Location

What you do now to your garden can greatly affect your production next year. This workshop will discuss cover crops, soil amendments, soil building, sanitation, and pest control for success next year.

Location

Advanced composting methods will be discussed including managing a hot compost bin. This is a hands-on workshop!!

Location

Plant diseases can hurt yields in your garden. Types of diseases, life cycles, and appropriate actions to deter disease problems for the gardener will be discussed.

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This Workshop will discuss crops that can be produced in the fall and how and when to plant them. Strategies on how to extend the growing season will be covered.

Location

All tips go to DLDT's work on February 6th from 6-9-ish.

We will also hold 50/50 rafflles and volunteers will be around to update you on our work and enjoy a pint and some great food with you!

Looking for a few volunteers to help: http://www.facebook.com/drinkubator

The City of Cleveland hosted a Local Food Fair in City Hall on Friday to launch 2012, The Year of Local Food. About 40 exhibitors representing farmers, farmers’ markets, CSAs, local food enterprises, restaurants, and organizations that connect residents to local food were in attendance. The event was well attended by the general public and City of Cleveland employees alike. A good portion of exhibitors were small enterprises and entrepreneurs—real businesses that provide local, affordable, nutritious food options for Cleveland residents. Cleveland’s leadership as a local foods hotspot is increasingly being recognized nationally and even internationally.  In fact, Cleveland got a mention in an article Salon published last week, Urban Gardens, the Future of Food.  

Music, Arts, Culture and Ceremony working group would like to make our first move. During this year's pre-summit meeting, Cynthia Trotta said that she thought we are moving from the rust belt and into the water belt. The words rang in the air right after she said them. I responded that I would like to use a version of her words for a song. That's how this song began.

At Berea High School, fellow teacher and artist, Jim Byzcnski and I began making what we call, 'guerilla videos'. The rules are low-tech and you must not work for more than an hour on the project.

Please watch our first release, Out of the Rust and Into the Water

warm regards,

F. Christopher Reynolds, M.Ed.

A rendering of the Sustainable Cleveland Center

Last night we hosted a Sustainable Cleveland 2019 report-out for the working groups at the future home of the Sustainable Cleveland Center. Seventy people were in attendance representing working group members, summit participants and individuals simply interested in finding out what SC2019 is all about. A work-in-progress, the Sustainable Cleveland Center is space donated by Forest City as a physical home for Sustainable Cleveland 2019.

The meeting was a good opportunity to look back at 2011 and see what has been accomplished as well as to be inspired for the work ahead of us in 2012. Thirteen working groups reported out and here is a summary of their updates:

Menu for the Future

is a six-session discussion course book exploring the connection between food and sustainability.  “We are rolling” chair Nancy King Smith said. They have 12 groups going that include libraries, businesses, faith-based organizations and farmers that will be hosting these discussions. They will host a kick-off event on January 10^th.  

 Sustainable Design Materials and Manufacturing has created the DART Board (Diagram for Celebrating Regional Transformation in Manufacturing), the Matrix and the Brain (which integrates all parts of their process). Jud Kine reported that their next steps include integrating the brain with the DART Board and they are looking for tech savvy people to join in, funding and perspective companies that would like to pilot their tools.

A rendering of the Sustainable Cleveland Center

Key Objectives

Create a common community dialogue around food issues by engaging in Menu for the Future course discussions

Inspired by the success of using the Northwest Earth Institute's Menu for the Future (www.nwei.org) by a large number of groups in Port Townsend WA, we are working on a large roll-out of course groups throughout 2012, starting with about a dozen groups in the first quarter of the year, ideally with a farmer or food producer in each group.

To get involved, either in joining the planning team, convening a course, or participating in a course group, e-mail menuforthefuture@gmail.com

Economic Logic

Help create more literate consumers to drive sales of local, healthy foods and more people to action.

Accomplishments to date:

• Steering committee formed, meets monthly
• Kick-off supper held for conveners on Jan. 10th
• A dozen groups underway in Feb. and March
• Cleveland Public and other Libraries acquiring sets for groups to use
• Celebration potluck being planned for April 19
• Additional participants recruited at various events
• Recruit a farmer or food producer to participate with each course group

Next Steps

• Identify additional places and individuals to hold the course
• Recruit and train conveners
• Talk with SC2019 Local Food celebration committee about a community dialogue
• Localize materials for Cleveland
• Tie in to Healthy Cleveland Initiatives
• Work with local farmers’ groups to identify farmers to participate
• Connect with Growhio

Group Members