Dear Community Gardeners and Friends,

Composting in NYC as we know it is no more! Leaf collection and Give Back Days have been canceled and the whole NYC Compost Project has taken a huge budgetary hit (they have basically been asked to stretch their already reduced 2009 budget through the 2010 fiscal year with no guarantee of renewed funding!!).  However, we are resolved to demonstrate that compost is no small thing in a city chock full of community gardens and green spaces.  Let’s tell City Council and the Department of Sanitation that it is essential for keeping our gardens healthy and productive, and our communities beautiful!  And let’s do it now before the NYC Compost Project is lost for good.

How?
We need thousands of signatures of concerned gardeners, friends and residents, so the city can see, without question, how important compost is to our gardens and communities. We believe with a modest effort on the part of many, we will be able to encourage the City to fund composting in NYC again.

Want more info?
Check out the attachment for the “Compost in NYC Fact Sheet”

HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?

o Sign the Online Petition
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/bring-back-composting-to-nyc.html

o Spread the Word: Email family and friends the link to the online petition and encourage them to sign; place the link on your personal blog or on your community garden’s blog or website.

o Collect Names:  Collect signatures of fellow gardeners; if you have an upcoming garden event or market have interested attendees sign; bring a petition along to other upcoming spring gardening events!  (Please email Tina at the address at the bottom to receive an attachment of the petition.)

o Write Letters Right to the Source:  Write a letter as a garden, an individual or a group of individuals to send to Council and the Department of Sanitation.

And most importantly…

o Keep Composting!!

East New York Farms! thanks you all for your continued commitment to the proliferation of green spaces and to the collective effort of getting compost back onto the city’s agenda.

With appreciation,

The Team at East New York Farms!

East New York Farms!
United Community Center
613 New Lots Ave.,
Brooklyn, NY 11207
(718) 649-7979
www.eastnewyorkfarms.org

Questions, suggestions or concerns?  Please contact Tina von Roedern, ENYF Compost Intern at freedumpeanuts@yahoo.com

This Friday's Bill Moyer's Journal (Nov 28) included a great conversation with Michael Pollan about food systems and the way we eat. It also featured the East New York Farmers Market, our new urban farm, Hands and Heart Garden, and market gardeners James and Jeanette Ware. The link is here, http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11282008/watch2.html.  The segment about East New York Farms! starts in the second minute of Part II, and continues til about 8min30sec. Watch til the end for some footage of our team of youth leaders harvest for the market!

Job opening - Urban Agriculture Coordinator, East New York Farms! Project

Responsibilities:

• Recruit and train new and experienced gardeners from East New York and surrounding communities in urban production for market (primarily vegetable production, possibility of chicken raising and bee-keeping)
• Lead and coordinate trainings for gardeners, as well as provide individual technical assistance
• Organize local gardeners and develop their capacity to support each other, sell at the farmers market, and oversee a micro-loan fund
• Provide group development assistance to 20-30 members of new 1/2 acre urban farm, and assist them in further developing the farm
• Supervise and support Urban Farm Manager in cultivating and maintaining a half-acre urban farm
• Co-supervise and train teens (ages 13-16) to grow vegetables, serve other neighborhood gardeners, and help run the farmers’ market
• Assist with designing and leading lessons to build skills and help youth understand the social context of their work
• Track and assist with reporting activities to funders
• Support farmers’ market operations
• Support outreach/promotion efforts of project

Qualifications:

• At least one full season of growing experience, primarily in small fruit and vegetable production
• Experience facilitating trainings for both youth and adults
• Experience working with diverse communities and individuals
• Responsible and able to work independently
• Drivers’ license a must
• Ability to work weekends (work week is Tuesday – Saturday from March through November) and occasional evenings
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• Spanish language skills a plus

This is a full-time position with full benefits

Position will start part-time February 1, 2008 (for training) and become full-time March 1, 2008.

Please send resume and cover letter by December 14, 2007 to:

Sarita Daftary

East New York Farms! Project Director

info@eastnewyorkfarms.org

The mission of the East New York Farms! Project is to organize youth and adult residents to address food issues in their community by promoting local and regional sustainable agriculture and community-led economic development.

Representatives from the East New York Farms! Project will speak about our work in improving our neighborhood at the launch of the Project for Public Spaces' new book "The Great Neighborhood Book."

Project for Public Spaces kindly thanks the Cobble Hill Association, The Book Court, Smith & Vine, Stinky Cheese and Christ Church for their support of this event.

East New York Farms will be hosting two workshop series for new gardeners. 

March 21st from 5:30pm-7:30pm

First Workshop: Garden Planning-Creating a garden, spacing, timing, harvesting, and seasonality 

April 4th from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Second Workshop: Planting Techniques and Growing for Market, Starting Seeds, irrigation, weeding, pest control, and market development  

Location: Brooklyn Public Library, New Lots Branch 665 New Lots Avenue

Contact Jonah at 718-649-7979 x. 28 for more info 

Thanks for stopping by!

This blog will provide news and event listings for East New York Farms -- so watch this space! If you're in East New York and want to visit us, or if you'd like to find out more about our organization, check out our website at eastnewyorkfarms.org.