Story by Kathleen Cotta ’05, Nikki Justino ’05-Alameda County Master Gardeners
A team of several Master Gardeners headed by June Wallace spent a full day setting up the irrigation for the Sorensdale Recreation Center garden. The school provided the materials and Master Gardeners provided technical and hands-on support. A great job was done by all.
This Garden is located at 275 Goodwin Street in Hayward. The primary purpose of this facility is to provide opportunities for developmentally disabled persons to participate in recreational, educational and daily living skills activities. Food from the garden is used in the on-site kitchen for all who attend the school. South County Master Gardeners have been helping the school for over two years.
Shelly Luchini is the Recreation Coordinator. and exhibits the huge onions in the photo above from the school garden raised beds. Sim Mirande is a Recreation Specialist and an instructor for many programs, including art, computer classes and the gardens.
Photos taken by Nikki Justino
Planting drought resistant plants; increasing the efficiency of irrigation systems; irrigating based on plant water needs; reusing greenwaste; and, adopting integrated pest management practices are key elements of sustainable landscaping. Adopting these sustainable landscaping principles improves plant health and reduces water waste, organic matter otherwise destined for landfills, and the use of pesticides.
In May 2009, the University of California Cooperative Extension’s (UCCE) Master Gardener Program in San Bernardino County organized and conducted two Harmony in the Garden Workshops to demonstrate these sustainable landscape principles to the gardening public. The two workshops provided similar information but were offered on different days at Loma Linda University East Campus in Loma Linda and Chino Basin Water Conservation District in Montclair, closer to Los Angeles. A capacity attendance of 105 area residents attended the workshops.
The main goal of the free workshops was to teach residents how to reduce their water consumption while making their garden more healthy, colorful and interesting. The six hour workshops had six presenters, giveaways, and free lunches provided by Loma Linda University and Inland Empire Utilities Agency.
California is in a chronic drought and due to various water issues, the State is likely to remain in a water shortage for years to come. Since 50% to 70% of a typical household’s water use is directed at maintaining a landscape, planting drought resistant climatically adapted plants and making irrigation systems as efficient as possible are key elements of growing healthier plants and saving water
The speakers and topics included:
- Janet Hartin (UCCE Environmental Horticulturist, San Bernardino and L.A. Counties): Sustainable landscaping (reducing water waste, reducing and using greenwaste; Implementing Integrated pest management strategies, and the UCCE Master Gardener Program
- Debby Figoni (Master Gardener): Composting and How to Transform One’s Yard into a Waterwise Garden
- Dave Schroeder (Chino Basin Water Conservation District): CBWCD’s Demonstration Garden Tour and How to Use California-Friendly and Native Plants;
- Anita Matlock (Master Gardener and Rainbird): Irrigation Options for Water Conservation and Use of ET-Based Controllers
- Seth (Maloof Foundation): Overview of the Maloof Garden and How to Use Native and Drought Tolerant Plants
- John (Garrison Nursery) Recommended Native and Drought Resistant Plants and Design Concepts and Examples
- Yvonne Savio (UCCE Los Angeles Common Ground Garden Program): Recycling Otherwise Useless Items into Garden Tools and Art.
Last April, the Master Gardener Program Coordinator in San Joaquin County, Marcy Hachman, was contacted by a few third grade teachers at Shasta Elementary school in Manteca. The teachers were interested in starting worm composting at their school but had little expertise. Then the Master Gardeners stepped in and taught a series of classes to both the teachers and the children. Two third grade classes started composting their lunch scraps after the MGs talked to the classes about worm composting do's and don'ts and all the benefits associated with it. The San Joaquin County Master Gardener program donated several pounds of worms to the school to get this project going and continues to keep in touch with the teachers involved. As a result of these classes, the kids at Shasta Elementary now understand the biology of worms, how to compost using worms and the Master Gardener Program recived some very nice acknowledgements in the local newspaper about both the program and the impact that Master Gardeners can have in the community. You can read the full story here: http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090405/A_BIZ/904040313
