Apr 305 min read

LEAF News May 2024

Every LEAF Day is Like Spring

From Elaine, President of LEAF

Spring has sprung and with it, we are officially kicking off our LEAF Worm Farm in collaboration with Tri-City Volunteers Food Bank (TCV). Yes, you read that correctly, we are starting a farm in Fremont for cultivating composting worms. You may be asking, why is LEAF growing worms in the first place?

LEAF donates thousands of pounds of produce to Tri-City Volunteers every year. And starting in May, the partnership is expanding to include our new LEAF Worm Farm. TCV will provide us with their food waste and damaged produce to feed our worms. The worms in turn will produce worm castings which will be use to fertilize our crops so that they will be healthier and produce more fruits and veggies. This will enable us to donate more to our food banks.

This will create a closed loop cycle that starts and ends in our gardens. It is a great example of our efforts to incorporate regenerative design in our processes. These are cyclical systems that return energy from less useful to more useful forms.

Not only will the worms be providing natural healthy fertilizer for our plants but they will also be sold to good homes so everyone can start their own worm bins to compost veggies scraps.

We will also be holding a Worm Maker Class on Sunday, July 14th where you can make your own worm bin for your home. Worm bin, worm bin bedding, and worms are included in that class.

Please hit the donate button if you feel aligned with our mission so we can continue to develop spaces to educate our community, build healthy soil, and provide food for those most in need.

Any amount you can give is greatly appreciated.

DONATE

We also accept checks. Payable to LEAF at PO Box 2816, Fremont CA 94536.

2024 Earth Day Recycling Results

One of our goals for Earth Day 2024 was to embrace the circular economy by collecting unwanted but usable socks, crayons and bras so they could be diverted from the landfill. Coyote Hills Girl Scout Service Unit helped by collecting goods from their family, friends, neighbors and from our visitors at Earth Day. Thank you Girl Scouts for participating in Earth Day 2024!

The details of the organizations that recycle the socks, crayons and bras, and the local drop off locations are referenced below so you can continue to recycle those goods yourself year round or you can save them for our Earth Day next year ; ) This is what was collected in the month of April:

SOCKS; 62 pounds were taken to REI as part of Smartwool Second Cut™ Project. Smartwool's mission is to give old products new life and keep perfectly good materials from being thrown away. They teamed up with Material Return™, a circularity platform to deconstruct hard-to-recycle socks and turn them into new goods.

CRAYONS; 23 pounds were brought to Staples as part of their Staples Recycling Program that collects crayons for Crayon Initiative. Crayon Initiative's mission is to bring happiness to children who are being hospitalized by reducing their stress with creative play. They melt and reform the wax into new crayons then redistributes them to hospitals. Staples also recycles other writing tools, printer cartridges, batteries, and tech.

BRAS; 22 pounds will be taken to a local drop off point as part of The Bra Recyclers' mission to embrace the circular economy by minimizing waste and continually reuse resources. They donate bras to organizations that support underserved individuals, families entering shelters and transitional programs, and uninsured breast cancer survivors unable to access essential medical assistance.

Assemblymember Alex Lee

2024 Unsung Heroes

Assembly Member Alex Lee recognized Elaine and 24 other constituents

in District 24 as his 2024 Unsung Heroes. Elaine was selected for the following reasons: Elaine is a volunteer at LEAF Center and LEAF Urban Garden, which focuses on environmental education, regenerative agriculture, organic farming and community building. Elaine was instrumental in creating community gardens at the California Nursery Historical Park in Niles and the LEAF Urban Garden at the corner of Mission Blvd. and Mowry Ave.

Grow Your Own Food at the

LEAF Community Garden

The LEAF Center is our community garden with large 4 feet x 12 feet planters where you can grow your own veggies and fruits. Your produce will be thriving in a spacious gated community with soil customized for planter beds and with automatic drip irrigation for only $300/year. (Planter cages shown in picture are not included.)

Planters are available through our annual

Community Gardener Membership

Email your questions to info@fremontleaf.org

Students for LEAF Summer Program

Students for LEAF will be in full swing again this summer! This program is geared toward young people who are interested in being outdoors, gardening, the sciences, and living sustainably on planet earth. LEAF educators will provide hands-on experience in areas such as the food production cycle, worms and beekeeping. Registration and program details are available at fremontleaf.org/students

Upcoming Weekend Workshops

LEAF Talkin' Dirt Gardening Community

It's tough to find knowledgable gardeners to ask questions. Talkin' Dirt will provide you with an online platform to engage with others from

the comfort of your own home on the first Wednesday of each month

from 7 pm to 8 pm. Join Master Gardeners and a Horticulturist

for this special hour-long online gathering.

Regardless of your gardening experience, we'd love to have you!

To register, visit fremontleaf.org/talkindirt.

Our next online gatherings are: Wednesdays May 1st and June 5th

LEAF Honey and Worm Sales

We have fresh wildflower raw honey and composting worms for sale. Honey and worm sales fund their care and their living spaces.

Earth Day Special: $20 for a pint jar, $10 for 1/2 pint, $8 for 1/4 pint

Composting Worms are $20 for a small plastic container

Purchase at our LEAF Shop

Food Donations

At LEAF, we work year-round to feed our community by planting, nurturing, and harvesting fresh produce that we donate to our local food banks such as Tri-City Volunteers and Centro De Servicios.

YTD Produce Donations: 987 lbs.

Our 2024 Goal is 4500 lbs.