February Forum Series - Urban Gardening and Growing Locally

Sundays, February 5, 19 and 26, 10am - 11am

The theme for our forums of February 5, 19, and 26 is Urban Gardening and Growing Local.

February 5 -- The operation of the Madison Area Food Pantry Gardens will be described by Phil Cox, a 10-year Project volunteer and coordinator for one of three garden sites.   Using only volunteer labor, this Project grows vegetables on more than four acres of donated land and delivers the produce for distribution by local food pantries.  Details on garden volunteer opportunities will also be provided.

February 19 -- Vaughan James and Ann Sowaske will share some of their great expertise in flower gardening. From Vaughan: "Gardening runs in my family and has interested me for years. My profession involved killing vegetable plants (well, technically studying how to control disease), but the focus of my home garden is primarily on ornamentals with lots of perennials, shrubs, annuals, bulbs, select trees, and a few representative fruit and vegetable plants. I will briefly describe the development of my interest in gardening, what gardening means to me in life, and then will present a sampling of photos of what I've tried growing."

February 26 -- Kate Nardi Sullivan, Associate Director of Community GroundWorks, will provide an overview of the organization's history, current programming and projects along with a virtual tour of our nationally recognized flagship site, Troy Gardens. Community GroundWorks is a nonprofit organization that connects people to nature and local food. Through hands-on education, children and adults learn gardening, urban farming, healthy eating, and natural areas restoration.