Well just as it is beginning to get really rainy and cold out here in Oregon, the OCDC garden programs are getting their start. My name is Kaitlin Berger and I'll be following in the footsteps of Jeremy as the Americorps Farm to School Coordinator for the 2010-2011 school year (and summer).
I've been busy for the past few weeks getting to know the program, and the folks at OCDC, and we have got some exciting plans for expanding last year's gardens and starting some new ones. This year I will be working with the teachers and staff at Silverton and Linden to expand the gardens started last year. Silverton has so much space available, we have some big plans: fruit trees, worms, compost, winter gardening cloches, maybe even a trellis or a seating area- it will be an exciting year! On the list to get new raised bed gardens are the Woodburn/Settlemeier, Mulino, Jose Pedro, and Cornelius sites. Odell and Madras did amazing jobs out at their sites last year and hopefully will keep up their momentum this year. Finally, I hope to get some container gardens going at Cipriano and Main Street by the end of the year.
Our long term goal is to have a garden at every center and get to where the gardens provide a substantial amount of food for the students. However, this year’s focus will be on continuing to lay the foundation of the program: getting the gardens started or expanded, building soil fertility, solidifying the garden programs role in the classroom, creating a network of resources and support, getting the teachers training in gardening, and developing garden lesson plans. Whew! We will be busy! We have a long list of vegetables we hope to plant come spring, many of them items the kids may harvest and sample after harvest- peas, carrots, herbs, edible flowers, tomatoes, radishes, etc. I can't wait to get my hands in the dirt!
Hopefully, this blog will help the OCDC garden community to keep up to date with each other. Please feel free to post questions, pictures, etc.
and I will be posting more updates about the gardens soon. I'm looking forward to an exciting year!
~Kaitlin
