Posts Tagged: Marin

Novato garden project gets complicated

Developing a community garden in Novato is proving more complicated and costly than expected, but local organizers are pressing forward with their plans, according to an article in the Marin Independent Journal.

The garden, which will contain 50 to 80 garden plots, is proposed by the non-profit organization Novato Live Well Network. Initially, the group thought expenses for the project would amount to $25,000. However, the price tag has swelled to $220,000 to $250,000.

Reasons cited in the article for increased costs include:

• The city of Novato's fiscal problems preclude it from assisting with infrastructure and waiving fees
• Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act is making the design more expensive
• North Marin Water District announced a 2009 moratorium on new connections. The Novato Live Well Network found a contractor to help them drill an 80-foot well on the property

Project supporters say the community garden would allow Novato residents to grow their own food and make better nutritional choices. A percentage of plots will be offered to low- or moderate-income households, and plot fees will be charged on a sliding scale.

"Community gardens open up the opportunity for community members to garden, and improve health factors, making them more active and getting them to eat more fruits and vegetables," the story quoted Mark Bauermeister, the UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardener coordinator in Marin County. "If they're managed correctly, they can be beneficial for the environment, encourage community interaction and beautify the neighborhood."

Late last year, Bauermeister, Marin environmental horticulture advisor Steven Swain and Marin community development advisor Ellie Rilla completed a Marin County Community Garden Needs Assessment. UC Cooperative Extension will host a day-long Community Garden Summit April 29 at San Rafael's Pickleweed Community Center, the article said.

Native plants on display at an existing Marin County community garden.

Chinese delegation visits Marin research site

A delegation from China's Ministry of Agriculture visited a Marin County ranch on Wednesday to view a collaborative research project aimed at sequestering carbon in rangeland. The visit was covered by Contra Costa Times reporter Mark Prado.

The research collaborators, which includes UC Cooperative Extension, are studying whether application of compost on rangeland will boost plant growth, which in turn would store more carbon. Research leader UC Berkeley professor Whendee Silver shared with the delegation promising early results gleaned from the first year of the five-year project.

"Plants are pulling carbon out of the atmosphere and ... they put it below ground into soils, into their root systems," Silver was quoted in the story. "You can see that our experimental plot is much greener than the control plot. We grew much more grasses by adding compost."

The Chinese visitors' interpreter, Charles Han, told the reporter the visitors wanted to learn more about the process, according to the article.

"They are very interested in land and grass issues," Han was quoted. "We have a lot of land in China."

The Marin Carbon Project is being conducted on Nicasio Native Grass Ranch and involves the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Marin Organic, UCCE in Sonoma and Marin counties, the Marin Resource Conservation District, and the UC Berkeley Department Science, Policy and Management Department.

More information is on the Marin Carbon Project Web site.

Rangeland owners may be able to sequester more carbon on their land.

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