Project Grow: Sowing Seeds, Skills and Hope ` For more information, Please see websites below: ` Organic Edible Schoolyards & Gardening with Children http://scribd.com/doc/239851214 ` Double Food Production from your School Garden with Organic Tech http://scribd.com/doc/239851079 ` Free School Gardening Art Posters http://scribd.com/doc/239851159` ` Increase Food Production with Companion Planting in your School Garden http://scribd.com/doc/239851159 ` Healthy Foods Dramatically Improves Student Academic Success http://scribd.com/doc/239851348 ` City Chickens for your Organic School Garden http://scribd.com/doc/239850440 ` Simple Square Foot Gardening for Schools - Teacher Guide http://scribd.com/doc/239851110

1. The Newsletter of Volume 1, No. 2 Spring 2000
South Bay Community
Services’ Project GROW
program focuses on the
development of a landscape
maintenance company. It is
an economic development
project that strives to give
women who have survived
violent relationships the
opportunity to become
economically self-sufficient.
Women who have the
courage to leave violent
relationships have the
strength to become
independent.
A vital component of such
independence is economic
self-sufficiency. Women who
are the sole providers of their
families need jobs that pay
living wages. It is the goal of
Project GROW, South Bay to
give women the opportunity
to learn landscaping skills and
business skills, so they can
move into the market place
with knowledge and the self-confidence
they need to
compete. SBCS Project
GROW is working with 10
women in their transitional
Gardening for Respect, Opportunity, and Wellness
housing. The women will
receive landscape training,
business training and develop
an economic/education plan
for their futures.
On-the-Job Training at SBCS
During the summer, two
women attended a nine-week
Groundskeeping course at
Southwestern College. One of
those women, Maria, is
working full-time landscaping
SBCS affordable and
transitional housing projects.
Valerie, a new resident of
SBCS transitional housing has
joined as a CalWORKS
participant. SBCS pays 15
hours of work and another 17
hours are spent in on-the-job
training. Maria and the
Project GROW coordinator
supervise the training and
access community resources
for additional landscaping
training.
Recently, these two women,
both key leaders in the
project, talked about what the
experience has meant to their
lives. To protect their
confidentiality, only their first
names will be used.
What made you interested in
Project GROW?
Maria: The first thing I was
interested in was being part of
our own business and learning
how to run a business. I’ve
always dreamed of having my
own business that the whole
family could work together. I
was scared too because I
didn’t know anything about
business and really didn’t
know anything about
landscaping but I wanted to do
it and learn.
Valerie: I loved the chance to
work outdoors. You get to see
new faces and meet new
people and working with your
(Continued on page 3)
Edited by Kaliko Amona, Occidental College Community Food Security Project: An affiliate of the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute
(UEPI). Illustrations by Joe Linton. For more information or to send in letters, articles, photos, drawings, calendar listings or other entries, call
(831) 466-0755. Project GROW is sponsored by the California Department of Health Services.

2. 2
Agencies:
Center for
Community Solutions
Off-Site Garden
Liz Porras
858-272-5777 (Ext.
34)--message
619-697-7477 (Liz)
Community Resource
Center
Garden-to-Table
Nutrition Education
Traci Chester
760-942-5485
Rural Human
Services
Off-Site Garden/Moms
& Kids Cook and
Learn
Claudia Frances
707-465-3013
Kings Community
Action
Organization
Moms & Kids Cook
and Learn
Juanita Galaviz
559-582-4386
Ocean Park
Community Center
Horticultural Therapy
Pat Butler
310-264-6645
Plumas Rural Sevices
Off-Site Garden
Tina Wood
530-283-5675
San Leandro Shelter
for Women and
Children
Horticultural Therapy
Katharine Noel
510-297-6906 (2#)
South Bay
Community Services
Job Training
Joan Pelkey
619-420-5094
Interval House
Garden-to-Table
Nutrition Education
Christine Delabre and
Lydia Hychong
562-594-9492
South Bay Feature .................................1, 3
PG Contact Information ............................2
Greetings!..................................................4
Our New Logo ..........................................5
San Diego Resources ................................5
Entreprenurial Gardens:
The Occidental
College Community
Food Security
Project (TAT-EC
Consultants):
Susan Stuart
Program Manager
sstuart@cruzio.com
(831) 466-0755-phone/fax
Michelle Mascarenhas
Director, CFS Project
mm@oxy.edu
(323) 259-2633-phone
(323) 259-2734 -fax
Robert Gottlieb
Co-Director of UEPI
gottlieb@oxy.edu
(323) 259-2712-phone
Kate Stafford
Horticultural Therapy
Consultant
(831) 335-3250-phone
katecougar@aol.com
Marilyn Prehm
Evaluation Consultant
(916) 973-9567
Department of
Health Services-
Domestic
Violence Section :
Kathony Jerauld
Program Consultant
(916) 653-4691- phone
(916) 653-2125 - fax
Amy Blandford
Contract Manager
(916) 654-9945-phone
(916) 653-8655 - fax
Zipora Weinbaum
Research Specialist
(916) 657-3921-phone
Blue Shield:
Marianne Balin
Public Affairs Specialist
(415) 229-5861-phone
(415) 229-5070- fax
On the Web:
www.uepi.oxy.edu
Please send comments or sug-gestions
to mm@oxy.edu

3. 3
(Continued from page 1)
hands you get to see a job
get done. You see what
you achieved. I was a
little worried, but Maria
was already doing it, and I
look up to Maria so it was
easier for me.
Maria, you went to
Southwestern College for
the nine-week
Groundskeeping course.
What was it like to go to
college?
Maria: I always wanted
to go to college. I was
really excited when I
found out the course we
were taking was going to
give us college credit.
But, I was nervous too.
We were worried that we
wouldn’t be able to do the
things they wanted us to.
We had a really good
teacher and he helped us
feel better. We found out
that we could do the work
as well or better than the
men in the class could do.
What do you tell women
you talk to about the
project when they say
landscaping is men’s
work?
Maria: I learned we are
women and we can use
our minds too. You don’t
have to do everything. If
we’ve got a job that is
physically too heavy for
us we can get help.
Valerie: It’s a big boost
to your self-esteem when
women step up to do what
people think is a man’s
job and do it well. It helps
women see what they can
do in this world.
What is the most
satisfying part of
landscaping
work?
Valerie: There is
real satisfaction in
making
something look
better. When
you’re working
you can stop and
see what you’ve
done. Working
with your hands
calms your mind. We’ve
already seen other people
on the block come out and
start to clean up their
yards to get them to look
as good as ours.
Maria: Working together
and with other women.
You get to talk and share
thoughts. You learn how
to communicate better
with other people.
What was the biggest
experience for you since
you started this project?
Maria: My first day
working full-time for the
agency and Project
GROW. I was so
nervous. I didn’t know
what to do. Everybody
knew me as a client and
now I was a staff member.
But after a couple of days,
I started to relax and feel
like I was part of a team.
I’ve come a long way
since I came to this
agency. My dream is to
have a successful family
business and buy a big
house, big enough for my
whole family to
live in.
Valerie: My
whole first week
was amazing. I
was moved into
SBCS housing, I
got a job and I
got my first real
paycheck in ten
years. It opened
a whole new
world to me.
What would you
say to funders
about what impact their
money achieves through
Project GROW?
Maria: Project GROW
gives women a chance to
learn they can change
their lives. It teaches them
that there is something
strong inside of them and
they can go out and be
someone. They can make
a success.
Valerie: I like to say
thank you for giving
women a chance to learn
that they can do things. It
helps us in every way
because it gives us hope
and there always has to be
hope.
Maria: Yes, you always
need hope to make it in
this world.
Maria and Valerie: And
also being in the open and
working with plants –your
mind gets cleansed every
day.
Photos and Article Submitted
by Joan Pelkey,
SBCS Coordinator
“I got my
first real
paycheck in
ten years.
It opened a
whole new
world for
“Working
with
your
hands
calms
your
“You learn
how to
communicat
e better
with other
Attention to Detail is
Part of the Job

4. 4
Nine Unique Recipes
It’s hard to believe
that we are already
entering the second year of
Project GROW. The
planning and start-up of
the first year produced a
bounty of activity. Asphalt
and suburban lawns were
ripped out and replaced
with fruit and vegetable
gardens, horticultural
therapy activities were
piloted as a way to help
children work through the
trauma of abuse, women in
shelters attended cooking
classes which integrated
seasonal produce into
simple meals, partnerships
were formed with local
gardeners and farmers, and
women began to receive
training in landscaping
while a landscape
microenterprise was
launched (see the lead
article focusing on South
Bay Community Services).
And in the midst of it all,
Project GROW staff (with
the help of consultants,
volunteers and
participants) found the
time to develop agency
asset maps, photograph
activities, create evaluation
tools, participate in an
annual meeting, present at
the MCH domestic
violence conference, write
program reports, and
participate in “learning
circle” teleconferences.
In order to capture the
experience of Project
GROW and learn from its
successes and lessons, two
of the major emphases of
the second growing” year
will be learning from and
adapting activities and
documenting the barriers,
opportunities, and
successes of Project
GROW. Marilyn Prehm, a
nutritionist who has
worked with the evaluation
of garden projects
nationally and
internationally, joined the
collaborative DHS-Oxy
Evaluation Team in
December to help with this
process.
In February, Marilyn led
the first of a series of
learning appraisal
teleconferences with all of
the nine GROW projects.
Besides providing a format
for “weed-pulling” or
troubleshooting and the
exchange of ideas, the
learning circle calls were a
snapshot of what it takes to
get a new and experimental
grass-roots project off the
ground. They are part of a
larger “formative”
approach to evaluation
which acknowledges that
programs such as Project
GROW are always
adapting to local
conditions and needs.
Additional means of
capturing data about the
growing pains and benefits
of the nine pilot projects--
survey tools, on-site
interviews with staff and
participants,
photodocumentation, and
garden journals--will be
combined with the learning
circles and other
interesting techniques to
create a full picture of the
Project GROW story in the
coming year. The final
result of this process will
be a document that can be
utilized by other domestic
violence programs
interested in setting up
similar types of GROW
projects in their agencies--
of course, with their own
unique flavor.
Susan Stuart, M.P.H.
Program Manager,
Project GROW

5. 5
WIC Program—American Red Cross
(619) 583-4853
San Diego County Public Health
Department
(619) 692-8500
SHARE
(800) 773-SHARE
EFNEP—Expanded Food and Nutrition
Education Program
619-694-2850
UC Cooperative Extension
619-694-2845
SStteep Harrd SSeedss
“While warm water is
good for soaking seeds,
many hard seeds benefit
from being soaked in
strong tea overnight as
well. The tannic acid in
the tea works to soften
the outer covering of the
seeds.”
—From Organic Gardening’s "300
Expert Tips and
Techniques"
California Native Plant Society, San Diego
Chapter
(619) 685-7321
Sierra Club San Diego Chapter
(619) 299-1744
Water Conservation
Garden
(619) 660-0614
info@thegarden.org
Quail Botanical Gardens
(760) 436-3036
Contact Michelle Mascarenhas if you
would like a copy of the logo on disk.
Gettttiing Ready tto Pllantt??
One of the best places to start seeds is
on top of the refrigerator, where
there's a steady supply of bottom heat.
A different region of the state will be featured in each newsletter.

6. 6
One of WOFE’s creations.
Like prairie plants, many
good projects have deep roots.
They are diverse, flexible, and
multi-faceted in their nature.
They can withstand a variety of
difficulties and become stronger
through them. They are
beautiful and nurturing. They
give back to their communities,
just as their communities
energize them and appreciate
their caring efforts.
The Women’s Organic
Flower Enterprise (W.O.F.
E.), a part of the Homeless
Garden Project (HGP) in
Santa Cruz, CA., is just such
an endeavor, and has a story
that Project GROW can
savor.
The HGP initially began on a
vacant city-owned lot in Santa
Cruz in the spring of 1990. It
has since provided jobs and job
skills; respite and sanctuary; and
many community connections
including counseling, housing,
and medical assistance. Today it
is composed of two garden sites
as well as an office and retail
store.
In the early years of the Project,
most of the homeless workers
were men. In time, more women
came to the HGP. One young
mother, Tomlyn, was
particularly drawn to growing
flowers and became instrumental
in creating the
W.O.F.E. Under the
horticultural direction of Jane
Freedman, she learned how to
grow varieties of flowers
especially suitable for drying
and was soon creating wonderful
dried flower wreaths. Along
with HGP staff and many
community supporters, Tomlyn
developed a new HGP site
(rescued from being a trash-strewn
lot). The staff then
sought out a grant from the S.F.
Women’s Foundation and started
a business that could offer
beautiful products year-round.
The wreaths were sold at
farmer’s markets, health food
stores, craft fairs, coffee houses,
and eventually through the 7th
Generation catalog. After
several years, Tomlyn
graduated from the
project and went further North
with her family, gaining employ-ment
in an area she loved.
In 1995 the HGP hired
another highly talented floral
designer, Dena Watson. Dena
shared her skills with many
women, encouraging them to see
the many talents that are always
waiting within to be revealed.
One of the great gifts to the
project is a donation of high-traffic
retail space during the
holiday seasons to W.O.F.E. The
program’s success at these sites
is a reminder to all starting such
an enterprise that a fine
product, great location, and
deep community support make
all the difference!
Project GROW can learn much
from the Women’s Organic
Flower Enterprise. It points
daily to the courage of people
facing difficulties and the way
that life can be fully embraced
when hope, compassion, na-ture,
beauty, meaningful work,
real friendship, and time are
recognized as our wisest teach-ers
and healers.
Project GROW groups are in-vited
by W.O.F.E. to tour its
site and/or participate in its op-erations.
Call (831) 436-3609
for an appointment.
Story and Photo By
Kate Stafford
Artist, Horticultural Therapy &
Garden Design Consultant for
Project GROW.
Some of WOFE’s beautiful flowers.
Involving the community
at a WOFE fundraiser

7. 7
Recently, market gardens
have gained attention as a way
to enhance community eco-nomic
development, increase
community food security, and
employ local residents in
meaningful jobs. These
gardens are complex yet
promising vehicles for
providing job training, life
skills, educational
opportunities, improving the
quality of life and forming
creative collaborations in local
communities.
Researchers from the
University of California, Davis
interviewed 27 of these
entrepreneurial gardens,
including the Women’s
Organic Flower Enterprise.
They gathered information on
how these entrepreneurial
gardens operate and the
conditions under which they
prosper.
Some of their
recommendations include:
¨Build and maintain good
connections to maintain
community support.**
¨Develop stability in the
garden before adding an
entrepreneurial component.
¨Include some high-value
items like flowers or herbs to
improve income generation.
¨Explore selling services as
well, or instead of, goods.
South Bay Community
Service’s landscaping
program is an example of a
service that could be turned
into an enterprise.
¨Continue to focus on long-term
sustainability of the
project.
Their publication includes con-tact
information for entrepre-neurial
and also summarizes
some of the resources avail-able.
For information on or-dering
it (Publication 21587),
call 1-800-994-8849 or email
danrcs@ucdavis.edu.
**A list of resources for entrepreneurial gardeners is on the next page.
Recyclle Yourr Ciittrruss Peellss!!
You can use the skins of oranges and grapefruits you’ve
eaten by making them into pots for germinating seeds.
Cut the fruit in half and after you’ve eaten
or juiced it, scoop out any of the leftover
pulp and poke holes in the bottom. Fill the
half with soil and plant your seeds. Once
they are ready to go into the ground, plant
the entire half. The citrus peel will decay
slowly and help to fertilize the soil.
(From Organic Gardening’s 300 Expert Tips and Techniques)

8. 8
Welfare-to-Work Grants
Information on the program is on the web:
wtw.doleta.gov
Jim Curtis (Employment Development Department)
(916) 654-8275
USDA SARE Grants
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
Program
(202) 720-5203
www.sare.org
UC-SAREP (Including Grants)
Gail Feenstra
(530) 752-8408
gwfeenstra@ucdavis.edu
Perrrreniiall Fllowerrss:: Keep
Cuttttiing
When they are cut more
frequently, perennials
tend to flower more
often. By cutting the
flowers, you interrupt
the reproductive cycle
of the plants, leading
them to send out
more blossoms.
Service Core of Retired Executives (SCORE)
Confidential business counseling and mentoring are
provided free of charge. Email counseling is also
available.
(800) 634-0245 for a chapter near you
http://www.score.org
Small Business Development Centers
(800) 8-ASK-SBA
Other possible options:
·Business schools at local colleges or universities
·Members of local companies that produce similar
products
·Local business incubators: generally work with for-profit
small businesses, buy non-profits receive
assistance as well.
Keep tthosse Bouquettss Frressh!!
Remove leaves from stems and add a
tablespoon each of sugar and vinegar
to 3 cups of water in a vase. The
sugar will provide food for the
A WOFE bouquet. Photo by K. Stafford.
flowers and the vinegar will inhibit the
growth of bacteria.
(From Organic Gardening, March/
Some examples of perennial flowers: April, 2000)
black-eyed Susan, purple cornflower
(echinacea), garden flox, peony, yarrow,

9. 9
Notes from Project GROW,
Rural Human Services
Harrington House
Crescent City, CA
Del Norte County receives over
120 inches of rain annually and
tucked close to the shore, is
blanketed by fog when the
inland valley temperatures start
to climb. RHS’s Harrington
House, Del Norte County’s
resource center for battered
women and their children,
has a 26-bed facility only
one-half mile from the
ocean, making gardening
quite a challenge.
The shelter facility had
very few options for a full-blown
garden, so large
Plant an Extra Row
The basic premise of the
project is to encourage
gardeners, old and new, to
plant an extra row in their
home gardens to help
combat hunger in our area.
They are given a list of
registered groups to whom
they can donate food from
half-barrels have provided
an aesthetic and
nutritionally productive
alternative. Herbs and
flowers compliment the
entrance and provide
access to fresh,
flavorful additions to the
kitchen.
A community garden located
just a few blocks away at
Crescent Elk Middle School
gives the program 6 raised beds
for fresh vegetable gardening
during our very short, cool and
foggy growing season.
Food Security Strategies
Project GROW at Harrington
House has been focused mainly
on food security and accessing
alternative food resources such
as local Food Banks, Christian
Food outlets, and the purchase
of a share of a Community Food
Garden. The one share has
provided the program with
twice weekly deliveries of fresh
fruits and vegetables for a six
month period. The shelter
residents have learned the value
of good nutritional cooking and
new varieties of produce.
This spring, a new Master
Gardener program began classes
in Del Norte County. It has
been almost 10 years since the
last program was active. One of
the new participants, Linette,
contacted our program to gain
our participation in a new food
security project, Plant An
Extra Row.
Harrington House has become
one of the prime recipients for
the Plant An Extra Row project,
giving us yet another valuable
resource for fresh fruits and
vegetables. The Master
Gardeners will also be assisting
with the continuation of the
Project Grow on- and off-site.
Linette said that the front-page
newspaper coverage of our
project last summer gave
her inspiration to delve
into the Extra Row
project that she had seen
PSA’s about on
television. This is just
one more reason for all
Project GROW
participants to seek out
more media coverage of
the great work being
done through gardening
throughout the state!
You never know if it may
inspire someone in your
community to come
through with yet another
valuable resource for you
and your program.
By Claudia Frances
Project Coordinator,
RHS Harrington House
If you have any questions on
starting or participating in such
a program, call Claudia at
(707) 465-3013.
their extra row to.

10. 10
Ingredients:
1 carton firm tofu
A pinch of oregano
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic
A pinch each of thyme,
oregano, and pepper
2 carrots
2 tomatoes
2 celery stalks
Eggplant???
Cut tofu into 2 or 3 flat
pieces. Sprinkle with
oregano. Place on lightly
oiled baking pan and bake at
350 degrees for 25-30
minutes. Let cool.
Combine soy sauce, vinegar,
garlic, thyme, oregano, and
pepper to make a marinade.
Break tofu into small pieces
and place in a flat dish.
Cover with marinade and
refrigerate for 3 hours. Cut
up vegetables (or grate
carrots) and combine with
tofu. Use the marinade as a
dressing.
Serves 2-4
Adapted from the Healthy
West Hollywood Cookbook
Tofu is a good source of
protein and may reduce
the risk of heart disease.
Part of what makes you so thirsty after eating sweets is that sugar slows down
how fast food empties from your stomach. As a result, the fluids you
drink can’t get through to your intestines where they are absorbed.
The best way to quench your thirst is to drink water—sugary drinks
like soda can actually slow down rehydration.
(Discover, September, 1999)
"Peppers and eggplant are good
container gardening choices
because of their relatively
compact size and growing
habits."
(National Gardening Association's
"Little Book of Expert Tips)

11. 11
It’s hard to watch television
or read a magazine these days
without seeing a presentation on
global biodiversity. Usually, the
focus is on the tropics, where
vast numbers of species coexist,
and where the existence of many
is threatened. Closer to home,
California also has a wealth of
biodiversity, with many more
species of plants and
animals than most areas
of similar size. The
bad news, of course, is
that many of these
species are also
threatened, but the
good news is that we
can do more to
preserve them, because
we live right here
among them.
A direct way to help
preserve California’s
diversity is to grow
native plants (plants
that were here before
European settlement).
Whhhyyy Grrrooow Naaatttiiivvveeesss???
vThe plants will be less
threatened by extinction
vThey will be accompanied by
animals that depend on them,
such as butterflies and
hummingbirds. Growing
natives helps to protect these
pollinators.
vChildren and others can learn
to recognize and protect them.
vThey require less water and
fertilizer, thereby conserving
natural resources and reducing
runoff to the ocean.
vThey are easy to grow!
vNative plants provide a
diversity of beauty. For eyes
accustomed to roses, geraniums,
and petunias, the flowers of
native plants can be novel and
delightful. Diversity of form
and color, in gardens as in
life—what’s not to like?
Following is a short list of some
California native plants fairly
easy to grow in urban and
suburban gardens. For seeds and
more information, you can visit
the websites of the Theodore
Payne Foundation (http://www.
theodorepayne.org/) and the
California Native Plant Society
(http://www.cnps.org/index.
htm).
Annuals (bloom from seed the
first year, then die, but often
reseed themselves)
·California poppy (Eschscholtzia
californica). Orange flowers,
easy to grow.
·Lupines (Lupinus bicolor, L.
nanus, etc.). Blue and white
flowers, easy.
·Baby blue eyes (Nemophilia
menziesii). Will grow in shade,
easy.
·Tidy tips (Layi platyglossa).
Yellow daisy-like flowers. Will
grow in sandy soil.
·Clarkia species (Clarkia sp.)
Large pink to lilac flowers.
Easy.
Perennials (bloom second year,
live several years)
·Monkey flower (Mimulus
species). Orange to red flowers.
Drought tolerant.
·Matilija poppy (Rhomneya
coulteri). Large, spreading
plant. Large white flowers.
Shrubs (all drought-tolerant
once established)
·California lilac (Ceanothus
species). Blue clustered flowers,
nice form.
·Manzanita (Arctostaphylos
species). White flowers, nice
foliage.
·Sages (Salvia species). Many
types, excellent for pollinators.
·Wild currant and gooseberry
species (Ribes species). Loved
by hummingbirds.
Article by Gretchen North, PhD, Professor of Biology at Occidental College

12. 12
Project GROW
Occidental College
c/o PPERC
1600 Campus Road
Los Angeles, CA 90041
April
22 EARTH DAY!
26-28 California Healthy Cities and Communities Annual Conference 916-646-8680
May
1 May Day
14 Mothers’ Day
31-June 1 Maternal and Child Health Conference 916-498-6964
June
10-11 Community Food Security Workshops on Food Systems assessments and Community
Economic Development (Los Angeles) 310-822-5410
September
11-13 (tentative) Project GROW Annual Conference
14 CANFit Conference in Southern California for nutrition and fitness tips
working with 10-14 year olds. 510-644-1533
23-27 5th International Family Violence Conference
29 East San Francisco Bay Garden Tours 510-527-3773

13. Tidy Tips, layi platyglossa
Photo by Brother Alfred Brousseau
One of the best places to
start seeds is on top of the
refrigerator, where there's a
steady supply of bottom
heat.
Paiinttbrussh Sowiing
When you use a trowel or your hands
to cover small seeds with soil, sometimes bury them too deep,
inhibiting
germination. Try using a paintbrush
instead. It gives you better control
over the amount of soil you put seeds.