From 11:30am – 3:30pm, this Sunday, an assortment of lovely affordable plants will be on sale at the Warren Street entrance to the garden. There will be Basil, Dill, Parsley, Lavender, Rosemary, Thyme, Marigolds, Heirloom Tomatoes, Swiss Chard and many more varieties for sale.
Hope to see you there!
Marisa from Earth Matter arrived Tuesday morning to repatriate our foster hens to their Governors Island home.
Kristen had planned to be at the garden to shepherd the flock back into Marisa’s keeping, but she was helping a friend give birth. So she called Andrea, who agreed to be there instead. New garden members Andy, Fran and Violet made sure they were there at 8:15am also, to bid the biddies à bientôt.
Marisa was running late, and couldn’t get through on Andrea’s fickle phone. So she called Pat, who promised to be there if needed. Needless to say, he showed up without further prompt. So there was quite a crowed, I mean crowd, to say goodbye, and make sure the hand-off occurred.
In the end, with the clock ticking, Andy, Fran and Violet headed off to school, and Andrea headed off to work, and Pat was the one who saw the hens off.
This is one way to boil that down. To do right by our hens, our pregnant friends, our children and our work, we called upon one another, and one another, we came through.
Thank you Henny Penny, Zebra, Amelia Black, Pointer Sisters and Worm, and Alice in memoriam. We will miss you.
Note for the future: Just when Marisa and the mini flock were about to depart, Dan arrived to inquire about our future chicken fostering. And not long after the poultry-mobile left for Governors Island, Polly appeared satisfied.
At the next Community Garden Day, let’s talk about hens, our experience, and what might come next.
The day has finally arrived. The chickens will be returning to their Earth Matters home on Governor’s Island this Tuesday, April 23. Come and join us in the garden tomorrow for a Farewell to the Chickens Party!
The tenders will be doing their usual coop clean in the morning, starting around 8:30am, in which you’re welcome to join in. Then we’ll celebrate the chickens and say our goodbyes with a party—we are both social animals after all! Bring food to share with humans and food to share with chickens. (The chickens’ favorites are worms, grapes, and baby spinach; not sure about the humans.) The girls will be guaranteed to be out and roaming free from 8:30am-1:00pm, but come by anytime!
**REMINDER** Membership coordinator, David Bivins, will be in the garden tomorrow from 11AM to 1PM to renew garden memberships and give out new garden keys.
2013 REMAINING GARDEN DAYS
May 11 – Children’s Planting & Craft Day
June 9
July 13
August 11
September 7 – Followed by BBQ & Potluck 3-7pm
October 13
November 9
The membership coordinator, David Bivins, will be in the community garden on the St. Mark’s Place side THIS SUNDAY, APRIL 21st, BETWEEN 11AM AND 1PM.
Feel free to stop by and renew your membership and get your new key. David will be scheduling more membership renewal and key swap times in the coming weeks, so don’t fret if you can’t make it.
Remember, it’s one key per membership (most families have a household membership); if you need an additional key, it’s a $10 fee.
On March 31, the Warren St Marks Community Garden held our second annual Spring Egg Hunt. Garden members and other members of the community came together to hunt for eggs, enjoy refreshments (including the addictive “bunny bait” popcorn provided by Courtney Burns), and celebrate the beginning of Spring in the garden. Our seven foster chickens made a guest appearance, roaming freely around the garden, taking dust baths and eating worms. It was a joyful event, and we would like to thank everyone who attended. Happy spring!
The Annual General Membership Meeting of the Warren St. Marks Community Garden on March 3, 2013
Attending:
Pat McCarty, garden administrator
Melanie Holcomb, garden member
McRae Petrey, fundraising coordinator
Ryan Reineck, garden member and chicken coop builder
Sheri Stein, garden co-coordinator
David Bivins, membership coordinator
Kristen Davis, garden member
Valerie English, communications coordinator
Kit Schneider, garden member
Andrea Kannapell, garden co-coordinator
Chloe Abercrombie, garden member
Cathy Carver, events co-coordinator
Katie Stoehr
Ruth Chasek, treasurer
Aaron Koffman, meeting facilitator and garden member
David Tendrich, garden member
Lou Levit
Dylan Mabin, garden member
Gail Denesvich/Ken Takatomi
Emilie Hagen, events co-coordinator
Kathy Hutson, garden member
Stephen Arthur
Mical Moser, garden member
Nina Fattahi
(SOMEOF THE ABOVE WITH NO DESCRIPTION MAY BE MEMBERS)
We opened by going around the room stating what we love about the garden. That included the following.
Sunset in the garden. Chickens. The community. The sounds the chickens make in the evening. Getting fresh herbs.
Picking vegetables. Relaxation. Getting dirty. Getting salad out of the garden. Taking care of chickens. Privileged to
unlock the gate and go in whenever I want. Our meetings, no matter how hard they are. Noticing the change of
seasons through what’s blooming. Green space on the block, while other open spots have disappeared.
Pat McCarty noted that everything we do, from steering committee, to members’ participation, is directed toward the
garden’s sustainability, for this season and distant future.
Administrative coordinator report – Pat McCarty
Description of responsibilities: Liase with other organizations, including paperwork.
Be familiar with bylaws. Should attend most garden days and meetings. Position can be shared.
March is a very busy month with other greening groups.
Green Thumb Grow Together on March 23. at Hostos Community College on the Grand Concourse this year. Free
bus in prior years from the Pacific Bear’s Garden. $3 for the day, T-shirt, seeds, plants etc.
March 9, BBG has its annual Making Brooklyn Bloom
NYC Community Garden Coalition, advocacy group, has monthly meeting, helps protect gardens in the future. Many
gardens are NOT protected. Next meeting April 27.
March 29&30, the Just Food conference.They can help organize a CSA if we want one.
BANG
Communications — Valerie English
Handles all communications through the year, some 40 e-blasts, posters, general info posters, any kind of
announcement, postcards for the calendar, managed the Web site and Facebook page.
Those in attendance asked to distribute a few cards through the neighborhood. Great gratitude for her contribution.
Events — Cathy Carver, Emilie Hagen
Worked with publicity coordinator… Plans events, coordinates parties, oversees community outreach, should attend
most garden days and meetings. Kids birthday parties, Movie Night with Mike the Movie Man, Local Produce
Festival, Make Music New York. The year of the chicken — the egg hunt.
Cookouts at garden days.
Fundraising — McRae Petrey
Two main events: plant sale, marathon bake sale. No bake sale this year, because marathon was canceled.
Plant sale. Sold our own seedlings as well as those bought through the city. Will try same this year.
Got a Green Guerrilla grant that we put toward the chickens, and will try again.
Re plant sale: Tomatoes and cucumbers sell well. The stoop sales tended to attract stuff that we didn’t sell. So maybe
consider doing just one, and cutting off donations after 10 a.m. We still have T-shirts to sell.
Garden coordinators – Sheri Stein, Andrea Kannapell
Rebuilt compost plot, reorganized shed, brought in chickens, bolstered community plots.
Good idea to publish map of what we plant where in community areas
Membership coordinater — David Bivins
We appear to have gained 68 new members last year, 29 in one day, due to circumstances around the chickens. 29
orientations in 2 days. Seven paid members never received the orientation. Everyone who expressed interest was
reached out to. We have at least two members who don’t use the Internet, and we reach out to them by phone. My
goal is to make sure everyone knows the rules, and also the spirit of the garden. It’s important to focus on what’s
good about the garden. Everyone who did the orientation was kind and courteous.
We alternate between two sets of locks. We will switch keys April 14
Plot co-coordinators — Ryan Reineck and Alison Novack
High demand for plots and the waiting list is long. Usually only takes a year or year and half because there is a lot of
turnover. But that is diminishing. We could have done a better job making sure people show up for garden
days.Facilitating waiting list for plots.
Publicity coordinator – position open
Makes connections to local newspapers and distributes. fliers. Val could send if she had the information. Andrea will
work with Val to build a list of who to inform. Cathy also may have contacts.h Fliers Almost everyone on the block
has a sign saying “no fliers.” However, when we don’t flier, may add to sense we acting without consulting the
community. We may add laminated posters to our fences and flier just our own trees.
Treasurer – Ruth Chasek
We are in good shape, $6,782, about $1,000 more than last year.
Income: $1,200 more this year, Paypal income has become a major membership enabler. Expenses were about
$1,000 higher than last year. Biggest expense was coop.
Ruth will create a chicken analysis to go forward, so that we know what keeping hens actually entails. We have to
create a process to decide in future about hens that adds tp inclusivemess.
SIDEBAR: Pat McCarty and Sheri Stein
No need for soil testing this year.
BANG report – Sheri Stein
We joined a small land trust of five gardens, to make us the owners and stewards of our own gardens. BANG has a
board of directors, composed of one person from each garden. That means each garden is involved in all decisions.
Some members have been part of community gardening for 30 years. Complicated process to create the
organization, which needed to be in place before it could solicit funds. So the individual gardens have loaned money
to it, anticipating reimbursement. All the land was conveyed to the land trust in February. Now BANG can get grants
and donations. By next year, all the loans from the gardens should be paid back.
Now we are part of a larger organization that needs money. BANG needs $7,000-$8,000 a year, for insurance etc.
Needs help with grant-writing and ideas on raising funds.
Warren St. Marks needs a rep and an alternate. The meeting cannot happen w/o the rep. Anyone can go, but only
the rep/alternate can vote.
BANG is currently not envisioning an annual donation from each garden; it thinks it can make the budget through
grants and other fund-raising.
Would it make sense for there to be dues Uncertain — this will be a discussion in BANG. Reps elected every other
year. But we can make it a one-year post.
This is part of a national trend, to have small organizations that control neighborhood gardens. We want to think of us
as BANG. The less we think of it as us and them.
(Some expressions of preference to make it a donation rather than a loan, and perhaps try to do annual dues from
each garden. No final decision on loan or gift, but WSMC Garden votes to dedicate $1,000 to BANG.)
BANG meetings are every third Thursday of the month. The BANG annual meeting is April 7, at BBG, 11 a.m. Go to
the Washington St. entrance to get in free. At that meeting, dues could be discussed.
VOTE ON BUDGET passes by a show of hands. BANG budget awaited.
BYLAWS:
discussion of establishing working teams.
committing to self regulating teams
With such teams, what are garden days for for big infrastructure, like raised beds, pathways, moving chips, sifting
compost
Should each member commit to 4 garden days, by date; and work team Plot holders join a second work team The
teams would report to one coordinator. Clear standard for membership in good standing.
VOTE: member in good standing participates in garden work team and attends 4 work days per season. Question of
whether dates must be set at joining/key exchange is tabled for later discussions. Passes by show of hands.
Set day for when dues must be paid. Passes by show of hands.
To join steering committee, must be member in good standing for a year. Steering committee can waive time
requirement if necessary. Passes by a show of hands.
Setting up the teams.
Pruning and off-season maintenance.
compost
community plots
watering/weeding
sidewalk/treepit and special maintenance
open hours
fundraising/grant-writing
children’s events
events
Moving plot planting deadline to second garden day
Garden day is 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Shorten posted open hours: 10-4 Saturday and Sunday.
Passes by a show of hands.
Elections
Administrator — Andrea Kannapell
Treasurer — Ruth Chasek
Gardening — Emilie Hagen (with help from Mical Moser)
Membership — David Bivins
Plots — Dylan Mabin, Tammy Dunn
Events – Chloe Abercrombie (with help from Kathy Hutson)
Fundraising — McRae Petrey
Communications — Valerie English
BANG — Sheri Stein/Kathy Hutson
All approved.
Chicken report.
An organizational success. One large orientation for chicken tenders, Tammy sets up calendar, everyone volunteers
for open shifts and communicates when issues come up (no log in sheets, low on greens, need to trade a day) .
Through the winter, we’ve had to bring water to prevent freezing. A great experience to maintain focus.
We can use this for other parts of the garden governance.
What will be the process to decide for next season Governors Island might not need us next year, they would prefer to keep the flock together. If they manage for 2013-14, we will not be needed.
Would we want our own hens
There will be a presentation on the first garden day on chickens, to say what the experience was from eye of both
chicken tenders and neighbors. The Governors Island flock would prefer to stay together than be split up among
community garden like us.
Coop could be storage area in the summer.
Vote to make rebuilding the compost bins a priority this year. Aaron Koffman self-nominates to be special project
coordinator.
Hope to see you Sunday!
Steering Committee Meeting
at Yogasana
Feb. 17, 2013
In attendance:
Pat McCarty
Cathy Carver
Sheri Stein
Kristen Davis
David Bivens
Andrea Kannapell
Valerie English
Dylan Mabin
Ruth Chasek
Discussion of governance, defining purpose of Annual General
Membership Meeting.
A pastiche of general thought from those in attendance:
Good governance allows the membership the freedom to go about its
business. Steering committee must guide, mediate when there is
conflict. We have become more open and welcoming since last fall. We
must maintain the garden, keep it open as much as possible, do what’s
right for the land as well as the members. The work next door has been
noisy. We have had a lot of positive energy from the fall. Perhaps
redefine “active members.” Learn from last year’s events. The annual
meeting is a time to elect leadership, review bylaws and review
finances. Should we increase our outreach for the general meeting?
Email is fairly thorough; the two people who don’t have email can be
phoned. Meeting is an exciting time to have ideas about what role the
garden plays in the community and what direction we want it to go in.
Great time to join together with a core group and really get started
thinking about the year, We can use the energy that has come into the
garden to set up an ambitious agenda, because we’ve learned the more
that goes on in the garden, the more goes on in the garden.
Specific agenda for March 3.
1. Reports from coordinators on the past year and forecast focus this year
Forecast for major projects: compost reconstruction, pathway
rebuilding, overhaul Web site, etc
Sheri: Explanation of BANG as land trust that holds deeds to five
member gardens and represents a coming-together of community
gardeners. It will apply for grants and the gardens will need to do
fund-raising. We do not have BANG’s budget for this year yet. Annual
meeting April 6. We will put the $1,000 loan in the budget to be voted
on at the annual membership meeting. We are part of a larger
community now, not merely stewards but owners of 5 community gardens.
BANG will have Facebook page.
BANG only now getting its money. Anything we can loan them would be
great. Perhaps $1,000.
2. Present draft budget to be voted on. (Ruth will create draft
budget, but needs help figuring out water expenses and figuring the
budget for converting coop to greenhouse.)
3. Review bylaws — put in BANG, set new plant-by date (May 1?),
steering committee can waive requirement that steering committee
member must be a garden member for at least a year.
Institute working groups: All members must join one, plot holders must join 2?
compost: 20?
community plots — (would Ryan consider leading this working group?) 20?
watering and weeding: 20?
sidewalk/treepit maintenance & special maintenance: 10
open hours: unlimited
fundraising/grant-writing 6
events 4
children’s events 4
Do we need a membership working group? (to keep track of responsibilities).
When can you vote: must be a member in good standing to vote for at
least 3 months? Define good standing: Pay dues, join committee, come
to at least 4 garden days or take on equivalent in projects. Plot
holders have additional responsibilities, what are they?
4. Steering Committee elections
Consider requirement for steering committee members to come to a
certain # of steering committee meetings.
Administrative coordinator
treasurer
garden coordinator
membership — track open hours
chicken? or special projects?
plots
events
publicity
fundraising
5. renewal, keys, committee memberships
6. presentation by chicken tenders (Kristen, Andrea) and monitors (Dylan)
7. new business:
how to use coop in the summer
discussion of whether to begin a CSA program
announcements of Garden Days and steering committee meetings
Other general discussion:
We will turn off the automatic renewal function in Paypal.
Snow shoveling taken care of largely by Dylan and Pat.
Get full accounting of what the hens cost, including donations.
Try for more grants.
We should limit birthday parties to 2 weekends a month, and time limit
to 2 hours
Followup after the 2/17 meeting:
Andrea interviewed Sheila McDevitt of 6-15 Green on their
organizational system and how they monitor compliance.
At joining or renewal, members sign up for 4 two-hour shifts of open
hours, commit to two group work days, and one community assignment
(could be tending community plots, taking out the trash, treepit
maintenance, steering committee, or other roles that are guesstimated
to be a 20-hour commitment through the year). Those who need to change
their open hours organize a trade themselves.
The work teams (trash, community plots, compost, etc) self-organize
and log their work in a google doc. They finalize the information at
the end of the season and send to the membership coordinator, who logs
the info on the membership spreadsheet.
For open hours and group work days, there is a master sign-in sheet
in the garden.
People who have missed some of their responsibilities can make up
hours in Leafdrop or Winter open hours. Members cannot renew until
they have made up their time.
6-15 Green has about 35 “compost members,” who are not full garden
members. Each must turn all the bins in their assigned week, which
takes 3-8 hours. There are also Food Coop teams who turn the compost
the other weeks. So all bins are turned every week through the year.
LOCATION
Fifth Avenue Committee
621 Degraw St. (bet. 3rd & 4th Ave.) map
www.fifthave.org
AGENDA
1) Coordinator reports
2) Garden Budget
3) Review Bylaws
4) Steering Committee Elections
5) Membership Renewal, NEW GATE KEYS!** & Garden Team Formation
6) Chicken Tender Presentation
7) New Business
*Please bring a dish or beverage if possible.
**The locks on the garden entrance gates will be changed on Sunday and new keys will be distributed at the meeting. If you cannot attend the meeting, please contact the membership coordinator via email to arrange an alternate date to pickup your key.
for the
Warren St. Marks Community Garden’s
Annual General Meeting
and
Pot Luck Brunch*
LOCATION
Fifth Avenue Committee
621 Degraw St. (bet. 3rd & 4th Ave.) map
www.fifthave.org
AGENDA
celebrate last season’s success
steering committee elections
updates and reports
budget approvals
*Please bring a dish or beverage if possible.
