Spring Celebration in Koshland Park

Join us this Saturday, May 30th, 2009 for a day of garden work and play, and to celebrate the Hayes Valley Neighborhood PARKS Group's transformation: A new name (Community Grows!) and a Great NonProfits Award!

Garden Workday 10-1 PM
Celebration/BBQ 1-3 PM
Movies in the Park 8:30 PM
Location: Koshland Park (corner of Page and Buchanan Streets, San Francisco)
Cost: Free

Bring a potluck dish to share for the BBQ. Grills and local bands are welcome (contact us if you have one!!)

This event is sponsored by the Western Addition Beacon Center, CommunityGrows, and Kaiser Permanente! For more information, contact: Nora Brereton, Programs Manager, at 415-424-5770 or nora@communitygrows.org.

Hayes Valley Neighborhood Parks Group Declared Winner!!!

Grassroots Environmental Nonprofits, Not Large, Well-Known Groups, Get Highest Ratings
Green Choice Awards Publishes First Ever List of Best Environmental Nonprofits

Menlo Park, Calif. — April 30, 2009 —Grassroots organizations get top votes for best environmental nonprofits, according to GreatNonprofits’ 2009 Green Choice Awards. The contest, held during Earth Month in April, asked people to submit reviews and ratings about environmental nonprofits. The results provide surprising insights into the kinds of organizations that are considered effective by volunteers, donors and stakeholders.

Over the course of Earth Month, more than 26,000 people visited the GreatNonprofits Web site, and 835 reviews were posted about more than one hundred environmental organizations.

“It’s wonderful to see the expression of positive comments on the GreatNonprofits Web site, and we are motivated to do even more to deserve this praise,” says Charles Higgins, executive director of Slide Ranch, which won for best environmental organization with an annual budget between $250,000 and $1 million. Barbara Wenger runs the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Parks Group, the winner among organizations with budgets of $250,000 or less. She says, “We are so honored to be selected, and more importantly to be reviewed so highly by people. I am shocked and thrilled. Even if we didn't win, just reading all of those wonderful reviews is so amazing.”

While big organizations such as Greenpeace and the Sierra Club were available for review, those groups didn’t see the kinds of results that their leaner counterparts did. For example, the reviews for the NRDC totaled 5, while the tiny Hayes Valley Neighborhood Parks Group garnered 44.

“There are so many great nonprofits who don’t have an advertising budget and are not household names. Similar to what Yelp has done for small restaurants, we enable grassroots nonprofits to gain recognition,” says Perla Ni, CEO and founder of GreatNonprofits. “Now there’s an even playing field through the genuine testimonials and reviews of people who have seen the work of a nonprofit first-hand. Donors and volunteers now have a source of information for which nonprofits are accountable and effective.”

To read our reviews, go to <http://www.greatnonprofits.org/reviews/hayes-valley-neighborhood-parks-group>. To see the winner's page, go to <http://www.greatnonprofits.org/green>. Thank you everyone!!!

BEET Ranger Graduation!

Today we said farewell to the BEET Rangers! It was bittersweet, of course. We will miss them, but we are so proud to see them complete this program and move on to new and exciting paths in their lives!

Modern Tea hosted us for a celebration dessert buffet, with cakes, cookies, sparkling apple cider and local lemonade. Everyone received a diploma and made a speech, and were sent home with beautiful BEET Ranger photo books that Executive Director Barbara Wenger had put together of the amazing photographs she has taken of the BEET Rangers through the program!

We hope to have a few of the BEET Rangers come back and teach with us for the next round of the program, starting in March. There is definitely interest from some of them, and their expertise, great advice, and valuable teaching skills would make the program much stronger next year. In my opinion, youth-led programming is the key to success, and I am looking forward to working with the graduates as co-teachers and co-facilitators. In the meantime, I will miss them as we take a break until next year. They bring so much inspiration and necessary challenge to my life, to keep me an active and critical thinker.

Thank you BEETS!

Harvest Festival!

Harvest Festival this year was a great success, all planned and run by the BEET Rangers! In the morning, the BEET Rangers helped move mulch and compost, take out and harvest winter squash, and prepped beds to plant carrot and radishes for the fall. We harvested some cute little winter squashies to decorate for halloween!

We spread a lot of the compost into our perennial beds and fed our trees their fall compost, giving them deep fertilizing as we move into the new season. A few of the BEET Rangers also painted signs to leave a lasting impression on the garden, making it more beautiful for future groups who come to enjoy the garden.

After our hard work, we went down to Hayes Valley Playground to celebrate with the rest of the neighborhood. The BEET Rangers ran a table about our organization, and helped people plant peas to take home in pots they could decorate themselves. Other BEET Rangers, especially Krystal, Karen, and Jessica, did face painting on lots of little kids. There was a delicious barbeque, and lots of bikes to ride around, including bikes that were welded together so you could ride side by side! It was a great time, and a sweet last event to celebrate with the community and our soon to graduate BEET Rangers
!

BEET Rangers Job Search

Today with the BEET Rangers we made a trip to Safe Haven, a community space in the Hayes Valley South residence. Safe Haven is an after-school drop in spot for youth in the neighborhood to come do homework, hang out, be with friends. They let us use their computers to work on resumes and job applications for the BEET Rangers to explore other employment opportunities for when they graduate the BEET Ranger program.

Here are a couple of resources for youth looking for jobs:

SF Youthline
Run by and for youth, 12noon-10pm every day
1-888-977-3399
http://www.youthlinesf.org/jobs/

SF Kids
http://www.sfkids.org/

JOBS TO APPLY TO:

Juma Ventures
www.juma.org

SF Youthworks
www.sfyouthworks.org

I-YEL
www.crissycorkboard.info/iyel/index.htm

Literacy for Environmental Justice
www.lejyouth.org

BEET Rangers at Academy of Sciences!

Today the BEET Rangers got a special treat, as our near-end-of-program celebration! They have been working so hard, and today was a day to celebrate and enjoy at the new Academy of Sciences!

The new building is pretty amazing. It was super crowded, but we were able to weave our way through to enjoy the incredible aquarium, complete with sea dragons, an albino alligator, an anaconda, and some really neat turtles. We also checked out the indoor rainforest, which kinda blew our minds. There were lots of amazing frogs, chameleons, and geckos. Snakes that looked like sticks with really long noses, and butterflies everywhere. One of them almost landed on Naz's head!

The penguins were as entertaining as ever, and the living roof is spectacular. Jeffrey wrote down the names of a lot of the plants for his garden at Gateway High School. We will help him get some of those native plants come spring, when the garden has more space to plant them. There was some lovely yarrow growing up there, definitely a beautiful sight covering a really big roof in the middle of San Francisco! There is so much space to grow on, everywhere, if we use a little imagination. Rooftop gardens could be happening all over this city!

We had a great time looking around, and learned a lot. It is always uncomfortable to see animals in cages- we talked about that quite a bit. We agreed it was challenging to enjoy some aspects of visiting the Academy of Sciences, but overall, we could see how hopefully it was bringing people closer to nature, and to caring about the environment and their impact on the world. Maybe one day we won't have to see animals from really far away up close in order to feel our connection to them, and we won't make choices to use resources that result in rainforest destruction, or the destruction of any environment, for that matter.

Growing and eating local, with organic systems that encourage lots of animal habitat and native plants ecosystems are so essential to fighting habitat destruction caused by corporate agribusiness. Every little patch counts, from the living roof at the Academy of Sciences, to our garden at Koshland with our Monarch butterfly visitors. It all makes a difference, and we can keep growing more and more... let's do it! Overgrow!

Permaculture in the Garden

This week in the garden, Katie taught a lesson on Permaculture. Katie had just completed an Urban Permaculture course, where she got to learn a lot of amazing things about design and modeling agriculture systems to be most efficient and supporting of their environment. Today Katie shared with a us a lesson on Patterns in Nature. The idea is to look at nature and replicate its patterns, because those patterns hold the key for ways to design our garden to be strong and efficient. Some of those patterns include spiral patterns (like a snail shell), branching patterns (like lightening), flow patterns (like a stream). After the lesson, we went into the garden and drew different patterns that we could find in plants or different areas of the garden, and talked about why we thought they might have formed that way.

OCTOBER GARDEN NEWSLETTER

October 2008 Newsletter Content:

1. Koshland Plans and Planting
2. BEET Rangers and Green Jobs Now!
3. Harvest Festival Celebration!
4. Zuchinni Bread Recipe

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1. KOSHLAND GARDEN: PLANS AND PLANTING

Fall is approaching, and although the days are warm, the nights are
getting longer and cooler. The BEET Rangers have helped us prepare our
beds and plant out a lot new fall crop that love this time of year:
kale, broccoli, chard, lettuce, cabbage and collard greens. The
lettuce is already getting pretty big, and we will soon be using it
for salads with our upcoming cooking class in collaboration with
Modern Tea and the Western Addition Beacon.

John Muir Elementary students are learning about seed cycles, and began their classes for the semester by harvesting carrots from this
summer's crop- this week they are planting carrots which they will harvest when classes end in December, giving them the opportunity to
observe the entire cycle of the plants life. Red tail hawks have beenvisiting us again! The students were able to see them up close as they perched on the trees above us. We feel so lucky to have these special visitors!

Upcoming plans and changes in the garden will be constructing
terracing of the John Muir Elementary School beds on the North slope
of the garden. The terracing will make gardening easier and more
accessible for the students, and will help retain the water run-off
that occurs in the winter months. We are looking forward to the
change!

To get more info on the garden, contact Community Garden Coordinator:

Nora Brereton (415) 424-5770, noraborealis@juno.com

2. BEET RANGERS AND GREEN JOBS NOW!!!

The BEET Rangers participated in the Green Jobs Now national day of action. We attended the fabulous Breaking Ground Conference for youth hosted by San Francisco Parks Trust on September 27th. Two of the BEET Rangers, Jessica Farkas and Tanea Lunsford, talked on a panel of youth about Green Jobs and why they are important. All of the participants on the panel shared really important views on how Green Jobs improve their communities, help them feel self-sufficient and productive, and provide a way for them to connect to their environment and green space in the city. We are proud to be part of the Green Job movement, connecting youth with opportunities to match environmental stewardship with economic justice.

Learn more about Green Jobs Now: http://greenjobsnow.com/

For more info, contact BEET Ranger Program Coordinator:

Elokin gardenkids@gmail.com (415) 958-6937

3. HARVEST FESTIVAL!!!
11am-1pm Workday, 1pm-4pm Party
Location: 11am-1pm Koshland Park at the corner of Page and Buchanan
Location: 1pm-4pm Hayes Valley Playground at the corner of Buchanan and Hayes

On Saturday, October 18th, we will be celebrating our Harvest Festival
with the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association and the HV Playground
Fall Fest! It will be a big party for all of us.

From 10am-1pm, we will be working in Koshland Garden. The BEET Rangers
will be planning and leading all the activities in the garden, based
on their gained knowledge of gardening, and their observations on what
work the garden needs at this point in time. Guaranteed it will be a
fun day! We will provide tools, gloves, and snacks. Come out for your
last opportunity to work with this current group of BEET Rangers
before they graduate!

From 1pm-4pm, we will move the party down to Hayes Valley Playground
to have a food, entertainment, and celebration with the whole
community. There will be activities run by the BEET Ranger for all the
family to enjoy! Come on out and celebrate the graduation of the BEET
Rangers, the Hayes Valley Neighborhood, Fall and Harvest time, and the
Hayes Valley Playground with us!

4. ZUCHINNI BREAD RECIPE

We are thrilled to be working with Modern Tea and the Western Addition
Beacon to host another cooking class for John Muir Elementary School
youth this fall. We began classes on Monday, October 5th, by
harvesting beans at the Victory Garden in front of City Hall. We
admired the kale planted by the BEET Rangers earlier in July, and the
students got very excited about all the different colors of beans
inside the various stages of the painted lady runner beans. Definitely
a great start to a great program!

Here is a fun fall recipe, to use all those zuchinnis that are
flooding the farmers markets this time of year.

ZUCCHINI BREAD
Makes 1 loaf

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. ground clove
2 eggs or equivalent
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup grated zucchini
1 tsp. vanilla

DIRECTIONS:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees
*Combine flour, baking powder, salt and spices in a medium sized bowl
and mix well
*In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with sugar until combined.
Batter will be thick and a little lumpy.
*Pour into greased loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a
toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!
* From Seed to Mouth Cooking Class, Summer 2008

BEET Rangers at Breaking Ground Conference!

The BEET Rangers were honored to be invited to participate in the Green Jobs Now national day of action at the Breaking Ground Conference for youth
hosted by San Francisco Parks Trust. We were invited to participate in two different workshops: a Green Jobs panel, and a workshop on container gardening. Two of the BEET
Rangers, Jessica Farkas and Tanea Lunsford, stepped up to fill both of these roles. In the morning, they held a workshop on container gardening, talking about why it is important to grow your own food. They explained all the elements necessary to have a healthy container garden, then helped people set up and plant their own container gardens to take hope.

In the afternoon, Jessica and Tanea talked on a panel of youth about Green Jobs and why they are important. All of the participants on the panel shared really important views on how Green Jobs improve their communities, help them feel self-sufficient and productive, and provide a way for them to connect to their environment and green space
in the city. We are proud to be part of the Green Job movement, connecting youth with opportunities to match environmental stewardship with economic justice. And I was so proud to hear what Jessica and Tanea had to say! They spoke up, and added a lot of enthusiasm and expertise to the discussion.

Naz got to learn about natural building, and made a brick out of cob material. She also visited the bees and worked in the garden at Potrero del Sol, across the street from where the conference was held.

Dyhemia, Candy, and Rashida learned about propagating plants from cuttings, and prepared some geraniums to take home. Sebron and Tanea went for a bike ride to different gardens all around the Mission, visiting green spaces in a green way!

Learn more about Green Jobs Now: http://greenjobsnow.com/

SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER!

KOSHLAND GARDEN NEWSLETTER

A Project of the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Parks Group

September 2008 Newsletter Content:

1. Koshland Garden Makeover!

2. BEET Rangers at Slow Food Nation

3. Garden Workparty- September 13th

4. Vote for Koshland Garden as SF's most beautiful garden!

5. See Us On The News!

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1. Koshland Garden Makeover!

Wow! Things have really changed fast in the garden, and it is looking great! After our black acacia tree was accidentally cut down during it's scheduled tree trimming, we have been hard at work imagining ways to take advantage of the new sunny spot left in its place. We had the area where the tree once stood cleared and leveled, and are planning to put a picnic table there, so that students from John Muir Elementary School can have a spot to eat the snacks we harvest during their classes in the garden. We also hope community gardeners, visitors and neighbors will also enjoy the new picnic table, which will be installed in the near future! In the meantime, do come by to admire the new compost bins that are being constructed, and enjoy the last blooms of the sweetpeas.

To get on the waiting list for a garden plot, contact Community Garden Coordinator:

Nora Brereton (415) 424-5770, noraborealis@juno.com

2. BEET Rangers at Slow Food Nation

The BEET Rangers have had a really busy summer. To catch up from where we left off in our last newsletter, we have gone biking in Tennesse Valley with Trips for Kids, helped install the Victory Garden in front of City Hall, weeded and planted at Patricia's Green, farmed at both Green Gulch Farm and Alemany Farm, and helped out with compost at Garden for the Environment. Whew! This past weekend we went to a jam-making workshop through the youth programs at Slow Food Nation. Everyone got to take home their own marmalade made from local lemons, yum!

For more info, contact BEET Ranger Program Coordinator: Elokin

gardenkids@gmail.com (415) 958-6937

3. Garden Workparty- September 13th, 11am-2pm
Location: Koshland Park at the corner of Page and Buchanan

On Saturday, September 13th, from 11am-2pm, we will be working in Koshland Garden, preparing our summer beds for fall crop. We will be composting our old lettuce, chard, and kale plants, making way for new plant babies. Our goal is to get a whole bunch of garden beds ready for the John Muir Elementary School students, who will be returning to garden class in the next few weeks! Yay, we've missed them! We will provide tools, gloves, and snacks. We hope to see you there!

For more info, contact Community Garden Coordinator: Nora Brereton (415) 424-5770,
noraborealis@juno.com

4. Vote for Koshland Garden as SF's most Beautiful Garden!

We have entered Flowercraft's most beautiful garden contest! Please show your support for Koshland Garden and our programs by voting us as the most beautiful! All gardens are beautiful, but you gotta admit, we are pretty special! It's the hard work of all the volunteers, community gardeners, neighbors, and youth that make our garden shine. Vote below, we are #7!

Please vote either online or by casting a vote in our store. Our contestants will appreciate your vote as they are all proud of their gardens and they will win bragging rights and valuable gifts. Please link to this sight to view the entries and vote: lwww.flowercraftgc.com/events.html

5. See Us On The News!

The BEET Rangers were in the spotlight both in The City Star Newspaper on August 25th, and on NEN Network Television August 26th. Paste the following web address in your browser to watch BEET Ranger Dyhemia Young talk up the program on TV!

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v15792000mKw2j9PF?rank=0&jsonParams=%7B%22numResults%22%3A20%2C%22rlmin%22%3A0%2C%22query%22%3A%22Beet+Rangers%22%2C%22rlmax%22%3Anull%2C%22veohOnly%22%3Atrue%2C%22order%22%3A%22default%22%2C%22range%22%3A%22a%22%2C%22sId%22%3A%221864910298250151936%22%7D&searchId=1864910298250151936&rank=1

We will also be featured in the upcoming SF Parks Trust Newsletter, and in The Green Screen (earthteam.net)