It’s been quite a challenging summer season! Very hot, super dry, then super rainy… head spinning! It almost seemed as if Mother Nature wasn’t too sure what to do. But through it all, we are thankful that Bunny’s Garden made it through!
Last month, we harvested pounds on pounds of kale, eggplant, potatoes, and tomatoes with the help of our smallest gardeners from the summer camp. That produce, we’re proud to say, made its way to the plants of our neighbors by way of Salt & Light’s weekly food distribution. But, you already knew that. I am here to share some exciting news!
New Garden Coordinator – Cameron “Cam” Cephas
I am very excited to inform you that we have hired Cameron “Cam” Cephas as our new Garden Coordinator! Let me tell you, Cam is a great guy. Hardworking, helpful, and always eager to learn. Cam has been working at TCP for about 2 years as an Assistant Group Supervisor. He worked directly with Scholars helping with everything from homework to chaperoning on field trips. He is easily a favorite among the children here. Cam is also a musician who plays drums, bass, and keys and is a part of the Salt & Light music ministry.
Cam’s new role as Garden Coordinator means that Bunny’s Garden will have a dedicated person to maintain the garden, coordinate with our partners, and provide gardening and nutrition education to our participants. He already brought with him great ideas, new energy, and enthusiasm. As we embark on the last planting season of 2023, we’re pretty certain the plants will love him, too.
Expanding into Hydroponics
It is usually around this time of the year we begin our fall planting, as well as prepare for closing the garden for the year. Well, at some point in late October, it will be way too cold to continue things. But don’t fret, we’re moving our garden operations indoors!
The Common Place has applied for the HydroConnect grant from GreenOurPlanet.org to develop a hydroponics garden on-site! Green Our Planet trains teachers to use school gardens and hydroponics laboratories to teach students STEM, conservation, nutrition, and entrepreneurship in a hands-on engaging way. Gardens are a portal for understanding our place in the Universe and how we can take care of planet Earth. Super exciting!
We were accepted into the HydroConnect program and are now part of a national cohort chosen to receive training, hydroponics equipment, and materials to begin growing food indoors and teaching this method of gardening to our children. It looks like Bunny’s Garden, in some iteration, will be a year-round operation! Cam certainly will have his hands full this winter!
The Bunnie Walk
As you probably know already, four years ago, we started Bunny’s Garden at The Common Place in honor of my mother, Vladrena Burke, affectionately known as “Bunnie.”
Today, Bunny’s Garden @ The Common Place exists to help address food sovereignty issues in Southwest Philadelphia: providing nutrition education for children and beautifying our neighborhood’s urban landscape. Over the last four years, you’ve seen me post videos and pictures on social media of vegetables grown from the corner of Chester Ave & Cecil Street, with children learning to garden and cook their food. With the help of friends from Trellis For Tomorrow and Sankofa Farms at Bartram’s Garden, we have grown more than 600 lbs of food that has shown up on the plates of our neighbors through Salt & Light’s weekly food pantry initiative over the past four years. When my mom grew vegetables in her garden, she gave away the excess to her friends and neighbors. Like her, we haven’t charged our neighbors a single penny. But, it takes funding to continue my mother’s legacy.
On the morning of September 30, 2023, Ashley and I’ll participate in the Race Against Hunger 5k Walk/Run. My colleagues and I set a goal to raise $5,000. This funding will directly support our efforts to address food sovereignty issues in our small corner of SW Philly.
Could you help me by making a small donation to this cause?
