Community Outreach
The Livermore-Amador Valley Garden Club has a number of service projects in the Tri-Valley Area.
We also support the Penny Pines program, which is a joint partnership of the National Garden Club (NGC) and the USDA Forest Service sustaining our national and urban forests through this reforestation/forest education program.
Camp Arroyo
Camp Arroyo is inactive
5535 Arroyo Road, Livermore, CA 94550
Camp Arroyo is a 138-acre park owned and maintained by the East Bay Regional Park District since 1995. It was used by the YMCA for outdoor education during the school year and by the Taylor Family Foundation during the summer for children with serious illnesses. Camp Arroyo is a pesticide free garden with an emphasis on vegetables.
Kim Billingsley wrote in late September, 2020: Camp Arroyo, and especially the garden, is a special place, nurtured by LAVGC and the Camp Arroyo staff for many years. However, the pandemic has hit Camp Arroyo's mission and the bottom line of UCCR (the company I worked for) very hard. UCCR has been unable to financially or emotionally support any program at Camp Arroyo to bring in needed cash. I made the hard choice and have tendered my resignation.
Camp Arroyo is no longer an active part of the LAVGC community outreach groups.
I have loved my time at Camp Arroyo and all the help and support my gardening friends have donated to make it all possible. I loved seeing some of you at our September, 2020 Zoom meeting and hope you are all well.
For more information about the Camp Arroyo status, please contact Jeri Stark, LAVGC President.
Directions
The address is 5535 Arroyo Road in Livermore. Once you are on Arroyo Road, continue past Wente Winery on the left. Camp Arroyo is a short distance from Wente and is located on the right hand side. The first gate is for the Taylor Family Foundation, you want the second gate and you will recognize it by the stone walls either side of the gate and of course, the sign!
Once inside Camp, you can park in the lot on the left and the garden will be across the road on the right.
Clare's Fare Garden - Feeding Community, Fueling Our Future
Work parties: Wednesdays 9:30 am 12:00 pm
Work parties: Saturdays 9:30 am 12:00 pm
Clare's Fare Garden is located on the side of
St Clare's Episcopal Church, 3350 Hopyard Road, Pleasanton, CA 94588. Access to the garden is from National Park Road, off North or South Valley Trails Road, which intersects Hopyard Road.
For information on visiting the garden or for volunteer help, contact
Clare's Fare Garden: Judy Matthew and Jennifer Whitehouse. See the LAVGC Yearbook for their additional contact information.
Kathy Oliver and Shirley Eastman worked together with Home Depot to get a discount on a greenhouse for Clare's Fare Garden. Thanks also to LAVGC for its $100 donation to help us meet the greenhouse cost. We were able to set up the greenhouse a few weeks ago and it is certainly a nice addition to our garden. StopWaste gave a load of its very nice compost to Clare's Fare Garden which we are using to prepare the beds for our summer crops including tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, beans and some other plants.
You are welcome to visit the garden. We can use volunteer help for a variety of garden tasks.
If you would like to join in and be added to the email list for weekly updates, please contact Clare's Fare Garden: Judy Matthew and Jennifer Whitehouse. See the LAVGC Yearbook for their additional contact information.
The garden has 4 long in-ground beds, earmarked for vegetables, a recently planted orchard of 15 trees, courtesy of generous donations from Alden Lane Nursery and Eden Garden volunteers, and a curving pollinator garden. A Hügelkultur bed completes the planting areas. All around, we are scattering native wildflowers. There is a barn owl nest box to keep rodents at bay. We also look after the church’s existing roses which border the garden.
The team at Clare’s has put in hard work over the past year and it really shows in that the layout of the garden is complete and we put up an owl box.
Nasturtiums were planted beneath the apple trees to deter codling moth and also to supply Culinary Angels with edible flowers.
The Hügelkultur bed is finished and was planted with field peas with garlic at the bottom border. The bed itself is generating heat (83F) as the woody materials start to decompose. Later on, we plan to plant sweet potatoes in this bed, to take advantage of the heat.
Two compost bins based on “This Old House” design have been made and filled with autumn leaves, coffee grounds & horse manure. These are also generating heat, to 130F.
In the in-ground beds, asparagus, onions and shallots were planted. Potatoes awere planted. Two additional beds were added to the garden, one for collard greens and the other will become an herb garden.
The garden is drawing more attention including an earlier visit from Trevor Probert of Stopwaste. This organization is pulling together a network of edible gardens.
Hügelkultur (German for hill/mound cultivation) is an old technique that involves planting on top of buried decaying material such as tree trunks and branches. There are many instructional videos available online. The benefits of hügelkultur are said to include:
- Water retention;(the wood acts as a sponge, holding and releasing moisture, so good for dryland agriculture and the water shortages we are likely to face)
- Provides slow release of nutrients
- Warms the root zone via decomposition
- Returns carbon to the soil
- Good way to solve a wood disposal problem
- Cheaper-than-dirt way to fill a raised bed or depression
- Self tilling because it settles over time.
Oct 30, 2020: Spreading compost
See more Clare's Fare Garden pictures from 2020-2021 including the Hügelkultur bed.
Eden Garden - an organic project
Fridays, May 6, 13, 27, 2022 work party 9:00 - 12:00
Saturday May 21, 2022 work party 9:00 - 12:00
1660 Freisman Road, Livermore. Pleasanton if you are using GPS! Although it is actually in Livermore!
'Eden Garden - an organic project' has 2 simple goals: to provide fresh, organic food for those in need and to give people a hands on opportunity to learn about growing their own food.
Eden Garden is located near the barn on the Crosswinds Church property in Livermore, on the frontage road just beyond the Outlet Mall. Volunteers come from the garden club, Crosswinds Church, and the community. See Directions below.
The Eden Garden is in full swing getting the summer vegetables planted. We would love to see you at one of our work parties, no experience required, just a willingness to help out.
So please let us know if you like to be on the list for notifications of work parties so we can keep you up to date and informed by emailing EdenGarden@lavgc.org. We hope to see you! Bill Tallon, Barbara Stott or Graham Stott.
See the LAVGC Yearbook for their additional contact information.
We are famous!
A video has been made about the Eden Garden - an organic project. Here is a link to the video which not only features the Garden but an insight into the South Hayward Outreach Center where much of produce is delivered.
Directions
Click Map to Eden Garden to see an aerial map then follow the blue line to Eden Garden. From Dublin, take 580 east towards Livermore. Get off at El Charro/Fallon Road and turn right on to El Charro. Turn left at the Outlet Mall and then left again at the end of the Outlet Mall block. Keep to the right and turn right at the end of the road (onto the frontage road). Drive past the golf driving range to the end of Freisman Road. Freisman dead ends at the property. Turn right on to the property. Once on the property take the first left. Follow the road around, across the bridge and you will see a large metal barn. The garden is behind the barn.
From Livermore, you can take 580 west and exit at El Charro/Fallon Road or you can access the property from Jack London Blvd (via Isabel/84). Turn right at the outlet mall. Keep to the right and turn right at the end of the road (onto the frontage road). Drive past the golf driving range to the end of Freisman Road. Freisman dead ends at the property. Turn right on to the property. Once on the property take the first left. Follow the road around, across the bridge and you will see a large metal barn. The garden is behind the barn.
Sensory Garden
3rd Fridays. Next: Friday, May 20 2022 9:00 am - Noon
5353 Sunol Blvd., Pleasanton; Across from Raley's. Adjacent to the Pleasanton Senior Center on Sunol Blvd
The next "Gathering in the Garden", also known as a "work party", will be Friday, May 20th. Mark your calendars now and come join us. We'll start at 9:00, but always have a couple of early birds. We'll go until around noon. Join us for the morning or an hour or two.
The Sensory Garden is definitely coming alive after the couple of small rain showers we had in April. In the ground level beds, the Viburnum and Chinese Fringe tree are beginning to flower, the rock rose is in full bloom, the perennial sunflowers are making an appearance, the smoke bushes have leafed out and the manzanita has struck a stately pose. The raised beds are full of a variety of bulbs that are blooming and others that are just about ready to provide some additional color. The ice plant is flowing over the edges and the lantana is finally coming out of hibernation ready to put on a colorful display.
The landscape changes almost weekly...as one plant finishes blooming, several others emerge to become the new showstoppers. Come check out the Sensory Garden whenever you are in the area. And if you are inspired by what you see, this is your invitation to meet with your fellow gardeners and put your skills to work in this magnificent garden.
Come join us for an hour or the entire time, we appreciate any time you can spend.
Please bring your own hand tools, gloves, and kneeling pads. Larger tools and amendments for the garden will be provided. Planned tasks will include weeding, pruning, and whatever else is needed to keep the garden looking great. Come join us for the morning or an hour or two. We looking forward to seeing you in the Sensory Garden.
The Sensory Garden is open to the public and draws many visitors. Even if you can't attend a work party, we encourage everyone to stop by the Sensory Garden when you are in the area. There is almost always something colorful blooming, something moving in the breeze, something fragrant in the air. The "Sensory Garden" lives up to its name. Like our individual gardens, it is really coming alive at this time of year. Come check it out.
(Ed. Note: If you are looking for a relatively flat, hard surface with wide paths to take a walk in spring weather, the park around the Sensory gardens is a great little walk. You get to appreciate all the statuary and art work too.)
If you can attend or have questions, please contact Michelle and Bill Tallon. See the LAVGC Yearbook for their additional contact information.
Pictures from 2017 and 2018 Sensory Garden work parties
Here are some photos taken at Sensory Garden work parties in the recent past. Work parties are fun for getting to know our members and the participants learn about horticultural practices as they perform the work of transplanting, weeding, dead heading, pruning, fertilizing, controlling pests and propagation of plants.
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Garden Angels
We have a group of members willing and eager to go out and help any garden club member that is not able to keep up their garden temporarily possibly because of illness, chemo, etc. We can deadhead, sweep, plant annuals, and generally tidy up the garden. Do you need this kind of help or know someone who does? If so, please use the signup sheet at the monthly club meeting or contact Peggy Despotakis.
Looking for Garden Angels. Periodically club members need some help in their gardens due to illness. If you would like to be on the Angel call list for a workparty, contact Peggy Despotakis.
Livermore 1st Street Pots
No workparties are currently scheduled
Please contact Mary Davis for more information.See the LAVGC Yearbook for additional contact information.
Penny Pines
The Penny Pines program, which is a joint partnership of the National Garden Club (NGC) and the USDA Forest Service sustaining our national and urban forests through this reforestation/forest education program.
PENNY PINES ON HOLD
Per Nina Blonski, Chairman Penny Pines for California,
"All US Forest Service Offices are closed due to the COVID-19 restrictions and/or the wildfire events around the state. Please do NOT send Penny Pines donations currently. You may wish to continue collecting funds and hold until we are notified that the offices are open and able to collect donations."
Jeri Stark announced this at our meeting via Zoom on October 8, 2021, and also noted that she has started a jar to collect her change and save the donations for after the offices open again. As a reminder to old members and a notice to new members, LAVGC collects change/donations at our normal meetings in support of the Penny Pines programs. We donate in plantations in the amount of $68 which the forest service uses to reseed, replant, or in some way replace growth in areas where needed. Since the foundation of our club we have donated 204 plantations. Save your change and when we can meet in person again we will gather the funds and send donations to our forests to help in the rebuilding of our natural resources.
Penny Pines
Have you wondered what that cute green box that is passed around at the meeting and people are putting money inside is for? Each $68 that we collect is used to plant an acre of burned out national forest land. Since 1999, our club has donated money to help plant 109 acres of trees for a total donation of over $8,000.
Through the years the members of our garden club have been very generous through donations to the Penny Pines box circulated at each meeting. We have purchased 143 plantations in honor of current and former club members as well as donations to honor the first responders for 9/11 relief, as well as others in our community.
We have also participated in the Arbor Day celebration for last two years in partnership with Alden Lane, The California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers, and Davey Expert Tree Company to purchase a plantation for each of eight Pleasanton elementary schools. They are presented during an Arbor Day training session presented by club members.
In addition to donations made by the club, you can make private donations as Jeri Stark did for Christmas 2018. She felt her children have everything they need and so she gave them each a certificate honoring them in the forests near Yosemite where they have spent many years at their grandparent's home. Giving back a bit for all the years of enjoyment for the many happy and fun filled days spent in the area.
How it works:
- LAVGC can honor current or past club members, a member's life partner, or child by contributing funds to the USDA Forest Service.
- A club member may privately honor an individual by submitting a completed form along with a check for $68, payable to LAVGC.
- At each monthly meeting, the club collects change that is set aside for a time when a plantation is to be purchased to honor a club member.
- Nomination to be approved or denied by the LAVGC Executive Board within 60 days of receipt.
- The Executive Board may also direct purchase of a Penny Pines Plantation for other reasons.
- A Penny Pines Certificate will be sent to inform the family of the location of the plantation.
- To honor or nominate someone, click Penny Pines form and complete.
- For more information, please contact Jeri Stark. See the LAVGC Yearbook for Jeri's phone numbers.
Click to see the NGC Penny Pines information.
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See more Eden Garden photos at Eden Garden 2018 - 2019 photos.
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