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Greetings!
Spring has sprung, and summer will soon be upon us. We have had lots of exciting work happening thanks to countless volunteer hours! Soon, the community gardens will begin to produce their colorful bounty, providing vegetables for those who might not otherwise have access.
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 Omaha Community Gardens
- Our seedlings in the Lauritzen Gardens greenhouse are off to a fabulous start thanks to our
volunteers. Soon, we'll have them planted in gardens all over Omaha!
- The JC Wade garden now has double-raised beds, making them more accessible to residents of the Senior Center who may have mobility issues!
- As part of the Change the World/Global Youth
Service Day, The Big Garden staff in
conjunction with youth and adult volunteers were able to clean-up Camp
Fire, Sacred Heart, and JC Wade gardens in preparation for the 2010 planting
season! These volunteers accomplished several weeks' worth of work in just one day. Thank you!
- The Big Garden is excited to be planning a couple of new
gardens this year including Kids Can! and Benson Apartments at 51st and
NW Radial.
- Many of our gardens including Ruth Solomon Center, Camp
Fire, Clair United Methodist Church, Wesley House, Girls Inc, and Kids
Can are incorporating garden programming into their summer programs. We
are excited to be out in the gardens learning and sharing with the
community.
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Rural Gardens Spring to Life!
Kudos to Falls City and Auburn for being the first rural additions to The Big Garden project! Last week, Auburn set in about 180 cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower using
only captured rainwater. The barrels were donated through The Big Garden project. Auburn also reported that they have newly-sprouted onions, spinach, peas, beans,
beets, potatoes, radishes & okra! What a bounty! Word of their successes has
helped other congregations enthusiastically move forward this year.
In addition to the
Falls City site and the two Auburn sites, these communities are moving
forward:
- Pawnee City - The Pawnee City Administrative Board voted
in favor of the community garden, and Pawnee Village (low income
apartments) has agreed to designate of some of their land for the community garden.
- Plattsmouth -
This is an ecumenical project between Hosanna
 Lutheran Church, which
has a wonderful plot of land, and the First United Methodist Church. Last week, they completed six raised beds, now ready for planting!
- Ashland - This is another
ecumenical project, between the United Methodist Church and the American
Lutheran Church. In addition to beds at Camp Joy Holling, they hope
to have some city beds as well. More on that to follow.
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Fremont - There will be a joint project community garden this year as Fremont
Calvary has lots of land and Fremont First United has lots of people interested--a neat combination.
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 Spring into Spring Event this Weekend at Lauritzen Gardens
Come to Lauritzen Gardens this Saturday and Sunday for their annual plant sale. Visitors may choose from a variety of plants grown and propagated in the Lauritzen Gardens greenhouses since as early as February. The Big Garden will have a booth selling seedlings and Fair Trade items. All proceeds from our booth will benefit The Big Garden project and the Blue Flamingo thrift store. Other local garden clubs, plant societies and environmental organizations will share information about how to care for plants and help sustain our environment. Some groups will also sell plants and related merchandise throughout the weekend. Visitors may learn how to become involved in these organizations and how to help the community through gardening and environmentally friendly practices. The event runs 9am-5pm both days. Admission is $7 for adults, $3 for children.
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| Neighborhood Night Out
The Heart Ministry
Center on 24th & Binney Street is hosting its annual Neighborhood Night Out Tuesday, May 18th from 6:30-7:30pm. Please stop by to support our community partners.
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| The Interns Are Coming!
Starting next Monday, we will have 6 interns working with The Big Garden! Aaron French, Megan Horton, Diane Ferry, Matt Freeman, Annie Ashby, and Anna French will assist Jessica and Rebecca in a very hands-on way throughout our community gardens, all while gaining experience working in a non-profit setting. Also, Mike Freeman, who interned with us last summer, is back as part of our summer staff. Mike will work on special projects documenting the garden and its progress this summer. Welcome, all!
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