A few residents initiated this core working group in May to begin a conversation about a new green project intended to grow Merchantville beyond our community garden and farmers market by creating a supportive culture of understanding, learning and action towards environmental stewardship and a sustainable future. Using the Pam Warhurst Incredible Edible Network - eat our landscapes - model as an outline we hope to galvanize the community by growing herbs and vegetables in public spaces, celebrating local food, bringing sustainable edible living to life through local school education, and supporting our local food economy through restaurants and businesses. Nurturing environmental stewardship in Merchantville through the development of edible landscapes to promote a healthy culture and sustainable future. "Creating a kind, confident and connected community through the power of food." - Pam Warhurst. Join the discussion and follow our progress on our FB group and FB page.

Chris Waldron, director of Sustainability and Shared Services, Camden County, was the main speaker. He explained his duties and services that he could provide out of his Lakeland, NJ facility. Following the discussion, we all, under Chris’s leadership, were able to begin making plans to start our project. We will get in contact with a Master Gardener located at Rutgers; outreach to Dina Turan to determine Merchantville Elementary School's interest as a stakeholder in the education component; research registration required for grants available for the project - with assist from Chris; attend Tri-County Sustainability Alliance - meets and often works with county partners on projects; Dorothy Foley volunteered to take our minutes to the Green Team meeting after our meeting; and planting survey/plans - first planting place should be very visible so people become acquainted with the project and then become involved as our work begins to take shape. An invitation to visit Chris’s facility any time (Saturdays 10 am—noon) was extended to the group.

Starting small can lead to great growth. That's what has happened with the Share the Harvest neighborhood gardens in Ellwood City, PA. Volunteers are busy getting ready for what they hope will be the best growing season so far to supply fresh produce to those in the community who need assistance. Crystal Simpson's Girl Scout group became involved with the community gardens as part of a journey. "The girls were working on a project called Sow What where they learned about where food comes from and the processes it takes to get to consumers," she said, adding that an Earth Day festival is where they met those working with the community garden and leaders of the Scouting organization decided it would be a great learning experience to plan and donate to the community.

Urban gardening may be catching on now, but today's urban gardeners have nothing on their grandparents - urban farming was way more than a fad in the 1940s. During the World Wars, the U.S. government urged citizens to plant their own small vegetable gardens. It was a super positive spin on "We don't have enough war rations." I don't know what people would do today if the government asked them to grow cabbage in their front yards, but people back them were ready. Around 20 million families planted victory gardens. They grew 40 percent of the country's vegetables by 1944. Hopscotch was supplanted by a new and serious game for these Girl Scouts called Plant the Victory Garden. Victory Gardens - for family and country.

Last fall, a half-dozen teenagers from the Southern New Jersey city of Camden brought hot peppers they’d grown in an urban garden to a rented industrial kitchen. Donning latex gloves, they de-seeded and chopped the chilies before adding them to vinegar and salt. A few days later, they processed and bottled the resulting product into their own brand of hot sauce, Kapow! The group is part of a teen-focused entrepreneurial program called Eco Interns, offered by the Camden-area Center for Environmental Transformation(CFET). The mission of this nonprofit is to create a sustainable, healthy source of fresh fruit and vegetables through community gardens and a farmers’ market for an underserved urban community, while offering job training and education with a focus on meeting environmental challenges.

Add curb appeal and improve the life and look of your neighborhood with a curbside garden. Garden fragments purify and freshen air, absorb and filter water, and foster biodiversity with its associated services and benefits, not to mention lowering crime and raising property values. We're looking for some street captains to get a curbside planting IE project called "Herb Your Curb" off the ground. Right now we are researching municipal code to identify restrictions, but feel confident that we can overcome any hurdles! If you think your street is a good option - a side street with a majority of willing participants - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Brigid, know. If anyone would like to co-chair this project please let me know. We would be planting indigenous herbs along the strips between the street and the sidewalk.

Incredible Edible Merchantville is scheduling a kick-off meeting in early January and hope that many residents, Green Team and Garden Club members will be able to attend. We'll be giving updates on progress and partnerships developed since our December meeting and discuss plans for moving forward in 2019. In the meantime, we invite you to join the discussion on our FB page and FB Group page to browse through our information and share your thoughts about this proposed community stewardship and sustainability project.

On the agenda tonight for the IE core working group is a a proposal to move froward with their Innovative Community Project called Incredible Edible Merchantville. Joan Brennan and Betsy Langley will present the proposal so that it can be finalized before submission to Mayor and Council. The project is focused on nurturing environmental stewardship in Merchantville through the development of edible landscapes to promote a healthy culture and sustainable future. "Creating a kind, confident and connected community through the power of food." - Pam Warhurst Learn about our mission.