Learn more about the North Richmond Farm...

After 2 years of planning and paperwork, over the last three months the North Richmond Farm team has begun to clear and excavate the land!

We started in the middle of December 2015 with the removal of a 700 x 40 foot area of blackberries along the east side of the farm. We loaded up fourteen 40 cubic yard containers and with the support of our friends at   Republic Services  and Supervisor John Gioia's office. We were able to take the green waste to our landfill to create more City compost. We are looking forward to working with Republic Services to see if our community farm can create the rich soil we will need from the compost Republic Services creates from our local residents' green waste. This could be a perfect way to begin to bring life back to the soil. M ore news on this to come...

This February, we began to remove asphalt and concrete in a 500 x 50 foot area. There was evidence found that this section of the 3 acre site was used in the past to dump garbage such as  tires, large pieces of asphalt, plastic pipes, and more. 

Moving forward, our next step is to sift all the soil that was dug up and back fill the area with the cleaned out top-soil. We will also store rocks and asphalt in an area so we can later use it when our gravel drive-way is built on site. Special thanks to our machine operator, Chris Hammond, a long time North Richmond resident for his on-going support.

- Luis Chavez, Farm Manager

* Special thank you to Bielle Moore and Republic Services for your generous support!

Update from the Technical Advisory Team

We are working on building the soil at our new North Richmond Farm. Initially we were worried about soil contamination because of the site's history of illegal dumping, so w e did some secondary soil testing as follow up to the preliminary tests performed by the County and found that the site is clean contaminant-wise, which is great news! 

However, we also found that there is NO beneficial organic matter there, so now we know where to focus our soil building energy. 

We will be doing more extensive testing to fully characterize the soils at the site. We are also planning an applied soil building experiment in collaboration with UC Berkeley graduates students Joshua Arnold and Sarick Matzen, where we will look into the best cover crop combinations for rebuilding vacant lot soils for urban agriculture. With this experiment we will be rehabilitating our soils while also producing results that will help out other urban farmers.

Learn more about Forage Radish just one of the cover crops we will explore in our soil building experiments: 

• Forage Radish: New Multi-Purpose Cover Crop for the Mid-Atlantic

Meeting with Contra Costa County Agencies to lay the groundwork

In the Fall of 2015, the design team and Urban Tilth staff met with the various Contra Costa County departments which will need to approve the future construction at the site; these include:  Public Works, Building Inspection, Planning, and Environmental Health.  

We were very pleased to be met with a lot of enthusiasm and support for the project!   Meeting with these stakeholders early on is very helpful, so that we can begin our detailed design with a clear understanding of their requirements and they understand our desire to construct a truly sustainable project.

We look forward to developing this collaboration as we move through the permitting process.

- Adele Ho, Construction Project Manager

An update from our Design Team

2015 saw the start of the design of a master plan for the farm site.  With input from the Community Advisory Committee, the Technical Advisory Committee, and the public, a preliminary design was developed by our selected consultant, Byrens-Kim Design Works with BayTree Design Landscape Architects.   

• New FARM DESIGN pdf

The planned farm layout includes an orchard and row crops with a "village" at the entry to the site.  The village includes the Urban Tilth office, a kitchen, cafe, farm stand, bike workshop, and amphitheater, as well as an Ohlone reflection garden, gardens, hedgerows, and teaching spaces.  A meandering path traverses the site from Brookside Drive to San Pablo Creek, with interpretive elements along the way providing insight into the rich history of the North Richmond community.  

At the far end of the path and bordering San Pablo Creek, are located a Watershed Education Center and outdoor classroom.  Greenhouses, tool sheds, other utility buildings, a caretaker residence, and parking areas are also included.  We are working with Contra Costa County to design stormwater treatment areas, sidewalks and a bike lane to access the site.

- Adele Ho, Construction Project Manager

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More farm news to come...