Coordinators Corner: UCCE San Bernardino County School and Community Garden Collaborative

Did you miss last week's workshop?  It was great....and you can listen to the recording to see how some of our great community members are making a difference in the county!!  Click here to listen on our "UCCE San Bernardino" YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrfbx0-Jvr1_PfZp8j1KHzA

What is the “School and Community Garden Collaborative?”

The School and Community Garden Collaborative is hosted by the UCCE San Bernardino County Master Gardeners with the intention of brining together community members from all over the county who have a passion for school and community gardens.  School and Community Gardens have many things in common, so we encourage sharing between people working in both groups.  We also offer breakout session time during our workshops for the two groups to dive deeper into discussions about what they have done, are hoping to do, and need help with. The goal of this collaborative is for networking, sharing of successes and challenges through community presented spotlight stories, and an opportunity for organizations to give updates to the group about what they are up to.

Who should join?

If you work with a community garden or school this collaborative is for you!  If you are interested in starting a community or school garden this is also for you!! If you are just interested in seeing what is going on in your community throughout the county this is also for you……everyone is welcome to join!!!  We are also hoping to highlight projects throughout the  community, so if you are with a school or community garden and want to present at an upcoming quarterly workshop, please email our Master Gardener helpline (contact information below)

What are we hoping to accomplish in 2022?

Master Gardeners throughout the state have always supported school and community gardens in their counties in various way. With the pandemic over the last few years community gardens have really gained a lot of interest and the importance of outdoor learning spaces in schools has been evident.  While this is due to stressful times, including the need to interact but in a socially distanced safe way, and the focus on healthy living, it is a great thing to see increased interest in and, as Master Gardeners, we are really excited about it!!  Gardening can lead to healthier eating, stress relief, overall joy, and community building and those are things we always need more of.  This year we are hoping to help give this increased interest in gardening in community and school spaces lasting power.  In addition to hosting the quarterly “School and Community Garden Collaborative” meetings to help encourage sharing across the county, we will also be offering support by: providing classes at community gardens; providing technical assistance to both school and community gardens; providing resources through our website, helpline and volunteers; and helping to work with organizations to build community around their spaces. Reach out to our helpline if you would like us to support your school or community garden (contact information below).

Workshop details:

This quarter's workshop was really inspirational and we are all ready planning and looking forward to our next quarter workshop. We are looking forward to working with the Inland Empire Resource Conservation District (IERCD) and other community partners like Caramel Connections Foundation to add Community Garden tours to our outreach throughout 2022, so stay tuned for more information on that! Our collaborative meetings will continue to be offered online quarterly so people from all over the county can continue to join!  Click here to register for our May quarterly workshop: https://mgsb.ucanr.edu/?calitem=522279&g=61974

We hope to see you there or to hear from you about how we can support your activities! For questions or support contact our Master Gardener Helpline at:

San Bernardino County Master Garden Helpline:

909-387-2182

Email:  mgsanbern@ucanr.edu