Welcome to the newest issue of The Root of the Matter. Through our monthly electronic communication, Collective Roots will keep you informed about recent successes, new initiatives, upcoming events, and ways you can get involved with our work for food system change in East Palo Alto.
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Feature Story:
We are pleased to announce the launch of the first of a four-part series on urban agriculture in East Palo Alto, supported by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and Tides Foundation. One Acre Is More Than Enough introduces Don Ignacio Lopez, a 90-year-old gardener in East Palo Alto who cultivates a variety of fruits and vegetables on his one acre of land. Click here to read the story, and see below for information about our launch event on Thursday, June 24, when the Backyard Gardener Network will unveil the entire four-part series.
GARDEN WORKDAYS & UPCOMING EVENTS
 Celebrating East Palo Alto Agriculture:
Thursday, June 24, 6 - 7:30pm
Join members of the Backyard Gardener Network for an evening of guest speakers and stories about agriculture in East Palo Alto -- both past and present. Professional writer Ruxandra Guidi will share her feature-length story on East Palo Alto gardeners, in both English and Spanish. Plus, we'll have resources on hand for new and experienced gardeners, and information about joining the free Backyard Gardener Network. Thursday, June 24 from 6 to 7:30pm at the EPA Library, 2415 University Avenue. Attendance is free. More information is on our website and on Facebook.
Next Garden Workday: Saturday, June 26th, 9 - Noon
Please join us at the EPACS garden on Saturday, June 26th, from 9am until noon, for a morning of spring garden tasks. Be sure to dress in layers and closed-toed shoes, and apply plenty of sunscreen. Note that our workdays will be canceled in the event of rain. Click here to RSVP and for directions to the garden.
 Operation Frontline Cooking Classes
At our last class for parents at East Palo Alto Charter School, participants played a game of Jeopardy that tested their knowledge of healthy eating. Everybody received a tomato plant from the Collective Roots greenhouse to take home.
With this class done, we're busy preparing for the next series. Want to help? Volunteer cooks, nutritionists and class assistants are needed. There is a role for everybody. Please visit our updated listings on Volunteer Match for more information. Thank you to our volunteers Madoka Gaspar, Sally Chavez and Maureen Silva for making the first series happen.
 Backyard Gardener Network
Members of the Network attended a community forum last week to provide input on the use of two vacant lots in East Palo Alto. Many attendees mentioned creating a space to grow food. Starli Hampton and Reina Mendoza volunteered to explore the creation of a community garden. Plus, we're finally making raised beds! Volunteers from Life Technologies helped us to construct two raised beds that we will soon install in local backyards. Stay tuned for more information about this exciting development.
GARDEN-BASED LEARNING: Spring has Sprung!
Girls to Women:
The students of garden club at Girls to Women wrapped up their program in the last few weeks with sopes, fruit kebabs, multigrain pancakes, and a roundtable discussion on what to plant in the garden. Rumor has it that the raised beds will see some watermelon next year.
Clifford Elementary:.
Students at Clifford wrapped up their spring program with a variety of fun and educational activities, including garden-based scavenger hunts and relay races, smoothies, and the screening of a short film on industrial farming methods. Yes, students can appreciate this kind of thing. The garden looks great -- tomato plants are in, and the English peas are bountiful.
EPACS Middle School Garden Elective:
Middle school students enjoyed a field trip to Pie Ranch this month. It was a beautiful day in Pescadero as the students learned about what it takes to make pie, harvested strawberries and raspberries, held a baby goat and collected eggs. Thanks to Jered Lawson for a great tour.
EPACS Earth Club:
The students in Earth Club just finished an exciting six-month session in the garden. Their calendula plants, which began growing in December, are now flowering, providing habitat for beneficial insects. The seedlings they started earlier this spring are taking root in the fertile soils of the EPACS garden.
Costaño School and 49ers Academy:
We are pleased to report that Costaño Elementary and 49ers Academy Middle School students had their first lessons in their new garden! Students went on bug hunts, learned about earthworms, and planted the garden's first beans. Others learned about soil science and had a nutritious lesson as they officially launched the garden by making the ever-popular bike blender smoothies!
STAFF NEWS
JOB OPENING: Interim Executive Director
The Interim Executive Director (ED) is the chief executive of Collective Roots, a non-profit organization focused on garden based learning and food system change. Accountable to the Board of Directors, the ED is responsible for overseeing the operational management of Collective Roots, as well as the administration of community-based programming, in order to achieve the organization’s mission and vision. For more information, please click here.
Welcoming Kiara
We are pleased to welcome Kiara Jones as Food System Change Agent (AmeriCorps) this summer. Kiara will be working on our summer youth employment program, Backyard Gardener Network, and other community projects. She is a full-time student at Wesleyan University majoring in African American Studies and Theater with a concentration in Public Health. To read more, click here.
Farewell to Liz Snyder
Our dear Development Manager Liz Snyder is moving on, and we're sorry to see her go. During her time at Collective Roots, Liz was instrumental in cultivating support to sustain our programs. We'll miss her expertise in urban agriculture, articulate oral and written communication, and sense of humor. We wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors!
New Year for HealthCorps
We are gearing up to begin recruitment shortly for our new year of HealthCorps members -- starting in September 2010. A few changes are in store, so check our website soon for details on the new positions.
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
The success of Fresh Fest (Festival Fresco), our new health and nutrition program, would not have been possible without a cast of wonderful volunteers. All nine volunteers shared a passion for teaching children about health and nutrition. Many thanks to our volunteers, Mary, Ashley, Stephanie, Jeremy, Liz, Greg, Ayeola, Melinda, and Christine, who taught one hundred energetic students. For more information about volunteering with Collective Roots, please click here.
We are grateful for the following corporate groups that helped our gardens grow over the past month:
- Life Technologies brought over 50 volunteers last month to finish the floor of the Collective Roots greenhouse, build two raised beds for backyard gardeners, and plant over 200 summer vegetables, flowers and herbs.
- Foresters Insurance supported the development of the garden at the 49ers Academy by building five new raised beds, planting three citrus trees, creating a shade area and beginning to install irrigation!
- Finally, an anonymous group led by volunteer Amber Hampton helped to finish the greenhouse irrigation, weed the garden and plant lots of summer vegetables, flowers and herbs.
WHAT’S GROWING:
The EPACS garden is reaping the benefits of the extended spring rains and dedicated volunteer efforts. Bees are busy pollinating vibrant lilies and California poppies, while the wisteria climbs the green dome with astonishing speed. Visitors to the garden can enjoy a bounty of apricots and garlic while anticipating the arrival of summer tomatoes, peppers, squash, and peaches.
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