[BCFSN] community gardens protocol in COVID19 era
Jen McMullen
mcmullen.j at gmail.com
Mon Apr 6 22:23:27 EDT 2020
I have helped build community garden on an old asphalt tennis court at the
Friendship Centre. I made long 3 ft high beds (accessibility was an issue
and they had the $ for soil)... Then we lined the bottoms and sides with
pond liner so water wouldn't pool out of the beds. And then we filled it
with 1/2 soil and 1/2 composted sea soil (organic). They top up the soil
with bought soil every year and plant into compost they make themselves.
Because the beds were lined with pond liner, we just used spruce wood and
not more $$ cedar. Though, some people later on said they would've liked it
to be cedar.
Thanks, Jen
Jen McMullen
--
Fire Trail Farm
Master's of Dispute Resolution
http://www.indigenousfoodsvi.ca/pacific-northwest-plant-knowledge-cards/
On Mon, Apr 6, 2020 at 6:56 PM Carol Kergan <carol.kergan at alumni.ubc.ca>
wrote:
> I have a proposal going to my neighbour church for consideration of
> building a community garden onbl their land...actually on their asphalt
> parking lot. I wonder what suggestions for building appropriate beds might
> be from folks in the know on the listserve?
>
> Also any information about mitigation of heat as this is in Kelowna...and
> any funding or grant ideas?
>
>
> Yours in Good Health,
>
> Carol
>
> On Mon., Apr. 6, 2020, 12:10 p.m. Colin Dring, <ccdring at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi folks for those interested in looking at what some groups in the
>> States are doing about prioritizing the distribution of seeds and resources
>> to organizations and groups led by Indigenous, Black and People of Colour ,
>> check out the work below around resource sharing, protocols during
>> COVID-19, and upcoming meetings:
>>
>> Hope you are all taking care,
>>
>> Colin Dring
>>
>>
>> [image: 1]
>>
>> *Monday, April 6, 2020*
>>
>> **** ANNOUNCEMENT ****
>>
>> The Cooperative Gardens Commission is *pleased to announce our initial
>> plan* to connect thousands of people for the purpose of increasing
>> community food production during this time of uncertainty. Because the
>> growing season is already here in much of the country, we've determined
>> that the best way to connect resources with needs is to use an existing
>> online platform that is free, familiar, non-profit, and already exists in
>> most communities: the humble *craigslist*!
>>
>> If you have resources to offer — as *over 1500 of you* indicated when
>> you filled out our survey — we strongly urge you to visit your local
>> craigslist.org page today and make a post offering your resources using
>> the hashtag *#CoopGardens* and following the instructions in our *Resource
>> Sharing Guide* below (with the header highlighted in green). Be sure to
>> also *read the critical Health & Safety Guidelines* (header highlighted
>> in blue) which form the bulk of the guide below, because it is the
>> responsibility of each and every one of us to prevent the spread of
>> COVID-19. We in the CGC take this virus very seriously.
>>
>> To join our organizing efforts, please find the link to register for our
>> biweekly organizing calls toward the bottom of guide below (the *next
>> call is tonight* — Monday — at 8pm ET/5pm PT), along with links to join
>> each of our 14 working groups — including the new BIPOC Working Group for
>> those of you who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color.
>>
>> Since this organizing project began with a simple social media post on
>> "Corona Victory Gardens" on March 18th, hundreds of organizers have come
>> together to create a broad-based and inclusive collective dedicated to
>> growing food and community. Our work has already been featured in the New
>> York Times, among other publications — and we are just getting started. *Please
>> get in touch* with stories and photos of your Cooperative Garden that we
>> can share on social media.
>>
>> And please share this announcement widely. Our strategy only works if
>> lots of people participate.
>>
>> Thank you in advance for visiting your local craigslist today and helping
>> your community!
>>
>> - *The Cooperative Gardens Commission* (Facilitation/Administration
>> Working Group)
>>
>>
>> Cooperative Gardens Commission
>>
>> Resource Sharing Guide
>>
>> #CoopGardens: How to Increase Food Production in Your Community
>>
>> The Cooperative Gardens Commission is launching a public campaign to
>> increase community food production in every community. Our aim is to
>> connect those with food-growing resources — including seeds, soil, tools,
>> equipment, land, labor, and knowledge — with those who lack such resources,
>> and ultimately to get as much land as possible producing food during this
>> time of uncertainty.
>>
>> Growing food is not easy, especially for first-time growers, so we urge
>> any of you who can help your neighbors grow food to go to your local
>> craigslist.org website and use the hashtag #CoopGardens while offering
>> their help (following all of the guidelines below). We chose craigslist
>> <http://craigslist.org/> because it's free, familiar, easy-to-use,
>> not-for-profit, and has a page for almost every community in the United
>> States and Canada (and many other countries). We believe this is the
>> fastest and most efficient way to make your resources available to people
>> in your community, and we offer directions for how to use craigslist for
>> this project below. But before beginning to help your neighbors, or receive
>> help, you must read these important Health & Safety Guidelines for
>> sharing resources and community gardening.
>>
>>
>> Health & Safety Guidelines
>>
>> The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and the COVID-19 disease it causes are
>> deadly serious. You should only consider sharing gardening resources with
>> your neighbors, or gardening or farming with other people, if you take
>> every precaution recommended by experts to keep yourself safe and to
>> prevent transmission of this virus. Most importantly: PRACTICE SOCIAL
>> DISTANCING!
>>
>> This virus is very easy to transmit to others. It can survive on surfaces
>> for up to 72 hours (or even longer). It can travel through the air in
>> invisible droplets for 6 or even 10 feet (or farther in the wind). Many
>> individuals infected with the virus show no symptoms, but can still easily
>> transmit it to other people, so no matter where you live on this planet, it
>> is only safe to assume that anyone — including you — may be infected.
>>
>> Farmers, gardeners and volunteers involved with this project must follow
>> these guidelines for growing food and sharing resources with other people
>> :
>>
>> If you are sick or have ANY symptoms of COVID-19 (cough, fever,
>> diarrhea, shortness of breath, OR reduced sense of smell/taste) or you
>> have been in contact with someone who is or has recently been sick:
>>
>> -
>>
>> Do not work with other people.
>> - Self-quarantine for 14 days if you believe you have been exposed to
>> someone who may have been exposed.
>> - Self-quarantine for 14 days after your symptoms subside.
>> - Wear a mask or bandana over your mouth and nose if you must go out
>> in public.
>> - Do your best to reduce contact with those in your household when
>> you or they are sick, following these CDC guidelines
>> <https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/.%20guidance-prevent-spread.html>
>> .
>> -
>>
>> Call your doctor or local authorities if you are sick enough that you
>> believe that you need treatment (many emergency rooms are reducing services
>> provided for non-emergency "routine sick" care, so call before you go to
>> the hospital).
>>
>> Even if you are not sick, or do not believe you have been exposed to the
>> virus, you must still assume you are an asymptomatic carrier (meaning
>> you could be spreading the virus while showing no symptoms). Given this
>> assumption, everyone should practice the following guidelines when sharing
>> any kind of object — seeds, tools, documents, etc:
>>
>> -
>>
>> Wash your hands (for 20 seconds or longer with soap and water) before touching
>> any item you plan to give to another person, and after touching any
>> item you receive from another person.
>> - Sanitize any object (package, tool handle, etc) received from
>> another person using household bleach or minimum 70% alcohol.
>> - Use contact-free means to pass objects (seeds, tools, paper
>> documents, etc) from person to person, such as leaving objects in a mailbox
>> or on a porch. If an object received from another cannot be sanitized, put
>> it somewhere it can be left for at least 3 days and then wash your hands
>> before doing anything else.
>> -
>>
>> Seeds or other supplies should be packed in paper, not plastic,
>> whenever possible (since the virus survives longer on plastic).
>>
>> When working in a garden with any other people:
>>
>> -
>>
>> Wash your hands with soap and water before you arrive and when you
>> get home.
>> - Set up a simple but effective hand-washing station
>> <https://onfarmfoodsafety.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Build-Your-Own-Hand-Washing-Station.pdf>,
>> and/or carry a ziplock bag with very soapy water inside so you can wash
>> your hands wherever you are.
>> - Consider using disposable gloves (but remember that once they come
>> in contact with the virus they may easily spread it to everything they
>> touch).
>> - Wear a mask or bandana if other people are working nearby.
>> - Do not touch your face. If you do, wash your hands again.
>> - If you need to cough or sneeze, do so into a tissue or your
>> shirtsleeve — and remember that the virus may now be on the tissue or your
>> sleeve.
>> - Always stay at least 6 feet from any other person.
>> - Sanitize any shared tools or equipment, including hand tools, hose
>> nozzles, gate latches, wheelbarrow handles, etc., before and after each use
>> (using sanitizing wipes, bleach, or minimum 70% alcohol), or — whenever
>> possible — do not share tools.
>> - Keep gardens closed to the public when no one is there to ensure
>> health & safety compliance.
>> - Wash all produce before consumption.
>> - Remove clothes and wash immediately upon going indoors after being
>> outside among other people, especially if you've taken public
>> transportation.
>> - Go home immediately if you start to feel sick, have a fever, or are
>> coughing or sneezing.
>> -
>>
>> Wash your hands again.
>>
>>
>> One of the best current clearinghouses for health & safety information
>> for food growers — including how to build your own handwashing station
>> <https://onfarmfoodsafety.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Build-Your-Own-Hand-Washing-Station.pdf>
>> and OSHA's Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19
>> <https://onfarmfoodsafety.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/OSHA3990.Covid_.pdf>
>> — is this webpage
>> <https://onfarmfoodsafety.rutgers.edu/covid-19-information/> put
>> together by Rutgers University aimed at farmers. Anyone growing food for
>> other people should study it. Also, please regularly check the Centers for
>> Disease Control's frequently updated Public Health Recommendations for
>> Community-Related Exposure
>> <https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/public-health-recommendations.html>
>> .
>>
>> And please also learn about and follow all current official mandates in
>> your state and municipality designed to stop the spread of COVID-19. Each
>> state and municipality has its own rules regarding social distancing,
>> essential services, and stay-at-home orders. It is your responsibility to
>> know and follow them.
>>
>>
>> Using #CoopGardens on craigslist to help your community
>>
>> Growing food is a skill. It also requires certain resources — including
>> seeds, soil, equipment, labor, land, knowledge, etc — which many people
>> lack. If you have resources to help other people grow food, please go to
>> your local craigslist <https://www.craigslist.org/about/sites> page
>> right now and make a post following these instructions:
>>
>> -
>>
>> Click "create a posting" at the top left of your local craigslist.org
>> page.
>> -
>>
>> Choose "community" and then "general community" for your category.
>> -
>>
>> Include the hashtag #CoopGardens in the "posting title" and use this
>> format to offer resources: #CoopGardens - Offer: Seeds, Knowledge,
>> Compost - 19144 [be sure to include your zip-code or postal code; and
>> also add your town name and zip code again when prompted.]
>> -
>>
>> Here are some common keywords you might want to include in your post:
>> seeds, soil, compost, farmland, garden land, labor, volunteers, lumber,
>> hand tools, farm equipment, plant starts, tillage, farmer housing, storage,
>> combine, tractor, food processing, community kitchen, paid work,
>> mentorship.
>> -
>>
>> At the bottom of your description, please include the following text:
>>
>>
>> #CoopGardens is a hashtag designed to encourage the free sharing of
>> resources among gardeners and farmers in every community, offered by the
>> new Cooperative Gardens Commission as a response to the surge of interest
>> in growing food during the coronavirus pandemic. For more information on
>> the CGC or to join its organizing efforts — and for critical health &
>> safety information to prevent the spread of the virus while gardening or
>> sharing resources — please visit www.CoopGardens.org
>> <http://www.coopgardens.org/>. Thank you.
>>
>> Here is an example
>> <https://southjersey.craigslist.org/com/d/monroeville-coopgardens-offer-seeds/7100871244.html>
>> .
>>
>> How to find help growing food
>>
>> If you need resources or assistance to begin growing food and you can't
>> find help through a local gardening club or business, go to your local
>> craigslist.org page (every community has one at least nearby
>> <https://www.craigslist.org/about/sites>) and search for the hashtag
>> #CoopGardens. If your local page has many entries using this hashtag,
>> search for the particular resource you need like this: "#CoopGardens
>> seeds."
>>
>> You can also create your own listing following the directions above but
>> substituting "Need" for "Offer."
>>
>> If you can't find what you need through craigslist, please fill out this
>> form
>> <https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1TsBpBgwvznorOPk2tBbrTuZVUgrPTPPiUp2ipEtWAMY>
>> and we will do our best to help you. Additionally, for those who have no
>> access to the internet, please share our phone number: (202) 709-6225
>>
>> Who are we?
>>
>> The Cooperative Gardens Commission (CGC) is a project of the Experimental
>> Farm Network Cooperative, a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) non-profit
>> organization. The CGC is composed of hundreds of volunteer organizers from
>> across the United States and Canada working as a collective to increase
>> community food production, facilitate resource-sharing, help first-time
>> gardeners succeed, build more resilient communities, and support existing
>> food sovereignty projects and networks — especially in communities that
>> were already struggling before the COVID-19 pandemic.
>>
>> To* join our organizing efforts*, please register here
>> <https://myaccount.maestroconference.com/conference/register/WRBVQV8OURPMFVCE>
>> for our biweekly conference calls (Mondays at 8pm ET/5pm PT & Thursdays at
>> 4pm ET/1pm PT).
>>
>> You are also encouraged to join the discussions happening in any of our
>> fourteen working groups at the following links:
>>
>>
>> - Tech/Logistics
>> <https://groups.google.com/d/forum/cg-techlogistics-working-group>
>> - Outreach
>> <https://groups.google.com/d/forum/cg-outreach-working-group>
>> - Media Relations
>> <https://groups.google.com/d/forum/cg-media-relations-working-group>
>> - Design/Messaging
>> <https://groups.google.com/d/forum/cg-designmessaging-working-group>
>> - Education
>> <https://groups.google.com/d/forum/cg-education-working-group>
>> - Fundraising
>> <https://groups.google.com/d/forum/cg-fundraising-working-group>
>> - Herbalism
>> <https://groups.google.com/d/forum/cg-herbalism-working-group>
>> - Policy <https://groups.google.com/d/forum/cg-policy-working-group>
>> - Seed Distribution
>> <https://groups.google.com/d/forum/cg-seed-distro-working-group>
>> - Work & Livelihoods
>> <https://groups.google.com/d/forum/cg-work%E2%80%93livelihoods-working-group>
>> - *BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)
>> <https://groups.google.com/d/forum/cg-bipoc-working-group> *
>> - Accessibility & Inclusion
>> <https://groups.google.com/d/forum/cg-accessibility--inclusion-working-group>
>> - Health & Safety
>> <https://groups.google.com/d/forum/cg-health--safety-working-group>
>> - Facilitation/Administration
>> <https://groups.google.com/d/forum/cg-facilitationadmin-working-group>
>>
>> #CoopGardens is a movement for everyone regardless of race, ethnicity,
>> gender identity, sexuality, survivor status, economic status, immigration
>> or documentation status, nationality, language, appearance, age, religion,
>> ability, background, health, etc. Inspired by Soul Fire Farm's Safer
>> Space Agreements <http://www.soulfirefarm.org/about/safer-space/>, we
>> are here to "Share knowledge and skills with our community. No one knows
>> everything. Together we know a lot." We seek to follow their lead in
>> attempting to create a community that holds space for the wisdom and
>> experience of Black, Brown, Indigenous folks, immigrants, members of the
>> LGBTQIA+ community, women, elders, chronically ill, disabled,
>> immuno-compromised people, and all others whose voices and experiences are
>> far too often marginalized by our society. Violence or oppressive behavior
>> in any form will not be tolerated. Please bring any and all concerns to the
>> attention of the community's moderators at CooperativeGardens at gmail.com
>> or by calling us at (202) 709-6225.
>>
>> --
>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
>> "CG Seed Distro Working Group" group.
>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an
>> email to cg-seed-distro-working-group+unsubscribe at googlegroups.com.
>> To view this discussion on the web visit
>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cg-seed-distro-working-group/CADNnKkiKNATNMUP18VPkZ_01qPRCu02ycqsgtOU7PxS-wzunYw%40mail.gmail.com
>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cg-seed-distro-working-group/CADNnKkiKNATNMUP18VPkZ_01qPRCu02ycqsgtOU7PxS-wzunYw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>
>> .
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Apr 3, 2020 at 6:42 PM Jen Cody <Jen.Cody at nanaimofoodshare.ca>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> We have a protocol developed for the community farm.
>>>
>>> Below are attached the protocols that we are instituting in terms of
>>> COVID safety. As an essential service, I would hope that municipalities
>>> would allow them to remain open.
>>>
>>> I hope that the protocols are helpful.
>>>
>>> In short, we are pre-screening volunteers before they come to the farm,
>>> with a 5 question questionairre. They also recieve a COVID worker safety
>>> information handout.
>>>
>>> At the site volunteers are directed to check in with a manager who asks
>>> if there have been any changes in their health status. People have to
>>> wash hands before continuing, have a COVID safety orientation. One
>>> person on site has the responsibility to enforce 6 ft distancing, wipe
>>> commonly touched surfaces with a bleach solution every 2 hours. All tools
>>> are to be cleaned with bleach before use and after use by the
>>> worker/volunteer.
>>>
>>> We also have some signage we can share.
>>>
>>>
>>> Most of the resources are from AgSafe. Very helpful for us!
>>>
>>> Jen Cody
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Catch the Five Acre Farm Film here
>>> <https://www.facebook.com/ManlyMedia/videos/494881957946058/>!
>>>
>>> Jen Cody, MHSc, RD, she/her
>>> Executive Director
>>> jen.cody at nanaimofoodshare.ca
>>> 250-753-9393
>>>
>>> Living, playing and learning with respect as an uninvited guest on
>>> Snuneymuxw, *Snaw-Naw-As and Stz'uminus Coast Salish* Indigenous Lands
>>>
>>>
>>> On Thu, Apr 2, 2020 at 9:32 AM Abra Brynne <abrabrynne at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello all,,
>>>> I am wondering if anyone has developed a protocol - particularly if it
>>>> is recognized by a local authority (govt or health) to ensure that
>>>> community gardens can continue during the pandemic. Seems to me that it
>>>> would not be that hard to organize physical distancing but it would be good
>>>> to collectively talk through issues like shared tools and other issues that
>>>> we have not before had to deal with.
>>>>
>>>> any thoughts suggestions??
>>>> thanks,
>>>> Abra
>>>>
>>>> Abra Brynne
>>>> abra at foodshed.ca
>>>> 604 Gore Street West, Nelson, BC V1L 3H3
>>>> Ph: 250.777.2480
>>>> she | her | hers
>>>>
>>>> "Whoever suggested that good thinking should be in a straight line?"
>>>> Brewster Kneen
>>>>
>>>> "Social justice does not come from passivity or non-caring. Justice
>>>> must be struggled for. That is what life is, or should be all about -
>>>> striving for justice. Not only or primarily as individuals, but as members
>>>> of larger communities." Ursula Franklin
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> This is the public mailing list of the BC Food Systems Network.
>>>> BCFSN.org
>>>> Our email address: food at bcfsn.org
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>>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> This is the public mailing list of the BC Food Systems Network. BCFSN.org
>>> Our email address: food at bcfsn.org
>>> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings:
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>>> Follow BCFSN on Facebook and Twitter
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Colin Dring, PhD Candidate
>> Chair, BC Food Systems Network <http://bcfsn.org/>
>> Secretary, Sustainable Agriculture Education Association
>> <http://www.sustainableaged.org/>
>> Graduate Facilitator, Centre for Teaching Learning Technology
>> Faculty of Land and Food Systems | Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at
>> the UBC Farm
>> The University of British Columbia | Unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Territory
>> Phone 778 859 1148
>> *colind at mail.ubc.ca <colind at mail.ubc.ca>* | @UBCFarm
>> <https://www.mail.ubc.ca/owa/redir.aspx?C=QLDp11_IQcRClmuvofgLayol9wfIG32SiywaYL4JsUdAHyuAOXzUCA..&URL=https%3a%2f%2ftwitter.com%2f%40UBCFarm>
>> http://ubcfarm.ubc.ca
>>
>> <https://www.mail.ubc.ca/owa/redir.aspx?C=5zmTToizlylaGNMG8_q_qyRlrNALd1T3P8gh2IbYxgFAHyuAOXzUCA..&URL=http%3a%2f%2fubcfarm.ubc.ca%2f>
>> _______________________________________________
>> This is the public mailing list of the BC Food Systems Network. BCFSN.org
>> Our email address: food at bcfsn.org
>> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings:
>> http://bcfsn.org/mailman/listinfo/food_bcfsn.org
>> Our guidelines on listserv etiquette:
>> http://fooddemocracy.org/docs/BCFSN_Listserv_Guidelines.pdf
>> To contact the list administrator, email food-owner at bcfsn.org
>> Follow BCFSN on Facebook and Twitter
>>
> _______________________________________________
> This is the public mailing list of the BC Food Systems Network. BCFSN.org
> Our email address: food at bcfsn.org
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings:
> http://bcfsn.org/mailman/listinfo/food_bcfsn.org
> Our guidelines on listserv etiquette:
> http://fooddemocracy.org/docs/BCFSN_Listserv_Guidelines.pdf
> To contact the list administrator, email food-owner at bcfsn.org
> Follow BCFSN on Facebook and Twitter
>
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