Thanks to everyone who has gotten the farm project to this point! We’ve had a lot of community support and involvement with building this urban farm, and now we have our live blog! The purpose of this blog is to keep the community, volunteers, students and staff apprised of the progress of building a farm. We will post photos, descriptions and details for upcoming volunteer opportunities here and maybe other fun tidbits like recipes and gardening tips.
I’m hoping that some (or all) of you are interested in coming to the EarthLab site and helping out with the planning and construction of this urban farm. This is the first main project of its kind in San Diego, and it’s in an area of the city that really needs YOUR support. We’re still at the very beginning stages of planning and building the farm, so anyone who is interested in the entire farm development process – from irrigation to marketing to distribution – should find something of value here. But first, the basics…
What is it?
EarthLab is a project sponsored by the Groundwork national non-profit. It is a multi-acre acre plot that is directly adjacent to Millennial Tech Middle School on San Diego Unified School District land. Primarily the acres are split between three main goals: nature education for SDUSD children on the west end, habitat restoration on the Chollas creek in the middle of the property, and a sustainable/organic urban farm on the east end of the property. The farm is approximately 1/2 an acre.
Where is it?
It’s directly off the 94 freeway on Euclid Ave, and adjacent to Millennial Tech Middle School. The easiest way to get there by car is to go to the school (1110 Carolina Ln) and park by Gompers park. There is a pedestrian entrance on the east side, directly on the farm but the gate is padlocked and would require someone on the inside to open it for you.
What’s the plan for the farm?
Right now the farm is a plot of dirt with a propagation hut in the middle. We are working with plenty of industry experts to develop the farm in a logical and cost-effective way, but it truly is a blank canvas! As we decide how to proceed, I’ll send out e-mails detailing when, where, and what the upcoming projects are and how you can get involved. I will try to include anyone who is interested in the entirety of the planning process as well as introduce you to helpful people that we are working with. This is a great chance to network and get known in the farming community if you’re interested!
Volunteering/Interning
Currently, our volunteering times fluctuate quite a bit. Currently we are looking at volunteers for Wednesday, December 10th anytime from 9:30am to 1:30pm. A few notes about volunteering:
Volunteering can be physically strenuous, please bring water, a hat and gloves.
Please let the farm manager (me, Adam Graves, adamrgraves@yahoo.com) know that you are interested in volunteering on a given day. You can shoot him a short e-mail at the address above.
If you are interested in having a large group volunteer day at the farm, please contact Adam at least a few weeks in advance.
The more people the better! We want this to be a community driven project and get everyone involved!
Thanks and we’ll hopefully see you soon!
-Adam Graves
