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

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!

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

Summerville

Volunteer Coordinator
Marjorie Veneziano

North Charleston Farmers Market NEW!!

Volunteer Coordinator

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

Events

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 look forward to seeing you all this Spring!!

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

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

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”

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!

See the AOL article below.

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!”