meet your fcg STEERING committee

If someone told me I couldn’t have a garden any more, I would simply BEG to be allowed to grow tomatoes.  Of all the food I grow kale, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, onions, spinach, lettuce tomatoes are the ones I care about the most.  There is nothing quite like a homegrown tomato.  Fried green tomatoes?  Yum.  Bacon and tomato sandwiches?  Double yum.

After 30 years in our home in Foxridge, our trees have grown tall and cast way too many shadows over our garden.  Our plants don’t thrive as they once did, and produce is slight.  Perhaps a small plot at the community garden would allow me to grow all the tomatoes I could desire, and then some to share.

I’m excited about the possibilities new and experienced gardeners sharing ideas and information, people hanging out in the evenings and watering their gardens, children digging in the dirt, the list goes on and on.

I have met many wonderful neighbors in my role as FIA board member and GID rep, and I hope to meet many more as the Foxridge Community Garden begins to thrive.

I grew up playing in the dirt with my grandfather, who has been gardening in the Colorado Springs area for over 40 years.  Through avid reading about our food culture (Fast Food Nation; Omnivore’s Dilemma; In Defense of Food; Salt, Sugar, Fat), I became dismayed at our current industrial agriculture system and the lack of knowing exactly where our food comes from before it hits the grocery store. This ignited my interest in gardening, homesteading, and a desire to grow Centennial’s local food scene.  I have also completed extensive training with Denver Urban Gardens to become a Master Composter and Master Community Gardener.

I moved to Colorado in 2007. Reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle ignited my interest in local food and sustainable living. I have worked as a baker and a canner, and as an apprentice for a small Neighborhood Supported Agriculture farm. I have connected with the urban agriculture scene through Slow Food, Building Farmers, Front Range Organic Gardeners, and the Denver Botanic Gardens. I also have a passion for landscaping with native plants, recognizing the impact that development has had on habitat loss and species decline. I’m a Native Plant Master and volunteer native seed collector and serves on the board of directors of Front Range Wild Ones. Now a Colorado Certified Nursery Professional, I walk to work at Highlands Garden Center, where I talk to and about plants daily, encouraging my neighbors to welcome birds, bees, and butterflies into their yards by selecting plants native to our bioregion.

I envision Foxridge Community Garden as a place to grow healthy food, learn new skills, meet and support neighbors, and connect with nature.

I have always loved mucking around in the garden. I have fond memories of taking a bowl down to the back garden and plucking raspberries off the bushes and eating more of the ripe fruit than harvesting for my mom.   I loved nature as a child, and gardens were a part of that. My mom was a natural gardener. She turned a once cornfield into a magical garden where her pruning skills made every tree and bush look like a work of art.  My father planted a vineyard, and growing grapes became a family affair.  My two sisters and I tended to the vineyard reluctantly as teenagers but later it became a great passion.  I worked in the wine industry most of my life and enjoyed making wine with my Dad, which led to a very humbled relationship with Mother Nature.  We had good years and bad and disaster years, no crop years, lady bug-infested years, and glorious years. Every harvest has taught me many things.  We need to take care of the earth, grow a garden, eat what’s in season, and share it with friends and family.  I hope to inspire people to make the most of their harvest and encourage them to sit around the table and share a meal and conversation.

As a resident of Foxridge since 1998, I am beyond excited to be a part of our community garden.  I love being outside and connecting with nature.  Whether I am camping, hiking or simply digging in the dirt in my own garden, I feel at ease when I’m outside in the fresh air and sunshine.  My parents and grandparents are to thank for instilling me with the love for the outdoors.  I have tried to do the same for my two boys.  When they were younger, I was involved in their school’s garden.  I spent many years taking children out to the school garden to plant seeds, do crafts, to conduct scavenger hunts, do science and math observations, and harvest all sorts of veggies, flowers, and herbs.  Much of the produce was “sold” back to the school cafeteria.  The school’s nutrition manager would then serve the veggies to students for lunch.   I also performed cooking demonstrations to introduce healthy eating to the children and teachers.   It was an amazing experience!

I hope to bring the joy of gardening and healthy eating to many in our community through fun activities, planting theme gardens, and a little education too.