[Communications] Fwd: CCGA 8th Annual Conference Registration is Now Open • Indoor Plant Distribution • Watch out for Jumping Worms!

Wed Feb 12 13:44:11 CST 2020

I think it would be interesting to have worms at the conference - they  do
the work to create the best compost and there will be gardeners there who
could learn and maybe become willing to house a bin of worms   Maybe she
would be willing to bring a bin?  of at least instructions on creating one.

julie

On Wed, Feb 12, 2020 at 12:27 PM Lorraine Kells via Communications <
communications at chicagocommunitygardens.org> wrote:

> No I have not replied.  The school has some club that does rescue of
> animals although this wouldn't quite quality.  I'm not in favor if
> initiating this kind of exchange at the conference. We may be open then to
> people offering chickens and goats, although it might sound extreme, I'd
> rather she made he exchange before the conference.  Do not want to take a
> bucket of sick or starving worms.  Don't know this person.
>
> Maybe we can offer it on Facebook and let the persons interested contact
> each other?  O does Julie want them In any case let;s not wait until the
> conference.
>
> L
>
>
>
> On Wed, Feb 12, 2020 at 11:05 AM Amy Olson via Communications <
> communications at chicagocommunitygardens.org> wrote:
>
>> Did anyone reply to MJ? Maybe she could have a table with the vendors and
>> give them away at the conference?
>>
>> Begin forwarded message:
>>
>> *From: *"mj garnier. via Communications" <
>> communications at chicagocommunitygardens.org>
>> *Subject: **Re: [Communications] CCGA 8th Annual Conference Registration
>> is Now Open • Indoor Plant Distribution • Watch out for Jumping Worms!*
>> *Date: *February 11, 2020 at 10:36:47 PM CST
>> *To: *CCGA <info at chicagocommunitygardens.org>
>> *Reply-To: *"mj garnier." <reinrag6 at gmail.com>
>>
>> I have a superfluidity of composting worms I’d love to give away.
>> Ideas?  MJ Garnier
>>
>> On Mon, Feb 10, 2020 at 2:14 PM CCGA <info at chicagocommunitygardens.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Join us for a Distribution of Indoor Plants  • Registration is open for
>>> the CCGA 8th Annual Gardeners' Conference  •  Jumping Worms - Beware!
>>> View this email in your browser
>>> <https://mailchi.mp/1016d479d3e5/ccga-8th-annual-gardeners-conference-register?e=9d74fd70ff>
>>>
>>> *News for Community Gardeners*
>>> *"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
>>> change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."*
>>> - Margaret Mead
>>> *Hello Community Gardeners!*
>>>
>>> Many spent the early weeks of the new year reflecting on the year past,
>>> but we are gardeners; we are plant people. We more often look forward than
>>> back. We’ve already torn one page off a calendar and are eager to tear the
>>> pages until the first signs of Spring, until we can garden again to “plant
>>> dreams, pull weeds, and grow a happy life."
>>>
>>> Connection with plants and the environment has been an integral part of
>>> human culture. The process of making connections starts at an early age in
>>> life, even without conscious thought. Connection encompasses feelings of
>>> belonging that give us a sense of place, of identification, and of
>>> inspiration. This year’s theme, *Connections through Gardening: Plants,
>>> People and the Environment,* aims to explore and celebrate the
>>> interconnectedness of our shared garden work and to foster relationships
>>> and conversations that shape and support best practices for sustainable
>>> living and growing in Chicago. We hope you will join us on March 21st to
>>> discover deeper connections in your own communities!
>>> *Conference Registration is Open!*
>>>
>>> We're excited to invite you to our 8th Annual Conference on Saturday,
>>> March 21 at light-filled Whitney Young High School on the Near West Side.
>>> Check the CCGA web site
>>> <https://chicagocommunitygardens.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7f2904daf2a26a891c68f8bb0&id=9d99045c95&e=9d74fd70ff>
>>> and follow us on Facebook for all the details.
>>>
>>>
>>> *Workshops*
>>> We saw our theme come alive in many wonderful ways as we read through
>>> the proposals we received for conference workshops this year. Thank you to
>>> all of you who submitted proposals. To all past attendees: we heard you!
>>> This year’s workshops are longer, giving attendees more time for Q&A with
>>> the presenters.
>>>
>>> *Session 1 - 10:00am - 11:15am*
>>>
>>>    - WK1: Técnicas eficaces para la jardinera ecológica en pequeños
>>>    espacios (Spanish only)
>>>    - WK2: What does the environment have to do with my health?
>>>    - WK3: Treehuggers Unite!  Let’s plant and protect our trees!
>>>    - WK4: Sharing Notes:  Four Experienced Community Gardeners Talk
>>>    About Creating and Perpetuating a Community Garden
>>>    - WK5: Yard Sharing; Reimagining Community Gardening, Private Space,
>>>    and Cultivating Deeper Roots for Climate Resilient Communities
>>>    - WK6: Health and Wellbeing in our Community Gardens and Beyond:
>>>    Insights from Surveys and Practice
>>>
>>> *Session 2 - 11:30am - 12:45pm*
>>>
>>>    - WK7: Creciendo Comunidad: Invitando interacción desde la
>>>    perspectiva de Permacultura / Growing Community: Inviting Interaction
>>>    through a Permaculture Lens (English/Spanish)
>>>    - WK8: Mapping Soil Lead in Chicago and Understanding it’s Potential
>>>    Uptake by Vegetables
>>>    - WK9: Using Traditions to Build Our Gardens and Our Community
>>>    - WK10: Production Planning for Community Garden Systems
>>>    - WK11: Birds as Connectors to Nearby Nature (Great for kids!)
>>>    - WK12: The Offers & Needs Market
>>>
>>> Register for the conference
>>> <https://chicagocommunitygardens.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7f2904daf2a26a891c68f8bb0&id=d868437b9a&e=9d74fd70ff>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Growing With Purpose *
>>> *Keynote Address by Robert Nevel*
>>> Robert is an architect, urban farmer and pioneer in the food and eco
>>> justice movement. He is a former member of the Board of Advocates for Urban
>>> Agriculture, a current member of AUA’s Leadership Council and a past
>>> president of KAM Isaiah Israel Congregation. In 2009, he founded the award
>>> winning, nationally recognized Food Justice and Sustainability Program at
>>> KAMII. The program is focused on transforming unproductive urban spaces
>>> into micro-farms and food forests, improving access to fresh food, teaching
>>> urban agriculture and sustainability skills and advocating for healthy food
>>> systems and responsible energy, land and water use. He'll be speaking
>>> during lunch about his experiences and "growing with purpose."
>>>
>>>
>>> *Educational Table for Kids*
>>> The CCGA Education Committee is pleased to again host an educational
>>> table for kids! We’ll have fun activities and kids will also receive books
>>> (some in Spanish) to learn about bugs, gardening, harvesting rain, and
>>> being green. Each child will also receive a special gardening kit to take
>>> home!
>>>
>>> *Free on-site soil heavy metal screening at the conference!*
>>> Bring soil directly from your garden to be tested on-the-spot for heavy
>>> metal contamination! We're excited once again to host Dr. Andrew Margenot
>>> from the University of Illinois Department of Crop Sciences in
>>> collaboration with University of Illinois Extension to offer a free soil
>>> screening at the conference! Your soil must be dry to test, so be sure to
>>> collect it soon.
>>>
>>> *Sometimes Questions are More Important than Answers*
>>>
>>> New this year is a panel discussion on Health and Wellbeing in our
>>> Community Gardens and Beyond: Insights from Surveys and Practice. For our
>>> panel of professional researchers and medical practitioners, your questions
>>> are as important to them as their answers are important to you. They will
>>> present information in discussion format about health and wellness as
>>> surveyed in Chicago’s community gardens. Each of the panelists and our
>>> moderator will give a professional and personal take on the statement that
>>> gardening *does* provide substantial health benefits to those who
>>> garden. Take a minute then to think about what you’d like to learn from
>>> this panel of experts. What would you like to ask? You can ask it now in
>>> this informal survey. What do you want to know? For those of you shy about
>>> asking questions in “public” this is a good time to put your thoughts into
>>> words and ask! Send your questions to Lorraine at lxkells at gmail.com
>>>
>>> Who is on this panel? Two of the panelist’s researchers, Professors
>>> Howard Rosing and Molly Doane, will draw from their broader studies in
>>> health, wellbeing, and social and behavioral issues, and from their recent
>>> surveys of Chicago’s community gardens to provide you with insights and
>>> some interesting facts about community gardening. Dr. Miller and Dr. Rowin
>>> will draw from their practices, to give community gardeners information
>>> about personal and community health and vitality. Vincent Gomez completes
>>> the panel, drawing on people-plant wellness concepts.
>>> *Share photos of your garden*
>>> Show off your garden! Each year we present a slideshow of Chicago's
>>> community gardens during lunch. Please send photos via email to photos at
>>> chicagocommunitygardens dot org.
>>>
>>> *Join our Conference Support Team*
>>> We are looking for people to help out at the conference! Support Team
>>> members receive a $5.00 discount from general registration which includes
>>> workshops, breakfast, and lunch. Support Team members who don't
>>> attend workshops pay $15 for lunch only. To sign up, select the Support
>>> Team option on the main conference registration page.
>>>
>>> *Become an exhibitor*
>>> You're invited to share your valuable knowledge, resources and skills
>>> with Chicago’s community gardeners at our annual conference where up to 250
>>> community gardeners attend to network, attend workshops, and actively visit
>>> the tables of our exhibitors. There are still a limited number of exhibitor
>>> tables available! For an application, please contact communications at
>>> chicagocommunitygardens dot org.
>>> *Upcoming CCGA Resources Committee Events *
>>>
>>> *Indoor Plant Distribution on February 22*
>>> The Resources Team has been propagating house plants like crazy, and has
>>> taken cuttings for community gardeners. There will be a variety of plants
>>> available, and many can filter indoor air effectively. *Pothos*, with
>>> its heart-shaped leaves, is one of the plants NASA deems an indoor air
>>> cleaner. This event will take place at 9:30am at the Hatchery Chicago, at 135
>>> North Kedzie
>>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/135+North+Kedzie?entry=gmail&source=g>.
>>> Follow us on Facebook for more details!
>>>
>>> *Getting Ready for Growing Vegetables Talk & Tool Distribution on March
>>> 7*
>>> Stay tuned for more details about a tool distribution at the CCGT, at 445
>>> N. Sacramento, 2nd floor
>>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/445+N.+Sacramento,+2nd+floor?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>> classroom, which will follow a talk by Dan Gibbs on "Getting Ready for
>>> Growing Vegetables." Dan works with the Austin Green Team, where he is
>>> president and garden leader. The Austin Green Team converts derelict
>>> properties into gardens. Dan is a noted garden educator who works to make
>>> local food gardening accessible and easy for families through education,
>>> inspiration and ongoing support. Follow CCGA on Facebook for more
>>> information and to sign up for this workshop.
>>> *Beware of ... Jumping Worms?*
>>>
>>> There is a new pest in Illinois. Will you find it in your community
>>> garden? We look for earthworms in our gardens as a good sign. Worms help
>>> increase the amount of air and water that gets into the soil, and they
>>> leave behind castings that are a valuable type of fertilizer. That is
>>> rapidly changing; a new invasive and damaging pest may be in your gardens.
>>>
>>> A local landscape designer described the devastation she has encountered
>>> in containers with this detrimental pest this way: “Generally, at the end
>>> of the growing season when I remove plants from containers, the roots are
>>> woven thickly together making each plant hard to remove. This year, plants
>>> easily pulled out of my containers with no soil attached to the roots.” The
>>> infestation she found causes the soil to deteriorate to something akin to
>>> loose coffee grounds. As the worms fed on the organic matter in the
>>> containers, the plant roots no longer had anything to hold onto!
>>>
>>> Jumping worms, *(Amynthas spp.)* were first identified in our region in
>>> 2015 in northern Illinois. These worms are native to East Asia, and they
>>> also have been called crazy worms, jumping worms, and snake worms because
>>> the worm thrashes wildly when handled or disturbed, and it can shed its
>>> tail in defense. The landscape designer we spoke with found these worms in
>>> Ravenswood Manor both in the ground and in containers, but she hasn't seen
>>> them elsewhere yet.
>>>
>>> *Adult jumping worms. Photo courtesy of UW Aboretum*
>>>
>>>
>>> Unlike red earthworms, these appear to be grey or brown. Jumping worms
>>> do not burrow far into soil – they live on the soil surface in debris and
>>> leaf litter. We are told to look for them in our gardens, in mulch,
>>> compost, potted plants and other suitable places. You will learn that the
>>> cocoons are nearly impossible to find; they are the size of mustard seeds,
>>> and although the cold kills adult worms, the cocoons protect them from cold.
>>>
>>> CCGA community gardeners should start looking for them just as soon as
>>> the temperatures consistently rise above freezing. They become most active
>>> in June, but we’re not sure the temperatures this winter have been cold
>>> enough to kill the worms, and we know the cocoons are not killed by
>>> cold. (After the polar vortex at Halloween, our gardener saw plenty of
>>> them.) CCGA gardeners must be very, very careful and aware of this threat,
>>> and look for their presence in any potted plants that are purchased or
>>> shared and in any compost or mulch. Use only compost that you know has been
>>> heated to appropriate temperatures and duration following protocols for
>>> reducing pathogens. Test your own compost and garden soil with this mix:
>>> For every gallon of water mix with 1/3 cup of ground yellow mustard seed
>>> and pour slowly into the soil. This will drive any worms to the surface. If
>>> you have jumping worms be sure to capture them and to drown them in vinegar
>>> or solarize them in a plastic bag before discarding them in the trash. Then
>>> report it to your state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) so that
>>> they can track the spread, and absolutely avoid moving plants, compost or
>>> soil from your garden.
>>>
>>> Please read through the information thoroughly on the websites given
>>> below. You’ll find Information for identifying the worms as well as
>>> recommendations on how to reduce their spread. At this time, there are no
>>> controls, organic or otherwise, to kill the worms or their cocoons. The WI
>>> DNR is doing some testing this coming year and we hope that their efforts
>>> will result in an organic method to rid our gardens of this terrible new
>>> pest.
>>>
>>> For further reading:
>>> https://ipm.illinois.edu/first_detector/Jumping_Worm_Handout.pdf
>>> <https://chicagocommunitygardens.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7f2904daf2a26a891c68f8bb0&id=bba1c372e0&e=9d74fd70ff>
>>> https://dnr.wi.gov/topic/invasives/fact/jumpingworm/index.html
>>> <https://chicagocommunitygardens.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7f2904daf2a26a891c68f8bb0&id=98489aaeb3&e=9d74fd70ff>
>>>
>>> *Upcoming Events*
>>>
>>> *Click on an event title for more info.*
>>>
>>> Y
>>> <https://chicagocommunitygardens.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7f2904daf2a26a891c68f8bb0&id=a9b0891c2d&e=9d74fd70ff>outh
>>> Farm Facilitator Training
>>> <https://chicagocommunitygardens.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7f2904daf2a26a891c68f8bb0&id=656f62fb76&e=9d74fd70ff>
>>> February 22 @ 8:30 am - 3:30 pm
>>> Farm on Ogden, 3555 Ogden Ave, Chicago,
>>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/3555+Ogden+Ave,+Chicago,+60623?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>>  60623
>>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/3555+Ogden+Ave,+Chicago,+60623?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>> Fee: $75
>>> Presented by: *Windy City Harvest*
>>>
>>> Avondale Gardening Alliance Seed Swap
>>> <https://chicagocommunitygardens.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7f2904daf2a26a891c68f8bb0&id=4fc960d13f&e=9d74fd70ff>
>>> February 23 @ 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
>>> Metropolitan Brewery, 3057 N. Rockwell, Chicago, 60618
>>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/3057+N.+Rockwell,+Chicago,+60618?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>> FREE
>>> Presented by: *Avondale Gardening Alliance*
>>>
>>> Beginning Beekeeping Class
>>> <https://chicagocommunitygardens.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7f2904daf2a26a891c68f8bb0&id=bdad3f5812&e=9d74fd70ff>
>>> February 29 @900 am - 2:00 pm
>>> Garfield Park Conservatory, 300 N. Central Park Ave, Chicago, 60624
>>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/300+N.+Central+Park+Ave,+Chicago,+60624?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>> Fee: $56-70
>>> Presented by: *Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance*
>>>
>>> AUA's 8th Annual Urban Livestock Expo
>>> <https://chicagocommunitygardens.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7f2904daf2a26a891c68f8bb0&id=9e5fdbf5d3&e=9d74fd70ff>
>>> February 29 @ 10:00 am - 1:00 pm
>>> Prosser Career Academy, 2148 N. Long Ave., Chicago, 60639
>>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/2148+N.+Long+Ave.,+Chicago,+60639?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>> FREE
>>> Presented by: *Advocates for Urban Agriculture*
>>>
>>> Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop
>>> <https://chicagocommunitygardens.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7f2904daf2a26a891c68f8bb0&id=8455a34da7&e=9d74fd70ff>
>>> March 7 @ 9:00 am - 1:30 pm
>>> Washington Park Youth Farm, 555 East 51st St., Chicago 60615
>>> <https://www.google.com/maps/search/555+East+51st+St.,+Chicago+60615?entry=gmail&source=g>
>>> $75
>>> Presented by:
>>>
>>>
>>> *Windy City Harvest Check our Events Calendar
>>> <https://chicagocommunitygardens.us14.list-manage.com/track/click?u=7f2904daf2a26a891c68f8bb0&id=5ca0db9cdc&e=9d74fd70ff> for
>>> more upcoming workshops and events. You can also submit your own event!*
>>>
>>>
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