I wrote this letter to send to all the lovely people I've met in the P-Patch program over the past ten months. It's a good update on what I've been up to as well...
Hello all,
Time has certainly flown over the past ten months and I can hardly believe that I am headed into my last week of my 2009/2010 AmeriCorps year of service. I have enjoyed getting to know many of you during my time in the Department of Neighborhoods P-Patch program, and it is with a little sadness that I leave you. The P-Patch program has taught me about community and what that means in a garden setting, as well as the importance of passing that gardening knowledge to our youth. I leave P-Patch eager to help youth garden programs continue to grow in the city of Seattle.
Here are a couple of quick facts about what I accomplished this year:
-Taught over 50 youth garden classes throughout Seattle
-Provided 5 garden and food systems workshops to elementary-high school youth
-Helped 4 new youth organizations find P-Patch Plots
-Organized the first Gardening with Youth P-Patch Summit
-Updated youth website and Listserv seasonally
-Wrote 2 articles on youth garden activities for the P-Patch Post
-Participated in numerous outreach events to spark youth interest in gardening
-Completed new updated Youth Resource Binder
- Helped connect 10 High School Service learners to projects in P-Patches
While I am leaving the Department of Neighborhoods P-Patch program, I am not leaving the gardening community. I will be headed back up to Alaska for a little over a month to help out the farm I worked on before coming here. Then I will be returning to Seattle in October. I hope to connect with many of you again in my future endeavors. If you would like to contact me before I leave please do so before August 6th. Otherwise please direct any questions to Kenya Fredie at Kenya.Fredie@seattle.gov and continue to check the P-Patch Youth webpage (http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/ppatch/youth.htm) for garden updates.
Keep doing the amazing work you do!
Happy gardening,
Jackie Dagger
Jaclyn.Dagger@gmail.com
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
How did this happen....
Well I guess when you're living life and having fun time flies....
I have to apologize (yet again) for my absence over the past months. I really enjoy taking the time to write on this blog, but my life in Seattle has been so fast paced, in comparison to Alaska, that I haven't been able to take the time to write-never mind think about what I would like to write about!! But I hope I'm turning over yet another leaf...
About a month after I arrived in Seattle I moved into a house on the north side of Green Lake; an urban oasis for Seattlites urning for a natural setting during the week before taking off for rural adventures on the weekends. The house was nice and in a great location, but for me something was not right. I never felt completely comfortable living there, and I always seemed to have complaints. I didn't feel comfortable inviting people over and was hardly ever in the house. So recently, on a whim, I moved to a house on the East side of the lake.
It is funny how moving just a handful of blocks can make you so much happier! Since moving I have felt more at home in Seattle than ever before. I don't mind staying at home during the week, and have finally been able to allow myself to take up old hobbies again; such as spinning yarn, reading and WRITING! But most importantly taking pleasure in in the time it takes to do these things.
The people in my new house also make it much easier to stay at home. My old roommates were not bad people, but their choices in life hadn't taken them in the same directions that mine have. I often got annoyed with the lack of community in the house and felt I was paying a gross amount for other's energy consumption. I also found myself holding back constantly because I didn't want to be "that crazy hippie roommate" forcing the ideals of environmentalism down my roommates throats. To top it all off I tried desperately to avoid conversations with my roommate Bart who liked to argue with me about the benefits/pitfalls of a growing consumer culture. Sorry... this post is turning into a mantra.
My new roommates don't live exactly the way I do, but at least they share some of my basic life choices- like composting and seeking out fresh local food. these are two things that over the past couple of years have just become no brainers for me. Seattle, more than most cities encourage these lifestyle choices. There are almost daily farmers markets in different parts of the city, and a WEEKLY compost pickup. That's right! compost is picked up and processed by the city of Seattle and then sold back to resident gardeners... AMAZING! Therefore it was that much harder for me to sit in a house where nobody cared.. for six months.
Exploring rooming situations is only one of the growing experiences I've had over the past year. Working in the P-Patch community garden program here has nurtured and grown my love of gardening and interest in food culture.
Stay tuned for more from the Great North West!
ps. I am working on compiling a picture album to share all the amazing moments I've had here with you-and my garden!
I have to apologize (yet again) for my absence over the past months. I really enjoy taking the time to write on this blog, but my life in Seattle has been so fast paced, in comparison to Alaska, that I haven't been able to take the time to write-never mind think about what I would like to write about!! But I hope I'm turning over yet another leaf...
About a month after I arrived in Seattle I moved into a house on the north side of Green Lake; an urban oasis for Seattlites urning for a natural setting during the week before taking off for rural adventures on the weekends. The house was nice and in a great location, but for me something was not right. I never felt completely comfortable living there, and I always seemed to have complaints. I didn't feel comfortable inviting people over and was hardly ever in the house. So recently, on a whim, I moved to a house on the East side of the lake.
It is funny how moving just a handful of blocks can make you so much happier! Since moving I have felt more at home in Seattle than ever before. I don't mind staying at home during the week, and have finally been able to allow myself to take up old hobbies again; such as spinning yarn, reading and WRITING! But most importantly taking pleasure in in the time it takes to do these things.
The people in my new house also make it much easier to stay at home. My old roommates were not bad people, but their choices in life hadn't taken them in the same directions that mine have. I often got annoyed with the lack of community in the house and felt I was paying a gross amount for other's energy consumption. I also found myself holding back constantly because I didn't want to be "that crazy hippie roommate" forcing the ideals of environmentalism down my roommates throats. To top it all off I tried desperately to avoid conversations with my roommate Bart who liked to argue with me about the benefits/pitfalls of a growing consumer culture. Sorry... this post is turning into a mantra.
My new roommates don't live exactly the way I do, but at least they share some of my basic life choices- like composting and seeking out fresh local food. these are two things that over the past couple of years have just become no brainers for me. Seattle, more than most cities encourage these lifestyle choices. There are almost daily farmers markets in different parts of the city, and a WEEKLY compost pickup. That's right! compost is picked up and processed by the city of Seattle and then sold back to resident gardeners... AMAZING! Therefore it was that much harder for me to sit in a house where nobody cared.. for six months.
Exploring rooming situations is only one of the growing experiences I've had over the past year. Working in the P-Patch community garden program here has nurtured and grown my love of gardening and interest in food culture.
Stay tuned for more from the Great North West!
ps. I am working on compiling a picture album to share all the amazing moments I've had here with you-and my garden!
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