Ojai Valley Seed, Plant
and Learning Swap

SPRING IS COMING and what better time to come together in the beautiful Ojai Valley to share seeds and seedlings! All gardeners and farmers - both current and aspiring - are invited to the 4th Annual Ojai Valley Seed & Plant Swap on Saturday, February 28 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Chaparral Auditorium, 414 E. Ojai Ave. in Ojai.

Sharing Swiss chard and corn seeds at last year's Swap

Come share stories and passions for growing food and join in a tradition as old as agriculture itself. The 'seed' is our common cultural heritage, a living natural resource. Saving and sharing seeds helps ensure local food security.

Bring any seeds, cuttings, or starts you'd like to share as well as seed containers (like envelopes out of the recycle bin or saved spice jars). Something to share is not a requirement to join in. Expect the air to be electric with the buzz of conversations and the delight of discovery. Along with the free sharing of seeds and starts galore, there will be seeds and plants from local growers for sale.

Rincon-Vitova Insectaries will be on hand to answer questions about attracting and using beneficial insects in the garden. Other friends joining in are Ojai Valley of the Moon Community Garden and Transition to Organics. We're hoping the Ojai Valley Bee Club and Monarch Arc will say yes, too.

The Seed & Plant Swap is hosted by the Coalition, with Food for Thought Ojai and the Center for Regenerative Agriculture. There is a $5 suggested donation at the door, if you're not bringing items to swap or sell. Call Deborah at (805) 669-8445 or send her an email for more information.

Save the Date! The Green Coalition is thrilled to introduce its new Salon Series, premiering Friday, March 6th 7 to 9 p.m. at our Resource Center. Our inaugural salon's theme will be 'SEEDS' and it will be co-hosted by Laurie Walters and Anca Colbert. Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more details.

Consider a Community Garden Plot

The Ojai Valley of the Moon Community Garden, located at 370 Baldwin Road, would like to invite you to join our family of gardeners at our ORGANIC Community Garden. Each of our family gardeners adds a new dimension to our garden experience by sharing gardening knowledge and techniques. Our gardeners work together in harmony to create and maintain a peace-filled space. We welcome you to join us for a wonderful gardening experience this season.

When you join the Community Garden you will have access to your own plot of land and the use of tools in the shed, wheelbarrows, and the option to tap into the automated watering system. If you so desire, you may also choose to participate in growing and harvesting fresh organic food for the Help of Ojai Senior Lunch Program and possibly the Help Food Locker in Ojai.

The Green Coalition adopted the Valley of the Moon Community Garden as a project in May 2011, which has allowed us to provide gardeners access to the garden at an affordable price. Annual dues range from $60 to $180 (depending upon the size of plot selected) and include the cost of water. Your cost of water for a home garden could easily exceed the cost of dues at the Community Garden. For more information contact Robin Graham at 916-865-8093.

Business Member Profile:

Ojai PC Pros and California Internet

Jon Reason

It's time for another shout out to Jon Reason, founder of Ojai PC Pros and co-founder of California Internet.

Jon has provided the Coalition with Internet service and support for over two years. We are very grateful for his in-kind contribution of services. Our Internet works like a charm and is absolutely critical to our operations. If we had to pay for Internet service, it would be a significant amount of money for us, taking away from our project and community service efforts.

Jon founded Ojai PC Pros in 2001, which currently only offers on-site computer and network services. In 2011 Jon helped start California Internet (CI), a local internet and telephone provider with staff dedicated specifically to Ojai. It's worthy to note that the network provider for CI, Clear Fiber Network, is 90% solar powered, and that CI only provides paperless billing to cut down on paper waste.

"In the eyes of California Internet, more important than anything else are the people. We are extremely passionate about our core values and beliefs. We are about creating environments where people are encouraged and uplifted. We truly care about your business, your employees and our own."

Another AMAZING
E-waste & Recycling Event!

The rain did not slow anyone down on January 10th for the Coalition's 7th year collecting e-waste and other hard-to-recycle items. We took in about 12 tons of e-waste and many batteries and printer cartridges. We also recycled a lot of media storage and old holiday lights.

Anca Colbert (left), Events Chair, and Deborah Pendrey (right), Director, accept donations from a very appreciative community.

Many thanks to our partners at the Ojai Community Bank and the Ojai Valley Directory, as well as Trader Joe's for the yummy cookies which helped make the line go faster!

If you missed us, the city of Ojai and Ventura County are partnering up for a beautification event on March 28, which will take e-waste, also. We'll have more details in March. And we'll see you next year on Saturday, January 9th.