Learn to Compost!

With the growing season creeping up on us, now is the perfect time to learn the basics of composting! Join Denver Urban Gardens, in partnership with Denver Recycles, for free classes in composting several times a month from April through October. All public compost classes are hosted at the compost demonstration site at our Gove Community Garden, located at 13th and Colorado in Denver. 

Each compost class is a two-hour, hands-on workshop in the basics of backyard composting. Worm Workshops are special classes that cover vermicomposting (perfect for apartment dwellers!) techniques. Build-A-Pile Workshops are special classes in which participants help to build an entire compost pile, and receive hands-on experience in incorporating different materials into a compost pile, chopping ingredients, watering, and turning the pile. 

All workshops will be open for registration one month before each class date. You can find a list of class dates here. 

Questions? Contact us here or call us at 303.292.9900!

Volunteers Needed: Earth Day Events

Earth Day is rapidly approaching and we need some wonderful volunteers to represent Denver Urban Gardens at various locations! You will be responsible for general Denver Urban Gardens outreach, including answering basic questions, signing people up for the volunteer and newsletter list and operating the DUG booth. You will be provided with DUG tabling materials and a cheat sheet for basic questions, and if any unanswerable question arises, you can send them to the DUG staff via phone or email. These events are a valuable opportunity to inform the public of DUG's programs and services, as well as how to become involved with Denver Urban Gardens. Times, dates and locations are as follows: 

• April 18th from 10:00am-2:00pm at CU Boulder Student Union
• April 21st from 12:00pm-3:00pm at Tamarac Whole Foods Market at 400 East Hampden Avenue in Denver
• April 21st from 11:00am-1:00pm at Sunflower Market at 2880 South Colorado Boulevard 
• April 22nd from 1:30pm-4:00pm at Glendale Whole Foods Market at 870 South Colorado Boulevard in Glendale 

Please contact Lauren if you're interested!

Free Seeds and Transplants: Volunteers Needed

It's only January, but we are already gearing up for the 2012 growing season! This time every year, Denver Urban Gardens distributes applications for our Free Seeds and Transplants Program to community centers, schools, churches, and senior centers throughout Metro Denver. In early February, we will collect nearly 2,000 applications from those same centers, and enter the information into a database so that we can order vegetable seeds and transplants to be delivered for spring planting. 

We are seeking volunteers to assist with data entry for this program! For each data-entry shift listed below, we can take up to five volunteers. 

• Wednesday, February 8th, 9:00am - 12:30pm (Shift is full.)
• Wednesday, February 8th, 1:00pm - 5:00pm
• Thursday, February 9th, 9:00am - 12:30pm
• Thursday, February 9th, 1:00pm - 5:00pm
• Monday, February 13th, 9:00am - 12:30pm (Shift is full.)
• Monday, February 13th, 1:00pm - 5:00pm
• Tuesday, February 14th, 9:00am - 12:30pm (Shift is full.)

Volunteers interested in this opportunity should be comfortable using Microsoft Excel, and not mind repetitive data entry tasks (though you are welcome to bring your headphones for Pandora, internet radio and/or your own mp3 player). Because we will be signing up exactly as many volunteers as we have spare computers, we ask that you only sign up for this opportunity if you are absolutely sure you can make it. To sign up, please email us at dirt@dug.org and let us know which shift you would prefer. We will confirm within two business days.

To learn more about the Free Seeds and Transplants Program, click here. 

What happens in the winter time?

A DeLaney volunteer puts freshly planted garlic to bed for the winter. Here at DUG, our staff are constantly being asked about what we do in the winter time. It's a fair question, especially on days like today, when the sky is grey and the ground is covered in snow! The truth is, things never really slow down. During the growing season we are busy partnering with residents to build new community gardens; helping community members find gardens to join; supporting school garden clubs, youth farmers' markets, and other youth programs; growing tons of veggies at our community farm; supporting garden leadership; distributing free seeds and transplants to communities in need; teaching weekly compost classes; and scores of other activities geared at empowering communities and creating local access to fresh, healthy food. 

This time of year, our biggest task is evaluating, improving, and preparing programs for next year. We are also busy planning new community gardens, creating and updating resources, making field plans for our community farm, and facilitating our ongoing education and outreach programs. 

So even though it's chilly outside and the gardens are all buttoned up for the year, we have a ton of options for you to keep growing and learning: 

• Our Master Composter and Master Community Gardener training programs are both accepting applicants right now! Both programs take place over several weeks in the spring, and provide valuable information and outlets for giving back to the community. 

• Our ongoing Helping Kids Get Healthy Workshop Series trains youth educators in faciliting DUG's School Garden and Nutrition Curriculum. The next workshop is in January. Stay tuned for details!

• Speaking of youth curriculum, it's all here, online, for free! DUG's School Garden and Nutrition Curriculum has been recently updated to reflect new health standards. 

• Can't get enough of school gardens? We just released the first edition of our brand new school garden newsletter, The Educational Carrot. Click here to view the first issue. Click here to subscribe. 

• Looking to volunteer or intern with Denver Urban Gardens? Click here to join our general volunteer list, which keeps you posted on volunteer opportunities with all DUG programs. Click here to be notified of upcoming internship opportunities. 

• The deadline to apply for our Free Seeds and Transplants program is on February 1st, 2012. Click here to receive a reminder to pick up your application in January. 

• Thinking about starting a community garden? Check out the first installment of our new webinar series, created in partnership with LiveWell Colorado.  

• We recently reformatted our website, and added a new section to highlight our exciting research with the Colorado School of Public Health. This is also where you'll find our documentary, A Garden in Every Neighborhood. 

Gardeners: how are you spending your free time, now that your garden is put to bed? Tell us in the comments!

Celebrate Harvest and Art at Rosedale!

Rosedale Community Garden's Annual Harvest and Art Show Sale: October 1st
On Saturday, October 1st from 9:00am until noon, community gardeners at DUG's Rosedale Community Garden will be selling vegetables, corn stalks, straw bales, canned goods, and baked goods. For the first time ever, they will be combining their annual harvest celebration with an art show and sale. If you are an artist and would like to enter a piece, or if you would like more details about this event, please contact volunteer garden leader Carol Garcia at 720.941.8960 or carolgarcia505@gmail.com. Rosedale Community Garden is located at Sherman and Iliff in Denver (entrance is on Logan). 

Rosedale Community Garden