The ground may be frozen and farms blanketed in snow, but Cultivating Community’s staff are hard at work preparing for the season ahead: Interviewing the next cohort for our Youth Leadership Interns, crop planning with our farmers, building exciting new partnerships, and working with schools to sustain hands-on garden education programs.
Thank you to everyone who donated to our end-of-year campaign! Our generous community raised $48,800, which helped fill urgent gaps in our program funding. Small donations make up approx. 1/3 of our budget and we could not do any of our work without you! If you didn’t get a chance to donate, please consider becoming a monthly supporter to keep our work strong all year long.
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Join our Team! Community Tree Steward Application Closing Soon
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These cold days have us dreaming of spring in the urban orchards, pruning parties, and summer harvests. If you share our love of fruit trees or have a background in forestry and want to gain practical experience, apply to join Cultivating Community’s Urban Ag team through the Maine Conservation Corps. This program offers opportunities for individuals to lead resiliency projects that engage residents in underserved communities.
In collaboration with ReTreeUS, we will be hosting a Community Tree Steward service member to lead the revitalization of Cultivating Community’s urban fruit trees, plant and maintain trees in school and community gardens, and work with volunteers on tree care projects and planning.
Interviews begin this week. Click here to apply!
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Garden Waitlist – Time to Update Info
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Each winter, we reach out to the over 500 prospective gardeners on our Community Garden waitlist and ask them to reconfirm their interest in receiving a garden plot and update their contact information and garden choice selections.
If you are on the waitlist, keep an eye out for an email this week with instructions and information on confirming your waitlist spot. For those who do not use email or need language support, we will also be making personal calls. This season we will be placing approximately 90 new gardeners in City of Portland plots and will share more information soon.
Interested in joining a Community Garden? Sign up for the waitlist here. The average wait time, depending on the garden is currently 1-3 years and we are actively working on creative ways to grow more opportunities for community members to garden together.
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Advocating for Local Food Access
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Pictured above, sponsoring Senator Ingwersen (center, kneeling) Cultivating Community staff and farmers (right) and community partners who came out to testify in support of LD-2093.
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Thank you to everyone who came to testify in support of LD-2093 in Augusta last Tuesday and the dozens more who submitted written testimony online! This legislation seeks to provide stable funding for nutrition incentives including SNAP and WIC match for local food. It is an exceptional opportunity to connect the State’s climate, anti-hunger, and local food goals.
For Cultivating Community and our community partners, this funding would also ensure that we were able to provide a 1:1 on all SNAP and WIC sales for local produce and scale successful programs to meet the growing need for food assistance. Last year we matched over $83,000 and struggled to fill a funding gap for this essential food access program.
The bill made it out of committee but there is still a lot of work to do – stay tuned for ways to get involved! |
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Mt. Joy Orchard Gatherings
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 On February 24th our friends at the Mt. Joy Community Orchard will host 2 events, you are invited to come and enjoy either or both!
Annual Pruning Workshop – 2 pm. No experience necessary! (although experienced pruners are lovely). Bring pruning tools if you got ‘em! The workshop consists of a ~1hr pruning tutorial followed by plenty of time to practice with guidance from experienced pruners.
Winter Wassail – 5 pm – Inspired by folk traditions, we will share hot cider, food, and songs in honor of the trees that bring us joy and health. Family friendly! Some sort of sledding activity TBD (by the availability of snow). Please bring a mug and/or bowl and spoon, and a snack or a song to share.
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Intro to Vegetable Gardening Class –
From Seed to Harvest
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Join the U. Maine Extension and Cultivating Community for a five-part vegetable gardening series where you’ll learn the techniques to start your garden and build a community to support your success! This series is intended for beginner gardeners who enjoy learning in a group environment and are gardening in small spaces. Topics will include planning your garden, starting seeds indoors, soil and bed preparation, planting and early care, and maintaining and harvesting your garden.
These hands-on sessions will take place the last Wednesday of each month, 5 – 7 pm, from February to June at our Boyd Street Urban Farm and the Tidewater Farm in Falmouth. Registration is required and the program fee is offered on a sliding scale. Click here for more information or to sign up.
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Meet Our Board of Directors –
Khadija Ahmed
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We are thrilled to introduce and welcome one of our newest board members! Khadija (she/her) is a believer in equity and food justice as well as a militant for human rights. She works for Good Shepherd Food Bank as an Equity and Impact Manager. She is also a founder of a non-profit organization that serves immigrants and asylum seekers by removing barriers including but not limited to transportation, language, and cultural relevancy. Additionally, she works as a chef, teaches cooking classes, and trains school staff on preparing meals that reflect the student body. She lives with her partner, five children, and two cats, and enjoys reading, antique hunting, and coffee with good friends.
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Interested in learning more about board service, or joining a committee? We are accepting applications for new members! Please fill out this form to the best of your ability. If you have any questions or would like further information, please contact Silvan Shawe, Executive Director, at info@cultivatingcommunity.org.
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We are a grassroots organization and depend on our donors to help make our work possible. Please contribute if you are able. Volunteer time and in-kind donations are always welcome. Reach out to info@cultivatingcommunity.org with ideas or to learn more about how to get involved.
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