about money going towards a non-local or corporate insurance company.
Or, if there is some type of legal leasing agreement, that for the renting land at $1 per year, that the tax payer would have some protection. (who are our Transition Whatcom attorneys?).

I'm aware that in Island county, some of the "land-owners" are able to receive property tax breaks by having their neighbors farm & grow fruit trees on their land. I would sure like to find a way to reduce our land taxes in Whatcom county.

Amy, what are your thoughts & experience?

[Heather K]

What would be the first few steps towards having Bellingham & Whatcom be on the Urban Garden Share website www.urbangardenshare.org ?

I'm guessing we need someone gifted with computer navigations, which is not my gift.

Thanks so much for connecting with us Amy and sharing your experience!

I've posted some of the recent TW garden news on our Organic Gardeners & Permaculture Group -
http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/group/organic

There is a chance that Chris Elder with our local BUGS ( Bellingham Urban Garden Syndicate) may be interested. He can be contacted at his TW page -
http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/profile/ChrisElder?xg_source=prof...

or at the BUGS website: http://bellinghamurbangardens.org/

[Heather K]

Sandie Ledray's offer of sharing her garden/orchard and helping with development & maintenance has been met! She was especially interested in folks with training in permacutlure concepts & experieince with backyard chickens.
Sandie, would you "X" out your offer & pictures now to help condense this discussion? http://transitionwhatcom.ning.com/profile/SandieLedray