April 15 - At the Green Tent

Here it Comes!!!

The Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase 2018 is just around the corner!  With a few years off to recharge our creative batteries, we’re coming back on Saturday, April 28, 2018 from 10am to 4pm for another FUN and FREE celebration of sustainable gardening.

Even though last winter’s rainfall has helped to alleviate our drought crisis, please don’t be lulled into thinking that plentiful rainfall will continue. The need for sustainable practices in our gardens, and the desire for information on how to convert water-hungry lawns into beautiful and environment-friendly retreats, continues.   

From chickens to beekeeping, rain barrels to composting, native plant selection to garden design overview, our goal is to provide a relaxing day in 20 of Mar Vista’s most beautiful sustainable gardens AND give visitors plenty of know-how to feed their own sustainable garden dreams. Stop by the Mar Vista Farmers Market Green Tent this coming Sunday, April 15^th and get all of your questions answered by Maggie Begley, the new Chair of the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase.

So save the date for the 2018 Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase:  Saturday, April 28, 2018 from 10am to 4pm.  In the meantime, you can find inspiration at the MVGGS blog, where images and information from all our tours are featured.   

The Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase is sponsored by environmental non-profit Green Communications Initiative, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt public benefit corporation. 

Warm regards and Happy New Year!

Maggie Begley

Chair, 2018 Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase

Maggie@mbcprinc.com; 310.749.3055

 

SEE YOU ON THE 31ST

Reminder: the Mar Vista Farmer's Market will be closed this Sunday, December 24. We will return the following week, December 31.

2017-2018 CHRISTMAS TREE RECYCLING INFORMATION

For additional information regarding Christmas tree recycling programs in the GDDs or unincorporated communities and to learn more about the County of Los Angeles Environmental Programs, please call 1(888)CLEAN LA between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

Learn how to reduce waste this holiday season by visiting our Helpful Holiday Hints for Waste Reduction.

Straight Trash Talk

Tomorrow, December 10 Green, Black or Blue Bin - Where does it go?

Are you a recycling expert? Stop by the Green Tent this weekend to test your knowledge with a sorting game, learn about the recycling process and commit to reducing waste. Get your recycling questions answered. Hear from a recycling pro and learn what to do with your Household Hazardous Waste.

In 2015, Californian’s produced 4.7 lbs of trash per person, per day and diverted 63% of waste from landfills, but we can do better! The City of LA’s goal of zero waste is within reach as long as residents are expert recyclers! Recycling right saves natural resources, decreases pollution and saves landfill space.

Guest Rachel Adell is a local Mar Vista resident and self-proclaimed enthusiast of all things trash and recycling. Her love of garbage fuels her blog Straight Trash Talk and earned her a job in local government working on municipal recycling, education and policy. Rachel’s goal is to share her love of waste and help the public understand their role in waste creation and reduction.

Food Forward - August 12

SHARING ABUNDANCE WITH THOSE IN NEED

Learn how you can help provide fresh fruits and veggies to the hungry in your community! Food Forward is a Southern California based non-profit that recovers produce from backyard fruit trees, farmers markets and LA's downtown wholesale market and then donates 100% of what is collected to local hunger relief agencies. 



Food Forward not only battles hunger in Southern California but also works to curb the environmental issue of food waste. Recent studies have shown that 40% of the food in the country never makes it to the table and 20% of what goes into municipal landfills is food. Southern California is an abundant land of agriculture and donating surplus food to the 1.28 million food insecure in LA county is a win-win!

Since forming in 2009, Food Forward has collected over 40 million pounds of produce, which has helped to feed 150,000 clients a month through more than 300 diverse distribution partners across Southern California.

Sign up to volunteer at https://foodforward.org/volunteer/sign-up-to-volunteer/.

Food Forward hosts 150+ volunteer-powered events per month so, whether you'd like to pick fruit or go to the farmers market with us, there are many opportunities to contribute to our efforts in providing nourishing fruits and veggies food to those most in need. 

FREE SEEDS

The Master Gardeners are taking a Thanksgiving break, but seeds will still be available at the Green Tent, so stop by and get your fix.

Rainbow Chard - Easy to Grow, Easy to Cook

Just a heads up, the Mar Vista Farmer's Market will be closed next month, on the fourth Sunday, December 24. The Master Gardeners look Forward to welcoming you back to the Green Tent on January 28, 2018.




To all of our loyal supporters and visitors, have a joyous and abundant holiday season! 

Mar Vista Art Walk November 25

This holiday season the Mar Vista Art Walk joins the Mar Vista Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Saturday event for an American Express sponsored ALL-DAY bonanza on Saturday November 25. 

                     

Created as a means of improving the walkability of our neighborhood, The Mar Vista ArtWalk is a fun, FREE celebration of all the arts.  More walking = fewer cars + less greenhouse gas + better health! 

On Saturday November 25, the 1-mile stretch of Venice Blvd between Inglewood Bl – Beethoven St. will be transformed by its current theme, GRATITUDE.  Yes!  Our wonderful, eco-friendly, environmentally conscious and economically supportive neighborhood has inspired us to celebrate YOU.

A Kids Carnival, live kid rock bands, staged sKool Kidz readings and exhibition, carolers, live painting, art installations, experimental video and live music will encourage neighbors to get out and walk our streets. 

The Mar Vista Art Walk is a joint effort of environmental nonprofit Green Communications Initiative (GCI) and the community of local artists, the Department of Cultural Affairs, Community Partners, Earthstar Creation Center and the M & R Vest Foundation, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Michelle Pine Rappoport-KW Realty, and the support of CD-11 councilmember Mike Bonin, Mar Vista Neighborhood Council, and Mayor Eric Garcetti’s “Great Streets” Initiative.

Garden School Foundation, November 12, 2017

This Sunday at The Green Tent, the Garden School Foundation will be making newspaper pots and planting cool season crops. Bring the kiddos by to cultivate a new generation of self-sufficient gardeners who can grow their own food !

The Garden School Foundation stands as the premier model of garden-based education in Los Angeles. After 7 years at the 24th Street Elementary School in West Adams, they’ve developed not only a thriving, organized, beautiful, and sustainable garden classroom but a comprehensive curriculum that speaks to the particular needs of schools in under-served communities. Since 2003, they’ve been turning asphalt into ecosystems, working to create a healthy, educated and aware future generation that care for their bodies and for the earth. GSF’s Seed To Table (S2T) program, which is comprised of K-5 year-round curriculum, operates in six Title I elementary schools and their new Greenhouse Program teaches vocation-based curriculum to students with developmental disabilities at Widney Career and Transition Center.   

GSF holds Community Garden Days every month at their various sites, providing a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together and volunteer in one of their school gardens. Please visit their website if you are interested in participating on a Community Garden Day. You will also find details for their Greenhouse Seedling CSA Program and news on their amazing expansion into 10 new schools providing teacher training workshops! Check out their website for more exciting things happening at The Garden School Foundation. 

Learn more about Garden School Foundation's work in our LA Weekly Article and Video and how we help 2,500+ little chefs and gardeners around Los Angeles grow and eat veggies everyday!

Grey Water from Your Washing Machine, November 5

GREY WATER FROM LAUNDRY WASTE

What is greywater? It's the "waste" water from your washing machine reused to water your fruit trees or perennial plants instead of being sent to the reclamation plant and then out to the ocean. 

With a greywater system, every time you do a load of laundry your plants get a good drink and you save money as well.


As everyone knows, California has experienced an extreme drought for many years and it will most likely continue. Water is probably the most important resource for every living species on our planet. Learn how to double the usage of your water!

Green Tent guest Art Lee holds workshops that cover all the information you need to install a grey water system at your house. He's bringing a mini greywater demo system so visitors can see how it works and will answer your questions. He'll also have a signup sheet for those interested in attending a future workshop.

A bicycle built for solar power!  And yeah, it works.

Art can explain how to install your own personal solar panel for small projects or emergency power for your cell phone, laptop, or ham radio.

Art is also a solar energy expert!  When it comes to versatility and sustainability, he has all the info you need to painlessly shrink your carbon footprint.  Come by the Green Tent this Sunday and benefit from his free advice.

DIG - October 31, 2017

DIG Childhood Center is a unique, non-profit, toddler-to-preschool program that provides caring, respectful, and enriching support to children and their families in the cooperative spirit.

Sustainable practices are important to our community. Our families pack healthy, no-waste lunches. We compost. We make choices based on reducing packaging and consumption. We reduce, reuse, and recycle (in that order!) We intentionally use cast off or recyclable materials in our curriculum plans daily. We use products and materials that are not harmful to our children or our environment. 

At DIG, we believe in spending time outside, rain or shine, and connecting with natural materials – plants and trees, dirt and water, stones and wood. Our child-directed program focuses on each individual’s social and emotional well-being. We provide this support via our wonderful Outdoor Classroom, our free-flowing space, and our low teacher-to-student ratio.

Through our program, we strive to create a world of self-reliant, empathetic, mindful, and compassionate community builders: young people instilled with non-violent conflict resolution skills and resilience, living free from shame. We see the whole child and, rather than judging good and bad behavior, we model tools to navigate the waves of life. 

We are excited to be opening our doors at our new location in Mar Vista in the West LA Imago Dei Church on the corner of Pacific Ave. and Grand View Blvd. 

Stop by our table on October 29th at the Green Tent and introduce yourself! As part of our science curriculum, we will be explore magnets and metals with repurposed metal bits and pieces we find at home or at work — jar lids, Altoid tins, old locks, keys and chains, etc. 

We are looking forward to connecting with our neighbors!

DIG Childhood Center

DIGcenter.org

info@DIGcenter.org

3480 Grand View Blvd.

Mar Vista, CA 90066 

424.272.8988

Master Gardeners, October 22, 2017

It’s KITTY GRASS day on October 22 as the UC/CE LA County Master Gardeners  occupy the Green Tent, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The MGs are bringing seeds and plants to give away FREE, and they have lots of cat grass seed. Come grab your bonus seed pack and if you’re lucky, you can pick up one of the plants that have already sprouted.

Here's what else they're bringing, (in addition to the kitty grass):

Italian parsley — easy to chop flat green leaves 

Kale — everyone’s favorite

Leaf lettuce - who says you can't eat salads in the Fall?
Snap peas  —  MG Sarah’s favorite, the chunky, crispy pods with sweet peas inside, eat ‘em whole, raw or cook ‘em  

Spinach — where would Popeye be without it?

Sweet William — flowers that are pretty AND edible!

Fava Beans — they might not turn into food until spring but they are also considered a cover crop, locking nitrogen in your garden’s soil.

For what to do this (and every) month in the LA County garden, visit http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/Garden_Tips_for_Los_Angeles_County/

And please remember to recycle your “pony packs” — those little plastic 6- or 8-pack plant holders you get from the nursery — with the Master Gardeners so they can continue to plant seedlings for the Mar Vista community!