Greenbelt Three Sisters Demonstration

Gardens & Urban Foodshed Project

August 2011

Greenbelt Three Sisters Update

Greenbelt Original Plan

Included Gardens

1940’s Victory Gardens

In a sense its all about water

and soil flow

2010—Food Security—Urban

Food Movement • Non-local –dependence on fossil fuels, --waste issues--pesticides

• Water issues ---Current unsustainable agricultural water use practices use 80 percent of water for agriculture

• Public health –chronic diseases--childhood obesity

• Peak soil –Long since reached -estimate 40 years of soil left every pound eaten 6 to 24 pounds lost to erosion

• Desertification—over grazing

• Global warming may cut agricultural production in half by 2020

• Fossil fuel dependent agriculture and land care

• In US-- 2/5 of 1 percent of population are farmers—average age 55

• Mono-culture loss of diversity--95 percent of seeds used in agriculture are lost

Watershed—Bay Health

• On a per acre

basis, urban and

suburban

contribute 7 times

the pollution to bay

as agricultural

areas

Grew out of Green Aces Pesticide

and Land Care Report

Recommendations

The City and partners engage in a strong public

education campaign designed to inform residents of

Bay friendly and Organic Land Care, and to provide

interested citizens with knowledge of alternatives to

pesticide use. Outreach and education tools include:

household brochures, workshops, Greenbelt

Recreation Department courses, and experimental

community demonstration gardens

Four Equal Interrelated Goals

• Provide additional gardening opportunity for urban dwellers—participate in food production

• Promote Bay Friendly edible and native plant landscaping—help run off to Bay issues

• Promote community and co-learning in different areas of Greenbelt

• Educational, Scientific and Artistic and creative expression

Principles

• Inclusive—multi-age and ethnicity—

handicapped access

• Organic –Bay Friendly practices

• Use of unused space now in grass

• Provide for sustainability of gardens–on-

going infrastructure

• Incorporate education and art—creative

expression; On-going life long co-learning

Three Sister Areas of Greenbelt

• Idea is that would work together on plans

and each help get started-

– Greenbelt—Center—Back of community

center

– Greenbelt—West---Springhill Lake Recreation

Center grounds

– Greenbelt—East—Schrom Hills Park

Three Sister Sites

Community Center

Center Garden

The Three Sisters Corn, Beans and

Squash—Center Garden 2010

Time to Play and Bond with the

Soil

Square Foot Gardens: Center

2010

Making Fairy Houses to Place in the

Gardens—Putting the Gardens to Bed:

October 2010

Schrom Hills

Schrom Hills Garden: August

2011

Springhill Lake Rec Center

Planting at Springhill Lake May

2011

Springhill Lake 2011

Help Us Climb to the Top of the

Hill! Adopt a Box or Pathway Stone

Adopt a Garden Box and Pathway

Project at Springhill Lake Garden!

• Site and soil conditions (storm run-off

area) indicate that we need to garden at

Springhill Lake site in deep raised bed

containers.

• Design for circle of 16—boxes that are

about 4 by 8 feet and two feet deep &

eco-art stepping stone pathways.

There are many ways to

contribute—Do one or all three!

1) Donate funds for materials and soil

to help build a box or for eco-art

pathway stones.

2) Participate in workshops to build the

boxes and eco-art stepping stones.

3) Plant and maintain a box working

with the CHEARS Chesapeake

Conservation Corp volunteer.

Raising Funds to Support and Sustain

the Gardens --Suggested Donation

• We’re asking individuals and groups to give

support in donating to this project. All names

of contributors of any amount will be

acknowledged on boxes and stones

• $100 donation needed to support a box

(materials, soil, initial plants—(folks may make

whole or partial support donation—any amount

appreciated)

• $25 donation for pathway stone

Erosion --Next to Springhill Lake

School

Planting Rain Garden Earth

Squad --Earth Day-Greenbelt

Public Works Supportive with

Conditions • Small manageable—

limited area

• Must be aesthetically

pleasing

• City agrees to allow use

of water from near by

buildings

• Volunteers must

implement and sustain

gardens; Plan to hold

workshops to implement

• Design help from city has

and is being given—work

closely

• City not responsible for

vandalism; Accept may

loose; near community

centers help

• Chears agrees to be

responsible for any

needed restoration

Center Sister

– Workshops (Four-Square, Biointensive and

Three Sisters Gardens)

– Plantings 4 fruit trees( 2 cherry trees, peach,

and plum)

– Herbs and veggies ( Greens, cabbage, chard,

peppers, corn, beans squash, tomatoes,

pumpkins, sunflowers)

East Sister

• Schrom Hills Park—July 25—BIG STORM

Day—Kick off

– Workshop s

• Drought Tolerant & Eco-Circles with Master

Gardeners

• Vertical gardens—construction with bamboo

– Plantings

• Fruit Trees/bushes (Persimmon, figs, grapes, kiwi)

• Drought tolerant herbs and flowers

Greenbelt West Sister Kick-Off

• Kick-off September: 2010

• Equinox Celebration and Medicine Wheel Gardens

• Camp Fire Inc

Partnership

Goals for 2011

– Sustain/start gardens/workshops continue

– Outdoor Nature Classroom (Arbor Day Project)

– Urban/suburban food shed (link to Green Aces

sustainablity plan)

– Handicapped access

– Community partnerships—adult day care, camp fire

– Food Forest

– Link to reducing run off and monitor

Next Steps—Outdoor Nature

Classroom/Art

• Center Garden—Re-plant beds –outdoor

nature classroom & handicapped acccess

also work with adult day care center

• Schrom Hills---Cover crop—plant—forest

garden

• Springhill Lake—16 beds—work with

school and camp fire—stream

monitoring—forest garden

Homescale Demonstration

Workshop topics

• Permaculture

• Biointensive

• Forest gardens

• Eco-circles

• Organic farming and land care

• Square foot gardening

• Conservation landscaping—native, wild

life

• Bio-retention—rain gardens

Permaculture is an

interdisciplinary design system.

• The observation of natural ecosystems

• The wisdom of indigenous peoples

• Traditional farming systems

• Modern scientific and technological

knowledge

Build Soil Fertility Naturally

DYNAMIC

ACCUMULATORS

Comfrey

Green manures Put the worms to work

Square Foot Gardening

• One square foot garden

unit measuring 16 sq ft

(1.5 sq metres) holds an

average of 130 plants

and produces enough

vegetables for one

person. A family of four

can have fresh greens in

abundance throughout

the growing season and

beyond from only 64 sq ft

of growing space (6 sq

metres).

Biointensive

• Double-Dug, Raised Beds

• Composting Intensive

Planting-build soil-60 percent

cover crops

• Companion Planting

• Carbon Farming

• Six to 8 times less water use

per pound of food

• Calorie Farming

• The Use of Open-Pollinated

Seeds

• A Whole-System Farming

Method

Eco-circles

Eco-circle gardens conserve

water

Forest Gardens

Plant trees!

Restore forests

48

Rain Gardens

Kuhn/Shephard

house and garden,

Toronto, Canada

Use

Vertical

Space

Container Gardening