With great pride we are delighted to present a summary of the first five years of our work in prison gardens in our 5-Year Report. This beautiful report would not have been possible without the hard work, dedication and passion of our students, staff, donors, board members and volunteers. We hope you enjoy it!
Notes from the Field
Photo: J
Spring into Spring with TNGS!
Garden Planning: Annual Vegetables & Cut Flowers
Sunday, March 31, 2019, 10 AM–12 PM | Marshfield Fairgrounds Administrative Building, 140 Main St, Marshfield MA, 02050 | $30 individuals, $55 couples
Spring into planting season with a strong plan! In this participatory workshop, we’ll learn organic strategies for small-scale gardening from succession planting to season extension. Let’s maximize harvests while caring for our soil. Bring your garden dimensions as the class will also sketch garden plans and create planting schedules for your specific site. Gardeners of all experience levels are welcome.
Workshop will have a lecture section and then will break into groups for planning out your individual garden plots.
Proceeds from the workshop will equally benefit The New Garden Society and the Marshfield Society for Horticulture and Agriculture. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets in advance.
NOTE: If you also have soil test data or type (sandy vs. clay etc) and sunlight information (full sun, part sun, afternoon sun, shady etc) that data will help improve your plan.
Attendees should be able to go home with a plan that fits his/her garden space and experience level.
Workshop will be held upstairs in the Administration building at the Marshfield Fairgrounds. Please plan to arrive about 10 minutes prior to the start of the event to check-in and get settled. Bring a clipboard, pencils, garden dimensions.
Your Educator:
Erika Rumbley is a grower specializing in greenhouse production, organic land care and cut flowers. Erika serves as the Greenhouse Manager at The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum growing a diverse collection of plants from orchids to woody shrubs. As a Co-Founder and Director of The New Garden Society, Erika gardens alongside students in a prison yard south of Boston on Monday afternoons. Erika is a graduate of Vassar College, with an Honors BA in Environmental Studies and is the recipient of numerous fellowships including the Helen Dwight Reid Fellowship for service on The Crow Indian Reservation. Since her first farm apprenticeship in 2005, Erika has grown cut flowers, fruit and vegetables on farms and nurseries in New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. She honed her skills as a grower as the Greenhouse Manager at Langwater Farm from 2014-2017. In a parallel vein, Erika has served a range of land-based non-profits as a facilitator and adult educator, including Southside Community Land Trust, Boston Natural Areas Network and The Trustees of Reservations.
No hibernating this Winter!
We are keeping ourselves busy preparing for our 6th season in Greater Boston prison gardens! The New Garden Society is looking for next year’s crop of Volunteer Garden Educators to work with our incarcerated students, and continue the positive transformation of landscapes and lives in our community. Please send us your application to join us as a Volunteer Educator by February 18, 2019 or connect with us at one of these events!
Prison Garden Workshop at NOFA/Mass Winter Conference
Saturday, January 12, 2019 | 9 - 10:30 AM | Worcester State University, 486 Chandler St, Worcester, Massachusetts 01602
Prison Gardens: Strategies for Therapy and Job Training
Prison gardens are proliferating across the US. Join TNGS Co-Founder and Director, Renee Portanova, to learn the ins and outs of developing and implementing horticulture programs in state prison yards. The workshop is open to those who are interested in therapeutic horticulture and vocational training. We’ll provide sample curriculum, best practices and approaches to providing garden training on a minimal budget. For more info on attending the conference, visit here.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service at The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Monday, January 21, 2019 | 11 AM - 4 PM | 25 Evans Way, Boston, MA 02115
Join a hands-on planting project led by our Co-Founder and Director, Erika Rumbley, and learn more about The New Garden Society's work providing horticulture training for incarcerated students in the Greater Boston area. Craft a care package for families served by the Elizabeth Stone House, a local organization partnering with adult and child survivors of domestic violence and related trauma to achieve safety, stability, and overall well-being. Excerpts of Dr. King’s speeches will play every hour in the Courtyard. Museum admission will be free, and entrance is based on the museum’s capacity.
Please consider bringing donations of new toiletries and gardening supplies for our service projects (travel sized preferred):
toothbrushes
toothpaste
tampons & pads
lotions
soap
hand sanitizer
deodorant
baby wipes (full size or travel size packages)
gardening hand tools - plastic only
new men’s cotton gardening gloves
Open House & Call for Volunteer Garden Educators
Monday, February 11, 2019 | 5 - 8 PM | Crystal Spring Farm, 76 Everett Skinner Road, Plainville, MA 02672 | Snow date, February 18
Would you like to share your horticultural and agricultural know-how with our incarcerated community? If you are intrigued by the idea of teaching once a month in a prison garden in 2019, please swing by to meet with our team of Educators and find out if the experience is for you. Educators will give short presentations on the position and their experiences in the prison gardens at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30pm. Learn about how you can join the team as a full-season Educator or a one-time Presenter. There will be plenty of time for any questions and to mix and mingle with the TNGS crew. Refreshments provided! You can also read the full Volunteer Educator job description here.
Feel free to contact TNGS if you have questions or can't make the event: email info@thenewgardensociety.org or call (857) 203-0585.