I am hopeful that the blog will be a great online meeting place for our gardeners where they can stay connected. If you have any questions or are looking for more information about what is happening in the garden this is the place to check in. Please send me questions, comments, pictures and stories about the garden and I will happily post them. Also check in regularly for updates on events we are planning in the garden.
Have a great weekend!
Becky
beckysimkhai@aol.com
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The InterGenerate Community Garden located at the Marsh Sanctuary in Mt. Kisco NY.
Blog Archive
About InterGenerate
InterGenerate creates environmental and social sustainability around shared concerns for food security. Reaching across traditional social boundaries, InterGenerate brings people together to grow our food locally, sharing the work while deepening ties to each other. InterGenerate is founding both community and teaching gardens and promoting local resourcing throughout the county.
InterGenerate
Our Mission In The Garden
Community Gardening is as old as human civilization and the idea is easy. People get together on common land to grow their own food. Working side by side, every gardener learns from his or her neighbor, becoming more skilled, growing vegetables and fruit to feed their families and building community along the way.
The InterGenerate Community Garden is designed to:
¨ Generate Food Security
¨ Promote Local Resourcing
¨ Encourage Community Building.
To that end, this garden is priced on a sliding scale to make it accessible to everyone. In addition, there is one plot dedicated exclusively to sourcing the Mt. Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry and every member is expected not only to maintain their own plot, but to serve the common good by volunteering some time in the communal garden.
The InterGenerate Community Garden is designed to:
¨ Generate Food Security
¨ Promote Local Resourcing
¨ Encourage Community Building.
To that end, this garden is priced on a sliding scale to make it accessible to everyone. In addition, there is one plot dedicated exclusively to sourcing the Mt. Kisco Interfaith Food Pantry and every member is expected not only to maintain their own plot, but to serve the common good by volunteering some time in the communal garden.
Traveling?...Need help with your plot?
If you know you will be away from your plot and are in need of assistance with watering or harvesting email me at beckysimkhai@aol.com and I will post your request in our "Neighbors In Need" section.
InterGenerate @ The Bedford Audubon in the news!
Some reasons we love gardening!
Gardening provides access to fresh food at nearly no cost.
When we eat locally, we don't tax the Earth with unnecessary transportation.
Organic growing also keeps the Earth and our food safe.
Sourcing/Growing our food locally creates greater food security.
Community gardening builds and strengthens communities across a variety of diversities that usually divide us.
When we eat locally, we don't tax the Earth with unnecessary transportation.
Organic growing also keeps the Earth and our food safe.
Sourcing/Growing our food locally creates greater food security.
Community gardening builds and strengthens communities across a variety of diversities that usually divide us.
Community Gardens In Westchester
InterGenerate is applying for a grant to suport
ALL COMMUNITY GARDENS IN THE COUNTY.
If you want your garden to be included
(or a not-yet-realized garden),
send at email to: info@intergenerateny.org
For information on other community gardens in the county please visit the InterGenerate web site.
If your garden is not already on the list we have compiled, email us.
ALL COMMUNITY GARDENS IN THE COUNTY.
If you want your garden to be included
(or a not-yet-realized garden),
send at email to: info@intergenerateny.org
For information on other community gardens in the county please visit the InterGenerate web site.
If your garden is not already on the list we have compiled, email us.
Seed Money
InterGenerate is supported by the generosity of folks who want to see this work done.
None of our staff are paid, and we work diligently to get our needs covered by donation,
but there are some things for which we need money.
Our major expense is the upcoming renovation of the buildings at Marsh Sanctuary where we will locate our own community garden and our center which will hold a very large demonstration kitchen and a sustainability library.
You can help by...
...Becoming a Member!
...Offering a Harvest Dinner in your home on our behalf (we'll even help with the cooking!)
...Writing a check made out to Marsh Sanctuary, care of InterGenerate.
Our fundraising goal is...
Two Million Dollars!
Help us help make Westchester County a healthy, integrated and sustainable home for everyone!
None of our staff are paid, and we work diligently to get our needs covered by donation,
but there are some things for which we need money.
Our major expense is the upcoming renovation of the buildings at Marsh Sanctuary where we will locate our own community garden and our center which will hold a very large demonstration kitchen and a sustainability library.
You can help by...
...Becoming a Member!
...Offering a Harvest Dinner in your home on our behalf (we'll even help with the cooking!)
...Writing a check made out to Marsh Sanctuary, care of InterGenerate.
Our fundraising goal is...
Two Million Dollars!
Help us help make Westchester County a healthy, integrated and sustainable home for everyone!
InterGenerate is Very Grateful to:
The Rusticus Garden Club for their $20,000 to start our Community Garden in Mt. Kisco
Teich Garden Systems for their donation of garden tools for our students at our Teaching Garden.
Hilltop Hanover for their help teaching our community gardeners about planting and growing vegetables.
Teich Garden Systems for their donation of garden tools for our students at our Teaching Garden.
Hilltop Hanover for their help teaching our community gardeners about planting and growing vegetables.
Perennial Gardens, Michael's, Saw Mill River Nursery, Mill River Supply & Stone Barns for their generous donation of plants and gardening materials for out communal plot which provides food for the InterFaith Food Pantry.
Food Justice
The topic of Food Justice has four distinct parts.
1. Access to Fresh (ie, unprocessed) Food.
2. Labor Rights for Farm Workers (all those who work in the food industry).
3. Local Resourcing to Reduce Stress on the Earth.
4. Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Each of these issues is complex, so we've created this brief statement to make it simple.
Many urban neighborhoods have limited - if any - access to fresh food. Large supermarkets don't open in economically depressed areas, reducing the options to small bodegas and liquor stores from which mothers must create healthy meals for their children. As a result, residents of these communities are at significantly higher risk for diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and heart disease.
In the United States, labor is a protected right. Long ago unions fought and won a five day/40 hour work week, minimum wage, lunch breaks, and sanitary working conditions. But, these rights are not extended to farm workers. In the state of New York, 14 hour work days, 7 day work weeks and filthy work sites are common place because corporate farms were able to declare an exemption from state labor laws. There is currently a law before the NY Senate to bring just wages to our farm workers, but even if it passes, migrant workers remain vulnerable to unjust practices.
Transporting our food from Canada, South America, Africa and Asia is taxing our planet beyond the sustainable limit. Our current carbon levels are at 382 parts per million. For most of Earth’s history, carbon levels were around 280. Scientists have determined that if we can maintain 350 parts per million, we are safe and at 450 parts per million we will begin to suffocate. One critical way we can reduce our carbon footprint is to limit the unnecessary travel of food around the planet. In addition, organic or natural growing processes promote healthier soil and produce.
While we do not advocate a diet that doesn’t include animals, InterGenerate is aware that the mass production of meat has created a system of animal cruelty that is entirely unnecessary. Our current system includes cows too sick to walk are dragged across concrete floors to their deaths and chickens packed in so tightly they don’t move or see daylight their entire lives.
Supporting local farms and farmers addresses is the first step to creating an ethical food system. By knowing your local farmers, you can hold each other accountable to the humane treatment of animals, the elimination of long distance travel and saturation of the land in chemicals and just labor practices. The creation and support of community gardens also encourages plant based diets and provides access to fresh, chemical free produce for all residents.
1. Access to Fresh (ie, unprocessed) Food.
2. Labor Rights for Farm Workers (all those who work in the food industry).
3. Local Resourcing to Reduce Stress on the Earth.
4. Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Each of these issues is complex, so we've created this brief statement to make it simple.
Many urban neighborhoods have limited - if any - access to fresh food. Large supermarkets don't open in economically depressed areas, reducing the options to small bodegas and liquor stores from which mothers must create healthy meals for their children. As a result, residents of these communities are at significantly higher risk for diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and heart disease.
In the United States, labor is a protected right. Long ago unions fought and won a five day/40 hour work week, minimum wage, lunch breaks, and sanitary working conditions. But, these rights are not extended to farm workers. In the state of New York, 14 hour work days, 7 day work weeks and filthy work sites are common place because corporate farms were able to declare an exemption from state labor laws. There is currently a law before the NY Senate to bring just wages to our farm workers, but even if it passes, migrant workers remain vulnerable to unjust practices.
Transporting our food from Canada, South America, Africa and Asia is taxing our planet beyond the sustainable limit. Our current carbon levels are at 382 parts per million. For most of Earth’s history, carbon levels were around 280. Scientists have determined that if we can maintain 350 parts per million, we are safe and at 450 parts per million we will begin to suffocate. One critical way we can reduce our carbon footprint is to limit the unnecessary travel of food around the planet. In addition, organic or natural growing processes promote healthier soil and produce.
While we do not advocate a diet that doesn’t include animals, InterGenerate is aware that the mass production of meat has created a system of animal cruelty that is entirely unnecessary. Our current system includes cows too sick to walk are dragged across concrete floors to their deaths and chickens packed in so tightly they don’t move or see daylight their entire lives.
Supporting local farms and farmers addresses is the first step to creating an ethical food system. By knowing your local farmers, you can hold each other accountable to the humane treatment of animals, the elimination of long distance travel and saturation of the land in chemicals and just labor practices. The creation and support of community gardens also encourages plant based diets and provides access to fresh, chemical free produce for all residents.
The Marsh Sanctuary
The Marsh Sanctuary is a 156-acre nature preserve, open to the public daily from dawn to dusk. Several hiking trails are maintained on the property and connect to trails in Leonard Park and other local preserves. In addition, there is an amphitheatre where local poets and musicians perform and several old buildings including the house and stables below.
About Me
- Becky
- Bedford, New York
- Born & raised in New York City, I never spent much time playing in the dirt. Thankfully, times have changed. I am now the mother of 3 young children and although they keep me busy, I still find time to get lots of dirt under my fingernails!
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