Join Angel Family Farm CSA!

The Angel’s have been farming in Orange County, New York since 2006. Originally from Mexico, the Angel’s launched Angel Family Farm after taking farm business courses given through Grow NYC’s New Farmer Development Project in 2004. Their farm since then has flourished to what it is now, a sustainable farm providing for Farmers-Markets and CSA’s all over New York City. It brings the Angel’s peace of mind knowing the farm grows using sustainable practices. (No pesticides or chemicals!) They believe in providing a safe product for their family and the communities they serve.

How it works: Angel Family Farm will deliver vegetables from their farm (in Goshen N.Y.) once a week for pick up; each week you will receive 6-8 different, delicious veggies and herbs, which will vary from our wide variety of vegetables. You will also get the opportunity to try exotic veggies that aren’t always available at farmers markets. You will have fresh healthy food for your family each week when you buy a share and at the same time support a Local Farmer!

Every week there will be a crate of rows lined up (heaviest to lightest) and you will bring your own bags to take something from each box. A list will be provided for you at every drop off telling you how much of each you can take.

Typically a share is enough to feed a family of 4-6; herbs can be dried and stored, any left over veggies can be washed, diced and frozen. You can always email us to help you make the most of your produce. Remember we don’t use any chemical or pesticides, and we are local! Our food is the best you can get in town! Not only will you taste the difference between local and supermarket but eat ALL its nutritional value! It’s the best food you can put in your bodies and feed your little ones.

Name: Warren St. Marks Community Garden
Location: 619-623 Warren Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Start Date: Tuesday, June 9th 2015
End Date: Tuesday, November 3rd 2015
Pick up time: Tuesdays, 6pm-8pm
Pricing: Early deadline: (Full payment in by April 30th) $528,
Regular Pricing: (Full payment in by June 1st ) $550

To Join: Download the Contract
For more information: Contact David Bivins via EMAIL or call 718-789-7779

Farm Trip dates: All CSA members welcomed!
Transplant day: Memorial Day weekend, May 23rd and 25th 2015
Harvest day: Labor Day weekend, September 5th and 6th 2015

Find out more about us!
Watch our movie: What’s on your plate By Catherine Gund (Streaming on Netflix)
Check out our Website: Angelfamilyfarm.com
Like us on Facebook: Angel Family Farm
Check us out on: JustFood.org

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VolunteerSpot.com makes it possible for us to coordinate our the work of garden members. The software’s easy signups and scheduling save us a lot of time, and help us keep track of our work teams and garden day attendance. We use the premium version of the software, but there is a very good free version as well.

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Annual General Meeting, March 15, 2015

Sally Smith discusses her efforts to reconstitute the Warren Street Block Association.
Anyone interested should contact her at [email protected].

Steering Committee introductions

Andrea Kannapell, administrator
David Bivins, garden coordinator
Chloe Abercrombie, events coordinator
Amelia Wilson, membership coordinator
Ruth Chasek, treasurer

(missing)
Val English — communications
Melanie Holcomb — fundraising
Dylan Mabin — plots

General introductions and favorite moments

Sheri Stein — misses being on the compost team

Kit Schneider — just love going to the garden, but also being with the chickens, in the rain, sleet and snow

Ruth Chasek — the finding of the bees nest that was unearthed and managed to move it

Jessica Magaldi — kids were chickens for Halloween

Aaron Koffman — last year proposed to my fiancee in the garden

Amelia Wilson — Dolly the chicken was feared ill and we bathed her in Kristen’s bathtub. She was fine.

Mimi Rosenfeld — joining the garden|

Max Henstell — I like hanging out with chickens. Was worried about Dolly and took her home for a couple of days. Had her in a closet. Behaved like a dog. Followed me around and wagged her tail.

Sarah Trignano — having someone toss her kid into the leaf bin for an hour.

Sally Smith — loves taking a 2-year-old to visit the chickens. Love hearing them when I walk by.

Cathy Carver — love our beautiful flock.

Pat McCarty — this morning, doing a little coop clean, walk around and see the daffodils peeping out.

Mary Dillon — I love the event when we had the guitar school, kids to adults playing the Rolling Stones.

Chloe Abercrombie — last year, when we got together to plant the community plots, and later seeing everything ripen and knowing anyone can harvest.

Kristen Davis — it was just awesome this morning, cleaning the coop. It was the first time it was comfortable in so long, and hearing birds. The chickens were all happy. Also Dolly’s spa treatment in my bathtub.

David Bivins — one member last year asked what he could do. the path by the compost wasn’t big enough. This is mundane, but by the end of the day it was done. And it was great.

Andrea Kannapell — film nights!

 

Steering Committee reports
Treasurer: we’re in better shape than expected. Total income: 2034.42 Total expenses: 2344.88
Total assets: 5970.59
We may want to raise dues.

Fundraising
Melanie and Andrea (mainly Melanie) got several grant proposals out, two for $3,000 each and another for compost rebuild. If the compost grant doesn’t happen, we can try to get on BBG’s Greenbridge list for 2016 as a compost demo site, meaning they will come rebuild the system.

Communications
Redesigned website coming

Plots
Last year there were some plot stewards who did not tend their plots, we’ll be more watchful this year. Chloe made green arrow signs for people to put in plots if they are away and want others to harvest.

Administrator
Things going well with BANG: it got 10,500 in grants, some of which is flowing back to the gardens.

National Wildlife Habitat, we’ll be putting up signs

GreenThumb liaison Gahl Shotten, terrific

We’re hosting a GreenThumb event

GreenThumb has promised a delivery of soil

CSA — We will host the Angel Family Farm CSA (details at http://angelfamilyfarm.com). It’s independent of the garden. David Bivins is liaison and gets free share, with Mary Dillon as backup. $550 for full share of 22 weeks, enough for a family of 4 for a week. There are also half shares. The dropoff is Tuesday evenings, 6 or 6:30. CSA members can visit the garden twice a year, Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend. This is for the whole community, not just garden members. Beginning Tuesday June 9.

Workshops — we’d like to have them NOT on garden days, to keep the garden open more.

Events — several nice events. Make Music NY June 21, Easter Egg Hunt, Harvest Festival. And we’re having the same events this year, and welcome new ideas.

Membership — About 95 joined or renewed from last annual membership meeting to today. Calculate we got about $1800 in dues since this time last year. It’s hard to see who is compliant. We’re hoping VolunteerSpot will help us make that much more evident.

Team reports

Chickens — Last May 7, our chicks hatched and came to us in a box at the post office the next day. They were peeping and hearty and healthy. They lived in Kristen, David and Arlo’s living room. We ordered 9, Tiger Lily died after a week. She just didn’t thrive. This next year with the chickens should be easy and mellow. We should be set. We have a core group of 13, two shifts a day and a Sunday coop clean. Right now we have 12. Eight people are interested in joining, training March 29 at 9 a.m. Would love for chickens to get out more, get more exercise. Goal of building the chickens a swing this year. Consider adding money to the chicken budget for vet services.

Chicken budget: total expenses last year $752.41, what was budgeted was $650, but we knew it would have to be more. We were buying chicks, warming lights, tiny feeders, etc. Fundraiser made more than $500. We may want to get supplies delivered, to avoid having to make emergency trips.

Compost — steel can system is working. compost team getting stronger, not just the same few people every time. We’re learning more, seeing changes we want to make. Hoping to rebuild either with grants or with Greenbridge, possibly next year. The hay from the chicken coops is a lot of green and we need more browns.

Sidewalks — Basically it’s been really good. [prior discussion included how there was virtually no expense for snow because members shoveled, as well as the unfortunate disappearance of many of our shovels.]

Idea free-for-all: what if we had a day and just cleaned up our two blocks? They are filthy. [Curtailed because of meeting length.]

Other ideas that came up: seeing if the Angel Family Farm might be able to bring hay for hens, feed, etc.

 

Elections for steering committee
Steering committee reorganized as below, with unanimous approval of slate.

Administrator — Andrea Kannapell

Garden (w/plots) — David Bivins

Treasurer — Melanie Holcomb

Events — Chloe Abercrombie

Membership — Amelia Wilson

Communications — Valerie English

Chickens — Kristen Davis

Community Plots — Frank Ricci w/Chloe Abercrombie as deputy [This role was removed from steering committee in April 2015]

Compost — Sarah Trignano

[Fundraising — Brian Ricci — this role was added in April 2015]

BANG representative — Ruth Chasek

BANG alternate — Sally Smith

Vote on 2015 budget

revised to include $500 from BANG for treework. BANG will repay the $1,000 loan. We’re buying new locks that will not freeze in the winter.

Discussion of reducing our pizza/food budget. It’s just easy. Key Foods might be willing to donate a giant sandwich. Chicken group will merge its finances into the general budget this year.

Budget passes unanimously.

Bylaws and Rules

Bylaws had been revised many times, become laden with many specifics on day to day operations. Goal of revision was to return Bylaws to matters of overall governance, and to put specifics in Garden Rules.

Revision of Bylaws and Rules discussed, amended and approved.

Dues
Change of dues to $25-$50 approved.

 

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I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree
Or a bill more happily paid
Than for the work that keeps them hale
(Apologies to Joyce Kilmer)

Dear garden members,

The honey locust gives us shade in summer and leaves for our compost in fall. The venerable Golden Raintree is an annual fall miracle. The lovely birch is frail but hanging in there. The peach trees produce delicious fruit, as does the remarkably resilient fig tree.

We cherish our small forest, which helps wash the neighborhood air and provides havens for resident and migrant birds.

Regular tree work can keep them in good health. But good arborists are not cheap.

Can you help us help our trees? Click here to make a tax-deductible donation for our arborist fund.

Thank you!

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Mark your calendar for the last Garden Day of the year, Saturday, November. 8th. There’ll be a Pumpkin Smash—definitely not to be missed! And we’ll be tucking the garden in for the winter.

 

 

 

 

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Steering Committee Meeting
10/5/14

Andrea Kannapell
David Bivins
Chloe Abercrombie
Dylan Mabin
Amelia Wilson (after coop clean)
Melanie Holcomb (after coop clean)
Pat McCarty
Sarah Trignano
Cathy Carver (at end)
Ruth Chasek (briefly by phone)

Reports: plot status, team compliance, membership number, fall projects, security, alcohol rule.

Plot status: 7 plots are renounced, abandoned or undertended. One has been spoken for.

Dylan will email individuals to let them know the undertended plots will be put back into rotation and that they can be put back.

Park Slope Food Coop: Andrea will check with coop about their rules on compost team.

Membership number: 83 voting members

Alcohol rule: We want to investigate what rules apply to the garden and liability.
How? Andrea will email Sheila and Jon Crow about how to find out.
We will consider proposing at general membership meeting that delete the alcohol ban from the bylaws, if they are sufficiently covered in other rules.

Team compliance: we are updating our master membership list.

Budget: Ruth will send updated budget.

Security: still some young folks smoking pot in the garden. David has spoken to some of them about lack of respect for garden members, keeping gates open when they are here, and that they can’t be protected from the police, so wise not to do anything illegal in here.

Cats: we need to request trap and neuter. David will investigate.

Event: harvest festival coming 10/26.
Marathon 11/2 savory stuff and people to staff tables.
Andrea will ask Val to send out note asking for help staffing and getting contributions.

Wiggiomail: Andrea needs to update wiggiomail list to include Melanie, Kit, etc.

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Meeting Notes as recorded by David Bivins

Attendees:

Andrea Kannapell
David Bivins and Arlo
Kit Schneider
Max Henstell
Brian Ricci
Pat McCarty
Siena Chrisman
Jerah Kirby
Leslie McCleave
Amelia Wilson
Dylan Mabin
Melanie Holcomb

Same list for meeting, plus Iris, Ruth Chasek, the other Ruth (who may not be a member), Julia Mabin, and the new member whose name escapes me who Amelia oriented today.

Members introduced themselves.

Reminder about gates: people are leaving them open when the garden is empty. We will send out an email to remind members to check that whomever is remaining has a key. People have also been locked in accidentally.

People are hanging out in the garden at night. They might be smoking marijuana, and empty beer cans indicate that they are drinking. From anecdotal evidence, it sounds like there might be three separate groups, one being somewhat fluid (some core members, with others rotating in and out). Several people suggest an approach which Andrea dubs “aggressive friendliness”-e.g. joining the group and talking with them, and possibly encouraging them to participate in mainstream garden activities. One member is concerned that there might be a liability issue if an inebriated non-member stumbles into the street and is hit by a car. Another member is concerned that current activity might escalate to rape and/or murder. Same member suggests that a community police officer be asked to patrol the garden (from the sidewalk) at night, with instructions not to arrest anyone for minor offenses (e.g. smoking marijuana). Several members are wary of police involvement with the garden. The garden membership present agrees to contact the community police officer from the 78th precinct. David asks Ruth to make the contact.

Leaf drop: Pat will coordinate.

We want donations: revive idea of “donate now” on the web site and suggesting donations for any activity, including reserving the garden for an event.

Rummage sale - Brian will coordinate

Our contact information: several potential members have told David that the web site address is difficult to find; David suggested that we make signs for the gates that make the web address more prominent.

We will redo the program from last night’s (9/5) movie night. It was delightful, reported Andrea.

Chicken budget was brought up: what is to be spent on? Anything beyond the garden budgeted for the chickens in our March meeting. E.g., feed, supplies for the run.

Fundraising: should we sell Christmas trees? Suggestion from Siena: only if they’re from close by (not from Washington State or Quebec). The discussion seemed to whittle down to “it’s not worth the hassle.” Plants (autumn decorative gourds e.g.)? Maybe. Brian will continue brainstorming fundraising ideas.

Dog poop on Warren side (and St Mark’s Pl): Andrea requests that anyone witnessing dog owners not cleaning up after their dogs on the sidewalks in front of the garden entrances photograph said owners and send the photographs to her.

Pat reprised his role as steering committee nudge and got us to agree to a 10/5, 10AM in the garden meeting.

Pat also brought up the beautification of the Warren St entrance, and David welcomed him to join Dylan and himself. for an already-in-progress discussion of building a bricked entrance area. Post-meeting the three stroked their beards and agreed to build the entrance on a day less hot than today, to borrow a manual tamper to assist in the task, and to use sand to help level the brickwork.

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We had a terrific garden day, cleaning up the peach tree, watering everywhere, turning compost, weeding, and sanding and staining the remaining two benches. Turnout was better than one might expect for August, with 16 members plowing in.

The garden provided pizza for lunch (and some of us went off the reservation and got sandwiches or burgers, on our own dime).

We had a chicken update, a discussion of feral cats, started a wishlist, mused over planning the potluck for next meeting, talked about fundraising ideas, considered the sad state of the shed, debated not renewing the pre-garden day workshops, noted that some new members were not getting emails, and approved a payment of $180 per year for water to BANG! Details below.

Gabriele put together a lovely basket and floral arrangement for Jenny Blackwell, who is leaving the NY Compost Project, though staying on with BBG. (Andrea delivered on Monday morning, but had to leave at desk as the subject was elusive.)

Kristen Davis’s chicken update: The chickens are 12.5 weeks old. Maturity is 16-20 weeks. That’s when we’ll know for sure if we accidentally ended up with any males. (Experts do try to determine the sex before the hatchlings are sent, but it is a delicate and imperfect art.)

The coop extension is well under way, but it is more time-consuming and complicated than foreseen. We still have several steps to complete. Melanie Holcomb put together an excellent summary laying out the steps:

1. Stabilize the foundation.
2. Secure a layer of hardware cloth onto the lower half of each wall.
3. Raise and assemble the structure.
4. Place and attach beams across the top for the roof.
5. Wrap hardware cloth around the top half of the walls and roof.

We have not set a date for the next group effort.

Feral cats: It looks like a couple of feline vagabonds have taken up residence, or are at least frequent visitors. Those living along Warren and St. Marks are requested to check with neighbors in case anyone actually owns the cats. Mimi Rosenfeld and Mary Dillon said they would look up information on groups that capture, spay and relocate.

Wishlist: Elements here were strictly for discussion. Bigger shed, opening up more sunny areas for plots, glider swing, hammock, and (this one took the writer by surprise) a request to consider making all plots community plots. Some think we would have higher yields, and we would not face the problem of abandoned or undertended plots. We may revisit this at future meetings.

Potluck: Sept. 6, 1-3 p.m. We discussed putting up a signup sheet both electronically and in the shed. Would be nice to plan it out a bit.

New members not getting email: David Bivins (garden coordinator) and Amelia Wilson (membership coordinator) arrived at a method of getting the new email addresses to Val.

Workshops: It was agreed that there had not been a lot of attendance at the pre-garden workshops. Proposal was to consider doing workshops on other days, so that they could be at a more convenient hour.

Shed: Mimi Rosenfeld and Nadine will work together to inventory the shed and create a basic level of organization. We will then label everything, with the hope that members will be able to understand and follow the system. Mimi also has a large storage box, which Matt Kirby is arranging to pick up. We can use for toys or for some part of the shed overflow.

Fundraising: Film screenings in September. (Andrea’s husband, a film librarian with NYPL, can organize the films.) Per film rules, we cannot ask for donations for the film, but we can ask for donations for the garden or for popcorn etc.

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Steering Committee Meeting 7/26/14

Attending:
SC: Andrea Kannapell, David Bivins, Amelia Wilson, Valerie English, Dylan Mabin

Other: Melanie Holcomb, Tammy Dunn, Kit Schneider, Brian Ricci, Max Henstell, Pat McCarty, Gabriele Wolf, Sheri Stein, Sally Smith

We opened by creating an agenda (Budget, Fundraising, BANG budget, projects in the garden plan, work team update/accountability, honoring of Jenny Blackwell, notes from last garden day meeting) and then starting from the easiest, we moved to the most complex.

1. Pat McCarty has asked: Can we honor Jenny Blackwell, who will continue to work with BBG but is leaving the compost outreach of Greenbridge?
Decision: We love Kristen’s idea of a basket of produce from the garden, to be assembled on next garden day (Aug. 10) and delivered the next day.

Val will look for a basket, Brian will make a jar of pesto, Andrea will donate a cucumber. We will send out a note to the membership about this plan and ask that they email Gabriele about what they might contribute. She will organize the basket on Aug. 10, and Andrea will deliver to BBG Aug. 11.

2. Sally Smith proposes we make a plaque honoring Celestine for founding the garden. She agrees to research a plan.
3. Melanie Holcomb agrees to become fundraising coordinator, with help from Tammy Dunn. (They were willing to do it together, but the general feeling is that it’s best to have a single point of responsibility.)

Our consultation was based on a rough budget passed around at the annual meeting. (We would like to ask Ruth to make an updated budget, so we are clear on the current numbers.)

The big takeaway – we are looking at a major deficit. Several thousand dollars at least.

Grants are project-focused. We are unlikely to get grants for operating expenses. But we can look for grants for special projects. Advance time crucial to get funding for projects.

Melanie, Tammy and Mary have been doing a lot of research on what kind of grants are out there. Most have to be applied for in January or February. Most are small, too, so we have to think of integrating a lot of smaller pieces. There’s no single magic grant that will meet our financial needs.

There is discussion of possibly having more than one kind of membership (more money if you don’t work), but generally, we like having all members be stewards of the space.
Melanie and Tammy propose some relatively quick fixes and some longer term.

Increase options for people to give us money, like a Donate Now button on the website.

Herb and compost sale at Garden Days. We will do one for Aug. 10. (Brian will coordinate.)

Consider raising annual dues. Plot holders pay a separate $25.
Or perhaps raise maximum, asking s $10-$50 . We can discuss at next annual meeting (check bylaws for process).

Request donations for party space

Make our plant sale more highly organized to optimize revenue.

Take advantage of the annual Fifth Avenue street fair.

Can we partner with big stores? Also, the Bears garden partnered with HBSC for a community service project for their employees. We can try – takes advance work.

Consider teaming up with other BANG gardens on fundraising/upkeep efforts (like tree work).

Consider partnering with the new school on 4th ave, possibly something involving the chickens. (Andrea notes there is a garden in the works at the school: the SCA’s rectangle of asphalt to meet its promise to make the community whole for the loss of the Baltic St. Garden. )

Hold a produce sale(s) from community plots or individual donations.

Consider new annual events, like a fall yard sale. Make some annual events fundraisers: egg hunt (Pay the Bunny), pumpkin smash. Gab, Brian and Chloe may be able to set up new annual events.

 

Raffle involving donations from local businesses? (Would take a lot of work.)

Consider adding a page on our web site, promoting local businesses that support the garden.
We can try to spread the word on Neighborhood.com, Park Slope parents (charges), Linewaiters Gazette.
4. Work teams and accountability.

Can we add ways of meeting responsibilities for open hours? For instance, mini-workdays, with defined projects. Weeding Wednesdays. 6-8 p.m.

Since we don’t have enough people to weed, combine w/open hours?

Post chores — like what to weed or water.

General suggestion: For out of town plotholders, a “please water and harvest “ sign (Amelia & Chloe to make signs)

Sheri proposes alerting members if they are not in compliance with work duties. We discuss changing bylaws to allow for nonrenewal if noncompliance.

DECISION: we will ask work team leaders to update spreadsheet or send info to David, allowing Andrea to follow up by phone, particularly with plot holders.

This is a larger discussion of the culture of membership, rather than be punitive, be more encouraging. Maybe next year, new lock and keys and orientations for all. Mass orientations? 5-10 people at a time.

Gab points out we need clearer information available, organizational chart.

DECISION: David will send email to families, reminding them that gates should be open, even if you are brining in toddlers.
We acknowledget needing a more defined space for children’s activities.

Regarding plots:
Dylan says some members have given notice, others seem to have abandoned. Meanwhile, how do we handle those who want upgrades?

DECISION: Upgradees can have the option of starting their new plot now, or letting it be community for the rest of the year.

 

5. Deciding landscaping projects will enable us to go for grants.
David notes we need feedback on Sharon Lawless’s proposal. Val will ask for it via email to the gardencoordinator email address.
We can move ahead with one. Bricking in the Warren St. entrance. David estimates it will take one day and 50 bucks. We can solicit donations for this. Andrea proposes offering members double time credit, to both attract labor and offer members an easy way to make up any deficits.

We set SEPT 13 as the target day for the bricking.
6. We set our next steering committee meeting for Sunday, Aug. 24, halfway between the next two garden days (Aug. 10/Sept.. 6
Other

We need a shed reorganization project.

General question: What is covered by the insurance we have through BANG?
Q: Are we paying water, or is BANG? Andrea’s review of notes is that BANG is paying the water.

Q: Are there other expenses that BANG pays?
(Uncertain)

Add page to website on how the Food Coop compost works.

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2014 Annual General Meeting Minutes

Sunday, March 9, 2014
10 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.
@ Fifth Avenue Committee offices
621 Degraw St. (bet. 3rd & 4th Ave.)

MINUTES

25 people in attendance (Sharon, 1 child, 23 members – list at bottom)
Moderator & timekeeper: Melanie Holcomb
Minutes: Gabriele Wolf

1. Introduce yourself, offer your favorite moment/memory from the garden last year

We had a wonderful sharing of our stories of what makes the garden special to us. Many people had wonderful chicken and compost stories.

2. Landscaping proposal and Q&A

Sharon shows the outline of the garden and makes suggestions on improvements.

Members shared that they wanted; herbs throughout the garden for herb sales; native plants; and also important, a gardening area for kids.

Members noticed that the St. Marks side of the garden is nicer; Warren side needs more beautification. Sharon suggest perennials with a succession of blooms.

Next steps;
- Sharon will make a deeper assessment with current input from members.
- Garden then will vote on the improvements/changes
- we then have teams to carry out the work; they will be guided by the Garden Coordinator.
- Andrea knows of corporate programs that could donate labor.

3. Dye Project discussion

Sewing Seeds have reached out to us and would like to cultivate some plants that can be used for natural dyes. We will put them in touch with our plot coordinator Dylan so he can determine if the plants fit the garden’s profile. We will also invite them to our next garden day.

4. Idea free-for-all

We did a brain storm and these are some of the ideas people had.
> WORM WORKSHOP (help from the Lower Eastside Ecology Ctr. ) > KIT
> Label the plants and the trees; KIT. There might be grants available for such programs (Gabriele will reach out to friend to find out)
> Book of Weeds that lives in the garden to make identification easier.
> Cookbook with recipes from the garden supplied by members
> Mobile hospitality art project from Europe (Gabriele will send info)

If you like to share your ideas please email Andrea, [email protected].

5. Steering Committee reports

Introduction: description of steering committee roles (3 minutes)
see chart

Administrator (work teams, connections to allied groups)
see chart

BANG! Rep (2013 review, 2014 forecast)
Mary gives introduction how BANG! works. They meet monthly and anybody can come. Several people have attended in the past.

Bang! Loan should be repaid to Warren/St. Marks. Deadline for submission for 2013 invoices to Bang for them to submit against reimbursement grants is March or April.

to do >> email tree estimate to Mary Dillon. Find out exactly how many grants are available from Bang! annually.

Garden (2013 accomplishments, 2014 priorities)
> in 2013 Mical & Emily needed to leave as coordinators. Andrea stepped in the interim.
> In general community plots didn’t do so well in 2013; chips delivery was difficult.
> if parking space becomes available in front of Warren Street entrance, please block and call Andrea. She will order the chips. >> done!

? Compost & Open Hours outreach worked great!

Membership (including number of members to date)
130 members to date, and we already received a few new applications

> Tracking compliance/ work requirements still not as good as it should be. > From 130 members only 16 were fully compliant with requirements.
> Members can participate in work teams – easy to track 8 hours work.
Less involved jobs are available.
> Exchange ideas on how to make your teams work well together.
> Sending out monthly emails to work teams, works very well.
> Not everybody has emails – careful that we don’t make the garden too digital. Ask members for preferred mode of outreach.
> Tracking the hours – best the old fashioned way. We will design better system in the shed and do better tracking on garden days.

Treasurer (2013 accounting & projected 2014 budget)
> gives report on budget (see document)
> we need to know more about grants
> generate more fundraising ideas.
> reach out to 615 Green: Sheila will check on how they do their fundraising. Mary & Grace will coordinate with each other.

Fundraiser (existing and possible events/grants)
[I have no notes]

Events (2013 greatest hits, new events for 2014)
We had a egg hunt, Make Music performance, local produce festival, farewell party for the chickens, movie nights, and potluck.

Chloe is planning same series of events in 2014 and would like to add some more events such as spring equinox, earth day, harvest festival. We like to hold plant sale – need volunteers. Andrea’s husband would like to show some movies– during movie night pass the hat. Egg hunt, ask for donations. Chloe will draft a Quick reference guide for super important things to remember.

Plots (number of open plots, waiting list)
Dylan says we currently have 25 plots full plus 2 vacancies. We have 20 people on the waiting list. Four people would like to upgrade their plot. Sharon willing to share her plot.

About the waiting list;
> you should be a member in good standing if you want a plot. Check with existing members and give them a chance to correct their work requirements in case there were mistakes made.
> some people moved and have to be removed from the waiting list.
> if you are waiting for a plot you should be a primary plot steward for the community plots.

Watering and weeding should be separate positions.

Communications (revamping website)
Andrea say Valerie is revamping the website. We will add DONATE NOW Button. Sometimes info is hard to find > streamline a bit more. Mary intends to add the garden’s address to Google maps, wants to find out what the proper address to use is? (619 Degraw St)

10-minute break, membership renewal and key swap

6. Discussion of hosting our own flock of hens & vote
(moved forward from planned agenda because it affects budget)

The garden is currently fostering chickens from a school in Brownsville because Governors Island doesn’t need help with their chickens anymore. We explore the question if we should get our own chicken flock and if yes, how do we organize it?

The chicken tender team had been asked to come up with a position to present at the Annual Meeting.

Kristen shares the questionnaire she sent to the chicken tenders (=people who took care of the chicken this winter). The objective was to get an understanding of how they felt about caring for the chickens and if they would be willing to take on the responsibility of our own flock.

General topics: average hen lifespan is 12 years. Most stops laying eggs daily after 3 years. Most tenders (14 people) wanted to keep the hens even when they were not laying regularly anymore, though a couple of people really like the eggs. Re idea of rotating in new hens: It’s not a great idea to add chicken to an existing flock, as it’s difficult – new hen can be pecked, killed. Generally people like to be involved with the chickens. Designing a bigger run for the chickens. Main complaint from tenders was the shed: too much stuff inside, door blocked by snow and ice, locks froze. Suggested: Winterize the shed, hold workshop – chicken education. Bike tour to visit all other chicken places in the neighborhood. Steering committee votes positive.

Where will we get the chickens from? How many will we have? Kirsten proposes
6 chickens (variety that is used to the cold, docile, people friendly and good egg layers); Getting young chicken assures that they will be comfortable around people. The end game – we feel comfortable to let them live to their ends, not kill. Will we send them to a farm sanctuary or how do we care for them when they are sick and very old? This topic needs to be fully researched.

Some ideas are:
- Find a vet school for people in training (Brian).
- Divide the areas so we can have two flocks (Brian).
- Get our chickens from a farm in New Jersey – school project; farms do hatching (Tammy has contact)
- Gabriele has reached out to a farm as well

Concern raised that, we are making decision for future garden members that is unique for the current setup of the garden.

We discuss options future gardeners might have and consider changes in the bylaws to address issues such as long-term care.

Some members suggest that chicken funds should be self-sustainable past a certain point; we may ask for separate donations to support the hens.

VOTING:

In principle, do we want our own chicken flock?
17 YES, 1 NO

Chicken work team under the garden coordinator?
18 YES
Our new chicken work team is: Kristen & Tammy

Should Chicken Person be a new steering committee person?
all, NO

Tammy & Kristen will do further research (as discussed above)
18 YES

Can chicken team raise funds independently for their care?
yes 11
abstain 1

Next steps:
Kristin & Tammy will do research and come up with a plan about medical care for the chicken and end-of-life solutions.

7. Elections for steering committee

David Bivins, new Garden Coordinator
Andrea Kannapell, Administrator
Amelia Wilson, new Membership Coordinator
Chloe Abercrombie, Events Coordinator
Ruth Chasek, Treasurer
Valerie English, Communications
Dylan Mabin, Plot Coordinator
Mary Dillion & Cara Schwartz, BANG! Reps
We are in need of a new Fundraising coordinator.

HAND VOTE:
all in favor for above coordinators.

8. Work team organization

OUR WORK TEAM LEADERS:
> pruning, off season – we need a new leader, reconsider team
> compost, Kirsten – will remain
> weeding, Tammy
> watering , Dylan
(changes; watering will move over to plot coordinator; Dylan will talk with David about a method how best convey the watering rules; we will request plot holders to be in charge of watering)
> sidewalk, tree pit maintenance, Kit (she will need volunteers in the fall with raking); other people helped with shoveling in the winter. Thanks!
> open hours, Amelia
> community plot, Frank Ricci (new)
> New work team: Social Media Outreach, Brian (he will work with Valerie)
> Administration help and Co-Event coordination; Gabriele Wolf

David will set up team leader meeting.

Note: All members are welcome to steering committee meetings.

9. Vote on projected budget

Steering committee had a discussion to do a fundraiser for the chicken.
when the first flock of governor arrived we got a lot of $$$ for building the coop. Many tenders donated $$$.

Question:
Should the garden ultimately be responsible for the upkeep of the chicken?

Accept the budget as is US$ 3830 version?
18 YES

Cleanup, more membership renewal and key swap

Attendees:

Chloe Abercrombie
Arlo Bivins
David Bivins
Cathy Carver
Ruth Chasek
Kristen Davis
Mary Dillon
Tammy Dunn
Grace Freedman
Max Henstell
Andrea Kannapell
Sharon Lawless
Dylan Mabin
Iris Maynard
Pat McCarty
Brian Ricci
Frank Ricci
Kit Schneider
Cara Schwartz
Sally Smith
Sheri Stein
Sarah Trignano
Amelia Wilson
Gabriele Wolf

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