Plant Swap this Saturday April 16th

Greetings Plant Swappers!

This weekend will be the first-ever Elliotborough Park and Community Garden Plant Swap! You’re invited to discover the best-kept neighborhood park secret in Charleston AND swap plants with fellow gardeners.  Afterwards, check out our community vegetable gardens and see the progress on a new Clemson Architecture vertical vegetable wall.

For those who have seen the Park Circle plant swaps, we will be following a similar format. BRING SOME PLANTS AND INVITE A FRIEND!

Details:
WHAT: Yard plants, herbs, shrubs/trees, vegetable or flower seedlings, bulbs, or garden tools/accessories are all welcome! (I’ll be bringing a variety of herbs, roses, and other plants)
WHERE: Elliotborough Park and Community Garden, 134 Line St. (Downtown Charleston)
WHEN: SATURDAY APRIL 16 @ 1pm (advise 10 min early for setup)

HOW TO GET THERE:
Google Map:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=134+Line+St.+Charleston+SC&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=134+Line+St,+Charleston,+South+Carolina+29403&gl=us&z=16

Spring Breakers Help Fields to Families

USCB Students were among four groups of College Students that joined Fields to Families over their spring break. Read an article about this group: http://www.blufftontoday.com/bluffton-news/2011-04-05/uscb-students-donate-spring-break-charity#1

Other groups included Central Piedmont Community College, Alpha Phi Omega from University of Illinois Chicago, and the Presbyterian Student Association of Charleston  (pictured below).

With the help of these hardworking groups Fields to Families was able to help our partner Sweetgrass Garden Co-op on Johns Island clean up their lot, prepare their fields, build compost bins, form up rows, mulch, and plant. Groups also gleaned several hundred pounds of collards and mustard greens at Joseph Fields Farm and helped to clean, paint signage, propagate seeds, and plant at the Bogarden community garden.

A huge THANK YOU to our great dedicated college students for spending their spring break helping others!

Spring Opportunities 2011

Here is the lastest updates regarding Fields to Families. Please note changes in contact information and updated opportunties below!

Farmers Markets

Many of you have expressed interest in helping with the Farmer’s Markets. Depending on the location, you will be at a table, talking to attendees of the market about the mission, accepting dontations, and in some cases collecting produce for recipient agencies. If you are still interested in helping out this year, please contact the respective leader for each market.

Charleston

Volunteer Co coordinator –

Danielle Tucker

DaniDon514@gmail.com

843.494.9089 or   843.810. 6690.

Mt. Pleasant

Volunteer Co coordinators –

Jim Calhoun

jgcalhoun@aol.com

843.883.0283 or 864.383.7149

Ann Calhoun

awcalhoun55@yahoo.com

864.464.7151

Summerville

Volunteer Coordinator
Marjorie Veneziano

<tveneziano@sc.rr.com>

843.851.5343 or  843.607.4519

North Charleston Farmers Market NEW!!

Volunteer Coordinator

Melissa Wagner

ivyridge@jdcmanagementco.com

803-476-6535

Daniel Island Farmers Market is now in need of a Volunteer Coordinator.

Events

We are currently in the process of creating a new Events Committee that will be meeting regularly to plan, seek out, and participate in events. If you only want to volunteer at specific events, please see opportunities below.

April

16th: Kiawah Island Greenival

Night Heron Park

10am-2pm

Help celebrate Earthday by sharing the mission of Fields to Families with residents and visitors of Kiawah. Volunteers can either hand out information or participate in hands-on activity of making paper pots, filling them with soil with children and planting seeds.

16th: Charleston County Earthday

Park Circle

11am-3pm

If you are interested in doing a hands-on activity this Earthday weekend, come out to North Charleston and participate in hands-on activity of making paper pots, filling them with soil with children and planting seeds.

22nd: Charleston Eco Fashion Event 

April 22, 2011 – Earth Day

7:00 – 9:00 p.m

Michael Mitchell Gallery

Tickets – $20 (a portion of proceeds benefit Fields to Families)

http://charlestonecofashion.eventbrite.com/
See previous post for flier

Gleaning

We will continue to send out email notifications of gleaning opportunities. If you are interested in receiving training to lead gleanings, please contact us.

Gardening

Fields to Families currently has one main garden in Moncks Corner in partnership with Junior League, Whole Foods, and 4-H but if you live in that area and would like to get involved, please contact Phyllis Ford at <phyllisford@bellsouth.net> or 843.766.8234

We are also partnering with a local non-profit project called Sweetgrass Garden Co-op on Johns Island that donates their produce to the hungry. Their garden is located at 3105 Plowground Rd. Johns Island, SC 29455. If you are interested in having a group come out to help or simply wish to volunteer on your own, please contact Dale Snyder at dale.snyder@att.net or 843-270-0889. They have a variety of volunteer opportunities from planting to construction.

For questions or further information, please email info@fieldstofamilies.org

We look forward to seeing you all this Spring!!

Support Fields to Families through Fashion!

Event Details:

Charleston Eco Fashion Event

April 22, 2011 – Earth Day

7:00 – 9:00 p.m

Michael Mitchell Gallery

Tickets – $20

Tickets can be purchased at http://charlestonecofashion.eventbrite.com/

Charleston Eco Fashion Event will showcase independent fashion designers that are making strides to support and embrace responsible philosophies.  The event seeks to promote environmentally conscious trends in fashion and to applaud and support designers who are shaping these trends. 

Featured designers include: Caroline Baker, Rachel Gordon and Natahsa Madan.

 

 

Double Gleaning!

We will be having two more gleanings of collards and mustards this week thanks to Joseph Fields! There will be a gleaning this Friday the 11th from 9:30-12:30 at Joseph Fields’s Farm on 3129 River Road, Johns Island, SC led by Nikki Seibert.

 

The following gleaning will be Saturday the 12th from 9:30-12:30 also at Joseph Fields’s Farm on 3129 River Road, Johns Island, SC led by Greg Vanderwerker.

 

We respectfully request that all volunteers bring gloves, snips/scissors/knives, water, hat, sunscreen and bugspray.

If possible, please stop at your local grocery store and ask for vegetable boxes.

 

Please email Nikki at: info@fieldstofamilies, if you can attend or your agency is interested in picking up produce. If you are willing to deliver produce to recipient agencies, please let us know!!

 

If you need anything the day of, please call Nikki at 843-261-3575 on Friday and Greg at 843-737-1783 on Saturday.

Volunteer Opportunities!

Outreach Events

We need your help!

Please let us know if you are willing to join us at these events to educate the public on our mission, help us pass out information, and engage the community.

March

13th: Children’s Fair

Gaillard Auditorium

10am-4pm

Come join us as we teach children the joys of gardening through seed planting, seedling give aways, and a sensory garden!

26th: Carolina Yard Gardening School

The Charleston Exchange Park

We are seeking volunteers interested in working a shift at this full day event focused on learning more about gardening. Volunteers will have access to the exhibit hall, gift shop (Books, Rain barrels, and plants), and free compost!

April

16th: Kiawah Island Greenival

Night Heron Park

10am-2pm

Help celebrate Earthday by sharing the mission of Fields to Families with residents and visitors of Kiawah.

16th: Charleston County Earthday

Park Circle

11am-3pm

If you are interested in doing a hands-on activity this Earthday weekend, come out to North Charleston and help us as we plant seeds and share seedlings with youth and adults.

22nd: Tout Models and Talent & Circa PR Eco-Fashion Show

Charleston Eco Fashion Event

April 22, 2011 – Earth Day

7:00 – 9:00 p.m

Michael Mitchell Gallery

Tickets – $20

www.charlestonecofashion.com

As the signature charity of this show, we will need enthusiastic volunteers to share our mission to people attending this event.

Gleaning and Gardening

Harvesting hope.

**Interested in being a gleaning leader? Please let us know!

March:

Gleaning:

8th: Joseph Fields Farm

3129 River Road
John’s Island, SC 29455

1pm-4pm

Harvesting collards. Please bring a knife/snips, boxes, and water. If you are willing to deliver produce, please let us know.

11th or 12th: Rosebank Farm TBD. This gleaning is pending crop availability

Harvesting collards, cabbage, etc. Please bring a knife/snips, boxes, and water. If you are willing to deliver produce, please let us know.

Gardening:

19th: Bogarden Workday

Corner of Bogard and Rutledge

10am-2pm

Help this partner garden with spring clean up and planting.

Committees

Join us!

The following are committees in need of volunteers:

Health and Nutrition

Events

Grants

Fundraising

If you are interested in serving on one of these committees on a regular basis, please let us know.

I look forward to hearing from you all,

Nikki Seibert

Director of Operations

info@fieldstofamilies.org

Cell:843-261-3575

Winter Newsletter

Gleaning cabbage and collards at Rosebank farm 3-2-2011

If you have not had a chance yet, please check out our latest Newsletter!

You can read more about the following stories:

“Fields to Families Chosen as an “Angel” Charity by South Carolina Secretary of State”

“Fields to Families works with New Recipient Agency, Food Not Bombs, to Serve Meals to Charleston Needy”

“A Note from Nikki Seibert, New Director”

“Fields to Families Partners with Lowcountry Local First and Lowcountry Food Bank for Charleston CANs Project”

Gleaning Announcement

Volunteer Greg Vanderwerker proudly displays turnips gleaned on Wadmalaw Island

The time for gleaning is here! With the warm weather approaching, many fall and winter crops have begun to flower and we have to harvest them quick.

Our first official gleaning this season will be out atRosebank Farm on Johns Island, this Wednesday, 8:30am-11:00am. Although their stand is being moved, they are still going full steam in the fields. Gleaners will be meeting off of Resurrection Rd. (once on Resurrection, we will be off to the right behind where the stand was). We respectfully request that all volunteers bring gloves, snips/scissors/knives, water, hat, sunscreen and bugspray. 

If possible, please stop at your local grocery store and ask for vegetable boxes. 

Please email Nikki at: info@fieldstofamilies, if you can attend or your agency is interested in picking up produce. 

p.s. If you cannot come out for the gleaning, we will be helping out at the Bogarden on Bogard and Rutledge this Saturday March 5th from 10-2. Volunteers will be cleaning up the lot, weeding, building beds, and painting signs. There will also be another workday on Saturday March 19th to continue the clean-up, plant seedlings, and potential spread mulch. Please join us!

Bringing in the New Year

With the weather warming up, Fields to Families is gearing up for Spring. Two weekends ago we were lucky enough to have a group of Junior League volunteers come out to our Moncks Corner Whole Foods Garden to get the beds ready for the season. Board members Phyllis Ford and Jonathan Croft lead the group in the maintenance of the 28 lasagna style beds.

Among the Junior League volunteers that came to the garden was Dr. Jennifer Smith of the Draisin Vision Group. Her office selects two charities every year that they support with funds from client visits and this year, she has selected Fields to Families as one of the recipients!

Please consider visiting the Draisin Vision Group for any of your eye care needs. They are located at 1470 Tobias Gadson Blvd. Suite 115 Charleston, SC 29407. Visit http://www.draisinvision.com/ for more information on their services or call Toll Free: (843) 556-20/20.

Thanks so much to the Junior League and Dr. Jennifer Smith!

Start a Garden with Help from Katie’s Krops

One of our volunteers is making headlines with her continued efforts to turn gardens into food for the hungry.

See the AOL article below.

(Photo from Katie’s Krops website)

Sixth-Grade Philanthropist Offers Grant to Encourage Gardening

Jan 7, 2011 – 11:08 AM

Susanna Baird- Contributor

Sixth-grader Katie Stagliano knows how multiply.

She turned a 40-pound cabbage from her garden into part of a meal for 275 people at a Charleston, S.C., soup kitchen. She turned that single experience into Katie’s Krops, a nonprofit that has grown thousands of pounds of fresh produce for soup kitchens and other organizations helping people in need.

Katie wants children in other states to grow their own philanthropic gardens.

“It is my dream to have a vegetable garden in every state to feed those in need,” she told AOL News. “To make that possible in 2011, I am offering a Katie’s Krops grant.”

Katie’s invited green-thumbed, big-hearted children from 9 to 16 to apply for a gardening grant: up to $400 to start a garden, support from Katie’s Krops, and a digital camera to document their adventures in the soil. The winner must donate 100 percent of their produce proceeds to an organization helping to feed hungry people in their community.

To learn more about the grant, visit KatiesKrops.com.

To read AOL News’ profile of Katie, go to “Sixth-Grader’s Harvest Stocks Food Pantry Shelves.”

As Katie says, “Happy Growing in 2011!”