Wreath Making this Saturday the 9th!

Everyone's invited to join us for garden wreath and card making. It is this Saturday from 1 to 3 pm at the Hayes Valley South Community Room (403 Rose Street, off of Buchanan between Haight and Page).

We'll have treats, drinks, and supplies galore!!!

Hope to see you there!
Love, Nora

So long Koshland Garden and Hayes Valley

After four years of growing in Koshland Garden, I have decided to move on. I learned so much over these years and have so many people to thank, it is truly the culmination of these wonderful people who made my job possible and amazing. What a lucky girl I have been part of this wonderful community and how rewarding this job has been. I would like to personally thank everyone for helping and working with me through these years!

Richard - my Hayes Valley Hero! You should be very proud of where you have taken Hayes Valley Community Partners! You believe in a better community and nothing stops you. Keep it up! I will miss you.

Barbara - thank you for the vision to create a safer and greener neighborhood and supporting me over the last four years. Koshland Park is beautiful because of your passion and the Peace Wall will bring it to a whole new level! I am sad that I have to leave before the wall is completed.
Gardeners - You folks rock! Thanks for playing in the dirt, composting and making my job so much fun. I have enjoyed getting to know all of you, teaching some of you the basics of gardening and just chatting it up. Happy Growing!

John Muir School - thanks for giving me the opportunity to learn from all of you and bring gardening to students who treat me like a super HERO! To all the teachers, support staff, Ms. Wheaton and Ms. Estell, this program lives on because of John Muir School - thank you for believing in garden education!

Lower Haight Merchants Association - What an amazing group of people! Right around the corner from the garden and always willing to pitch in and lend a hand. Thank You!

Northern Police - Thanks for your visits to the garden and working with me in this community, we would not be where we are without your dedication.

International High School - Thanks Elizabeth and all the student volunteers who have come out to help on work parties. Your contributions are very appreciated and I wish you all the very best!

RPD - What would we do without you? Second Saturdays are a fantastic thing because you of you folks. Thanks for working with me to make Koshland sparkle!

Green Gulch - Thank you Matt! We are so appreciative of all the plant starts and have been able to grow so much more produce because of our partnership. Good Luck to you and Aria in Oregon!!

Suzi P., Arann, and Aubrey - You were all uniquely amazing. Working with a partner was so much fun because your specialness. XXOO!

The Community at large - thanks for letting me get to know you and caring about the neighborhood you live in. Please forgive me if I left anyone off, you are all equally special to me and I wish you all the best!

To the happy wigglers in Koshland Compost - you are the best worms a gardener could hope for. Nora, I know you will keep these little creatures happy and safe!

Thank you, thank you, and thank you! I can't say it enough.
Now, I would like to introduce the latest and greatest new addition to Koshland Garden. She comes from Utah with lots of enthusiasm and a wealth of garden education experience. She's already dove in and is teaching seed-saving to the students from John Muir. Please seek her out and say hello - or send her a friendly email. noraborealis@juno.com.

Wishing you a bountiful life! XXOO, Rebecca

One Heck of a Halloween

The pictures say it ALL! THANK YOU SO MUCH to those fabulous people who came out and celebrated! A HUGE thanks to Buskaroo, William Wesson, and Stitch Craft!! The event was fabulous beause of your beautiful music!!

XO, Rebecca.

Also, please find some time in your Saturday to come hang out in Koshland Park for a work party. 11-2pm.

WHAT A BLAST!!

Lower Haight Block Party Fun!!

Thanks to Tom, Jesse, Nicole, Lavinia, Barbara, and Michael for helping to get the word out about our hidden gem in the neighborhood. We meet lots of new friends and hope to see them in the garden soon. Here is Tom and Lavinia enjoying life at our garden table where we sold the local, fresh, organic garden produce.

Happy Halloween!
lllllllllllllllllll

Celebrate Halloween listening to some folk music in Koshland Park! This is the place to be if you like the outdoors, Halloween, live music and s'mores. Wear your eeriest costume, stop by on your way wherever, roast marshmallows, meet new friends, chat, be happy, bring friends, dance, sing out loud, make it a party!!

On Halloween. Tuesday. 6 - 8pm.

Corner of Page and Buchanan.

Boo! Rebecca

Autumn Bliss

Pumpkins

Cool nights

Sun!

School days

Rain

Sunflowers

Tomatoes

Preparing for the winter rains

These are fond memories of fall in San Francisco and in Koshland Garden.

The kids are working hard in the garden, planting broccoli, lettuce and chard - thanks to the generousity of Green Gulch Farms.

The first rain came and the garden SANG with joy. The smell of the first rain is beautiful in itself, but beyond that it is a cleansing after so many days of dryness. The sunflowers have mostly bloomed and now we are saving their seeds to plant next year. Tomatoes are still producing even as the days get shorter.

I would like to throw out a huge THANKS to all the amazing volunteers from last weekend. We accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. I was very proud and Koshland Park is shining with beauty as always. Hands-On Bay Area did a great job working along side some students from the International High School. Also, thanks to Bob, Laurie, Barbara and Nick for your dedication.

Thank too, to the crew at John Muir lead by the amazing Richard Johnson. The JOhn Muir School garden is all ready for winter too with a brand new layer of mulch. What a delight it will be to bring the students in next week to garden. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

HALLOWEEN HO DOWN!

We are looking for a band to play at our second annual Halloween Event. Sure to be a good time once we have some to play some good ole music. S'mores and dancing. 6pm. Ye Haw!

Next Saturday Work Day is November 11, 2006. Roll up your sleeves for lots of mulch laying and some digging in a few more plants.

Happy Autumn, Rebecca

Another Beautiful Day!!

Rebecca, Suzi and Tom at the Linden Street Faire. Photo by Barbara Wenger.

Linden Street Faire

Twas one of those beautiful, sunny San Francisco Days and we hung out on the corner of Octavia and Linden. We chatted, sunned, sold fresh garden produce and had one pleasurable day.

A HUGE thanks to TOM. He rocked the street faire with his friendliness and was a superstar selling our produce. Thanks too to Joseph Jodi for his dedication and motivation to organize this lovely community event for over 16 years. Special thanks also to Barbara Wenger, Madeline Behrens-Brigham, Helen from NPC, Suzi Grady and all the folks with whom we meet.

A few of the hidden treats sprinkled thorughout Koshland Garden. Come and visit to see them for yourself. Happy Growing, Rebecca

***UPCOMING***

October 14th

Koshland Park Work Day

9:30 - 1:00

Get down and dirty with friends and neighbors.

************************************

New News

WELCOME TO THE NEW SUZI

First, I want to welcome our new helper in the garden - Suzi Grady. Suzi is already very familiar with our garden through lots of volunteering & is a very big fan of the amazing science of compost. She'll be helping out for the next month with some projects and did an amazing job teaching folks last Saturday about composting.

This Saturday is the very special LINDEN STREET FAIR. Starting at 9a and going all day. We'll be selling produce from the garden as a fundraiser and would love help and visitors. (hint hint)

Down to business, until we hire someone, my schedule will be as follows:

JOHN MUIR GARDEN on Page between Webster and Oak
Tuesdays and Fridays 10:00am - 1:30pm
Koshland Garden Fridays 2:00pm-5:00pm

Please let me know before if you plan on volunteering so I can arrange it with the school. rabozzelli@yahoo.com


Our favorite little helpers who are always hard at work in the garden making us beautiful compost. Thank you red wigglers.

Reflections & Recognitions!!

To All The Beautiful People of Koshland Park Community Learning Garden:

I wanted to take this moment to announce to the gardeners and extended Koshland Park Community that Thursday, August 31st was my last day working with you (well, officially). I have accepted a new position as The School Garden and Compost Program Manager for the Garden for The Environment (also known as the GFE!). I am super excited about this opportunity, but am very saddened to leave this amazing, inimitable group of people. The past 14 months has served as the most significant personal and professional growth of my life! When I stepped into this position over a year ago I never could have imagined walking away with the insight and experience that I have today.

a dedicated gardener! all of y'all are amazing...
This community is the epitome of commitment, dedication, and compassion for social change. Each of you exemplifies a piece of this vision and it gives me goose bumps to think about your smiling faces. I will miss all of you something fierce, but am hopeful that our paths will cross again somewhere along the way. This city is way too small!!

just a few of the wonderful volunteers that helps keep this park safe & beautiful!
I, also, want to take this time to recognize a couple of folks that have guided me through this process and have changed my perspective forever! I want acknowledge Barbara Wenger for (going out on a limb) and providing me this opportunity even though my enthusiasm for the job far exceeded the experience she was looking for to fill this role. You have given me the chance to discover a part of myself that has only made me a stronger, more confident person. You are the founder of an invaluable organization that should function as a model for all other neighborhood park groups! Thank you for sharing your words of wisdom….and for all of the delicious Friday afternoon meetings☺

I also want to recognize the Hayes Valley/Western Addition/Lower Haight “community organizer extraordinaire”, Richard Johnson. You have absolutely mastered the art of mobilizing a community to step outside of the box and challenge the system. I feel so lucky to have had the chance to work with you and the Hayes Valley Partners as they seem to achieve the impossible on a daily basis. Your dynamic personality and dedication to social justice is beyond imaginable. Thank you for all that you do. I will carry the experiences and wisdom that you have shared with me everywhere I go. I look forward to continuing this partnership in my other position!!

Rebecca, lord woman, I do not know where to start with you! You are amazing!! The dedication you have to this garden, this community, and this cause is beyond inspiring! Thank you so much for taking me under your wing and guiding me through this wonderful experience. Prior to this job, I had never had the chance to work so closely with another person. Looking back at what we accomplished, the ideas we shared and the projects we realized, it all seems magical to me! You have been more than a mentor, you have become a close friend to me that I will always hold to dear to my heart! I absolutely admire you and your ability to make dreams come to life. This is what this experience has been for me—a dream that I realized, but not without your wisdom and heart to help make it happen. I love you, girl!

you are the best, Rebecca!!

I hope that all of you will come visit me over at the Garden for the Environment located on 7th & Lawton. We have tons of great workshops every Saturday of the year as well as volunteer days on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Please come by and say hello—or grace me with a giant smile!! much love, ~*suzi

Seed to Mouth--Food For The Soul!

With the schoolyear on the horizon, I want to honor and celebrate one final project of the summer that left our bellies and souls full of goodness:) Beginning way back in the early days of Spring, Miss Rebecca had an "epiphany" that we should (and WILL find a way to) offer nutritional cooking classes to youth and families of our community. The classes would highlight various seasonal crops grown in our garden or other locally grown produce.

Now in hindsight, I can share that the classes were an amazing success with lots of kids, parents, neighbors, gardeners, and friends attending and helping us make beautiful food that we all sat down and ate together as a family. YUM! Looking forward to starting it up again.

Naked Ladies

I thought that might get your attention :)

Hope everyone is super well, I am back from vacation and to my lovely surprise I find that our Amaryllis belladonna have shown there beautiful faces. The appearance of the tall, flower stalk without any leaves accounts for the common name "naked lady".

UPCOMING COMPOST WORKSHOP!

September 9th, from 9:30 - 11. Teach about the ins and outs of compost as well as make compost sifters!! Immediately following will be our 2nd Saturday workday. Bring your food scraps, but please remember, no meat, diary or bread.

JOHN MUIR SCHOOL WORK DAY AUGUST 26TH.

Look at how sad this garden looks. Help us get John Muir ready for the first day of school (8/28). 9am - 2pm and lunch too. Come for as long or as little as you like. All help is always greatly appreciated. Lots will be going on too so your day can be filled with a variety of tasks. Help in the library or classrooms, mulching and planting in the garden, painting, and lots more.

With school starting, Suzi and I change back to our school schedule. More specifics later as classes get scheduled.

Suzi - Monday, Tuesday, Friday
Rebecca - Tuesday, Friday

Monthly 2nd Saturday Work Parties from 11-2.

Finally, I had to share this wonderment with you. This little spider was found in Jesse's tomato plant. She is an Enoplognatha ovata and is protecting her blueish egg sac. Here are a few interesting facts about her:

-Typically construct her web on live plants, rolling a leaf as a retreat.

- Can be very variable in color.
- Its size is between 3 and 6 mm.
- found on low vegetation and bushes.
- The leaf in which she makes her egg sac is often slightly rolled.

So look out, you too may find an Enoplognatha in your garden plot.

Life is BEAUTIFUL. Good Day All! ~ Rebecca

National Night Out--A Safe, Fun Night For All!

National Night Out is a nation-wide event designed to highlight each communitiy's dedication to their speific crime and violence prevention strategies. It is intended to generate support for and participation in local anitcrime programs and organizations as well as strengthen neighborhood spirit and community-police partnerships. For our neighborhood, the Hayes Valley/Western Addition of San Francisco, a group of committed organizers, also known as the Hayes Valley Community Partners ,planned and successfully created a fun & safe extravaganza for youth and families to come and celebrate our community. With much love, thanks and props to Richard Johnson, the co-founder of Hayes Valley Community Partners, we were able to pull off a Public Safety Fair where neighborhood organizations joined forces to show their support in OUR "Night Out Against Crime". The fair was followed by live entertainment from local groups such as Western Addtion Drill Team, Horus Tolson and the SGI-USA's Golden Gate Chorus, and perfomers from neighborhood church groups. It was a blast had by all and we want to extend our deepest gratitude to everyone that contributes to the safety and beautification of our neighborhood. It is quite a special thing we have...

This is the irreplaceable Richard Johnson, Co-Founder of the Hayes Valley Community Partners

District 5 Supervisor, Ross Mirkarimi, acknowledging the dedication that Richard has to this community!!

Laurie Hampton, one of the many wonderful gardeners of Koshland Park Community Learning Garden, standing in front of our booth where we offered free lettuce, collard greens and kale to folks!!

Much love to all and enjoy these glorious, fog-less summer days!!
-suzi

The Super Amazing No Drip Rapid Reel

Suzi and Rebecca with Koshland Garden's brand new watering reel.

Very proud and happy after spending half of Friday assembling our brand spanking new, heavy-duty, no drip, all-amazing Rapid Reel. Watering the garden will be a breeze with this baby. The days of water spraying and dodging water puddles are in the past. Please be kind to our new addition and treat Rapid Reel with nothing but respect. ~ Rebecca

Let Us Grow (and we did!)

What a delight the last two weeks has been!! Suzi and I were fortunate enough to work with some very special youth for our first ever summer garden camp in Koshland Park called Let Us Grow! Our days were filled with laughter from start to finish.

Let Us Grow! was positive in so many ways. We grew sunflowers seeds, formed new friendships, learned how to prepare garden fresh food, and discovered a sense of place. The camp focused on gardening, and thus food and nutrition, arts and crafts, and community. Two weeks flew by, but by the end we all appreciated the garden and the overwhelming amount of life it has to offer; now newly decorated with disco balls, mylar flags, beautifully painted signs, sunflower seeds, new plants, and SO MUCH LOVE!!

Some of the highlights from Let Us Grow were the field trips we planned, not your normal, go to a museum field trip. Rather, the field trips complimented the goals of the camp and, therefore, the trips revolved around fresh, delicious, healthy FOOD. Our first trip was to the farmer's market at Civic Center, also stopping and playing at all the beautiful parks on the way and way home.

Here we are getting our lunches ready to go. Once at the farmer's market we meet the famers and tasted their many scrumptious fruits, including tayberries, strawberries, plums, peaches, nectarines, and even some savory olives.

Together we also visited RNM in Lower Haight. WHAT A TREAT!!! Nik was kind enough to come and spend a day with us in the garden and the following week we walked down Haight street to RNM. He let all the kids make their own fresh pizza with the topping(s) of their choice. Then, after saying our thanks, we sat together at our formal dining room table with fresh flowers sprinkled all over it and dined on fresh garden salad and homemade pizzas. YUM!


Millennium, referred to as the fancy vegan restaurant, was another very special treat. After teaching the kids about vegan food, we bussed downtown. Chef, Eric Tucker, greeted us and gave us a private tour throughout the restaurant where we learned about the restaurant decor and how it comes from reused products like seat belts or old feed sacks. Moving on we visited the kitchen downstairs, meet some of the staff, checked out the fresh veggies and fruit in the frig, and then picked out some fresh veggies and fruit to make our lunch. Together we tossed a fresh salad of mixed lettuce with peaches, cucumbers, tomatoes, with a sweet peach vinegarette. For our main, Eric, created a divine pasta dish adding chick peas for protein and more fresh vegetables that everyone gobbled up. For dessert, everyone's favorite, the pastry chef's were kind enough to make both vegan chocolate chip and ginger cookies. Triple Yum!!!


We experienced and learned so much in only two weeks.
The children could name all their favorite flowers, herbs, fruits, and veggies by name, and tell the difference between a collard and broccoli leaf - not a easy task. To the left is our favorite flower - Buddleia, commonly known as Butterfly Bush for obvious reasons!

Special thanks goes to the butterflies, sow bugs, red worms and all the other invertabrates who make the garden grow. We couldn't have done it without you. And equally as important, I would also like to appreciate EVERYONE else who made LET US GROW! a HUGE success. We thank you for your donations and time. We are grateful that you are so invested in our community. Most importantly, thank you to the sun and Earth, for which we are all eternally grateful and for giving us the most beautiful summer I have ever experienced in San Francisco!!. Peas and Love, Rebecca

To see all the fun we had check out the rest of the pictures here.

From City Girls to Farm Girls (for a week:)

We were so fortunate to spend the last week of June at The Occidental Arts & Ecology Center
The OAEC is a small organic farm as well as a nonprofit organizing and educational center. They have been offering this School Garden Training for several years as well as many other wonderful, comprehensive workshops. The workshops range from Woodshop for Women to Landscape Painting to frequent Permaculture Design courses. Many of the folks that live and work out there have become experts in their area of interest and were so kind and forthcoming in the sharing of their skills and experiences. We spent the week learning organic gardening practices, attending seminars focusing on school garden projects and site development and a little hands-on construction (our favorite part!). Not only were we blessed to learn from such amazing people; we also ate the BEST food ever!Q!! We were fed breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared by some of the most creative and delightful chefs around. My mouth still salivates when I think about some of the food we ate:) All in all, it was a spectacular, extremetly insightful journey to the countryside--and it was quite refreshing to feel like a "farmer" for a week!!
**Please click HERE to view our other pictures from our trip!!**

Our friend, Suzi, so beauifully showing off our home for the week! (AKA: Yurt) There were 8 of us sleeping in bunkbeds--it felt a little bit like camp:)

One afternoon we visited a local school garden and prepared lunch using "kid-friendly" recipes that we could then take back to share with our children. We also made the first layer of a cobb bench for the garden's learning circle. Cobb consists of a perfect ratio of sand, clay, straw and water. When sculpted and dried it can serve as an all natural concrete! This was super fun--and was quite a workout!
We worked and learned with some amazing folks from all over the state! It was so special to spend the week with such an open and enthusiastic group of teachers, parents and volunteers!
Many of you may not know this, but I LOVE bees!!! I am utterly fascinated by their behavior and the role they play in nature! So, this picture is very special to me and a perfect image of the magic that is throughout the OAEC. We recommend anyone and everyone to get up there even if it is just for the volunteer day on Wednesdays--you will fall in love as well!

UPDATES & HAPPENINGS:
LET US GROW!!
Today was the first day of our two week, Let Us Grow! Summer Program. It was a big hit and the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves. The quote of the day: "My new favorite food is Kale!!!" ~8 year old girl:)
The camp will run from 10 am to 2pm, Monday thru Friday, this week and next week!! Feel free to stop by!!

SEED TO MOUTH Cooking Classes
Come join us for our 2nd Cooking Class THIS Wednesday (July 12th) in the HV South Community Room (403 Rose St., across the street from the Park)
This weeks meun is APPETIZERS and homemade salsas..YUMMMMM!
Hope to see you soon,
peace & love,
suzi

OUTSTANDING Parks Group

Rebecca Bozzelli, Dee Dee Workman, Barbara Wenger, and Suzi Palladino.

Hayes Valley Neighborhood Parks Group was kindly recognized by Neighborhood Parks Council (NPC) for all our OUTSTANDING efforts in reaching out and working closely with the Hayes Valley, Western Addition, and Lower Haight communities. What a great feeling to selected for this award and to be surrounded by the special people we are fortunate enough to work with, people who make our jobs easier because of their dedication and hard work. The award was presented to Barbara Wenger from Mayor Newson. Thank you NPC!

Lending Hands at Green Gulch Farms

Suzi, I, and Betty (thank you!) worked at Green Gulch Farms Friday to lend our hands. We started off in the thick of leftover food and horse manure - what a great way to start the day!! We rediscovered that composting is truly an art. The beautiful, rich soil that is created from all these leftovers proves how amazing nature is. This was our recipe for compost cake.
Layer 1: horse manure
Layer 2: leftovers from Greens Restaurant and who know where else - YUM! (See pictures)
Layer 3: a light covering of greens
Layer 4: a spinkle of mulch
Repeat!


Next, we were off to the kitchen garden for a much more mellow task of harvesting the most delicious parsley and some chives. This coming week we are off to Occidental Arts and Ecology Center to participate in their garden teacher training program. Ye Haw! More on that soon...

Rebecca

Updates & Happenings

Hey Y'all...

Well, I hardly know what to say about all of this lovely weather we have had over the past week or so! I hope that everyone has been taking full advantage of the blue skies and big sunshine keeping our bodies warm and lives playful. As the summer sun is heating up the earth, we are gearing up for some super-fun summer projects that we want to share with you. We look forward to seeing you somewhere along the way and don't hesitate to get in touch with us for questions, concerns, or just some good ole' garden talk.

Looking forward to bumping into each of your sweet, smiling faces!!!

love and happy gardening,
suzi

SUZI & REBECCA'S SUMMER SCHEDULE
(days and times you will be sure to find us getting our hands dirty in the garden!!)
Tuesdays: 1pm to 5:30pm
Fridays: 9am to 12pm
2nd Saturdays 11am to 2pm

Let Us Grow! Summer Program
7/10-7/21, 10am to 2pm
(gardening, arts & crafts, cooking, field trips, and learning about community for
youth ages 8 to 13)

Seed to Mouth Cooking Classes!!!
Wednesday Evenings(beginning July 5th for 5 weeks),
5:30 to 7pm (ish) for children and families!
Location: Hayes Valley South Community Room
Please contact Rebecca or myself for more information about any or all of these happenings!!

suzi.palladino@gmail.com,
rabozzelli@yahoo.com

South Central Farmers Lose Country's Largest Community Garden

Over the past several months, I have taken much interest in this South Central, LA urban farm and the triumphs that a diverse group of environmentally and socially conscious people have been awarded through their dedication and committment to saving this farm. Despite widespread resistance, last week a bulldozer barrelled through the fence and began plowing through people and the land of the country's largest community garden!! Protests were in full force, voices were shouting out, people were arrested, but most importantly a communal space and vision shared by folks of an already disenfranschised community was uprooted by LA Real Estate developers. The farmers and other demonstrators were able to suspend the demolition for over seven hours through a treesit, lockdowns, and blockades. Although the deconstruction has begun, the fight is not over for these farmers and community activists ready to stand up for what is just, what is humane and what is needed to keep this community healthy and viable! Please check out the links below to find out more about action being taken and ways we, as San Francisco community gardners, can support!

peace & love,
suzi


Organic Consumers Association

Los Angeles Indymedia Center

Community Food Security Coalition

Salad
Tastes
Good!


Yesterday marked the end of the school year for San Francisco Public Schools and Suzi and I held salad parties with the students to celebrate. The students harvested the lettuce, cleaned it up in the salad spinner, made salad dressing and then gobbled it UP. They couldn't get enough, especially the calendula flower petals. We even have a special John Muir honey-mustard salad dressing (frequently mis-called sauce). Well Done John Muir students!!

Even more excting and comming soon.........THIS JULY will commence Cooking in the community. Six cooking classes will be held throughout the Hayes Valley and Western Addition communities, starting in July. We'll pick veggies from the garden and invite the community to help us prepare healthy meals. As a bonus, they'll be able to take home fresh veggies and the recipes we prepared from that class. Check back soon for more scrumptious details....

Rebecca

I would like you to meet our very special garden mascot, Miss Rhubarb, standing amongst the weeds!

Please join the Community Clean Team to beautify
District 5 and keep
San Francisco Clean, Green and Beautiful!
Community Day
Saturday, June 3, 2006
Ella Hill Hutch Community Center
(1015 McAllister at Webster Street)
Volunteers will paint out graffiti, create litter-free zones, and
tend to trees in neighborhoods all over District 5.
Volunteer in the Parks
Saturday, June 17, 2006
Hayes Green (Octavia and Hayes)
Volunteers will work on gardening & beautification projects
at Hayes Green and other district parks.
Events run from 9:00 am until noon