Discover This!

The Discovery Program is busy as ever with 5 groups visiting the farm this week, and planning for Dig! is in full gear. We are pleased to be adding Birichino Wine to the delights and a gorgeous, eco-friendly, lakefront vacation home to the auction. Don’t wait — get your tickets to this September 22nd event now, before they sell out! Now is also the time to get your auction items in. Are a knitter? Have season tickets to any sporting events, have a vacation home or craft to share? We would love to feature them in our auction. We look forward to your participation in any and all ways.

Thank you!

Mark your calendars and get your tickets to the Discovery Program’s 4th Annual Fundraising Dinner, “Dig!” – you won’t want to miss it!

Take a unique guided tasting “tour” of the fields while noshing on specially made goodies from their bounty and sipping wine from local wineries; following that, there will be an elegant ‘en plen air’ sit-down, four-course dinner, complete with more wine pairings… and there’s sure to be something sumptuous for dessert! And no need to leave the kids at home either: there will be a children’s program with pizza-making and games, so you can still relax and enjoy the evening, no babysitter necessary!

When: Saturday September 22nd, 4 – 8pm
Where: Live Earth Farm
How Much: $150 per adult; children’s program $25
Why: your donation will directly help support farm visits, transportation costs and garden supplies for the 1500 students who will visit the farm in 2012.

How do I get tickets? You can by them directly from our website by clicking here, or call LEFDP or email Jessica (see below).

for more information:
831-728-2032
lefdpdirector@gmail.com
www.liveearthfarm.net/dp-fundraiser2012.htm

Hi there, I’m Grace Chollar-Webb, the new Education Program Coordinator for the LEF Discovery Program… and I’m very happy to be here. I am working closely with Jessica Ridgeway, LEFDP’s director, as well as Farmer Tom, to learn the ropes and help orchestrate the myriad educational activities here on the farm. The most astounding thing about Live Earth Farm is feeling like it is my home after only a brief month of working here. This could have something to do with the fact that my childhood home is less than five miles down the road from my office, but I’m more certain it has to do with the warmth and kindness that exudes from everyone I have had the pleasure of working with so far.

I guess you could say I’m a home-body. I graduated from UCSC a month ago with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Sustainable Education. I have been passionate about environmental education my entire college career, but it wasn’t until I transferred from Cabrillo to UCSC as a junior that I discovered my deeper enthusiasm for sustainable agriculture. So in addition to my knowledge of the local community, I hope to bring a pair of fresh eyes and hands to the Discovery Program, and to the issues of accessible education and the realities of outdoor learning.

Hope to meet you next time you’re on the farm!
Grace

During one of the farm tours at the Solstice Celebration a boy, his mouth stained with blackberries, tugged on my arm to show me his harvest: a cupped hand filled with shiny black juicy berries. When I asked him if I could try one, he held out his hand out and said, “Farmer Tom, I wish I could stay and live here.” Hearing that, at that moment, felt so reassuring. It speaks to why we farm: to give people, especially children, a direct experience with the source of their food – i.e. that experience of being able to feel the soil with their own hands, harvest and taste the bounty of the land directly where it’s growing, and to learn how food can be beautiful, tasty, and nourishing. For the last four years, LEF’s Discovery Program has transformed the farm into a unique education and community resource, offering programs and events to over a thousand children every year so that they can experience this direct connection with the farm, engaging in the many nourishing food cycles unfolding throughout the seasons. With the start of the summer season, last week the Discovery Program hosted the first of several camps; the laughter and presence of children on the farm was a joyful distraction amidst our busy farm schedules.

Now I know you’re thinking, “this is great – how can I help see that this sort of on-farm education continues?” Well, one ‘delicious’ way to do so is to come to the Discovery Program’s Annual Fundraiser Dinner on September 22nd. We invite you to join us for this not-to-be-missed, in-the-field Culinary Extravaganza. Not only will it be an opportunity to experience the farm at it’s full-on-Summer-Bounty finest, but also the money raised will directly support programs that bring children to the farm; an unforgettable celebration for the senses that also benefits the Discovery Program’s education and community efforts. Hope you all can join us!

“One, two, three, eyes on me!” a common, but not too common refrain during the wild farm rumpus that was Art on the Farm Camp. On Friday we finished an amazing week of camp with 17 wonderful 6-12 year olds and 4 teen Leaders in Training. When the parents joined us on the farm on Friday afternoon we had lavender cookies, herb goat cheese, strawberry ice cream and blackberry sorbet all hand made by campers to share in thanks for a fabulously fun week. We sat in a circle with the campers on the inside and the parents surrounding them to share our favorite projects of the week and bask in the glory of completion. Vinegar pickles we made on the very first day were the overall favorite project of the week. The enthusiasm for this first project is probably due to the excitement of tasting hand harvested, cut, flavored and pickled creations. The unique labels they designed to mark their jars looked really great too!

Another favorite project was the Plaster of Paris masks we made Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. This project, which requires patience and lying still, falls at the perfect moment when the campers young bodies are well worn out from the first two and half days of planting, harvesting, making art and playing in the sun. They could not have spent another afternoon planting corn, beans, and squash with Farmer Tom, if the looks on their faces Tuesday afternoon were any indication. The campers were delightedly tired after planting one whole “3 Sisters” bed just below the education barn in fields that last year held tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. I hope they come back to visit the glory of this field in the fall, so they can appreciate the abundance that their cooperative work will yield. We will definitely save some popcorn for next year’s campers to enjoy!

We are running one more session of camp this summer July 16-20. Some of our June campers are coming back for more fun and new projects. A great portion of this year’s campers knew well the farm fields and friends they made at last year’s camp. We are so pleased to be creating a tradition of work and play in fields and kitchen, bringing our campers a greater understanding of how to bring food from seed to table through loving effort. There is still space in the July session, so don’t hesitate to claim a space in this wonderful program. (If you need financial assistance, some is available. Please contact Grace, our new Education Program Coordinator, at lefeducation@baymoon.com).

And as I wrap this up, I will tantalize you with what is coming in the next newsletter… we will introduce you to Grace, a lovely, local lady who has graced us with her presence to run the many programs that make LEFDP great! We will also share more information about “Dig!” – our 4th annual farm fresh food in the fields fundraising event for LEFDP on September 22nd. Stay tuned!

– Jessica Ridgeway, Director, Live Earth Farm Discovery Program

You can find more information about all of LEFDP’s programs at www.liveearthfarm.net/ or on our facebook page at www.facebook.com/LEFDP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information, contact:
Melody Badgett, 1% for the Planet
melody@onepercentfortheplanet.org
+1 (802) 496-5408

The Live Earth Farm Discovery Program Announces Partnership with 1% for the Planet

Watsonville, CA, 5/15/2012 – The Live Earth Farm Discovery Program is a new nonprofit partner of 1% for the Planet, an alliance of over 1,380 member companies in 43 countries that give one percent of revenues to environmental causes.

The Live Earth Farm Discovery Program is now eligible to receive donations from 1% member companies, placing them among a diverse, global network of environmental organizations. 1% member businesses fuel this non-profit network through their annual contributions, which totaled over $22 million in 2010. Partnership with 1% greatly expands the potential pool of funding to which The Live Earth Farm Discovery Program can look to for support.

Newly approved, the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program contributes to a healthier planet by providing hands-on educational programs for youth, focused on the environmental and nutritional value of local, organic, and sustainable food and farms. Our goal is to reach out to all segments of the diverse, local community.

Over 2,300 non-profits worldwide are included in the 1% network, and over $70 million has been funneled to its nonprofit partners to date. “The intent of 1% for the Planet is to help fund these diverse environmental organizations so that collectively they can be a more powerful force in solving the world’s problems,” Yvon Chouinard, founder of 1% for the Planet.

“On the farm, our one-third acre Discovery Garden is an outdoor classroom, set within the greater, 120-acre working farm where our working fields, orchards and animals provide a learning experience that cannot be matched by most school garden programs. Learning about nutrition, food, farms, math, science, history and language arts from a variety of activities on the farm allows young people to exercise their bodies, connect with nature, and develop a “seed-to-fork” understanding of food, community and environment” Jessica Ridgeway, Director and Cofounder of LEFDP.

About 1% for the Planet

Started in 2002 by Yvon Chouinard, founder and owner of Patagonia, and Craig Mathews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies, 1% for the Planet is a growing global movement of over 1,350 member companies in 43 countries that donate one percent of their sales to environmental organizations worldwide. Each day, more than one new business joins the 1% for the Planet movement. As a network, the 1% community has become a frontrunner in funding the work of environmental groups around the world. To learn more about 1% go to: www.onepercentfortheplanet.org

About New Nonprofit

Live Earth Farm began its Community Supported Agriculture program in 1996 including community events and education from the start. In 2007 a partnership between Live Earth Farm and Santa Cruz Montessori School gave life to the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program. With the SCMS weekly visits to LEF as a base, LEFDP expanded the educaitonal programs offered at LEF and gained 501(c)(3) non profit status in 2009. In this time LEFDP nearly doubled the number of visitors to the educational programs and established programs to reach out to ever more diverse segments of the local population.

We host over 1,000 youth visitors per year, including weekly visits from Santa Cruz Montessori School, bi-weekly visits from more than 30 classes a year, and four seasonal visits from a class of 35 English Language Learner students from E.A. Hall Middle School, a Wastonville school serving mostly children of low-income immigrant and migrant workers. A home-school cooperative of parents and kids also works and learns on our farm and in our garden once a month. Many of the school groups we host come to our farm for one-time visits (about 700 of our student visits per year), and some host our staff for in-class lessons at their schools. Classes range from pre school through 12th grade, though the majority of the students we reach are ages 5-14. We also host 3 on farm community events per year, which attract more than 200 people of all ages per event.