Charles Street Gardens
2018-2019 Annual Report
(Gardening Season October 1, 2018 – September 30, 2019) May 25, 2020
Annual Summary:
2018-2019 was Charles Street Gardens’ 13th
gardening season. Since the inception of
Charles Street Gardens (CSG) in 2006, it has
continued to provide a space where Sunnyvale
residents can come together to enjoy a shared
interest for gardening and foster a sense of
community. We have a thriving community at
Charles Street Gardens (CSG), with a diverse
group of gardeners that reflects the diversity of
Sunnyvale. Our community at CSG
encompasses a full spectrum of age, socio-
economic backgrounds, ethnicities, and
gardening experience. This sense of
community, and availability to open space is
especially important as the Bay Area continues
to grow at record pace and residents are
increasingly challenged to able to afford homes
with their own outdoor gardening space.
The infrastructure at CSG is aging, and the garden will be in need of larger repairs and rebuilds in the next few years. The Group Garden beds were rebuilt in 2018, and most of the other beds are showing damage and will need to be replaced soon. CSG has begun doing minor repairs to extend the lifespan of the existing infrastructure as we work on developing a long-term strategy. The greenhouses will also need attention in the next few years.
Membership:
There are 92 individual garden beds at CSG.
85 of these beds are full size individual beds, measuring 4’x16’ and provide 64 ft2 of gardening space. These beds were fully assigned and utilized in the 2018-2019 gardening season.
5 of the beds are Hi-Rise beds that are reserved for gardeners who need taller beds for accessibility. These beds measure 4’x8’ and provide 32 ft2 of gardening space. During the Attachment 7
2018-2019 gardening season, 1 of these beds stayed open and available for any gardener who may need this type of space.
CSG maintains 3 large beds called the Group Garden, measuring approximately 50’x5’ each, providing 750 ft2 of gardening space. The Group Garden provides an opportunity for Sunnyvale residents who are on the individual bed Waiting List to garden and join the CSG community. In the 2018-2019 gardening season, 25 gardeners participated in the Group Garden. The Group Garden team shares the 3 plots, working together to plan, plant, tend, harvest, and learn from each other.
Amongst our CSG members:
all Sunnyvale zipcodes are represented,
at least 19 members are seniors,
we have 24 families with children,
we have 1 low-income member (for whom we waived membership fees) Zip Code Number of Members
94085 14
94086 44
94087 33
94089 7
We continue to see strong interest from the Community in CSG. At the end of the 2018-2019 gardening season, 60 Sunnyvale residents were on the active waiting list, with 25 of those residents participating in the Group Garden. To be on the active waiting list, residents need to attend our CSG orientation class (CSG101). 283 people had signed up to the Waiting List database, but had not yet attended CSG101. 53 people completed CSG101 in 2018-2019, during 3 sessions of CSG101 that were taught at Charles Street Gardens. We welcomed 17 new gardeners to CSG in 2019, with a 2-month average wait time from taking CSG101 until getting a bed.
We had 22 gardeners give back their beds (either Individual bed or Group Garden bed), for various reasons. The primary reason was “not enough time to garden”. Additionally, 7 gardeners moved out of Sunnyvale and were no longer eligible to garden at CSG. 2018-2019 Highlights:
Our members contributed >1800 hours of volunteer time towards the maintenance of Charles Street Gardens.
Continued the Row Leader program, which was started in 2018. This has enabled development of leadership amongst the garden members, and a shared sense of ownership for the community garden.
Improvements to our Compost program to increase production of compost on site, reducing green waste and fostering a holistic cycle of resources within the garden. We o Vermicomposting (worm composting)
Attachment 7
o Aerobic composting
Annual Spring and Fall Plant Sale fundraising events. The local community has come to look forward to our annual plant sales. The Spring Plant Sale continues to be our most popular event, and the Fall Plant Sale has built a smaller but loyal following. We have now had a Fall Plant sale four years in a row, and plan to continue to make it an annual event. o Spring Plant Sale: $2911
o Fall Plant Sale: $1179
Events for Gardeners:
o Semi-Annual All Hands Meetings. April and September, 2019. o Monthly Second Saturday Work Days (SSWD) – this was started in 2018 and has become a regular event that gardeners look forward to. It is a monthly work day were CSG members get together to work on projects throughout the garden. In 2019, we added a breakfast potluck to the SSWD’s, which was received well by the gardeners. These group events foster teamwork and camaraderie, and the breakfast snacks help people stay energized!
o Summer evening potlucks: periodic weekday evening potlucks have been popular amongst the CSG gardeners, as a nice way to get to know each other, share a favorite dish, and build community.
Community Outreach & Education:
o Local Garden Share lost use of their meeting space, and began using CSG in 2019. This is a monthly meetup where gardeners meet to share produce, seeds, recipes, etc. o Preschool field trips to the garden from local preschool classes. o Sunnyvale Librarian Storytime events (2), and Storytime with Leigh from Bookasaurus / Leigh’s Books (1)
o Master Gardener Classes (5): Growing Ferns, Garden Safety, Veggies in a Pot, Pest Management, Succulents. Estimated total of 8 hours.
o Silicon Valley Tour De Coop 2019 tour stop (May 2019). o CSG led Classes (8): Rose Pruning, Grape Vine Pruning, Pruning Fruit Trees, Tool Sharpening, Irrigation Class, Orchid Care 101, Tool Sharpening, Apricot Tree Pruning.
Estimated total of 12 hours.
Attachment 7
o CSG101: (3) Introduction to Charles Street Garden, required for joining the Waitlist. o Participated in Sunnyvale State of the City event (September 2019) and Sunnyvale Library Outdoor Expo (June 2019). Estimated total of 5 hours. o Continue to maintain and grow website (charlesstreetgardens.org), added resources and education links to website including links to library, recycling center info and composting classes.
o Created Instagram account for increased outreach.
Looking Ahead: 2019-2020 Gardening Season Plans and Further:
As the Bay Area continues to grow, the need and desire for community outdoor spaces has never been stronger. As interest in eating more locally increases, CSG provides an avenue for learning and doing – a new gardener learns how to garden, children try new vegetables, seasoned gardeners learns a new technique from a fellow gardener. Our garden members cherish the space, and opportunity to garden – disconnecting briefly with our highly connected world to connect with nature and other gardeners.
These are some of the projects and ideas we are working on, to ensure the continued benefit of Charles Street Gardens to the Sunnyvale community. Our plans and schedules are adjusting as we are adapting to the COVID-19 crisis. It has been clear during this time that our garden members, as well as our local community, highly value this space and resource. We are proceeding carefully and in full compliance with requirements and recommendations of our local jurisdictions. Develop plans for repairing and replacing degrading beds, as well as building additional beds. Repair & replace hose bibbs to address water leaks and aging infrastructure. Develop plans for replacing and improving greenhouse spaces. Food Donation Program – partner with local community groups to donate produce grown at CSG to share with local community in need, particularly during the COVID-19 crisis. Strengthen Storytime in the Garden program with the Sunnyvale Library. Explore concept of a seed library at CSG.
Establish cooperative agreement with UCCE compost educators. Artist in residence @ CSG.
Yoga in the garden.
Increase school group tours.
Host Book Club events.
New website & logo.
Improved gardening education for the community.
Regards,
Margherita Lai & Fiona Walsh
CSG Garden Coordinators
Attachment 7