What I’ve come to learn in my short time on council, is that our citizens aren’t just passionate contributors to our daily Town conversation; they put their heart, soul and free time to work to continue to make Cary the vibrant, amazing community that it is today.

John Kennedy famously said –

Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

Cary citizens have taken that to heart, right here in our own community.

Volunteers by the Numbers

Spruce, our volunteer-based program designed to connect citizens to beautification, litter reduction, and environmental service projects in our community has a number of activities going on all year. In fact, since today is Earth Day – you might want to check out some of those upcoming events and come out to Spring Daze in Bond Park, this Saturday, April 27th.  You can also join the Spruce Facebook group to keep up on what’s next.

On Saturday, April 13th I joined almost 450 other volunteers for the Spring Litter Sweep across our town for several hours. Kids, seniors, boomers and families joined in to help make Cary “clean and forever green.”  It was amazing to see people all across this community, getting together to pick up trash – and keep our community looking great.  We owe a debt of gratitude to all those folks that gave their Saturday morning to this endeavor.

Find your Volunteer Passion

This weekend I joined Mayor Weinbrecht at the Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church for the dedication of their Community Garden. Funding for the community garden was provided in part by the Town’s Neighborhood Improvement Grant Program. The church was also assisted by the hard work of local Eagle Scouts and local home improvement and garden centers that have also been generous donors to help the Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church grow even more food for the hungry.

This summer, the garden will also benefit from the efforts of two Appalachian Service Youth projects and a class project by NC State Agriculture students to assist with irrigation. And the benefits from this garden – vegetables and more, will be given to the Interfaith Food Shuttle, the local organization that helps provide healthy meals for families in our area. This is truly a project that reaps benefits to all!

While there, I also saw Teens from Green Hope High School, on behalf of Spruce, getting in their service hours for their AP Environmental Science course. A great way to learn and give back, at the same time.

Perfect Gardening Shoes seen onsite

Teen Council

Speaking of teens – if you have some in your house, there are ways to get them out of the house… and involved in the community. Have them sign up for our Cary Teen Council. The Teen Council is 739 kids strong now… yes, 739!

See – everyone gets in on the volunteer action.

The Teen Council is a program that has been around more than 20 years, and is another volunteer organization – just for 6th-12th graders. These Teens participate in all kinds of programs across the town, from social and recreational events, volunteering and community awareness/service, educational, leadership/teamwork and fund raising/ recruitment. Many of the Cary Teen Council members receive a chance to serve in advisory capacities for various Town boards and commissions.  In fact, we have one of those folks on the Information Services Advisory Board. I’m sure it looks good on their college application, too.

Membership Applications are accepted in June of each year, so stay tuned.

Thanks for all that you do to keep Cary the amazing community that it is.

This seminar offered me an opportunity to combine some of my passions – environmental issues, healthy choices and fun. I had high expectations, and was not disappointed.

The main topic was “Weaving Edible Landscapes-Community Gardens and Urban Ag into the Fabric of our Community.” Given Cary’s recent ordinance change and allowance of Chickens and Beekeeping, I think it’s fair to say that our community is in line with some of the trends towards more locally grown food, and a new focus on nutrition.

It was nice to see that folks from both from the City of Raleigh and Town of Cary in attendance – specifically Emily Barrett, our Town’s sustainability manager.  This trend and the topic of discussion really spoke to me.  Not only as a council member, but also personally as I start the move away from processed foods, getting ready to plant my garden for the season, and finding ways to bring these lessons home to my family.

To get a taste of what has been done in England, check out this TED video (13 minutes – well worth it!) that was shared.  It’s by Pam Warhurst – “How we can eat our landscapes.”  She cofounded “Incredible Edible, an initiative in England that is dedicated to growing food locally by planting on unused land in the community.

What I learned

Ok, a lot. The first session was a kickoff by Professor Robin Moore and Dr. Nilda Cosco from the Natural Learning Initiative, and the NC State University and College of Design.

They gave us a global look into how “foodscapes have been transforming communities for the better.” Taking us on a tour of Japan, to Hong Kong, then Europe, and then to some urban growing areas in the US (Chicago, Greensboro and more ) with a specific focus on how community gardens are popping up in schools, parks, and across our country.

Highlights

1. Urban farmers account for 25% of farming households in Japan.
2. In Tokyo, local agriculture produces enough vegetable to feed almost 700,000, grown on rooftops and in basements.
3. Urban fields are the most productive kind of agriculture per area.
4. Urban Gardens are good for city economic health & health of residents, as well as providing civic & social engagement.
5. Every $1 spent at a farmers market = $.60 spent at nearby businesses.
6. There is an Edible Schoolyard at the Greensboro Children’s museum that offers interactive experiences for kids with a focus on fresh seasonal food, health, wellness and outdoor play. (Check out their blog.)

What can I take from this?

First, I wanted to see what we are doing at the Town of Cary around these ideas.  So I connected with our Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources team – to let them know of the wealth of information and experience of the folks that attended, and to learn more of our plans, and what else we can do. As you may know, the new Carpenter Park that was approved with our recent Bond Referendum has a “Community Garden” as part of the design.  I think it’s probably the first Town sponsored/supported garden on Public property in Cary. (I might be wrong.)

I’d also like to see more focus on resources to help local gardeners – whether it’s through the Town of Cary or by referring people to our local cooperatives or other programs. I was lucky enough to meet the leaders of the Kirk of Kildaire garden and the folks at the local YMCA with a garden there. There is also the local Cary Pocket Garden, that is lead by a former Hometown Spirit Award winner, Keith Bliss.  Each of these gardens is doing so much to improve the story of our community, by giving back local food to those who need it.

Garden Time

One of the cool tricks I learned was from a lovely lady showing off how she re-uses all types of containers – creating little terrariums to start seedlings. She takes a cleaned out Liter bottle (I used a Diet Mountain Dew bottle, but she had bottles of Simply Orange, Diet Pepsi, and many others) and does the following.

1. Clean out the bottle and take off the label (if possible)
2. Poke a number of holes in the bottom (for drainage)
3. Cut the bottle in half, but not all the way across. Leave a bit of the bottle attached, and fold back the top half.
4. Fill the bottom portion with potting soil and soak the soil till wet and dripping through.
5. Add your seeds, cover lightly with vermiculite if you have it. Spray water using a spray bottle to wet the top.
6. Fold the top back over and use clear packing tape to tape it back up.
7. Put it outside or on your counter – spray in water in as needed.

Your seedlings will sprout pretty quickly. And you just cut the tape, gently turn over the bottle and you will have your seedlings to plant!  How cool is that?

My basil has sprouted already – and I’ve started a few more since then.

Get Started – Get Good Dirt for Free!

Photo by Kirsty Hall

This weekend you can get a start on your own garden.  On Saturday, March 23^rd the Town of Cary has a Compost Giveaway!  Come out to the Garmon Operations Center at 400 James Jackson Ave.
from 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. and get some compost.

All you have to do is to bring your own hard sided container.  I’ll be bringing my recycle container and some other same size boxes to fill my little garden up. (It should be between 18 and 32 gallons.)  If you want more than that and have a pickup truck, you will be placed in a different line to get your compost.

My goal is to learn more about this and maybe create my own compost bin soon. Stay tuned.

And, if you have tips, techniques or are a master gardener…maybe you can help me?

Post posting note: Here is a link to the resources from the conference – feel free to check them out.

Featured image from the Greensboro Edible Schoolyard blog