Application to mail at Periodicals Postage Rates is Pending in Pensacola, FL
This Community Newspaper is a weekly publication of Escambia Santa/Rosa Bar Association Page 1 Vol. 15, No. 25 VISIT THE SUMMATION WEEKLY ONLINE: www.esrba.com June 23, 2015
4 Pages
From the Ground Up, A Growing Community By: Kelly Oden
Beneath the concrete behemoths of interstate off-ramps on Hayne Street a once abandoned community garden is getting a welldeserved reboot. The garden is called From the Ground Up and it consists of 36 green raised garden beds filled with organic, heirloom plants in a dizzying array of varieties. Tomatoes, beans, peppers, cucumbers and plenty of complimentary herbs and flowers have been brought to life by lead gardener Cat McCreery and a team of volunteers who believe in sustainability and the value of growing your own food. Funded by Innisfree Hotels’ corporate social responsibility program, The Hive, the community garden was originally inspired by a similar project in British Columbia called Sole Food Farm. The City of Pensacola and Mayor Ashton Hayward allowed the use of the land, which is an integral part of the City’s Hollice T. Williams Urban Linear Greenway Framework Plan. During the initial “dig in” volunteers repaired the garden’s structure, removed contaminated soil and prepared the beds for planting. This spring they planted over 4,000 heritage organic vegetable, flower and herb plants. The garden is about planting more than vegetables, though. They hope to plant opportunities as well. “We’re planting a chance for kids and their parents to grow healthy foods that will sustain their bodies, as well as their minds. There are many social advantages to growing community gardens. They improve the health and well-being of those involved, beautify neighborhoods, reduce family food budgets and working in the garden is great exercise.” McCreery and her team of volunteers work hard to maintain the integrity of the garden. In fact, many of the plants are heirloom varieties passed down within McCreery’s own family. “Everything here is an heirloom. The definition of heirloom is something that has been sustainably grown and not altered for a minimum of fifty years. Some of the varieties that we have growing in our garden date back to the time of Columbus and discovery of America. So a lot of things that are in the garden are also part of a preservation effort, in that we are going to save those seeds and we will actively send those seeds into Seed-Savers Exchange and they will get categorized and they will help to build up the availability of varieties that are slipping away from our food supply. One important function of this garden will be as a preservation garden,” she explains. (continued page 3)
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The Summation Weekly
The Summation Weekly
Executive Director Mike Doubek mike@esrba.com Member Services Specialist Michele Kelley michele@esrba.com
Escambia/Santa Rosa Bar Office 216 S. Tarragona Street, Suite B Pensacola, FL 32502 Publisher Escambia/Santa Rosa Bar Association Published Weekly At: 216 S. Tarragona Street, Suite B. Pensacola, Florida 32502 Phone: 850-434-8135 Fax: 850-436-8822 Email: esrba@esrba.com Website: www.esrba.com Office Hours Monday - Thursday 8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. Friday 8:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M. Application to mail at periodicals Postage Rate is Pending at Pensacola, FL Subscription Rates $20/ year ( All ESRBA Members) $22.50/ year (Escambia/Santa Rosa/ Okaloosa County Non-Members) $27.50/ Year ( Other counties within Florida & All other States NonMembers) Postmaster Send Address Changes To: The Summation Weekly 216 S. Tarragona Street, Suite B Pensacola, Florida 32502
The Summation weekly is locally owned and operated. All rights Reserved. Reproduction or use of the contents herin is prohbited without written permission from the publisher. Comments and opnions expressed in this magazine represent the personal views of the individuals to whom they are attributed and/or the person identified as the author of the article, and they are not necessarily those of the ESRBA or the publisher. This newspaper accepts no responsibilty for these opinions. The ESRBA reserves the right to edit all manuscripts. All advertising information is the responsiblity of the indiviudal advertiser. Appearence in this newspaper does not necessarily reflect endorsement of any products or services by Escambia/ Santa Rosa Bar Association.
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The Summation Weekly
From the Ground Up, A Growing Community (continued) The 4 by 10 foot beds can grow a tremendous amount of food— up to 30 pounds a week per bed in the height of harvesting. “Of course the eggplant and cucumbers will carry the bulk of the weight, but when you add all of that together, we are harvesting a tremendous amount of food within a very small space,” says McCreery. “It’s a reap what you sow garden, so volunteers are “paid” with a portion of the days harvest.” “We are going to build in phases,” says Jill Thomas, Chief Marketing Officer at Innisfree Hotels. “The next phase will start in September and we are going to start a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program which is an innovative way to connect the consumer and grower, each making a commitment to the other. As a member, you purchase a share of produce in advance. We, in turn, commit to growing a variety of vegetables for weekly delivery. During the growing season members will be provided with freshly harvested produce. The bounty will vary from week to week and month to month depending on the season. We will also donate produce to the food bank and other charities.” Current volunteers range from children to senior citizens and from local celebrity chefs to neighborhood friends and families. Volunteer Jodi Brown spends about 7-10 hours per week in the garden. She values the time spent outside and the opportunity to meet like-minded people as much as she does the produce. “I'm a chef. Food is powerful stuff. If we can come together to grow food, it gives us an opportunity to get to know our neighbors better. Maybe even engage in conversations that might not otherwise take place, learn about each other. We spend too much time in front of our TVs and devices. Gardening brings people together with a common goal to nurture our bodies and our souls. I also live in an apartment and work a lot. I don't have space to garden so access to an organic garden is a gift,” Brown explains. If you’d like to volunteer, public gardening times are as follows: Wednesday 4 pm-7 pm, Thursday 4 pm-7 pm and Friday 9 am-11 am. Beginning July 1st, St. Joseph Catholic Church will offer ESRBA members a $5.00 per month discount on parking at their lot at 134 W. Government Street. Below are available contract options. One year contract $40 per space per month Six month contract $45 per space per month Monthly contract $50 per space per month Please call Tommy Williams, St. Joseph Catholic Church Operations Manager, at 436-6461 or operations@stjoseph.ptdiocese.org to setup your contract or for additional information.
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The Summation Weekly
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Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association CLE Library Credits Available
2015 An Evening with the DCA: 2 General/2 Appellate
2015 Family Bench & Bar Conference: 3 General
2015 Survey of Florida Law: 12.5 General/4 Ethics
2014 Survey of Florida Law: 12 General/3.5 Ethics
Family Law 101: 7.5 General
2014 Medicare/Medicaid Lien Seminar: 3.0 General/2 Health Law
Ethics/Professionalism/Substance Abuse Seminar: 4 General/3 Ethics/1 Substance Abuse
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