2023 started slowly due to the winter rains, and amidst the April showers, we received the news that the very ground upon which the LEAF Stone Garden sits had been sold. My initial thoughts were centered around loss; about all the hard work and time we put into building the structures and cultivating the land. However, my feelings immediately changed, when it dawned on me how fortunate we were that Dr Stone had leased the land to us for free. Reflecting on the past 10 years, it has been an amazing journey of learning about transforming dead dirt into vibrant living soil, teeming with earthworms and microbes by using regenerative agricultural practices.

We continued looking forward to accomplishing our mission of inspiring others to be environmental stewards through innovative regenerative agriculture practices and our “get your hands dirty” education program, and to promote community philanthropy through our food donation program. By year’s end our Gardening Team had cultivated and harvested 6565 pounds of veggies to surpass our goal of donating 6500 pounds. Our Education and Outreach Teams ramped up this year after being dormant for the past 4 years. We experimented with different and diverse courses and venues. The classes, workshops and volunteer events were well received. In total, we held 133 events that drew over 1600 attendees. Notably, our Earth Day event in downtown Fremont was met with an exceptional number of attendees. 

Behind the scenes we were working with Alameda County Water District to renew the LEAF Urban Garden site and to secure an adjacent lot for parking. We are so happy to announce that the lease was finalized in December. We were so excited about securing the lease that we immediately started dismantling Stone Garden, 50% of the move has already been completed.

As 2023 unfolded it turned out to be a successful year. We met our donation goal, forged meaningful connections, and provided education within our community. The new lease brought its challenges but it has truly granted us a “renewed lease on life.”