Worms Eat Vestal's Garbage

Vestal now has 2,000 new residents- red wiggler worms. Two kindergarten classes have indoor worm bins and students are learning about worm anatomy, what worms need to survive and how they help us in the garden. This week the Student Garden Committee built an outdoor vermicompost bin. The red wigglers eat food waste added to the bin. This is a fantastic hands-on opportunity for students to learn how to reduce food waste and in a few months we will have nutrient rich compost and worm castings to add to our garden soil.

What a weekend!

The Vestal Community Garden hosted two fantastic volunteer work parties over Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. Our volunteers made great progress in readying the garden for our first spring planting and somehow managed to avoid the rain. On Friday January 15, volunteers from Hands On Greater Portland spread 15 yards of soil on our community garden plots. Our plots now have a rich blend of soil, compost and other organic material, which will help us to grow a bountiful harvest later in the year. On Monday January 18, Northwest Service Academy AmeriCorps members built raised planter beds for the school garden. The raised planter beds will help to prevent nutrient loss and compaction of our soil and to make gardening more accessible for all Vestal students.

As the winter months approach...

The weather may be getting colder, but students at Vestal are still busy at work in the garden. 7th and 8th grade students spread compost and marked out where our raised planters will be located. We will begin construction of raised planter beds in January after winter break. More information about a raised planter work party coming soon.

Chad Honl, a 7th grade teacher at Vestal and a driving force behind the garden, recently received the Bill Naito Community Trees Award.
You can read more about it here: http://www.pps.k12.or.us/news/1637.htm

Bring your gardening skills to the classroom!

Every class at Vestal School that gardens needs volunteers, and one of them could be you. This is a great opportunity to learn more about gardening or put your gardening knowledge to good use. Teachers will be working on several different projects that require a variety of skills, materials, and time. Whether it be weekly, monthly, or occasional visits to the garden, we appreciate all you can do.

All volunteers must pass a background check. Please contact Laura Benjamin, NWSA Americorps Garden Coordinator at laurabenjamin.vestal@gmail.com for more information.

Sign-up for a community garden plot!

A 20'x20' plot costs $75 per year. Financial assistance is available.
If you are interested in a plot or more information please contact the
Portland Community Gardens office at 503-823-1612 or comgardens@ci.portland.or.us with the following information: your full name, complete mailing address, and current phone number(s). And you can learn more at
http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/index.cfm?c=39846

The Portland Upside writes about our work at Vestal.

http://articles.portlandupside.com/2009/11/depave-playground-reclaim-nature.html

Vestal students are working to make our garden grow.

The Student Garden Committee finished construction on the greenspace kiosk under the guidance of Tim Hahn of Learning Gardens Institute. In the coming weeks, students will paint the kiosk and create fliers and brochures to inform students, parents, and community members about our work to bring natural spaces to Vestal.
As winter approaches, we put the garden to bed and bring our work indoors, saving seeds and planning for spring planting.
And the first shed is complete. Thanks again to Women in Trades for their construction expertise.