aA Garden in Every Neighbourhood

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!