Effective Change senior Capstone
This page is for a class project with Multnomah County C.R.O.P.S.
Photo Credit: Kaila Fontenot
the Inverness Jail Garden
Like most gardens preparing for the winter, a cover crop has been laid over the beds to replenish nutrients into the soil, in addition to providing warmth to the microbes that will help the soil grow plentiful Spring.
swahili garden |
The Inverness Jail Garden is a partnership between Multnomah county and the Sheriffs Department there has been a lot of success with the inmates learning techniques, the deputies are also learning about gardening, three deputies have started their own gardens as a result of working with the director of CROPS, Jerry Hunter.
|
The Swahili garden is a garden tended to by female refugees mostly from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and various other central African countries. They meet monthly to gather and talk about life adjusting to life in the United States.
One weekend while surveying various box gardens around multnomah county with a partnership with County CROPS, we noticed the Swahili garden had not been winterized. We spent five hours working on clearing the previous crop, rebuilding the rows for next years crop, placing burlap sacks to cover the soil. We used burlap sacks instead of using a cover crop because burlap sacks also work to keep the soil warm and happy during the winter season.
I've been excited to lean all the tools I have learned thus far, I am excited to continue learning from this internship. I have been passing on the knowledge I've learned to my friends and when I return home I hope to pass the knowledge on to my family. I knew of the importance of self sufficient gardening before I started but, once you have the tools to grow the foods that you as an individual actually eat it allows individuals to save money and provide nutritious foods to your body. I have started following in Jerry's footsteps in seeing every open lot as a potential place for people to come together in community and build gardens that will feed them for generations.
Get in Contact with County Crops
To see the good work being done by County CROPS https://multco.us/crops
To Donate to County CROPS https://multco.us/crops/donate-crops
To Volunteer with County CROPS https://multco.us/crops/sponsors-crops
To Donate to County CROPS https://multco.us/crops/donate-crops
To Volunteer with County CROPS https://multco.us/crops/sponsors-crops
WHy Urban Farming?
Ever since I was a young child both my grandmother and father insisted I help them in the garden, I would always have an input in what grew in the garden year after year. My grandmother encouraged me to help her in the garden, she would teach me about different fruits and vegetables, she taught me how to identify different fruit trees. I chose my organization because I wanted to specifically work with farmers of color in the Portland metro-area. I was connected to Jerry through a mutual colleague. The impact on planning a large scale garden has prepared me to work on larger projects than I have been apart of as a child. When the class is over I will continue the internship for the rest of the year and continue to learn what it is like to be a farmer in all four seasons. I will take these skills I've learned to the farm I will have after I graduate from graduate school.