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Welcome to the Coalition of Austin Community Gardens. Our mission is to promote and support new and existing community gardens.
FENCE ME IN competition guidelines
FENCE ME IN
Thanks for your interest in the Fence Me In design competition! We’re excited to see your ideas and hope that this competition will lead to fun and beautiful fences not just at the Festival Beach site but around Austin. For Festival Beach site photos and more information, see the link to your left. For the full site plan view this PDF file.
We are looking for practical design solutions as well as the wild, wonderful and utterly unbuildable. Deadline is October 15th at 5pm. Entries can be sent electronically (pdf or jpg) to festivalbeachgarden@gmail.com or mailed to Festival Beach Garden c/o 1200 Garden Street, Austin, TX 78702. Entries will be judged by a panel made up of representatives from the Festival Beach community garden and neighborhood, Austin Parks and Recreation, Sustainable Food Center, a local landscape architecture firm and a local arts organization. All entries will be displayed online and at the Festival Beach Garden kick-off party (date TBD). And the winning design(s) will be built by a great team of volunteers at the new Festival Beach Community Garden!
Design guidelines:
We are looking for a “kit of parts” fence that can be made to be as long or as short as we need it and that includes:
- permanent, durable perimeter fencing
- a truck gate (8’ minimum clear opening, lockable)
- a pedestrian gate (3’ minimum clear opening, lockable)
- seating, shade, signage and plantings can be incorporated
- Easy to construct with low-skilled labor (you and me)
- Not too spendy (low-cost — salvaged, recycled, donated materials ideal)
- Keeps the vegetables in and would-be invaders out (suggested height is 6’)
- Lasts forever (or at least ten years) with no or low maintenance
- And delights the neighbors!
Submission guidelines:
Please include the following:
o Cover sheet: Designer’s name, email and phone number
· Title of project
· List of materials per 5 foot section
o Drawings: Drawings of each section of the fence (fence, pedestrian gate and truck gate), including how the fence will stay up
o Details: Close-up drawings of the way pieces are connected to each other
Questions?
Email festivalbeachgarden@gmail.com or call 512 917 8688. Thanks!
PARD Community Garden Guidelines
Please take the time to review the PARD guidelines that are currently posted as a draft. Your comments on this document will improve the final product and help to insure the process for setting up new gardens on park land is as streamlined as possible.
The document may be found at: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/communitygardens.htm
Comments regarding this document shall be sent to: pardcommunitygardens@ci.austin.tx.us
Updated Letter of Resolution
July, 2009
The undersigned organizations and supporters are requesting your support for community gardening in Austin.
Community and home gardens are an essential part of a vibrant, livable, and sustainable city. They offer space where residents can grow their own food, thereby reducing the use of fossil fuels and the amount of pollution emitted as a result of transporting food great distances. Community gardens also allow those that live in apartments or have a shady yard to grow fresh, healthy food. Community gardens help to unite neighborhoods, contribute to neighborhood beautification, and connect urban dwellers with nature. They facilitate communication, foster intergenerational and cross-cultural connections, encourage physical activity and provide therapeutic benefits. The impact of these spaces is immeasurable and invaluable.
The number of community gardens in Austin is small compared to other cities of similar size: Austin currently has only 19 community gardens , compared to 68 in Seattle and 200 in Boston . In order to promote the development of new community gardens and to preserve and enhance existing community gardens, we believe that the City of Austin should adopt the following policy initiatives:
• amend the City code to support the development of community gardens and allow a community garden anywhere in the City of Austin to be designated a Qualified Community Garden (see attached for recommended changes to City code Chapter 8-4, 25, and others);
• streamline the process to establish community gardens on public property;
• designate a single-point of contact amongst city staff for community gardens (this could be the same person who supports the Sustainable Food Policy Board);
• provide assistance or incentives to neighborhood groups that establish community gardens with respect to liability insurance coverage, the installation of water infrastructure and fencing, and water rates;
• include food security in the scope of work for Austin’s new Comprehensive Plan;
• ensure that area community gardens are represented on the newly formed City and County Sustainable Food Policy Board;
• amend the City code to provide tax breaks and other incentives to private property owners whose property is used as a community garden;
• ensure community gardens are an allowable use in every zoning category and setbacks;
• include plans for composting centers at neighborhood and community gardens in the Austin Zero Waste Plan.
Thank you in advance for your continued support of community gardening in Austin. We will be contacting you in the next two months in order to further discuss these issues.
Sincerely,
Coalition of Austin Community Gardens
Sustainable Food Center
Austin Parks Foundation
Sunshine Community Garden
Blackshear Community Garden
South Austin Community Garden
El Jardin Alegre Community Garden
Alamo Community Garden
Clarksville Community Garden
Good Soil Community Garden
Deep Eddy Community Garden
Windsor Park Community Garden
Homewood Heights Community Garden
View editable community garden info. spreadsheet as Google Document
It is now possible to view SFC’s community garden information spreadsheet as a Google Document by following this link:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rJtIbVne0jaQADgUWf67Htw
Anyone can edit the spreadhsheet, so please feel free to update or modify information about your community garden as necessary. Thanks for your contributions!
Community Gardens of Austin, May 2009
To view Sustainable Food Center’s most up-to-date information about community gardens in Austin, visit the CACG Google group and navigate to the “Files” section. Look for an Excel spreadsheet entitled, “Community Gardens of Austin_May 2009.xls”.
If you have not yet joined the CACG Google group, you’re invited to do so–just send an email requesting to be added to:
coalition-of-austin-community-gardens+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Google will send you a confirmation email shortly afterward.
If you would like to add anything, or if you would like to change any information about your garden, please email Sari at sari@sustainablefoodcenter.org, or call me at 236-0074 ext. 110. Thanks!
TELL PARD TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY GARDENS–Comment on the Long Range Plan by April 30th
TELL PARD TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY GARDENS
After months of strategizing, the opportunity to tell the City of Austin to support community gardens is here. The Austin Parks and Recreation Department is seeking input about its Long Range Plan for Land, Facilities and Programs, 2010-2015. Let Austin PARD know that you want it to support community gardens by sending your comments to longrangeplan@ci.austin.tx.us.
Use the sample message below or write your own. Just be sure to submit your comments by April 30, 2009.
I would like to commend the Austin Parks and Recreation Department on its recognition of community gardens as a growing trend in Austin (PARD Long Range Plan, p. 176). PARD has shown great initiative in devising guidelines for community gardens in parks. I urge the PARD to continue this momentum by keeping the recommendation to provide additional land for community gardens and farmers’ markets (Ch. 10) and by including a recommendation to adopt the draft Austin Parks and Recreation Community Garden Information Packet (Appendix Ch. 6 Supporting Documents Public Meetings) in the Long Range Plan for Land, Facilities and Programs, 2010-2015. I also request that PARD incorporate community gardens as an activity or special use in Ch. 2 PARD Definitions and Standards; include Deep Eddy Community Garden when discussing existing facilities in Planning Area 2 in Ch. 3 Existing Facilities; continue to consider community gardens in planning for park and trail development; and, work with other city departments to increase their support of community gardens as well.
Thank you for your support of community gardens in Austin!
Sincerely,
To read the Austin Parks and Recreation Department Long Range Plan for Land, Facilities, and Programs, visit: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/longrangeplan.htm. To comment, send an email to longrangeplan@ci.austin.tx.us before April 30, 2009
Letter of Resolution
January , 2009
The undersigned organizations and supporters are requesting your support for community gardening in Austin.
Community and home gardens are an essential part of a vibrant, livable, and sustainable city. They offer space where residents can grow their own food, thereby reducing the use of fossil fuels and the amount of pollution emitted as a result of transporting food great distances. Community gardens also allow those that live in apartments or have a shady yard to grow fresh, healthy food. Community gardens help to unite neighborhoods, contribute to neighborhood beautification, and connect urban dwellers with nature. They facilitate communication, foster intergenerational and cross-cultural connections, encourage physical activity and provide therapeutic benefits. The impact of these spaces is immeasurable and invaluable.
The number of community gardens in Austin is small compared to other cities of similar size. The high cost of starting a community garden, limited financial assistance, and few to no incentives for sustaining a garden on private property combined with development pressures are putting community gardens in Austin in jeopardy. Therefore, we believe that the City of Austin should adopt several policy initiatives to promote the development of new community gardens and to preserve and enhance existing community gardens as follows:
· rewrite the City code to support the development of community gardens and allow a community garden anywhere in the City of Austin be designated a Qualified Community Garden (see attached for recommended changes to City code Chapter 8-4, 25, and others);
· streamline the process to establish community gardens on public property;
· designate a single-point of contact amongst city staff for community gardens (this could be the same person who supports the Sustainable Food Policy Board);
· ensure that area community gardens are represented on the newly formed City and County Sustainable Food Policy Board;
· provide assistance or incentives to neighborhood groups that establish community gardens with respect to liability insurance coverage, the installation of water infrastructure and fencing, and water rates;
· amend the City code to provide tax breaks and other incentives to private property owners whose property is used as a community garden;
· ensure community gardens are an allowable use in every zoning category and setbacks;
· include plans for composting centers at neighborhood and community gardens in the Austin Zero Waste Plan.
Thank you in advance for your continued support of community gardening in Austin. We will be contacting you in the next two months in order to further discuss these issues.
Sincerely,
Coalition of Austin Community Gardens
Sustainable Food Center
Austin Parks Foundation
Sunshine Community Garden
Blackshear Community Garden
South Austin Community Garden
El Jardin Alegre Community Garden
Alamo Community Garden
Clarksville Community Garden
Good Soil Community Garden
Deep Eddy Community Garden
Windsor Park Community Garden
Homewood Heights Community Garden
CACG Goals & Strategies
Coalition of Austin Community Gardens
Goals & Strategies
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Session Objective: Create a plan of action to: 1) identify and mobilize City resources; and, 2) strengthen policy initiatives for community gardens in Austin. |
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Goals |
Strategies |
Immediate |
Intermediate |
Long-term |
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Revitalize and expand existing and establish new gardens in the Austin community. |
1. Review existing research and conduct feasibility study for land resources. 2. Identify and contact neighborhood associations. 3. Outreach to stagnant gardens. |
1. Inventory existing CGs, and possible garden sites, potential partners. |
1. Estimate cost of starting a new community garden. 2. Outreach to those interested in starting a community garden. |
1. Create (at least 3) new gardens within next year. (do we need to identify areas to target?) 2. Mobilize community support to create a victory garden. (who? how? logistics?)
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Establish and maintain a working relationship with city government to leverage resources. |
1. Identify city leadership and familiarize ourselves with the process. 2. Research the issues and develop concrete requests. 3. Identify pre-existing opportunities. |
1a. Revise Letter of Resolution 2. Schedule meeting with Council members (Present Letter of Resolution, PARD agreement, Rules/contract, Brochure) 3. PARD consent to Rules and Contract |
1. Create educational process (campaign?) for policy makers about importance of community gardens. |
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Establish a communication network between gardeners.
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1. Establish an electronic communication mechanism. 2. Create a repository for best practices. 3. Formalize the communication network (e.g. coalition, association, etc.) |
1. Create internal and external listserv 2. Populate website |
1. Create step by step guide on how to create a community garden. |
1. Establish ambassador program to help other groups start CGs. |
1/17/2008 Meeting Minutes
Coalition of Austin Community Gardens Meeting
January 17, 2009 |2-4 pm
Windsor Park Library
Participants: Linda Booker, Nathan Wilkes, Flo Rice, Laura McAfee, Sean Garreston, Ellen Hansen, Chris Riley, Brandi Clark, Dick Pierce, Neal Lillard, Steven Hebbard, Antionette Moore, Priya Reddy, Rob Randolph, Lars Stanley, Lauren Stanley, Leslie Keller, Susan Leibrock, Sari Albornoz, Karen Banks.
Updates:
- 6 community members have been selected to serve on the Sustainable Food Policy Council, including Ms. Brandi Clark. (Congratulations!)
- Rules and guidelines, and contract for community gardens on parkland are almost ready to be submitted. Folks are asked to submit any lingering comments or suggestions to Flo Rice (frice@austinisd.org). From here, the materials will be sent up the chain of command at PARD, including through the legal dept. for final approval.
- Thanks to the web savvy work of Nathan the Coalition of Austin Community Gardens has a website: http://communitygardensaustin.org. (THANKS, NATHAN!!) Now all it needs is information and photos. If you would like to post information about your community garden on the website, please contact Nathan Wilkes (nwilkes2@gmail.com).
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Next Steps |
Due Date |
Responsible Party |
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Review and vote on final draft of letter of resolution (attached) |
next meeting (Feb.) |
everyone |
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Contact potential supports to get to sign on to letter |
next meeting (Feb.) |
Nathan, Antoinette, Priya, Linda, Laura |
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Finalize comments for city code changes (Lars will contact Kevin Autry with the City of Austin Development Assistance Center to arrange meeting) |
February 7 |
Lars, Sean, Dick, Ellen, Karen |
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Draft white paper of best practices/model programs |
February 13 |
Sean, Karen, Sari |
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Schedule meetings with council members |
next meeting |
Melissa (Laura, Brewster), Flo (Leffingwell), Brandi (Randi, Wynn), Scott (Martinez), Nathan (Cole), Karen (Ott) |
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Update community garden information for CACG website (see attached spreadsheet) |
next meeting |
everyone |
Next Meeting: February 21, 2009, 2-4pm, Windsor Park Library
Meeting Attendees
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Name |
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Garden/Affiliation |
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Steven Hebbard |
Good Soil CG |
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Priya Reddy |
home garden |
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Linda Booker |
Sunshine CG |
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Flo Rice |
Deep Eddy CG |
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Ellen Hansen |
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Laura McAfee |
Sunshine CG |
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Antoinette Moore |
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Brandi Clark |
Austin Eco Network/Sustainable Food Policy Board |
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Sean Garreston |
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Chris Riley |
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Susan Leibrock |
Hyde Park CG |
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Leslie Keller |
Cedar Park |
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Rob Randolph |
Commons Ford |
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Neal Lillard |
Commons Ford |
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Nathan Wilkes |
Blackshear CG |
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Lars Stanley |
Stanley Architects & Artisans/east austin resident |
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Lauren Stanley |
Stanley Architects & Artisans/east austin resident |
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Dick Pierce |
Citizen Gardener/Austin Permaculture Guild |
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Karen Banks |
Meeting Co-facilitator |
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Sari Albornoz |
Meeting Co-facilitator |
Blackshear Photos
Photos from then till now!
