 February 2022 Garden Events Get the network involved by submitting your next event directly to our submission page. Webinars, courses, conferences, one-time or reoccurring events, all apply! See what’s coming up on our Statewide Garden Calendar Fund Your Garden Visit our website for a regularly updated list of garden-related grants. Find upcoming grants on our Garden Grants page Connect with Fellow Garden Coordinators Our closed Facebook group is a forum for your garden management questions, and a platform to swap resources and share stories. Join the conversation!  Vermont Fruit & Nut Tree Grant 2022 Apply Today! Vermont Garden Network is excited to announce a new collaboration for 2022! We are working with The VT Urban & Community Forestry Program (VT UCF) to offer grants and related support for planting fruit and nut trees in community-based garden sites across Vermont. These plantings not only provide better access to fresh food, but they also offer an opportunity for connection through collective growing and community education, as well as support the longevity of these unique growing spaces The application period is open now through February 25, 2022. Grants to be awarded mid-March 2022. Click here for grant details and a link to an online application. Please review the background materials prior to completing your application. Get Involved, Get Inspired   Ready to get your garden started? We’ve got you covered! Thanks to the generosity of Gardener’s Supply, Red Wagon Plants, and High Mowing Seeds, we are able to share a bounty of donated seed packets to gardeners around the state. Every year VGN receives surplus seed packets from the previous growing season, we store them properly, and eventually bundle them up to be mailed. Each bundle contains approximately 30 assorted high quality seed packets. Seed mailings begin in late January and continue as supplies last To request your bundle of hope and possibility, use this secure form! Questions? Contact Abbey at abbey(at)vcgn.org.  Collective Gardening Community of Practice: Winter Gathering Our next COP conversation will take place over Zoom 9:00-10:15am, Wednesday, February 16, 2022, with extra “linger and chat” time until 10:45am, if you’d like to stick around. This community of practice (COP) is a conversation space for people involved or interested in getting involved with collective gardening, primarily happening online. Participants share stories, swap ideas and resources, and brainstorm creative solutions in this collaborative space. We currently host these gatherings seasonally (4 times a year). Please complete this RSVP so you can let us know you’re coming and we will send you a link to our online gathering closer to the date. And feel free to spread the word to others whom you think would be interested and a good fit for this group.  Join our Team! We are currently receiving applications for three internship positions: Sowing Seeds Intern (March – June) Community Teaching Garden Intern (May – October) Garden Education Intern (June – August) Please visit our website to view the full internship descriptions and help us spread the word. Please email carolina(at)vcgn.org for more information. Community Teaching Garden Course: Burlington The Community Teaching Garden Course is a unique garden education program to teach adults how to grow their own food in a fun, supportive, and cooperative learning environment. The 6-month long course (Wednesdays 5:30-7:30pm) follows the rhythm of the growing season through lessons and hands-on garden work. Learn how to plant, cultivate, & harvest produce from your own 4’x20′ garden bed and expand your learning during monthly make-and-take workshops (2nd Saturday of each month) featuring herbalism, plant dyeing, and food preservation. Follow this link for details, course fee, scholarship opportunities, and online registration.  Snowshoe Winter Walk: Feb 13th Join us for VGN’s first ever Snowshoe Winter Walk! The walk will take place on February 13th from 1-3pm at Catamount Outdoor Family Center and will consist of a family-friendly 2-2.5k loop, at the end of which prizes for most funds raised, silliest hat, and best team name will be given out! Free hot chocolate and s’mores for all participants! Registration is free and participants are encouraged to fundraise using the peer-to-peer platform. Please register online using this secure link. Network Asks & Opportunities Kids Garden Online Community The Kids Garden Community is a FREE online community for gardeners like you. Teachers using a school garden as a classroom, families growing herbs on a windowsill, Master Gardeners volunteering in an after-school program, community garden organizers creating activities for kids—however you garden with kids, this community is for you! This is your place to ask questions, make connections, access resources, learn from each other, and stay inspired. Together, we will create change for our kids, communities, and the planet. Join the conversation! NOFA-VT Annual Winter Conference 2022 “Dream Into Being” February 15 – March 5, 2022 Online The 40th annual Winter Conference: Dream Into Being, is an invitation to pause, collectively dream the agricultural future we long for, and learn together about seeds to plant today to grow the fruits of tomorrow. Each year, the NOFA-VT Winter Conference provides a valuable opportunity for farmers, homesteaders, gardeners, land managers, educators, students, producers, policy-makers, and other food-system activists to participate in our vibrant community event by sharing ideas, resources, and skills. It is a time to celebrate, gather, and connect over the winter. This year’s conference is mostly online, with more than 40 workshops and panel discussions, a featured speaker series, trivia night, film screening, in-person outdoor farm socials, and more! Click here for conference details and registration. Join the Movement! Gardens for Hope & Health In this uncertain time, gardens help heal by providing hope, resiliency and food! Many more Vermonters are seeking help to start gardens and we are working to provide resources for people at home and in the community. If you can, please make a donation today so more people can grow their own food and build healthier futures. Click here to donate now  |