We at City Sprouts are pleased to announce that Leo and Nicole Louis will be presenting their report on the recent

Growing Food and Justice (GFJI) annual meeting in Milwaukee.

• Date: Thursday, December 3, 2009
• Time: 6:00 pm
• Place: City Sprouts house and garden, 4002 Seward St.
• Leo & Nicole were co-leaders of our very successful summer program of gardening for teens at risk in partnership with the Great Summer Program (an Impact One project).
• There is a lot going on nationally about growing food and promoting healthier lives at low cost, and the GFJI meeting was a great place to learn about it.
• We will also report on the recent Des Moines meeting of the national Community Food Security Coalition.

Steven McFadden will discuss his book:

The Call of the Land: An Agrarian Primer for the 21st Century

• Date: Saturday, December 5, 2009
• Book signing: 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
• Talk 4:00PM
• Place: Soul Desires Bookstore in the Omaha Old Market (1026 Jackson St.)

Steven's book surveys a wide range of positive actions people are taking to create a just, secure, and sustainable food system. From community gardens to farm-to-school programs, edible rooftops to urban farming, The Call of the Land focuses on solutions! For more information, visit Steven's blog at www.thecalloftheland.com

City Sprouts Gardeners & Volunteers

Thank you to all gardeners and volunteers for your countless hours of work in the garden. The garden is looking the best it ever has.

Meanwhile, Gardeners should come by and do some last minute harvesting, and help to put your bed to bed for the winter. Or, plant winter cover.

Regular weekly work parties continue Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings. All gardeners and volunteers are welcome.

City Sprouts Held Successful Irrigation Workshop September 12

City Sprouts hosted a workshop to showcase a new bucket drip irrigation design. Modeled from a concept intended for subsistence agriculture in developing countries, this setup works equally well for community plots and personal backyard gardens. About 15 people came out to learn how to build a simple watering system from commonly available supplies ($5). This workshop was hosted by Scott Williams, recent engineering graduate of Iowa State University. Thank you, Scott!

City Sprouts Gala: Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who came to (and donated to) this year's City Sprouts gala. It was the best attended and most fun City Sprouts party ever. And, we raised the most money ever -- $7,000 -- which will help greatly to maintain the organization and keep our hard-working staff paid. Mark your calendar: Next year's gala will be on Sunday, August 22nd, 2010.

About the 2009 Gala Poster

The art of the poster echoes the tradition of "Victory Gardens." Community gardens as public policy go back to the late 19th Century in Detroit. And, in their backyards, millions of American and British families and neighborhoods raised much of the food supply during both world wars.

Artist Bonnie O'Connell, head of the Nebraska Book Arts Center, and associate professor in the UNO Department of Art & Art History, generously designed, printed, and donated the posters. The posters are silk screen on pink 15" x 20" card stock. A few copies of the poster will be sold at the Gala arts auction.

You can also download an edited electronic copy of the poster by [clicking here]. It should be printed on pink paper or card stock.

Our Gala Was Held on the First Day of National Community Gardening Week

On August 6th, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack proclaiming August 23-29, National Community Gardening Week. The week encourages Americans to connect with the land, the food it grows and their local communities.

Vilsack: "Community gardens provide numerous benefits including opportunities for local food production, resource conservation, and neighborhood beautification, but they also promote family and community interaction and enhance opportunities to eat healthy, nutritious foods. Each of these benefits is something we can and should strive for."

At USDA Headquarters on the National Mall earlier this year, Vilsack broke ground on 'The People's Garden' - a vegetable garden on USDA property that recently was expanded to include sustainable landscaping for the entire grounds. Information about 'The People's Garden' initiative is available at .

For more information: American Community Gardening Association.

Orchard Hill Neighbors: Stimulus Money for Repairs Available

The Orchard Hill Neighborhood has been targeted to improve 100 homes in our boundaries before this coming winter. We have available to us programs that replace windows, insulate the attics and walls, furnace replacements painting exteriors in interiors. Some of these programs are of no cost to the property owner, the tenant or the landlord!

Jeannie Dickes has applications for these programs andis ready to stop by and give them to you and also assist you with completing them if need be. We have only a short time these funds will be available to us so please contact her soon and start the process! We are lucky to be chosen for this project and it can make a huge difference to our energy bills this winter.

Thank you everyone that returned the surveys to the community house [4002 Seward] we will share the results when we get them.

New Decatur Gardens

We are sprouting up a new community garden Decatur Street west of 40th; our Great Summer Program participants are working hard during the week to clear the land and amend the soil. Anyone wanting to get involved stop by City Sprouts or call Jeannie at 402-558-9031 or email at jeaninedickes@gmail.com

Continuing Weekly Work Parties

Our excellent gardener/educators Carol Dona and her assistants are helping gardners at City Sprouts each Wednesday evening from 5:30 to dusk and Saturday mornings, 9 am to noon. If you have a bed, it is a good time to be watering and picking. If you don't, we have lots of opportunities for volunteer work.

Events at City Sprouts

OPPD Energy Savings Workshop

Green up your budget in an "How to Save Energy" Workshop. This is a two part presentation. It will include opportunities to recieve and apply for: weatherization and energy-efficient products, financial incentives. And light refreshments.

Sponsored by: City of Omaha, Family Housing Advisory Services, OPPD, and the Orchard Hill Neighborhood Association

Pre-registration is required. Limited to 20 participants. To register, call 402-502-5902 and leave a message. Or, call Jeannie at 402-558-9031.

Past Events

Neighborhood Yard / Garden Sale

Want to help? Want to donate stuff? Contact Jeannie at 402-558-9031. All proceeds will be split by City Sprouts and Orchard Hill Neighborhood Association.

Solar Education by Dr. Richard Komp

Dr. Richard Komp will show participants of all ages how the chlorophyll from plants can be mixed with titanium oxide, graphite, and spread on a low EV glass and made into a solar cell. All participants will also experience first hand how plants are power plants, drawing and storing the sun's energy.

Dr. Komp is president of the Maine Solar Energy Society, and has done a lot of work in the field educating people about solar energy. More information on Dr Komp is available at www.skyheat.org and www.mainesolar.org.

Community Resource Fair

Presentations on home repair, weatherization, and other neighborhood benefits of the new stimulus programs. Presentations by the City of Omaha, Habitat for Humanity, Health Home Partnership, Lead Elimination Action Program, Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance, Rebuilding Together, and the Weatherization Trust!

Complementary lunch by Big Mama's Kitchen

Orchard Hill Annual Cleanup Day Over! Whew!!

This was an intense and successful day!

Thanks especially to Jeannie Dickes, Noreen Wilkins, and many other volunteers for doing the heavy lifting.

The Spring Cleanup is a joint effort of Keep Omaha Beautiful and the City of Omaha. A big THANK YOU to them, and to the volunteers who staffed the collection site, from all of us in the Orchard Hill neighborhood.