Benton Park Garden Committee
Meeting Agenda and Notes
Sep 27, 2006

Agenda

Dear Garden friends;

The second meeting for the community garden will be this Wednesday Sept. 27, 6:30pm, please bring a chair and something to drink again.  We will meet at the garden again, Provenchere Place at the alley behind Illinois Street, just east of Benton Park and on the south side of Arsenal Street.

Our agenda is:

1. Pumpkin lantern festival and potluck event at garden space.

2. Review of draft community garden landscape sketch (as handout for individual ideas and comments)

3. Individual plot planning,

4. "How I can help" handout

5. Organizational structure for the garden.

6. Review of current garden related tasks, i.e. mowing.

7. New business.

Notes

9.27.06 meeting minutes of first stages of community garden at Benton Park 6:30 pm at the garden, Provenchere Place and rear alley of Illinois submitted by Marian Amies

Attending: Todd Brandt; Lisa Watson; Larry Beauchaine; Todd Brandt; Marian Amies; Bill Kranz; Dan Guenther; Liz Oldham; Glen Daven S.

Todd Brandt, Vice President of BPNA outlined plans for the Pumpkin festival plans for children and proposed that the group consider having pony rides with trainers and have metal fireplaces for marshmallow toasting. He said he had asked BPNA to provide $250 to purchase pumpkins for carving the weekend before the event and will be notifying members how to pick up the pumpkins ahead of time. The event will also include scarecrow building and will be advertised only to neighborhood residents and is planned to be a yearly event as a children’s party to give back to the community.

Daven and Lisa suggested making the pathways with a cardboard base with woodchips on top and would plan areas out as per the garden plan to introduce the layout to members at the party. The event was planned for Thursday October 26 evening and would be in the time slot for the last outside meeting of the year. Marian said she would provide mulled wine and pumpkin soup for adult attendees. Bales of hay will be scattered around to set the pumpkins on and to sit on. These will be used afterwards to spread over the entire plot to keep weeds down over the winter and used in other ways as needed. It was agreed that fruit trees and berry bushes would be planted before the winter. Lisa Watson said she would her friend who is an expert in prairie restoration and that he has already expressed interest in donating seeds and plants to the group.

For future meetings to avoid holiday conflicts and schedule conflicts the group decided meetings should be held on the fourth Thursday of each month. 7 - 8:3o pm in the winter months. Marian and Bill offered the storefront at 1960 Arsenal for the meetings. Lisa and Marian will make reminder calls before monthly meetings to all participants who expressed interest in being
members of the garden planning team.

The second draft of the garden plan was reviewed by those present and small adjustments were suggested. The will be incorporated in the next drafts of the plan and Marian will make these available for the neighborhood meeting on October 3. It was agreed that the garden would be named English’s Cave Community Garden. Some members would prefer the name option remain open until the whole planning committee is present to discuss this.

Daven said he had the equipment to till the ground in the spring and it would take approximately half a day. Larry Beauchaine said the loading and unloading area was important and he would ask Ken Ortmann if the city could assist with providing the dirt buffers for the loading and unloading areas.

Marian suggested that the core committee make a tasks list so that all the necessary tasks could be broken down in very small increments so that no one individual on the planning team would need to spend inequitable amounts of work time on the garden plot. Subcommittee planning areas of interest will then be articulated so that team members can choose areas of their particular interest or expertise. The planning team members will meet before the general neighborhood meeting each month to discuss key issues relating to the garden plan.
The meeting adjourned at 8 pm.

Follow-Up

10/08/06

Garden Friends,

We are meeting to do short planting shifts at noon on Sunday October 15, I am making pumpkin soup and mulled wine for all volunteers. We are asking for a contribution of 30 minute shifts of planting in an attempt to keep task times to short sessions in order to encourage more volunteers and not over commit them. We want people to not be afraid to participate in this garden project and its many facets because it will require lots of help at regular intervals.

Bring your garden gloves and a trowel, I will let you know if we need other things. Lisa Watson's friend Adam is providing the native grass plugs we will be planting. Dan is getting the cardboard in his truck. Daven is giving Ken Ortman a list of fruit trees, bulbs and bushes, since we are working on getting donated items before spending the BPNA money on plants to go in before the winter. We will be spreading mulch, wood chips and doing the paths asap so we will be getting a great start on things. I am finishing up the revised plan to work to today.

Pumpkin festival will be 07, too much early prep stuff to do this year.

-Marian
 

Last updated: Friday, November 14, 2008