Summer 2011 Newsletter HAPPY SUMMER!

planting seeds, empowering youth

CommunityGrows is an environmental education program serving high-needs youth, especially those living in public housing in San Francisco. Youth acquire the necessary skills to live a healthy life through garden education, nutritious cooking and eating, and green jobs training.

On Tuesday, June 14, 2011 our new BEETS (Band of Environmentally Educated and Employable Teens) Program cycle began with eight new recruits. All youth from 15-19 years of age live in or have connections to the Western Addition of San Francisco. The summer cycle of this group of BEETS will end August 11, 2011. The BEETS Program is an environmental education and green jobs stipend training program of CommunityGrows, serving 18-24 at-risk teens a year, in three cycles. The fall cycle will begin in September for 8 more teens. Applications will be available after August 15th. The BEETS program supports youth to: acquire a core set of job readiness skills for the work force, specifically the green economy; cultivate leadership and interpersonal skills; and develop a commitment to environmental stewardship and food justice.

Meet our BEETS (Band of Environmentally Educated and Employable Teens)

The BEETS meet every Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and each has a individual schedule continued back page

In This Issue:
The BEETS Summer Program Rosa Parks Rebuild Together Koshland Park Workdays Summer Programs in Koshland Park Seed-to-Mouth Cooking Classes Heat Up Westside Courts Gardens CommunityGrows is Growing Map of CommunityGrows Programs Fall Garden Party Invite Recipe for Great Salad Dressing Site Visits by Funders Donate to CommunityGrows

BEETS sifting compost in Koshland Park

Welcome to our Summer BEETS!

(Band of Environmentally Educated and Employable Teens)

Quincy Smith Learning about plants in the Koshland Garden Anija Gaino

Phaness Duckworth Ezekiel McCarter Terrie Kendrix Helping out at Hayward Rec Center Garden

BEETS at the USF Garden Project Terrie and Phaness

DaRell Baker

Lyric Lewis

July-2011-CG Newsletter

Genesis Valentine

Ezekiel McCarter with Melinda Stone, CoDirector of the USF Garden Project

Rebuilding Together with CommunityGrows and Rosa Parks Elementary School

On Saturday April 30, 2011 CommunityGrows worked with Rosa Parks Elementary School and PTA, and Rebuilding Together to transform two huge garden spaces on the school property. Nora Brereton, Programs Manager supervised other crew members to move asphalt, soil, debris, and plants. Over 60 volunteers came to spend the day from 8:30 AM til 4:00 PM. It was a sunny cool dayjust perfect for working outdoors. The gardens have enhanced the already amazing school, and we were proud to be a part of it! Barb Fujimoto, Rosa Parks Parent and CommunityGrows Board Member with Paul Jacobsen, Principal

Travis Jackson, Kristina Lacayo, and Jason Boarde

Lora Hirschberg, Rosa Parks Parent and CommunityGrows Rebuilding Together Team Leaders Board Member

July-2011-CG Newsletter

Workdays in Koshland Park and Garden

Lots has been going on this summer in Koshland Park and Garden. On Saturday, April 14th we hosted Yale Alumni Day. Over thirty volunteers came out to help us clean the park and garden. An awesome bunch of really great and fun folks! We had another workday on July 9th and volunteers had the opportunity to work with our eight BEETS (Band of Environmentally Educated and Employable Teens). Families and friends of staff members also joined us on these days, which gave us a chance to get to know the wider community. On June 6th we hosted a wedding in the garden with music, streamers, and candle-lit pathways.

Soumeya Kerrar with her brother

Jo Mestelle and Jo Cummin

Genesis and April Valentine

Ken Finberg, long time Kohland gardener

Yale Alumni in Koshland Park

Nora Brereton and brother with niece and nephew

Abby Winship andPaul Hoyos July-2011-CG Newsletter

Lisa Drogin, our BEETS Coordinator, and her friend Steve

Summer Programs in Koshland Garden

Many of our summer programs are happening in Koshland Garden. In addition to being the home-base of CommunityGrows and the BEETS, Koshland Garden has weekly groups from the Western Addition and the MoMagic collaborative, who stop by to learn about gardening, composting, bugs, plants, and the environment. Some of these groups are: the Village Project the Boys and Girls Club Prince Hall Learning Center the Western Addition Beacon Westside Teen C.O.R.E. African American Arts & Culture Complex Our other summer programs happen at gardens we maintain at Rosa Parks Elementary School with the Buchanan YMCA; Booker T. Washington Community Service Center; Hayward Recreation Center; and Westside Courts.

Anija Gaino and Lyric Lewis

July-2011-CG Newsletter

Seed-to-Mouth Cooking Heats Up!

Seed-to-Mouth Cooking is turning up the heat this summer with two sites and lots of great healthy eating and learning! What a shock to come in on the end of the session and see everyone piling their plates high with salad and fixins of vegetables from the garden. Cooking classes are offered six weeks during the summer at Hayes Valley Apartments and throughout the year at Hayward Recreation Center. We are also working with intern Kathleen Daley, from JFK University, to do a needs assessment of our cooking program this summer. Fit for Life House Dressing This is our directors favorite dressing. It lends itself to many different salads. 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 medium garlic clove, crushed 1 teaspoon tahini 1 tablespoon water 1/2-1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard ground rock salt, seasoned salt, or salt-free seasoning to taste (optional) freshly ground pepper (optional) Measure oil and lemon juice into salad bowl. Add garlic, tahini, water, and seasonings to taste. Beat with whisk until smooth and creamy. Serves 2-3.

Westside Courts Summer Gardening

CommunityGrows continues to work with residents at Westside Courts Apartments bordering Post, Broderick, Baker and Sutter Streets in San Francisco to maintain four gardens on site. The summer program is full of youth who love being outdoors, watering and tending the fruits and vegetables.

Phaness Duckworth watering with youth July-2011-CG Newsletter

CommunityGrows has Grown!

CommunityGrows Advisory Board Retreat New Advisory Board Meet & Greet

Programs-2011
planting seeds, empowering youth

Schools
John Muir Elementary School

Nora Brereton with Tides Center Staff: Steve Rezentes, Judi Seibel, and Alex Vazquez

Koshland Park
Band of Environmentally Educated and Employable Teens

Rosa Parks Elementary School

BEETS:

Peace Wall

After School
Booker T. Washington
Hayward Rec Center
Western Addition Beacon

Hayward Recreation Center Weekly Cooking

Environmental Education

CommunityGrows

Seed-to-Mouth Cooking

Hayes Valley South Summer Cooking

MoMagic Summer
Boys & Girls Club Opportunity Impact Village Project Prince Hall Learning Center African American Arts & Culture Complex Brothers for Change and others...

Building Gardens

Western Addition Beacon Afterschool Cooking

African American Arts and Culture Complex Garden

Koshland Garden
Rosa Parks Elementary School Gardens

Volunteers
High Schools
Corporations

Booker T. Washington Garden

Westside Courts Gardens

Hayward Recreation Center Garden

Colleges Community

Planned Gardens
Ella Hill Hutch Garden

Save the Date: Saturday October 15, 2011 1-4 PM Koshland Garden

CommunityGrows has been growing. Over the past few months we went from two employees to five. This summer we have seven interns who are helping with our summer programs. Our new employees are April Valentine, Garden Educator; Lisa Drogin, BEETS Coordinator; and Lori Luddington, Development Coordinator. In June our board increased from three members sixteen. We are planning a fall garden party in Koshland Park with a fund-a-need theme. More information to follow. The date of this Garden Party is October 15, 2011 from 1-4 PM. Please mark your calendars and plan to join us for a great afternoon.

Volunteer BBQ in Koshland Park, including Adrian Gaino, Lori Luddington, Barbara Fujimoto, Nora Brereton, Ashante Smith, Beth Sachnoff, and Amika Smith. July-2011-CG Newsletter

Meet the Beetscontinued from front page

where they plug into various CommunityGrows summer programs. Often their time together will include workshops and speakers in the green jobs field, and instruction in soft jobs skills and preparation. Recently Jaime Brewser from ANDEmployment Training Center came to speak about jobs in solar installation, weatherization and energy efficiency and recycling. Some field trips scheduled for this summer include USF Garden Project, Green Gulch Farm and the Marin Headlands. The BEETS also worked at our Koshland Park Workday on July 9th, and are helping to build a garden at the African American Arts and Culture Complex. Our BEETS this summer are DaRell Baker, Phaness Duckworth, Anija Gaino, Terrie Kendrix, Dorrian (Lyric)

Lewis, Ezekiel McCarter, Quincy Smith-Frierson, and Genesis Valentine. Lisa Drogin, our new BEETS Coordinator, hails from the University of Michigan with two masters (one in Social Work), and has previously worked two years as the Director of Youth Development at the YMCA of Greater Seattle, Washington. She is assisted by five amazing volunteers, Jason Boarde, Eric Epinosa, Emily Hager, Beth Sachnoff and Jamie Tjahaja, all of who rotate through the various days of the program. On Thursday, July 16th the BEETS were visited by the Stewardship Council, one of our funders. Rue Mapp, Program Officer, met with students and asked about their experiences in the program, and Youth Investment Director, Steve Hagler, talked with staff and volunteers. the BEETS program is also funded by the GGS Foundation, Mary A. Crocker Fund, the Koshland Foundation, and Starbucks Foundation. To learn more about the BEETS visit our CommunityGrows website, or e-mail us at <beets@ communitygrows.org>.

Stewardship Council Visits BEETS Program Phaness Duckworth and Rue Mapp

Steve Hagler and Jason Boarde

CommunityGrows

is a Project of the TIDES Center

Checks can be made out to TIDES/CommunityGrows and mailed to Office Mailing Address.
Contact Us: Nora Brereton, Programs Manager nora@communitygrows.org (415) 424-5770

CommunityGrows Office Mailing Address: c/o B. Wenger 300 Page St. San Francisco, CA 94102 Garden Office: John Muir Elementary School, Rm 409 380 Webster St. San Francisco, California 94117

Barbara Wenger, Executive Director barbara@communitygrows.org (415) 431-8112 TIDES Contact: Alex Vasquez, Program Manager Community Development & Services Tides Center P.O. Box 29907 San Francisco, CA 94129-0907 avazquez@tides.org (415) 561-6398

Visit the Koshland Park Community Learning Garden:

(in the lower eastern part of Koshland Park) Corner of Page and Buchanan, San Francisco, CA 94102

July-2011-CG Newsletter

www.communitygrows.org