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Greetings from The Big Garden!
Though it's cold outside, we are busy-as-bees, making plans for the growing season. During the winter months we drool over seed catalogues, remember which plants were prolific and which didn't make it, and reflect on the various lessons nature imparts upon us. We spend time meeting with our Site Coordinators and teachers at the schools, after-school sites, and organizations where we teach gardening classes. This time of regrouping and reflecting that takes place in winter is crucial and allows us to grow better each year. We are also putting together seed and equipment orders, mapping out garden spaces, and developing food growing goals for 2017.
There is so much work that will happen in the soil at The Big Garden campus this year! Two new features will be outdoor demonstration gardens including a portion solely dedicated to seed saving, and year-round growing demonstration in our brand-new greenhouses!
Three other important notes from this season:
- We are renewing our partnership with Girls Inc., which has been a partnering garden for many years now. This season we will offer winter classes at both their North and South Omaha locations. This session we will work with 9-12 graders and focus primarily on herbal bodycare, making simple homemade balms, salves, teas, and other products with plant-based ingredients.
- We are also now collaborating with Cooking Matters of Omaha in order to connect our gardeners with cooking and nutrition courses. Cooking Matters offers amazing 6-week courses for adults as well as grocery store tours focused on budgeting, eating whole grains, reading food labels, and gaining confidence in the kitchen. It is our hope that we can work with Cooking Matters' team to spread knowledge of healthy cooking and eating in 2017 and beyond.
- Finally, we are pleased to welcome Kay Wilwerding to our full-time staff in 2017 as Education and Volunteer Coordinator. Many of you have already met Kay who started with the Big Garden as an intern in 2015. Kay brings so much to the table with her baking, cooking, and environmental studies background. She is an amazing garden teacher and works every week with our Seed-to-Market participants at Monroe and McMillan Middle Schools! Welcome Kay! Get in touch with her at [email protected].
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As you may know, we moved into our new permanent home near 56th & Sorensen Parkway last April. Our campus renovations are continuing, slowly but surely. This fall, we demolished the two aging greenhouses, leveled the area, installed proper retaining walls, and put in new water and gas lines. We are currently in the process of building two new energy-efficient greenhouses. Our goal is to have them completed before March 1st, so we can begin growing seedlings for the upcoming growing season.
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Group Mission Experiences
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Now is the time to register your group for a summer Volunteers in Mission (VIM) experience in Omaha. We are an accredited VIM site, placing groups with trusted community partner agencies and providing intensive mission + justice education with an emphasis on food security. We tailor each group’s experience to its specific needs, arranging lodging and worship in local United Methodist churches if desired. We welcome groups of all, or no, faith backgrounds. Contact Kay at [email protected] now to arrange your group’s mission experience. If you would like to bring your group anytime between May-August, please contact us before April 1st. All trip schedules will be set by May 1st. Space is filling up fast — don’t miss out!
Learn more here.
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Thank you for reading along! We appreciate your interest and support for creating healthier communities in which everyone has access to fresh produce and no one goes hungry!
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