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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Sustainable Agriculture Subcommittee - 10/07/2014 South Burlington Sustainable Agriculture Subcommittee Subcommittee of the Planning Commission 575 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403 (802) 846-4131 www.sburl.com Meeting Date: Tuesday, October 7, 2014 Time: 7:00 pm Location: Healthy Living upstairs conference room 222 Dorset Street MINUTES Present: Kindle Loomis, Rosanne Greco, Bronwyn Dunne, Jess Hyman, Allan Strong, Rebecca Adams, Livia Donicova, Julia Raggio, Brianna O'Brien, Sophie Quest. I. Rosanne reported on Oct. 6 City Council Meeting. There was a large crowd to hear the council decide about a wastewater allocation, recommended by the Planning Commission. The council voted 3-2 to not make any allocation decisions. They then voted to ask staff to prepare a report on what the consultant expense would be to deeply research the situation. Nowak asked to have the wastewater requirements of all developments now permitted or imagined, such as the O'Brien property on Old Farm Road or the Fletcher Allen properties on Tilley Drive. Rosanne explained that the TIF situation did not require that city center be built at all at this time. II. Presentation on Community Gardens by Jess Hyman, Executive Director of the Vermont Community Garden Network. Community gardens have a history going back to the Victory Gardens of the world wars. Now they are a response to strengthen our food security. They can be in individual allotments or as large shared spaces. We now have school gardens, prison gardens, food shelf gardens. The gardens build community interactions, supporting neighborhood networks. They reduce crime and produce good physical health, both in the eating and the working in them. More and more today people are growing their own food because they need to in order to eat, or eat well. At this time Vermont has 370 community based gardens in 265 towns. 16% of Vermonters get some food from community gardens and more than one half of the schools have gardens. Using gardens, teachers can teach math, science, psychology – quite a lot. What works is strong support from a backing organization: city, church, school, food shelf. If individuals are leading a garden, it may fold if they are no longer able to do so. Connecting with other groups is helpful. In South Burlington we have the group, South Burlington Community Gardeners. In Burlington, 14 gardens are managed by the Park and Recreation Department. They have a citystaff person and volunteer site coordinators. A staff person mows the grass and fixes problems like waterlines. Garden sites cost from $15-50. People might have a full DRAFT 30x50ft site, or half or a quarter site. 4X8 might be the smallest. Businesses may donate land. In Newport the “Fresh Start Community Farm” has 5 or 6 sites, some on business owned land. Insurance is one concern that would need to be negotiated with anyone who lends their land for gardens. It might cost $300-$500 a year. When creating new gardens: Is there a need in the community? A door to door survey might be necessary. Are there waiting lists at present gardens? (Wheeler had 12 on the waiting list at the beginning of this summer.) What is the goal? Food access? Can other groups connect to the gardens, such as Common Roots or the city. It's best to have a group of people supported by several institutions. It needs to be decided if there will be allotments or a shared garden. Will there be raised beds (poor soil or easier bending for seniors) or beds directly in the ground (good soil). Where will the money come from? The water? Is there convenient parking and/or public transportation? A garden shed with a butterfly roof provides both tool storage and water collection for a cistern. The Wheeler Park gardens feel that the city Parks and Recreation have been terrific helpers. Vermont Community Garden Network, VCGN.org, provides a great deal of assistance, including staff members to consult with. They have a “Garden Organizer Toolkit”, a statewide directory of gardens, and they train community garden leaders around the state. Startup money might be available from New England Grassroots Environment Fund or Vermont Community Foundation. VCGN is funded through grants. It began in Burlington in 2001 and soon realized that people outside Burlington also wanted information and support in beginning new gardens. It partners with the Department of Agriculture's farm and school programs. Composting is an interesting possibility for community gardens as the state approaches the year when all food must be composted. Perhaps a partnership with a farmer who already has heavy equipment for turning compost would work the best. There need to be more composting operations than we have today. (Unfortunately, Harwick's Highfield operation is closing down now.) III. Presentation by three UVM interns to work with Sustainable Agriculture Subcommittee this semester, possibly next semester. They will research Urban Agriculture in other cities. What are the South Burlington opportunities? A lot of homeowners have 4 – 20 and more acres of grass. Can they be encouraged to leased some of this land to farmers or gardeners? Learning about the UVM Extensions land-leasing program will happen. In Boston, one farm has all ages, all kinds of groups coming to learn and help with a small lot. Education in food happens in schools, farmers' markets, small city plots. Bronwyn told of the Washington D.C. “National Arboretum Youth Gardens” and their benefits for inner city children. Kindle suggested that one actual project could be developed for the “Big Picture” program in South Burlington schools. This is a year round and summer program for youths who do better with tactile learning, with a large support staff. In South Burlington at this time, the middle school garden is being neglected and could use a good program to make it productive. The interns will discover how much they can actually do and learn. Julia and Brianna are also working as Common Roots' interns. As Director of Common Roots, Kindle is overextended, but may be able to receive more hours of work. All agree that education of the youth is the best place to begin good food habits and understanding. Kindle suggested assistance from and to: Susie Merrick, South Burlington Mentoring Program; Jason Cushner, “Big Picture” program, jcushner@sbschools; Christine Landie, advisor. DRAFT Ripple effects could happen from parents who hear from their children and want to offer some of their land, from a small demonstration project on a public street that other people notice. IV: New member. Heidi Auclair has regretfully submitted her withdrawal from this committee. Rebecca Adams has agreed to be her replacement and was welcomed by all (officially voted in as well). Sophie will bring this to the Planning Commission for approval. Respectfully submitted, Sophie Quest Chair Sustainable Agriculture sub-committee DRAFT