Page 33 - Sonoma County Gazette February 2020

Backyards Support Dignity, Health & Climate?
By Carolyn A. Lewis
Tiny Farms are starting to spring up in Healdsburg and neighbors are volunteering there time. Your Tiny Farm was started because many people do not have access to affordable, healthy food. Urban agriculture helps to correct
this by providing healthy food by eliminating the middleman and increasing the opportunity for community members in need to participate in the growing of this food.
This month’s “What’s Up in Windsor” is going to be a little different
Homelessness is among the most urgent social crises of our time. And while it’s true that there are many organizations and programs are working to meet the growing need, it’s not enough. We believe that we will never end homelessness by pointing our fingers and waiting for someone else to solve it: government, nonprofits, religious in-situations.
I want to give a huge shout out to the people who had the foresight and courage to make the hard decision to make all of us leave our homes. It was their love for Windsor that saved our town.
We believe we will only end homelessness when each of us gets involved.
What many people did not realize, rightfully so since they were busy packing up their belongings and heading out of town, is that there were a bunch of people who remained behind to fight the fires, safeguard our homes and keep Windsor running.
When we open our lives in big and small ways to the most vulnerable among us. YourTinyFarm.com provides a tangible solution that is also an invitation to come closer and to open our hearts. By doing this, it uniquely builds our collective compassion and capacity for all of the needed solutions.
When a city or town is evacuated, things still need to happen in the background to keep a town functional. The water and sewage systems needed to be maintained, which took a special process. We also had over 60 law enforcement officers on
every shift patrolling to
keep people from coming
into Windsor and stealing
from us.
from a typical February Valentines Day theme and it’s not going to be about hearts and flowers, but it is going to be about love. It is going to be about the deep love for the little town we call home.
As we all know, in October, Windsor, along with other surrounding towns, was on mandatory evacuation due to the Kincade fire danger. This was no easy feat to require nearly 200,000 people to willingly leave their homes, however it was done with great success.
We currently have three active gardens
in Healdsburg and Cloverdale with several others in the planning stages. We deliver baskets of fruit, vegetables and our very own fresh eggs to those in transitional housing and those without shelter. We involve our clients in the gardening process together with our volunteers and compensate them for their time, giving them a purpose and dignity.
One area that had never
crossed my mind, until it
affected us directly, was
animal control. One of our cats (her name is Molly and she is a Feline Rescue kitty) refused to come near me so I could put her in a cat cage. This meant that I was forced to leave her behind to fend for herself. When I was repopulated,
Gardening helps people develop a lasting habit of eating enough fruits and vegetables and makes them more conscious of their daily diet. The unsheltered have a terrible lack of access to good nutrition. Much of the food served at shelters is unhealthy based on lack of funds and access to fresh ingredients.
I came home to find little bowls on my front porch because someone put out dry food for her while I was gone.
Urban farming is a way to ensure that vacant land gets used in a purposeful way and that no viable space goes to waste. Urban farming can also increase social bonds and networks among neighbors and the people who participate in farming.
At the January 21st Windsor Chamber of Commerce luncheon, members of the Windsor Police and Fire Departments, Bell Ambulance,
Pet Reunification Program, Animal Control, Town of Windsor and the Public Works Department were all presented with gift certificates from
SoCo Reflexology. After the Kincade fires, funds were collected at different events through word-of-mouth, and local residents and business owners made donations to the 1st Responders “Massage” fund.
Urban farming can support the environment. Plants and soil help sequester carbon. Applying compost to our gardens and tilling less, helps pull carbon out of the air and diverts food waste from the landfill, keeping methane (one of the most potent greenhouse gases) out of the atmosphere.
Amazingly, over $4300 was collected and 136 one-hour massage certificates were given out. We want to give a special thank you to Michael and Helen, the owners of SoCo Reflexology, for making this possible.
At Your Tiny Farm, we have made many new friends in the community. As we continue to grow we hope that people will spread the word about our work and that others will consider letting us farm their unused garden plots. An additional benefit is a beautiful farm to watch grow right in your backyard. There is a universal reciprocity and exchange that those of us who farm see laid out on a daily basis. We know every living thing we engage with requires some form of nourishment, including our unsheltered friends.
Since I know that caretakers are not the best at accepting “self care”, I will request of them that if they do not want to have the massages themselves, to give them to the person who was waiting for them to return home safely after the Kincade fire.
We support ourselves through donations and we welcome your contributions
On February 26th, from 9-12, a special Tourism Cares project is coming to Windsor. Windsor Chamber of Commerce, Town of Windsor, Sonoma County Tourism and the Sonoma County Regional Parks department will be doing volunteer work at Foothill Regional Park helping repair the damage caused by the Kincade fire.
be they financial or through volunteering time. We hope to replicate our Tiny Farms over and over again in our local communities and continue our event success. Please visit www.yourtinyfarm.com for more information and reach out to us if you would like to help our farms grow or contact us directly by emailing carolynlewis@gmail.com
Would you like to volunteer to help be part of this event? Then email me at Lorene@mac.com for more a link to sign up.
How is that for a February love story? Want one more?
~ Lorene and Gayle (who always proofreads what I write so I don’t embarrass myself too much.)
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