Goals
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 11 April 2012 23:19
Goal 1: Start a sustainable agricultural and garden education program.
SAGE aims to teach community activism and self sufficiency to foster youth empowerment and leadership skills, social justice and community activism. We plan to teach the community where their food comes from, the life cycle of the different plants and the conditions required for optimal production.
Goal 2: Develop a core volunteer base and stewardship program.
We plan to work alongside service organizations and our community stake holders and the STAR partners to develop a roster of dedicated volunteers.
Goal 3: Provide healthy organic, non-processed foods to those in need.
A key component to the garden is the source of the rootstock, seeds and plants we will be growing. Every precaution will be taken to ensure that the plants we grow will be Organic and pesticide free. We will be hosting cooking demonstrations to show community members what to do with their produce after its harvested and how to preserve it as well. We will encourage the visitors and members of the garden to eat freshly made meals with the produce grown in the garden. With a little instruction from one of our guest chefs, and Master Food Preservers planning meals for the family throughout the week will become much easier and healthier.
Goal 4: Create opportunities to conduct ongoing research for students in local colleges and schools.
With our partners we will be able to conduct research on a myriad of different areas of interest from soil studies to better companion planting practices, hydroponic's, aquaponics, vertical gardening, patio gardening etc.
Goal 5: Create an orchard that is both highly visible, instructional and a draw to the garden.
Trees are the first step towards revitalizing the area and a sure way to start a permaculture program. Working side by side with the California Rare Fruit Growers and the UCCE we will have a unique draw to our garden and Culver City. The trees will provide shade and food… bring in a diverse group of plants and insects and move towards the implementation of a food forest that regenerates organically and naturally.
Goal 6: Begin a Water Wise California Native Plant Garden Initiative and a backyard or lawn to food production program.
Once gardeners learn technique through SAGE, we will encourage the community members to take what they’ve learned with them home and start saving water. We will provide access to rain water collection kits; give instruction on setting up irrigation and timers etc. We will also help community members begin a backyard or lawn to food production program. With the help of our volunteers, we plan on being able to send out groups of volunteers to peoples’ homes to help them set up a garden. We will have a help line in order to answer any questions and solve any problems people may have in their garden.