Checking in!
/Hello GFE Community!
Not easy to capture everyone on a zoom call!
Director Maggie here. This afternoon, our team had a fun call with former GFE Education Manager, Adam Long, who lives in LA but still still very much part of the garden family. We caught up about bird sightings, favorite current backyard garden projects, and the state of GFE as it were. The last Saturday we hosted volunteer hours and worked in the garden was when Adam was last in town - March 7th, nearly 8 weeks ago.
Since that time our big stacked stone wall project has stagnated at 70% complete, weeds are popping up willy nilly and the wildlife is, I’m sure, throwing huge parties every day without anyone there to bother them. After checking in as a team, I thought it might be good to check in with YOU, our community! See how you are doing and tell you a little bit about the state of the garden.
What are we up to?
The GFE team has been busy over the past 2 months! The biggest change has been managing all the cancellations in the garden and the uncertainty of when we can host volunteer hours, groups and workshops again. This spring was packed with exciting projects, events and programs, all of which we had to rush to put on hold. With schools closed, we cancelled our field trip program. All our workshops (the Sustainable Series! Grow Your Own Food! Bouquet Making and Herbal Salve Making!), many full of eager students, were cancelled. Corporate workdays and bigger garden projects, similarly cancelled. And, hardest of all, our 30th Anniversary Celebration set for May was cancelled as well. With this is lost revenue, lost hours teaching, and lost moments of connection with our community. I think a sense of loss is a common one these days.
Trina: native plant geek, historian and chicken cuddler
But, we know that the garden is resilient - in fact is it one of Mother Nature’s most impressive qualities. We knew we could be resilient as well, so have since pivoted to lots of online content. GFE Program Manager Trina, native plant geek and historical buff, has been posting amazing information about native plants on Mondays and old photos and stories of the garden on Thursdays.
Jamie planting seeds with a young, dedicated volunteer
GFE Program Manager Jamie loves teaching and exploring with kids and has been developing amazing kid friendly activities. Saturdays on the blog she treats like a mini workshop, posting practical gardening skills like building a raised bed and how to propagate plants. Jamie also created an amazing Self Guided Tour of the garden, full of fun ways to explore the space while socially distancing.
Spirited 2 year old checks in on neighborhood roses
I myself have been digging up some of my favorite recipes from the archives, and trying to get some important garden resource guides out. Developing online content has always been something we’ve wanted to dedicate more time to, so our teaching can reach beyond our SF base, and we’re doing our best to see this time as an opportunity to do just that. I’m also working as best I can from home (managing finances and all the other fun things that go along with running a non-profit organization), 7 months pregnant, with a spirited 2.5 year old and a husband who also has to work. We are doing what so many families across the country are - navigating work and responsibilities without childcare, trying to enjoy this time as much as we can, while still managing to keep things afloat.
While programmatically so much is still uncertain, we are moving forward planning our fall calendar and our Get Up! garden training program, so if we can host, we will be ready to go.
Is the garden getting taken care of?
Yes and no! Staff has been stopping by the garden, arriving safely and separately, once or twice a week to do the basic check in and care allowed under the current shelter in place regulation. We are removing any trash and debris, any safety issues that may arise, checking for rodents and pest damage, and keeping the community updated on our chalkboard.
Basic garden care is currently not allowed under the current order so we are watching the oxalis spread unchecked and the plants grow without the threat of being pruned. While the garden is looking a little more wild than usual, this spring is proving to be as stunning as we expected. The garden is awash in every color imaginable, covered in blossoms, scented by jasmine, and dripping with roses. I suspect we have more wildlife and critters of all sizes than ever, enjoying this time unchecked. And I suspect, as much love and attention as we give the garden, that the garden herself may in fact be enjoying this time to grow, bloom and root without anyone messing about too much.
There will be some new changes to our local shelter in place order that go into effect on May 4th, and while we do not anticipate being able to host volunteers, we will be able to send staff to the garden to start working a bit more.
How is the garden doing financially?
We are doing ok. GFE has always been a patchwork of funding, pieced together every year (for 30 years in fact) but we’ve prevailed. Much of our funding comes from government grants with City agencies, and we are lucky that these contracts are still in place. We are so grateful to those of you that donated to us - every dollar really does count. We are also so grateful to SHARP, our local neighborhood association and funder, that sent us an emergency grant. A lot of revenue comes from hosting groups and workshops, and with the programmatic shut down this has impacted us significantly.
Luckily, as a fiscal group of the San Francisco Parks Alliance, we will be covered by their Payroll Protection Program grant, that will help cover payroll costs for 8 weeks. Keeping our staff employed is top of mind for me - the quality of our programs and the incredible work that we do is directly related to the people we employ. As a small non-profit, our staff is essential and will be even more essential when we are back open. We want to hit the ground running.
We are impacted by this crises like everyone, but right now, it looks like we will be ok.
What’s next for the garden?
Next up for the garden is staying on top of the new shelter in place regulations so that we can get back in the garden as soon as possible while also keeping our community safe. We are planning our summer garden - beans and sunflowers and squash and other warmer season crops. Last Saturday we donated 20lbs of produce to a local women’s shelter and hope to get our food donation program back up and running soon.
We are still working on a 30th Anniversary Magazine - illustrated and edited by GFE friend Jordan Kushins. It will feature essays about the garden, historical photos, practical garden guides and so much more. We are excited to mark this occasion even if we cannot gather in person.
And I will be heading out on maternity leave, around the first of July. I am still working on a plan to leave the organization in good shape, and support our staff while I am gone, while also taking the necessary time to bring a future Get Up! grad into the world. There will be lots more info on that to come.
Mainly, right now, we as an organization are feeling grateful. Grateful to swift city leadership that has kept our community safe, grateful the garden is growing and thriving without us, and grateful that we get to do this work. We know, when this is over, our work will be more essential than ever. I am hearing from so many people - in this time of uncertainty, gardens feel so incredibly vital.
Thank you for all of your love and support of GFE!
