Hi Project Pick Volunteers!
I hope you’ve had a great summer break! Fall is around the corner and I’m sure we’ll be picking lots of apples and persimmons.
Meanwhile, we have one plum tree to pick this Sunday, September 8, from 2 – 3:30 (only one tree).
If you’d like to join us for this quick pick, please click here (https://forms.gle/JbBf9VcnKUZqk7818) to fill in our sign up form.
I will let you know where to meet the group.
Please bring gardening gloves (if you have them), water to drink and a hat.
Let me know if you have any questions at info@alamedabackyardgrowers.org
Thank you!
Jillian Saxty
It’s time for our annual harvest-time potluck! We’ll munch on garden and other delights, and talk about our summer gardens – our triumphs and our woes, our successes and our failures, those nagging problems and our solutions.
Bring food or beverage to share, or just bring yourself. Please bring your own reusable plate and utensils to help us reduce waste. We look forward to seeing you!
Hi Gleaners,
After a summer pause, we have lots of fruit coming in for the fall.
The pick this Sunday, September 22 between 2-4 PM will feature apples and lemons.
Please let me know if you are available by filling out this form:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sHlMPrx31zNc5-0crH7-hoL0wHRVhkY1pcc_4E1MfhU
I will contact you about where to meet when you RSVP.
Thank you!
Jillian Saxty
Project Pick Coordinator
October 15, 2019, 7:00 – 8:30 pm
Rhythmix Cultural Works, 2513 Blanding Avenue, Alameda
Did you know your head is as heavy as a bowling ball? (your poor neck!) Or that losing 1 pound means 4 pounds of weight off your knees-a 4 to 1 ratio?
Come hear about how ergonomics can make your gardening less painful and extend your time in the garden, both now and in the future. Join The Alameda Backyard Growers on Oct 15 to hear more.
The goals of the presentation include:
- Understand how garden activities affect your body ergonomics and wear and and tear on your joints
- Learn to correct gardening activity for better body mechanics
- Demonstrate best ergonomic practices
Our Speaker, Joan Sarlatte, worked as a nurse practitioner caring for injured workers, many of whose injuries related to repetitive jobs. She became interested in ergonomics as a way to retrain your body toward better working practices. Now retired, Joan graduated in the Master Gardener class of 2018, and is interested in helping gardeners learn to work with less discomfort and fewer injuries.
Hi Pickers,
There’s been quite a lull in fruit picking requests – not sure why. However, we do have one (fuyu) persimmon tree that needs picking.
Can anyone help with that on Sunday, Nov. 10 between 2 – 4 PM?
If so please fill our our volunteer form here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sHlMPrx31zNc5-0crH7-hoL0wHRVhkY1pcc_4E1MfhU
I will provide the joining location and other information with your RSVP.
Who knows? We may have more trees on our list by then. 🙂
Thank you
Jillian Saxty
ABG Project Pick Coordinator
November 19, 2019, 7:00 – 8:30 pm
Rhythmix Cultural Works, 2513 Blanding Avenue, Alameda
We see the winter holidays as a time of abundance, family, and sharing. Unfortunately, when it comes to food, this season is also the most wasteful. The average American household throws out 25% of the food they purchase, equivalent to about $1,600 a year for the average family of four. Wasting food has broad implications, but reducing wasted food is one of the easiest ways to impact climate change. By preventing food waste from being generated in the first place, you are eliminating the green house gasses associated with disposal of that wasted food.
ABG has invited Maricelle Cardenas of StopWaste to share what she has learned about the problem of wasted food and simple ways to change how we shop, prepare, store, and serve food this holiday season and all year round. Learn how to save money and reduce the amount of food we throw away in our homes.
For more information, tools, and tips, visit StopFoodWaste.org.
Our Speaker
Maricelle Cardenas is a community educator with a background in waste, environmental, and social issues. She has supported various projects at StopWaste and is currently working on an exciting campaign focused on helping residents of Alameda County reduce wasted food.
Hi Pickers,
Yey! We finally have rain! That’s the good news!
Finding time between the showers – that’s the tricky part.
Looks like it should be (mostly) dry on Sunday, Dec. 8 between 10 am – 12 noon.
Let me know if you can make it by filling out our our volunteer form here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sHlMPrx31zNc5-0crH7-hoL0wHRVhkY1pcc_4E1MfhU
We should have lemons, apples and persimmons – the full spectrum.
I will provide the joining location and other information with your RSVP.
Thank you
Jillian Saxty
ABG Project Pick Coordinator
Hi Pickers!
What a year we had in 2019! Think we can beat 7,500 lbs in 2020? Let’s start working on that this Sunday, January 12 at 2PM.
If you can join our team in picking lemons, oranges and grapefruits, please fill in this form:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sHlMPrx31zNc5-0crH7-hoL0wHRVhkY1pcc_4E1MfhU
I will let you know where to meet up when I get your RSVP.
Please bring a hat and gardening gloves if you have them.
Thank you!
Jillian Saxty
On Monday, January 13, ABG will present a movie night at Rhythmix, 2513 Blanding Ave. in the city of Alameda , co-hosted by StopWaste! Free popcorn!
Please bring your own container for water to reduce waste.
Trevor Probert of StopWaste will lead a Carbon Farming discussion after the movie.
Our movie, ‘Symphony of the Soil‘ is an artistic exploration of the miraculous “living skin of the earth.” By understanding the elaborate relationships between soil, water, the atmosphere, plants and animals, we come to appreciate the complex and dynamic nature of this precious resource. The film examines our human relationship with soil, the use and misuse of soil in agriculture, deforestation and development, and the latest scientific research on soil’s key role in ameliorating the most challenging environmental problems of our time, including climate change. Filmed on four continents and featuring esteemed scientists and working farmers and ranchers, Symphony of the Soil is an intriguing presentation that highlights possibilities of healthy soil creating healthy plants creating healthy humans living on a healthy planet.
Trevor Probert is a Program Services Specialist at StopWaste and resident of Alameda.
Trevor Probert is a Program Services Specialist at StopWaste and resident of Alameda. He teaches StopWaste’s public workshops on composting, gardening for soil health, and carbon farming. Trevor works with urban farms and community gardens to set up on-site composting systems. He has worked as an elementary school garden teacher, classroom teacher, and landscape contractor, and has bachelor degrees in Geography and Environmental Science and a master’s degree in Education.
The City of Alameda’s Climate Action and Resiliency Plan recognizes the importance of trees:
- Trees sequester carbon by breathing in carbon dioxide and storing the carbon as plant material
- Trees not only help settle airborne particles during wildfire smoke events, but also remove carbon from the atmosphere and reduce heat impacts
As part of its climate action and resiliency efforts, Alameda is updating its 2010 Street Tree Plan. A vibrant urban forest can help protect us from the impacts of climate change, sequester carbon, increase property values, and promote social equity.
Come hear the research conducted by CASA’s (Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda) Brown University winter intern Kian Kafaie on Wednesday, January 15th at 6 p.m. in the Stafford Room at the Alameda Free Library, 1550 Oak Street, Alameda, CA 94501.
Light refreshments will be served and there will be an opportunity for questions and discussion.