Tag Archives: bk permaculture

October Meeting Notes

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by Kristen Bonardi Rapp

A big thanks to everyone who made it to last night’s meeting! I

Here is a brief recap of what we discussed for those of you who were unable to make it last night:

1. We had 5 newcomers last night! I (Kristen) will be adding them to the yahoo group and you will be introduced soon.

2. Tia did a quick treasury report about the state of our funds ($31 raised at the Sola Soiree, $20 raised on IOBY).

3. Ashley Simpo gave us a brief description of the grant we are applying for from the Citizens Committee for New York City called the “Love Your Block” grant award. They range from $500-$1,000 so cross your fingers!

4. We also touched upon the need for our members to step up and fill the administrative roles that we have. We cannot be a successful garden without a well-organized structure. Tia and I will really need the help in the coming months.

5. Tia also reported on our application status, which is officially finished on GreenThumb’s end and now in the hands of HPD. We have been assured that the keys will be handed over shortly. As a follow up, Tia will be sending them an email for more specific info so that we can better plan in the weeks to come.

6. I[n] Design Studio has done a great design for a multi functional Pod that could serve as work bench, seating, rain water collector and shelving for potted plants! We gave them the floor to describe in detail how it would work and discussed our options for more economically feasible ways to have it built. Tia will add their design to our file folder so anyone is free to check it out.

7. Bk Permaculture drafted up a great garden layout and presented it at the meeting. We discussed it extensively and will use it as a jumping point to refine and tweak. We discussed potential problems or concerns, where to get materials etc. It has some really cool aspects to it including a greenhouse, outdoor clay oven and a keyhole bed layout that optimizes space and helps create a functioning ecosystem…
We also prioritized our steps/goals in relation to this garden plan and decided that our first step (since we are starting in winter) is to have the greenhouse built. Tia will add this file also to our folder.

Goals for the immediate future:

  • Create accurate, to scale rendering of Garden
  • Create list of supplies needed and budget to execute greenhouse
  • Possibly create a video to be posted on IOBY

Our first meeting!

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by Kristen Bonardi Rapp

Thanks again to all of you who were able to make it last night (in the rain!) and for those of you who couldn’t make it, here are some highlights:

Intros from garden co-founders Kristen and Tia and the vision we see for this space: A community garden that uses permaculture and other environmentally agreeable methods to grow food. Providing cheap or free fruits and vegetables to low income families in exchange for their volunteer work. youth programs that provide hands on experiences. Creating a self sustaining environment in the community for all families to remove heavy reliance on grocery stores.

What’s been done so far: Reaching out to Bed-Stuy residents through Facebook, our Yahoo group, Bed-Stuy Gateway and community flyers. Contacting other organizations for insight, resources and any other helpful info.

Next steps: Applying to HPD (the city’s department of Housing and Property Development) for permission to use the space, registering our group with GreenThumb and filling the garden positions for a complete committee.

Special Guest Speakers: Drew from BK Permaculture come out and talk a bit about what they do and who they are. They will be instrumental in helping us plan the space, soil reclamation for safe gardening grounds, procuring free and cheap supplies and writing grants that we might need.

We also had Nathan and Chris come out from [n]form Design Studio. They both have an architectural background and will be really useful to us when it is time to outfit our garden with structures and furniture — not to mention another 4 hands on deck for digging and planting. They are both really interested in community outreach within Bed-Stuy.

We then wrapped up the meeting with some group introductions and some Q & A.

NEXT UP:
- getting together a garden design committee
- submitting our application to the city