Francis Mendoza with Carla Muñoz, Tribal Chairwoman of the Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe)
with Francis Mendoza
Naturalist, interpreter and environmental educator, Francis Mendoza will talk to us about the history of the Chochenyo land that we inhabit. He will also focus on horticultural and medicinal ways Ohlone peoples use to take from and give back to the land.
The Indigenous peoples of the area now known as the Oakland Bay Area have talked story, lived sustainably and protected their land from invaders since time immemorial. As we acknowledge the land we live on, it’s also increasingly necessary to learn the true history of invasion, subjugation and trauma that native peoples have endured and continue to endure to this day. Through discussion and demonstration, Naturalist Francis Mendoza will present a holistic view of native people in the bay, one based on culture, language, food and land management. He will focus on TEK or Traditional Ecological Knowledge having come from the Philippines, where traditional Indigenous knowledge is also valued and shares a similar history of colonization by first, Spanish Colonizers, and later, American Imperialism.
Francis Mendoza (he/hey/sila) is a naturalist, environmental educator and JEDAI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Accessibility and Inclusion) Consultant with more than thirty years experience serving marginalized communities at the intersection of race, gender, culture and nature. He is the JEDAI Section Director for NAI (National Association for Interpretation) and a Certified Interpretive Guide and California Naturalist. He can be reached on Instagram as @roving_ranger.
Here is a list of resources provided by Francis Mendoza:
- Ohlone Curriculum with Bay Miwok Content and Introduciton to Delta Yokuts by Dr. Berverly Ortiz, EBRPD, download at www.ebparks.org, 2015
- Native Peoples of the East Bay by Dr. Beverly Ortiz et al., EBRPD
- Bad Indians by Deborah Miranda, Heyday Books, 2012
- An American Genocide by Benjamin Madley, Yale University Press, 2016
- The Ohlone Past and Present: Native Americans of the San Francisco Bay Region, compiled and edited by Lowell John Bean, Ballena Press Anthropological Papers; No. 42, 1994
- Tending the Wild, by M. Kat Anderson, University of California Press, 2013
- Indian Summer: Traditional Life Among the Chiomumne Indians of California’s San Joaquin Valley by Thomas Jefferson Mayfield, California Historical Sociaety, 1993
- The Way We Lived: California Indian Reminiscences, Stories and Songs, eidted and with commentary by Malcolm Margolin, Heyday Books, 1992
- The Ohlone Way by Malcolm Margolin, Heyday Books, 1978
Join Alameda Backyard Growers as we work and learn at Farm2Market, one of our favorite Alameda places. Farm2Market (2600 Barbers Point Road) is a great place to learn innovative and sustainable techniques for growing fruit and vegetables. Lots of different tasks will be available – at least one should fit your interests and abilities! Have fun, gain some gardening know how and enjoy the company of other food growers while helping out a valuable Alameda non-profit.
Farm2Market is a small, diversified working urban farm and a social enterprise of Alameda Point Collaborative. The farm employs APC residents to work with staff and volunteers to produce delicious, nutritious fruits and veggies, raw honey and beautiful flowers. Proceeds from its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) membership program are used to help sustain APC’s supportive housing community.
COVID precautions: If you are fully vaccinated, you are not required to wear a mask. If you are not fully vaccinated, you must wear a mask whenever you are within six feet of another person.
Bring along your garden gloves, water bottle, sunscreen, your favorite hand tools, and whatever else you’d like to make your gardening work comfortable – knee pad, stool, kneeler, etc. Be sure to wear sturdy closed toe shoes!
Volunteers will help weed, sheet mulch, weed whack, compost, etc. After the work party tours of the farm and neighboring MakerFarm will be available.
After you get your ticket, we’ll contact you so you can sign the APC waiver, which is required in order for you to volunteer at this work party.
Questions? Email info@alamedabackyardgrowers.org and put WORK PARTY in the subject of your email.
Mano Tondre of DIG Cooperative
with Mano Tondre Owner and Designer, DIG Cooperative
Water conservation and water stewardship are vital now in our second year of severe drought. It is time to look for other sources of water to keep our gardens alive. Join us and learn about harvesting and using Greywater, Rainwater Catchment and groundwater systems such as Rain Gardens and Swales for keeping water in your soil. These systems can help save significant amounts of water and help wean us from our hoses.
Mano Tondre is the Owner and co-founder of DIG Cooperative. During California’s drought conditions of 2005, a group of builders and ecologists founded DIG Cooperative Inc. and built the first permitted residential constructed wetland for greywater treatment in California. The greywater wetland is located at the Berkeley Ecology Center’s EcoHouse. He continues to pioneer permitted greywater reuse and rainwater catchment systems across the greater Bay Area, including large scale projects at Chabot Space & Science Center, the San Francisco Zen Center and Skyline High School as well as smaller residential systems.
Enjoy a video of Mano’s presentation by clicking here.
We are excited to announce our
2nd Annual Plant Swap Event!
Alameda Backyard Growers is inviting you to a socially-distanced, outdoor plant swap.
- Masks must be worn and a distance of 6ft or more maintained.
- Everyone must use provided hand sanitizer prior to entering the plant swap area.
- Attendees must bring at least one plant to donate to the swap.
- Make sure plants are clearly labeled. Plants should be in good health and in healthy soil, to minimize the possible spread of garden pathogens.
- Other garden-related items are also welcome: books, magazines, tools in good working order, bulbs and seeds. These will be placed on our FREE table.
Location is outdoors in West Alameda and will be announced 48 hours prior via email reminder. Please be sure to register with a valid email address that you are able to check.
You can have a beautiful native plant garden that attracts amazing birds, butterflies and other wildlife. Learn about the benefits of local, native plants and some of the wonderful birds that are drawn to this place and to these plants. We will discuss what migrating and resident birds need and how to provide what the birds are seeking. While there are hundreds of bird species that have been observed in Alameda County, learn which native plants attract which bird species and why they are attracted to them. This presentation will cover what to think about in designing your backyard and when to plant. This will inspire you to have an awesome variety of native plants for birds. Golden Gate Audubon and the California Native Plant Society have partnered on Plants for Birds which promotes several local native plants that attract local birds and are available at local nurseries. The Plants for Birds program is all about local and each year more plants are added so that you can grow your garden while increasing biodiversity.
Bios: Eddie Bartley and Noreen Weeden are both active volunteers with the Golden Gate Audubon Society, California Native Plant Society (CNPS), and the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory. Eddie is President of the Yerba Buena chapter of CNPS and the Farallones Islands Foundation. He is an avian researcher and instructor for the California Academy of Sciences and Golden Gate Audubon. Noreen Weeden was formerly Volunteer Director with Golden Gate Audubon and is currently project managing a habitat restoration project. She is on the board of Yerba Buena CNPS. Both Eddie and Noreen regularly lead natural history field trips. They can regularly be seen in California’s natural areas birding, removing weeds and tending native plants.
Watch a recording of this presentation here:
February 15, 2022 7:00 pm via Zoom
With Joan Sarlatte, Alameda County Master Gardener
We resume our Zoom meetings in February with a great presentation on ergonomics in gardening.
Want to protect your body while gardening, which can be hard work on a body? Ergonomics is using your body the way it’s meant to be used for safe protection of muscles and joints. Learn good body mechanics in order to spare wear and tear on your body. The goal? Garden as long as you can as you move through time!
Joan is an Alameda County Master Gardener and frequently presents on ergonomics as applied to gardening.
View a recording of this meeting below:
ABG’s Annual Plant Sale – Saturday, April 23, 2022
This year we will celebrate Earth Day and hold our Plant Sale at Alameda’s West End Healing Garden at the corner of Taylor and Webster Streets (across from Nation’s). From 10 am to 1 pm (or until we run out) we’ll have a variety of heirloom, open-pollinated and hybrid varieties of tomato, veggie, herb and flower starts we grew from seed especially for Alameda’s mild & quirky summer climate.
For the youngsters, there will also be a wildflower seed-ball-making table. So come visit ABG, grab those unusual tomato varieties that ABG is famous for, and celebrate Spring, gardening and Mother Earth! It’ll be only a handful of blocks away from the Saturday Farmer’s Market on Haight St.
California Rare Fruit Growers and Growing Rare Fruit in a Mild Bay Area Climate.
Brian Lavin is a biologist who does molecular work and herpetology among other things. Having picked up growing plants as a hobby, he decided to concentrate on fruiting plants. He has traveled around California looking at what can grow here and has experimented with growing various species from both seeds and plants. He has been chapter chair for the Golden Gate Chapter of the CRFG since early 2019.
Brian will talk about the California Rare Fruit Growers (CRFG) organization, its goals and how to participate in and benefit from it. He will also give examples of “rare” fruit you can grow, or attempt to grow, in a mild climate like Alameda.
Here’s a recording of Brian Lavin’s presentation:
As a member of Alameda Backyard Growers, you are already protecting the climate by preventing food waste through gleaning produce for the Alameda Food Bank, and by reducing food mileage by growing your own food. What else can one person do in such a huge crisis to make a difference? A LOT! Climate change affects our everyday lives with drought, food supply problems, sea level rise, fires and the general survival of nature. This presentation will cover the crisis, solutions and 70 surprisingly simple things individuals can do about it including how to influence others to protect the climate.
Joyce Mercado Bio: Speaker Joyce Mercado earned her Bachelor of Science in Physics at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. She completed Climate Reality Project Leadership training led by Al Gore and joins thousands of other Climate Reality Leaders to give climate protection and sustainability presentations. She is an active member of a local climate protection non-profit, Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda, where she writes a monthly column on Climate Protection for the Alameda Sun and created a Climate Protection Checklist.
ABG Monthly Meeting on Zoom with Paige Benveniste
Join us for a behind the scenes talk on the organic food label. We’ll be discussing the history of the organic label, how it’s regulated, and what it means to buy organic (hint: it’s more than the absence of pesticides/herbicides). We will also discuss the current state of organics, why some people think the organic label doesn’t do enough, and the emergence of “add-on” labels like The Real Organic Project and the Regenerative Organic Certification.
About Our Speaker: Paige Benveniste is an International Organic Inspectors Association (IOIA) certified crop and processing inspector. She currently works as an organic inspector for California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). As an organic inspector, she travels throughout the Bay Area inspecting a wide variety of farms and food manufacturers. Prior to becoming an organic inspector, she worked on an organic farm and was a local food buyer/educator at a tech campus in San Francisco.
View the recording below.