"I will be returning to work at this site when it has been made safe for children."

After a few days of confusion, perhaps the urban garden craziness is getting clearer. Keep New Albany Clean & Greens's Jerry Finn had this to say in a note to NAC:

"Michele (Finn) was taking the lead on the Urban Fusion garden, but community gardens have been an initiative of Keep New Albany Clean and Green since it was first incorporated in April of 2011. We will move forward with community garden plans, and look forward to the day that Michele is able to get re-involved."

Michele herself speaks in this mailing to her urban gardening group, reiterating what she'd written in blog comments and on the newspaper's web site.

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Hi Garden Gang,

If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, here is the link for the Tribune article.

http://newsandtribune.com/floydcounty/x915988550/Organizers-say-lead-contamination-won-t-hinder-community-garden-in-New-Albany

I didn't get a chance to speak with Daniel before the article ran. He had tried to contact me, I had tried to call him back. It didn't work out.

The lead content is at a level of est. 393 ppm. Not safe for pregnant women and children range is from 300-999.

From UMASS EXT office~

*If estimated lead totals are above 300 ppm, young children and pregnant women should avoid contact with the soil. Estimated levels of lead above 2000 ppm are considered a concern for all users and may represent a hazardous waste station.

So it's at a level safe for adults, just not expecting adults or children where brain development is still in the works.

Jerry and I have been working together and documents will be provided regarding the procedures used to make this site completely family friendly. I believe that we will see positive results. I will be returning to work at this site when it has been made safe for children.

Greg Sekula plans to use the Emery's building painting as an education tool for the public. He plans on teaching ways of testing for lead and how to remove toxic paint safely once it has been found.

We are still looking at other garden sites in conjunction with this site. If you have any other questions, fire away. There are bumps with all projects and this is one is no exception.

We would love even more community involvement with this project!

If you have questions for Jerry or Greg their addresses are

jfinn@horseshoefoundation.org
GSekula@indianalandmarks.org

Thank you for your support!

Urban Fusion and 707 Culbertson: Curiouser and curiouser.

(8:40 p.m. update: Michele Finn has provided clarification in two comments -- thanks for taking the time)

You may have read Urban Fusion lynchpin Michele Finn's words to her peeps, as reprinted here a week ago:

Urban Fusion update: Soil remediation necessary at 707 Culbertson.

 ... Some have stated that we can make 707 Culbertson Ave safe quickly. I personally will not accept a quick fix. According to the University of Massachusetts Lab levels of over 300 ppm are not safe for children or pregnant women. They would be at risk for lead poisoning. The current level is 393 ppm. My children will be with me all summer and we have gardener(s) that are expecting. Even if we made the back of the lot safe, the dirt mounds around the Emery's building and the lead paint on the building itself would contaminate our clean soil. Not to mention, where would the money come from to do so? Where would the money and efforts come from to fix the Emery's building? We have lost this season's planting window already. It's time keep looking.

Previously, NABC had donated to the community garden, and Michele phoned me over the weekend, reiterating that because the 707 Culbertson site was now off the table, I had the option to withdraw the contribution ... which I'd been told would be routed to her on behalf of Urban Fusion through Keep New Albany Clean and Green -- not that Clean and Green was running the Urban Fusion show.

Yesterday I asked her to send back the money, and I will redirect it to whatever project Michele comes up with. The point in all this? From the start, Urban Fusion seemed to be Michele's baby. Meanwhile, Daniel Suddeath's newspaper report today makes no mention of Michele at all.

So, who's the organizer, anyway -- and who's in charge?

Organizers say lead contamination won’t hinder community garden in New Albany; Levels were only slightly above trigger level, officials say

NEW ALBANY — Organizers said Wednesday they will proceed with a community garden despite lead contamination being discovered on the Culbertson Avenue site.

The amount of lead found in the soil at 707 Culbertson Ave. is only slightly more than what is considered an acceptable level and measures have already been taken to guard against exposure, Keep New Albany Clean and Green Vice President Jerry Finn said.

The organization is heading the effort to open the Urban Fusion Community Garden at the site, and recently the historic Emery’s Ice Cream Shop building was moved to the property to serve as a planting and canning education center.

Urban Fusion update: Soil remediation necessary at 707 Culbertson.

(Submitted by Michele Finn. Let's hope there is a solution at hand)

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Agenda we covered for May 9th Meeting

Opening garden update.

Accomplishments since our last February meeting are as follows.

We have located a garden site which Indiana Landmarks has provided.

We pursued our own 501c and were offered services by Brandon Smith of Faith Ingle Smith.

During that time Keep New Albany Clean and Green offered for us to work under their status and will help us with insurance for the first year. This will save us close to $900, which is the approximate cost of the non profit status and also will help with the need of insurance.

Christina Pfau has provided us with a wonderful garden rendition.

Nathan Fessel has provided us with two great logo choices.

We have priced cedar raised beds already made at a cost of around $170 and decided we could probably save a lot of money building them ourselves. We have contacted New Albany's PC Lumber and they are offering us lumber at cost!

Dan Cristiani from Earth First donated a tri axel of rich top soil for the back of the garden site.

Jerry Finn & Mark Seabrook donated equipment to be used and Irv Stumler leveled the garden area.

Mark Seabrook, Kevin Zurschmiede & Irv Stumler worked to take down black walnut tree that was covering the back of the lot. Black walnuts are very toxic to almost all plants and the tree was damaged.

Eco Tech provided the dumpster for the tree removal.

The Emery's building has been moved to the site.

We received the test results from the soil samples. It took five weeks to get them back.

Because of the results, elevated levels of lead in the soil, we will have to remediate the site to make it safe for everyone. We are not experts in this dept. Precautions such as fabric barriers, raised beds, heavy mulch can be applied.

What should we do?

All of this work has been done with in kind donations.

We can use our best efforts to make it safe but the Emery's building will have to be scraped following a proper procedure and painted with lead incapsulating paint before we can move forward with making the site safe.

We must take a pause and see if we can make a summer or fall garden.

* Since the meeting several of you have emailed or called me all with the same thought. As one of you put it, we have put all of our eggs in one basket. I've also had some of you call and tell me we need a garden at a safer location. I'll be honest, this site is the only one that was offered in the midtown/downtown area. The only other proposed location is at Northside Christian Church. I haven't spoken to them recently but I hope their garden operation if going smoothly! The original idea was for an urban garden to set an example in the city and have it accessible by walking or bike riding. All garden members are welcome to search for another garden site so that the Urban Fusion Community Garden can start planting as soon as possible.

Some have stated that we can make 707 Culbertson Ave safe quickly. I personally will not accept a quick fix. According to the University of Massachusetts Lab levels of over 300 ppm are not safe for children or pregnant women. They would be at risk for lead poisoning. The current level is 393 ppm. My children will be with me all summer and we have gardener(s) that are expecting. Even if we made the back of the lot safe, the dirt mounds around the Emery's building and the lead paint on the building itself would contaminate our clean soil. Not to mention, where would the money come from to do so? Where would the money and efforts come from to fix the Emery's building? We have lost this season's planting window already. It's time keep looking.

The turn around time for soil test results is two weeks. If you know of a sight that might work, go ahead and take a sample. I'll attach a link on how to do so.

Click on Routine for Home Gardens

Keep your thumbs green! We have come very far since November and we will make Community Gardens a reality in New Albany!

Michele Finn, UFCG

Postponement: Next Urban Fusion Community Garden meeting is moved to Tuesday, May 8.

Michele Finn issues this postponement of the date for the next Urban Fusion Community garden meeting: To Tuesday, May 8. I assume the other information previously posted here remains valid.

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I have had several people tell me that because of the short notice and it being Derby week, Tuesday (May 1) will not work for them. We are going postpone the meeting for one week: Tuesday, May 8. 


If anyone would like to meet at the garden site and help to clear out Emery's this Tuesday (May 1) at 10 a.m., please let me know. We could also go over some of the things we are working on and help move things along. The garden location is 707 Culbertson Ave. It's behind the green building on the corner of 8th and Culbertson. Come check it out!


We have exciting news! One, the black walnut tree that had damage and was hanging over the back half of the lot has been removed for free. The quotes we were getting ranged from about $1,200 to $2,000, it was a huge savings. A big thanks to City Councilman Kevin Zurschmiede, County Councilman Mark Seabrook, and Irvin Stumler, chair of Keep New Albany Clean and Green and friends.


Another major announcement is that the Emery's building will be moved Monday morning in front of the garden site around 9 a.m. Come watch if you would like. With the support of the community and grants, this building can updated and used to educate anyone who wants to learn homesteading skills like canning, vegetable prep, nutrition, vegetarian cooking, sewing, wood working, gardening classes ... and the list goes on. Rich, middle class or poor alike, these are skills anyone could benefit from. We have many neighbors who have knowledge of sustainable living techniques they would like to share. What better place that at the new green hub. Our local community garden!


Please contact me with any ideas or questions. Also let me know if you would like to have a peek at Emery's and help with a little clean up Tuesday morning. Feel free to bring a cup of coffee and good spirits.


I hope you all have a beautiful week!


Michele Finn
812-949-7198
Urban Fusion Community Garden
Keep New Albany Clean and Green Community Garden Initiative

Historical preservation and revisionism, but with a worthy Community Garden attached.

The group seeking to start a community garden has been hard at work. As a prelude to the following, contributed by Michele Finn, it's helpful to know that the group's target site is adjacent to the former tavern building under renovation at 8th and Culbertson, as corroborated in this Daniel Suddeath newspaper piece.

New Albany’s first community garden space is in the works, as Indiana Landmarks recently donated the lot at 707 Culbertson Ave. for the project.

In addition to plots that can be rented by residents wishing to produce their own yield, the property will also house the former Emery’s Ice Cream Shop building, which will serve as an education center ...

... Greg Sekula, director of Indiana Landmarks Southern Regional office, said he’s hopeful the Emery’s building will be moved to the lot by the end of the month. The New Albany Board of Public Works and Safety has already approved the move of the building from its current location near the intersection of 13th and Main streets.

“We’re glad this seems to be a win-win for everybody,” Sekula said.

Here's the text of Michele's mailing.

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Hi Everyone,

Things have been coming together very quickly and we have a garden site! I can not confirm the location just yet, there are still a few little things we are working on.

One of the things we are needing at the moment is a name. There are a few ideas mentioned already and I would love to hear a few more. Please keep in mind that one of the purposes of the garden is to unite the community.

So far we have:

United Roots Community Gardens
Fusion Roots Community Gardens
Kaleidoscope's Community Gardens
Sycamore Center Community Gardens
Tutti Community Gardens (meaning all together in italian)

Some items we will be needing soon are:

Large amounts of top soil and compost (we are working on finding the exact amount)
Cedar for the raised beds and part of the fencing.
Compost bins~we will eventually build our own
Several rain barrels (we have one donated already)
Hog Wire Fencing (I will post an example)

If you have any connections for supplies or ideas for fund raising please share and we will do the best we can with what we have.

A couple of things we've been working on are:
Lease agreement
Possible education center
Non profit status
Considering maintenance and up keep once established

Faith Ingle and Smith have agreed to write up our lease and handle our non profit status application at no charge! We will be responsible for the minimal fees for applying but again no charge from the company! I met with them today and it's in the works. A big Thank You to them for supporting our garden!

http://www.faithinglesmith.com/

Chris from Rauch Inc is investigating our bumpy plot to see how much dirt we will need to grade it so that we can put in nice level plots! We are also considering hiring Rauch Inc, who's mission is "To support people with disabilities and their families while encouraging a community that acknowledges the value and contribution of all people" to help with upkeep and maintenance throughout the year. It would be an honor to hire a non profit from within our community!

http://www.rauchinc.org/landscaping_lawn_care.htm

We will hold another meeting once we get the paperwork filled out. It's really happening! We should be able to build the garden (fence and beds) through April and have a garden the first of May! We will need to have a "Build It" party and get the fences and raised beds put together. This will be a "tend your own plot" garden with a communal area that will be donated to a non profit organization. The fee for renting a plot will be decided depending on insurance costs, supply costs, and how successful our fundraising is!

Thank you all for your support and interest!
Please write back with any ideas or questions.

Thanks!
Michele Finn

Community gardening update.

I'm not going to kid you. I've no personal aptitude for gardening, and would rather ride my bike in summer, but Michele's efforts to enhance community gardening consciousness are much appreciated, and the idea itself is something to be rallied around even by those of us unlikely to come out of it with dirty hands. 

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Hi Everyone,

It seems as though we have the attention we need to prove support for NA Community Gardens. (applause :) We also have several possible sites... That leads us to the next step. We need a plan. Actually, a few!

1. Who is interested in a community garden that is totally for the people? Anyone can come pick at any time and the garden belongs to everyone! A wonderful philanthropic approach to a community garden and certainly a great way to
dissolve greed and promote sharing.

2. Who is interested in a community garden that will provide you with your own plot for a fee? This style will also have a community plot that will be tended to by all members and will be donated to a non profit of choice.

3. Who is interested in Parklettes? Parklettes are small parks that provide green space for the community. A couple of fruit trees, a bench and a path is all you really need and it is relatively inexpensive to start.

I'm going to ask everyone to introduce themselves and address these ideas to the Yahoo group. It is very time consuming for me to gather and redistribute information to each and every one. The sooner we start functioning as a whole the sooner I believe we will see results! There is a very good possibility we will be starting at least one garden this spring, more than likely two or three. Let's keep the momentum going and make our city cleaner and our property more profitable by using the resources that are available to us!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NAcommunitygardens/

In case you haven't heard the farmer's market is open every other weekend and I have started a Grateful Greens hydroponic produce pick up at Destinations Booksellers every other week. I'm putting orders in for Thursday and you can email me nagreens(at)gmail(dot)com if you would like more information.

Business Support Offered

1. Earthly Goods has offered seed donations
2. Prosser has said there are possibilities in growing seeds and making our
raised beds for a small fee.
3. Rauch Inc is interested in helping with the project & garden design.
4. Grateful Greens wants to help.
5. Keep New Albany Clean & Green, a local non profit is offering support.
6. Floyd Action Network FAN would like to support the gardens.

If there are any name that need to be added please feel free to reply with an update. I am amazed at the support that is quickly showing us the possibilities of a true community effort!

Thank you all for your interest in New Albany! Possibilities are every where!

Michele Finn
Grass Roots!
Keep New Albany Clean & Green

Community Gardening meeting is tonight at the Ritter House.

Michele Finn reminds you that the Community Gardens meeting is tonight.

Hello!


This is a quick reminder of the Community Gardens meeting tonight at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Cardinal Ritter House, located at 1218 E. Oak Street in New Albany. This meeting has several purposes.


1. A basic meet and greet for people interested in providing support to the community gardens effort.


2. Sharing the results of the Community Gardens Survey.


3. Providing a place to share ideas/ concerns with having a community garden.


4. Discussing garden design ideas.


5. Discussing garden location possibilities.


Master Gardener Joe Renwick will be present, and has agreed to give us information on how to take soil samples and why they are important.


Just so you all know, I have no desire to start monthly meetings. I think we can work together through emails and phone calls with the occasional meeting. If someone feels differently, please feel free to host a meeting at any time.


Thank you and I'm very happy to have so much support for this not for profit community project. I have asked Wick's, and they have agreed to donate a couple of pizzas for the meeting. If you don't have time for dinner, just get there on the early side and we'll try to make sure you don't go hungry. I understand traffic is making dinner time later for most people. If anyone would like to bring drinks, cups or anything else let me know. I could also use a volunteer for taking notes.


Thanks and hope to see you tonight.

Interested in community gardening?

From Ted Fulmore and Midtown New Albany comes this:

Area resident Michele Finn working to get a Community Gardening effort underway in New Albany. Interested? http://t.co/a3e2v1O