2009 and Beyond

Dear friends,
As the year comes to an end, I wanted to send out a loud and general thanks to all of you for supporting our work this year by attending workshops, brunches, intimate planning conversations, and general feel-good community events.  We here at Preston’s Paradise were a little nervous about opening up our space so much, but of course our Philadelphia community has been nothing but gracious and generous – the perfect guests.  It’s been a great year for us, we held over 30 events at our pretty small house and garden and met a tremendous number of people in this city and beyond doing great work to build neighborhoods that we can all feel good about calling home.

In the spring we’re going to begin a new initiative to build backyard gardens in our neighborhood and others.  It’s a way to get fresh food into people’s cupboards by rooting the means of production in their own backyards.  And we hope it will inspire that next great generation of Philadelphia urban farmers to get their hands dirty.  We have a small task force working on the logistics, but we’d love your help to get the word out and network in your own communities.  I don’t think we need to wait for the city and RDA to tell us how fresh food should look in our city, there’s plenty we can (and have) accomplished on our own since 1898 and the Vacant Land Gardening Initiative, and even back to William Penn and his vision for a city of urban homesteads.  All you have to do is see any group of Philadelphians line-dancing at the drop of a beat to remember that we’re not called “up south” for nothing.  We’re an independent, no-nonsense collection of people and institutions that remember their roots and know how to get what’s good for the getting.

So let’s do it.  See you around town.

Ryan and Preston’s Paradise
839 N. Preston St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
www.prestonsparadise.org

PS – I’d be remiss if I didn’t put in a little plug for year-end donations to your favorite community groups.  We’re happy to accept checks to support our growing programs at the address above.  And you should also strongly consider supporting the Philadelphia Orchard Project – a great group that is working to build a city-wide network of permanent food resources in all neighborhoods.  Check ‘em out at www.phillyorchards.org.

Mobile Market!

The wonderful folks at University of the Arts have designed and built this amazing market cart for us next season.  Expect to see it rolling down Preston St. filled with fresh veggies come April!

Preston’s Paradise and City Harvest

Preston’s Paradise has been selected as one of the first members of the PHS City Harvest Grower’s Alliance (CHGA). The Alliance is phase one of a three-year grant from the USDA to expand the efforts of entrepreneurial growers in Philadelphia and increase access to fresh and healthful food in all neighborhoods. As part of our partnership, Preston’s Paradise will receives vegetable starts and supplies that we will use to grow food, and also to distribute to others to encourage them to grow as well. We’re really excited about this program and hope it will lead to great things for Philly’s urban farmers.  See the USDA grant description here.

Backyard Farming

Starting this winter, Preston’s Paradise is launching a new initiative to increase access to fresh produce in our neighborhood, and possibly other neighborhoods soon.  Tentatively named “OUR Farms”, the project will build backyard food plots in the front or back yards of participating households.  Each host family will receive 1/2 of the produce produced in their plot, and the other half will go to supply a community produce market for people without yards.  We’re going to take care of all the actual farming, including building the beds, planting, weeding, and watering.  All the host has to do is provide the space.  Click here for more information.

Let us know if you want to be one of the initial 10 host sites!  Email ryan(at)prestonsparadise.org to discuss.

Join our events listserve!

Fall workshops are now being listed.  Keep up to date on all the happenings by joining our events listserve.

Join our listserve by sending an email to prestonsparadise+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Check below for the posted events.

See you soon!

Thanks to Door-to-Door storage

For donating a really cool pre-made shed to us to be turned into a tool shed with a living roof!

Check ‘em out.

Preston’s Paradise on Youtube!

Check out this short piece that a couple of students from Temple made last week.

464 IS the Magic Number: Summer 2009 Tire Round-up

In the span of just two hours, we collected 464 tires within a one-block radius of Preston’s Paradise’s main site and deposited them at the recycling site the city set up temporarily for the 2009 Philly Tire Roundup. Thanks to all who helped! Let this be the beginning of a beautiful summer tradition.

2009 Workshop Schedule

Here is the most recent schedule of workshops for 2009. Most of our workshops will involve instructors from across the city using our facilities and materials to demonstrate an “approachable technology”. We will also be working with Mill Creek Farm and other community organizations to create on-site installations. Check back often for an updated calendar. And if you want to facilitate a workshop or have an idea for one, please let us know!

Location will be at the Preston’s Paradise demonstration site (839 N. Preston St.) unless otherwise noted. Some workshops have a limited number of spaces available. If you would like to attend any of the offered classes, please email info@prestonsparadise.org for availability.

All workshops will be offered free or sliding scale with no one turned away.

Summer

6/14 – Earth Plasters (9am-2pm)

6/21 – Introduction to Canning (noon-5pm)

6/29 – Small-scale intensive gardening (5pm-8:30pm)

7/7 – Urban Beekeeping - POSTPONED UNTIL FALL

7/12 – Vermicomposting on a Household Scale – Erik Kintzel from Greensgrow Farms (10am-noon)

7/22 – Herbal Tinctures from the Garden – Joy Payton (6pm-9pm)

7/25 – Composting FAQ – Christine Tilles from PHS (at the Mill Creek Farm, 11am – 1pm)

7/26 – Brunch at Preston’s Paradise (10am-2pm)

8/1 – Healing with Herbs and Whole Foods (at the Mill Creek Farm, 11am – 2pm)

8/2 – Introduction to Permaculture with Phil Forsyth (noon)

8/9 – Brunch at Preston’s Paradise (10am-2pm)

8/15 – Cob Oven construction (at the Mill Creek Farm, 11am – 5pm)

8/15 – Reptiles and Amphibians in the Garden (at Glenwood Green Acres, 10am-11am)

8/20 – Canning and Food Preservation with Beth Brandon (6pm)

9/2 – Healing Salves and Ointments from the Garden with Lorelle Becton (6pm)

9/13 – Natural Dyeing and Pigments (noon)

Fall

10/18 – Cider pressing

11/1 – Clay plaster (9am)

11/7 – Soapmaking (noon)

11/15 – Cheesemaking (noon)

11/16 – Herbal Medicine (6pm)

12/6 – Candymaking (noon)