This presentation provides an overview of the Greenbelt Three Sisters Demonstration Garden project and gives a status report as of August 2011

1. Greenbelt Three Sisters Demonstration
Gardens & Urban Foodshed Project
August 2011

2. Greenbelt Three Sisters Update

3. Greenbelt Original Plan
Included Gardens

4. 1940’s Victory Gardens

5. In a sense its all about water
and soil flow

6. 2010—Food Security—Urban
Food Movement
• Non-local –dependence on fossil fuels, --waste issues--pesticides
• Water issues ---Current unsustainable agricultural water use
practices use 80 percent of water for agriculture
• Public health –chronic diseases--childhood obesity
• Peak soil –Long since reached -estimate 40 years of soil left every
pound eaten 6 to 24 pounds lost to erosion
• Desertification—over grazing
• Global warming may cut agricultural production in half by 2020
• Fossil fuel dependent agriculture and land care
• In US-- 2/5 of 1 percent of population are farmers—average age 55
• Mono-culture loss of diversity--95 percent of seeds used in
agriculture are lost

7. Watershed—Bay Health
• On a per acre
basis, urban and
suburban
contribute 7 times
the pollution to bay
as agricultural
areas

8. Grew out of Green Aces Pesticide
and Land Care Report
Recommendations
The City and partners engage in a strong public
education campaign designed to inform residents of
Bay friendly and Organic Land Care, and to provide
interested citizens with knowledge of alternatives to
pesticide use. Outreach and education tools include:
household brochures, workshops, Greenbelt
Recreation Department courses, and experimental
community demonstration gardens

9. Four Equal Interrelated Goals
• Provide additional gardening opportunity
for urban dwellers—participate in food
production
• Promote Bay Friendly edible and native
plant landscaping—help run off to Bay
issues
• Promote community and co-learning in
different areas of Greenbelt
• Educational, Scientific and Artistic and
creative expression

10. Principles
• Inclusive—multi-age and ethnicity—
handicapped access
• Organic –Bay Friendly practices
• Use of unused space now in grass
• Provide for sustainability of gardens–on-
going infrastructure
• Incorporate education and art—creative
expression; On-going life long co-learning

11. Three Sister Areas of Greenbelt
• Idea is that would work together on plans
and each help get started-
– Greenbelt—Center—Back of community
center
– Greenbelt—West---Springhill Lake Recreation
Center grounds
– Greenbelt—East—Schrom Hills Park

12. Three Sister Sites

13. Community Center

14. Center Garden

15. The Three Sisters Corn, Beans and
Squash—Center Garden 2010

16. Time to Play and Bond with the
Soil

17. Square Foot Gardens: Center
2010

18. Making Fairy Houses to Place in the
Gardens—Putting the Gardens to Bed:
October 2010

19. Schrom Hills

20. Schrom Hills Garden: August
2011

22. Springhill Lake Rec Center

23. Planting at Springhill Lake May
2011

24. Springhill Lake 2011

25. Help Us Climb to the Top of the
Hill! Adopt a Box or Pathway Stone

26. Adopt a Garden Box and Pathway
Project at Springhill Lake Garden!
• Site and soil conditions (storm run-off
area) indicate that we need to garden at
Springhill Lake site in deep raised bed
containers.
• Design for circle of 16—boxes that are
about 4 by 8 feet and two feet deep &
eco-art stepping stone pathways.

27. There are many ways to
contribute—Do one or all three!
1) Donate funds for materials and soil
to help build a box or for eco-art
pathway stones.
2) Participate in workshops to build the
boxes and eco-art stepping stones.
3) Plant and maintain a box working
with the CHEARS Chesapeake
Conservation Corp volunteer.

28. Raising Funds to Support and Sustain
the Gardens --Suggested Donation
• We’re asking individuals and groups to give
support in donating to this project. All names
of contributors of any amount will be
acknowledged on boxes and stones
• $100 donation needed to support a box
(materials, soil, initial plants—(folks may make
whole or partial support donation—any amount
appreciated)
• $25 donation for pathway stone

29. Erosion --Next to Springhill Lake
School

30. Planting Rain Garden Earth
Squad --Earth Day-Greenbelt

31. Public Works Supportive with
Conditions
• Small manageable— • Design help from city has
limited area and is being given—work
• Must be aesthetically closely
pleasing • City not responsible for
• City agrees to allow use vandalism; Accept may
of water from near by loose; near community
buildings centers help
• Volunteers must • Chears agrees to be
implement and sustain responsible for any
gardens; Plan to hold needed restoration
workshops to implement

32. Center Sister
– Workshops (Four-Square, Biointensive and
Three Sisters Gardens)
– Plantings 4 fruit trees( 2 cherry trees, peach,
and plum)
– Herbs and veggies ( Greens, cabbage, chard,
peppers, corn, beans squash, tomatoes,
pumpkins, sunflowers)

33. East Sister
• Schrom Hills Park—July 25—BIG STORM
Day—Kick off
– Workshop s
• Drought Tolerant & Eco-Circles with Master
Gardeners
• Vertical gardens—construction with bamboo
– Plantings
• Fruit Trees/bushes (Persimmon, figs, grapes, kiwi)
• Drought tolerant herbs and flowers

34. Greenbelt West Sister Kick-Off
• Kick-off September: 2010
• Equinox Celebration and Medicine Wheel
Gardens
• Camp Fire Inc
Partnership

35. Goals for 2011
– Sustain/start gardens/workshops continue
– Outdoor Nature Classroom (Arbor Day Project)
– Urban/suburban food shed (link to Green Aces
sustainablity plan)
– Handicapped access
– Community partnerships—adult day care, camp fire
– Food Forest
– Link to reducing run off and monitor

36. Next Steps—Outdoor Nature
Classroom/Art
• Center Garden—Re-plant beds –outdoor
nature classroom & handicapped acccess
also work with adult day care center
• Schrom Hills---Cover crop—plant—forest
garden
• Springhill Lake—16 beds—work with
school and camp fire—stream
monitoring—forest garden

39. Homescale Demonstration
Workshop topics
• Permaculture
• Biointensive
• Forest gardens
• Eco-circles
• Organic farming and land care
• Square foot gardening
• Conservation landscaping—native, wild
life
• Bio-retention—rain gardens

40. Permaculture is an
interdisciplinary design system.
• The observation of natural ecosystems
• The wisdom of indigenous peoples
• Traditional farming systems
• Modern scientific and technological
knowledge

41. Build Soil Fertility Naturally
Green manures Put the worms to work
DYNAMIC
ACCUMULATORS
Comfrey

42. Square Foot Gardening
• One square foot garden
unit measuring 16 sq ft
(1.5 sq metres) holds an
average of 130 plants
and produces enough
vegetables for one
person. A family of four
can have fresh greens in
abundance throughout
the growing season and
beyond from only 64 sq ft
of growing space (6 sq
metres).

43. Biointensive
• Double-Dug, Raised Beds
• Composting Intensive
Planting-build soil-60 percent
cover crops
• Companion Planting
• Carbon Farming
• Six to 8 times less water use
per pound of food
• Calorie Farming
• The Use of Open-Pollinated
Seeds
• A Whole-System Farming
Method

44. Eco-circles

45. Eco-circle gardens conserve
water

46. Forest Gardens

47. Restore forests
Plant trees!

48. Rain Gardens
48

49. Use
Vertical
Space
Kuhn/Shephard
house and garden,
Toronto, Canada

50. Container Gardening