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Ubuntu Green E-Newsletter
May 25, 2011
Volume 3-10 |
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Ubuntu Green Helps Kick Off Grow Together Sacramento
Last Saturday, home and community gardening took center stage in the heart of Oak Park. Ubuntu Green took part in the kick-off of Grow Together Sacramento, a coalition of local organizations to promote home and community gardening, and encourage healthy eating. The event was held at the 40 Acres Complex on 34th and Broadway, and featured a mix of community residents, garden enthusiasts, activists, and political leaders, including Councilmember Jay Schenirer and Mayor Kevin Johnson.
While discussing the benefits of home gardening, Ubuntu Green President and CEO Charles L. Mason Jr. noted the community-building aspects of gardening. He noted that when he built garden boxes at his home, several of his neighbors followed suit. Ubuntu Green aims to build 350 edible gardens through 2013 and wants to see 1,000 throughout the city during that period. "Let's do the math: If 1,000 gardens go in during the next two years, you're looking at 5,000 if you consider the multiplier effect," he said. "Then look at what we've done."
Among the other organizations that belong to the Grow Together Sacramento coalition are: Soil Born Farms, Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, the Office of Councilmember Jay Schenirer, Sacramento Yard Farmer, Sacramento League of Urban Gardeners, Sacramento Employment and Training Agency, Pesticide Watch Education Fund, Slow Food Sacramento, Alchemist Community Development Corporation, and the Sacramento Area Community Garden Coalition.
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Charles L. Mason Jr. of Ubuntu Green extols the benefits of home and community gardening
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Green Youth Leadership Team
Youth of Sacramento, this message is for you! Are you interested in building gardens, going on fun field trips and becoming an environmental leader in your community? If so, you should consider joining the Green Youth Leadership Team this summer. We'll be having lots of fun and we want you to join us! Check out our Green Youth Leadership Team Page, and please contact Ashley Powers Clark ashley@ubuntugreen.org, (916) 529-8768 for more information.
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Dangerous by Design: Solving the Epidemic of Preventable Pedestrian Deaths (and Making Great Neighborhoods
Transportation for America has just released a sobering study that documents the dangers that pedestrians face on our streets every day. According to the study, in the last 15 years, more than 76,000 Americans have been killed while crossing or walking along a street in their community. More than 43,000 Americans - including 3,906 children under 16 - have been killed this decade alone. This is the equivalent of a jumbo jet going down roughly every month, yet it receives nothing like the kind of attention that would surely follow such a disaster. The report points to the lack of investment in pedestrian safety infrastructure in many metropolitan areas, such as sidewalks, bicycle paths, median islands and frequent crosswalks and pedestrian signals. The report also ranks the Pedestrian Danger Index (PDI) of 360 metropolitan areas nationwide. The alarming statistics highlight the need for a National Complete Streets Policy in the next federal transportation authorization bill that takes into account all users of our streets. Click here for a summary of the report or to download the full report.
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State Buildings Certified Green
The Sacramento region continues to lead in furthering California's energy and environmental goals. This week, the California Department of General Services announced that two Caltrans district headquarters buildings have been awarded LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The Caltrans District 7 facility in Los Angeles earned the Green Building Council's LEED Gold certification while the Caltrans District 3 headquarters in Marysville earned LEED Silver certification; both certifications are for existing building maintenance and operations.
"By 'greening' our buildings, we reduce state government's impact on the environment and create healthier facilities to conduct state business," said Fred Klass, DGS Director. "General Services is implementing operations and maintenance procedures across its building portfolio to improve operational efficiency and reduce energy and water use."
In addition to pursuing LEED certification for the state's existing office building stock, DGS is also employing green building standards for the design and construction of new state facilities.
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Announcements
5/28 - 9 am to 1 pm - Oak Park Farmer's Market, McClatchy Park, 35th Street and 5th Avenue, Sacramento. Our award-winning market features a diverse group of vendors selling locally produced and delicious fruits and vegetables, specialty plants and sprouts, breads, cheese, tamales, fresh flowers and more! EBT and WIC benefits are gladly accepted-ask us about our EBT incentive!
5/28 - 10 am to 12 pm - Arden Park Tree Tour, 1000 La Sierra Drive, Sacramento. Join the Sacramento Tree Foundation for a walk under Sacramento's tree canopy! We all live in an urban forest so we're encouraging you to step out and explore the "City of Trees." You will learn about identifying trees by leaf, bark and growth habits and get an idea of the great varieties of trees over our heads. Insect and disease issues will be discussed as well as watering needs for our particular environment of clay soils and hot weather. Tree Tours are held in a number of locations throughout the city. Contact: Luanne Leineke, treetips@sactree.com, 916-924-8733.
5/28 - 10 am to 1 pm - Cooking Class: Eating Raw Vegetables, Grant High School Garden, 1221 South Avenue, Room W-42, Sacramento. We are very excited to invite you to join us and guest Chef Bianca Dexter for a special workshop on enjoying raw vegetables! Recipes that will be shared include: juicing fresh carrots and beets, raw salads and sushi. Pre-register now, space is limited! Contact: Fatima Malik, fmalik@healthedcouncil.org, (916) 256-6593.
6/4 - 10 am to 12 pm - Capitol Park Tree Tour, 9th and L Streets, Sacramento. Join the Sacramento Tree Foundation for guided walks under Sacramento's tree canopy! Fun and free for the whole family, no RSVP is needed. Explore the urban forest in our "City of Trees." Learn about trees and what they do for us. Find out the names of beautiful trees in your neighborhood. Why do some areas have healthier trees than others? What can you do in your neighborhood to green your community? Enjoy the outdoors! Contact: Luanne Leineke, treetips@sactree.com, 916-924-8733.
6/7 - 9 am to 3 pm - Mobilizing Care Delivery Improvement in the Sacramento Region in the Era of Health Reform, Sierra Health Foundation, 1321 Garden Highway, Sacramento. This health care convening of state and national health sector leaders, practitioners and local stakeholders is intended to improve primary care safety-net delivery in the Sacramento region under health reform. The convening will increase awareness and understanding of three major components of the Affordable Care Act: health coverage, health care system redesign and population health improvement. We're pleased to welcome keynote speaker John E. McDonough, DPH, MPA, from the Harvard School of Public Health. Other speakers will include Diana Dooley, Kim Belshé, Carmela Castellano Garcia and local health care delivery leaders. The convening is co-sponsored by Congresswoman Doris Matsui's office, and is being conducted with the assistance of the Public Health Institute.
6/7 - 2 pm to 5 pm - The Citizen's Guide to South Sacramento, Stockton Resource Center, 5625 Stockton Blvd, Sacramento. The Citizen's Guide is the outcome of community-based project undertaken by UC Davis students and faculty in the Department of Environmental Design. The Citizen's Guide documents: The evolving history of South Sacramento's
African American, Chinese, Latino, and Southeast Asian communities; Visual maps and charts analyzing social, economic, and cultural changes; Community-serving design proposals
for specific sites in South Sacramento. Contact: Michael Rios, mxrios@ucdavis.edu, 530-601-1066.
6/12 - 11 am to 2 pm - 16th Annual Health and Safety Fair, 5959 Eighth Avenue, Sacramento. This Tahoe Park tradition is back for its 16th consecutive year, and we're expecting another great crowd of more than 175 attendees! Bring information about your organization's services & activities, as well as a health-related craft or game for children to participate in. Contact: Kelly Conley at (916) 277-7001.
6/18 - 6 pm to 9 pm - 3rd Annual Urban Ag Fest, Plates Café and Catering, 14 Business Park Way, Building 149, Sacramento. Our annual fundraiser promotes urban agriculture in Sacramento and benefits a partner in our effort to bring good, clean, fair food to all. This year's beneficiary is Plates Café and Catering, a project of St. John's Shelter for Women and Children. Plates trains formerly homeless women to cook and cater and helps place its graduates in related employment. Slow Food Sacramento is raising money for a garden at Plates that will provide fresh vegetables to the Café and Shelter and will teach related gardening skills. Our featured speaker will be Spring Warren, author of Quarter Acre Farm, who spent a year feeding her family off what she could grow and raise in her Davis yard. A live auction with food-related items will also liven up the evening. An optional reception begins at 4 pm, with tickets at $25 per person. Dinner follows at 6 pm with tickets at $85 per person. To purchase tickets, visit http://3rdurbanagfest.eventbrite.com.
6/25 - 3 pm to 4:30 pm - Healthy Food Access Group, Location to Be Determined. Alchemist CDC is hosting a series of focus groups to learn more about options for improving access to healthy foods within the Building Healthy Communities area of Sacramento. Each participant will receive gift certificatesvalued at ~$10 to area businesses and a bag of locally-grown fresh produce, and will be entered into a drawing to win a $20 gift certificate to Old Soul Co. Cafe. Refreshments will be provided. The June 25 focus group will be devoted to Seniors (60+). Contact: Davida Douglas, davida@alchemistcdc.org, (916) 204-8260. |
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