Hank Leeper, the Executive Director of the Alameda Food Bank told us that the percentage of clients needing the services of the Alameda Food Bank is up 2 – 3%. 1 in 13 residents in Alameda need the services of the Food Bank and don’t forget that of that number, 30% are children. The Alameda Food Bank always welcomes financial help and physical volunteer help, if you’d like to get involved and volunteer some of your time you can either call Samantha at the Food Bank on 510 523 5850 or email volunteer@alamedafoodbank.org
Next, we had an update from Joel Butler from the Alameda Free Library who has accepted a new position at a library in Saratoga. We thank Joel for all he did establishing the Seed Library and the Tool Lending Library as part of the Green Minds, Green Thumbs program.
We were intrigued by the seed lending library concept and asked Joel to dig into that a little more. When the public takes some seeds, they should grow an extra plant and allow that one to go to see thus enabling seeds to go back to the Seed Library. We were pleased to hear that you won’t be fined for “overdue seeds”. The Tool lending library is another great resource and the tools are pictured on the library website. You can find the pictures of the tools by clicking on the library catalog and type “Tool Lending Library” in the search box and you will get a list of all the tools available as well as pictures of each one.
Jeff Bridge, the General Manager of Ploughshares Nursery told us of his ambitious plans, such as the soon to start construction of a new ultra green hay bale structure that has solar power and a living roof. They’ll be able to demonstrate rain catchment systems and offer free classes that can be seen on their website. There’s a working farm that provides employment for 12 individuals and has 150 fruit trees and 75 chickens. The farm’s produce can be obtained at Dan’s Produce in Alameda.
The parent organization of Ploughshares is the Alameda Point Collaborative
Did you know that there are 75 families in Alameda with chickens and the chicken population as of the last chicken census by Alameda Backyard Chickens shows that there are 300 chickens on the island? One of the most popular events is the Alameda Chicken Coop Tour or the Tour de Coup. Also, See Spot Run now stocks chicken feed. You can join the Yahoo group that only serves Alameda and is kept deliberately local so people can connect with their neighbors to connect and solve specific issues related to chickens in Alameda.
We’ve got bee keepers on the Island too as many of you may remember from the Buzz About Bees event we did earlier this year. You can join this group by visiting
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlamedaBackyardBeekeepers/
Alameda County Master Gardeners are a wealth of information and we’re proud to count some master gardeners as not only members of our community group but also as board members. Both Birgitt Evans and Alison Limoges are master gardeners that serve on our board. ACMG is currently accepting applications for the next intake of future Master Gardeners. In February ABG will host a talk by Marion Adams Yoxall, Master Gardener and soil expert at the Alameda Free Library.
Melanie Wartenberg from Project LEAF updated on progress to develop the Old Island High School site into a district owned but partnership run outdoor education and environmental science center site for students. We’re looking forward to seeing progress there and helping out where we can because there’s clearly a demand for such a site. As Melanie said “a project of this scale will surely require community wide support and we will keep you updated so you and your members can participate in whatever way they feel inclined and skillful.”
Happy Holidays everyone and here’s to another year of fruitful community building and collaboration from everyone at Alameda Backyard Growers