2023 Benicia & Vallejo Demonstration Food Forest Tour Press Release

Apr 10, 2023

April 10, 2023
For immediate release

Media Contact: Allison Nagel
805-512-0901
allison@sustainablesolano.org
Interviews, photos and other materials available upon request

Quick facts:

  • Sustainable Solano’s Benicia & Vallejo Demonstration Food Forest Garden Tour will be 9 am-4 pm Saturday, April 22 (Earth Day)
  • This year’s tour will include informational talks and self-guided tours of private and community gardens that practice waterwise principles of rainwater capture and, in some cases, laundry-to-landscape greywater systems. These gardens build healthy soil, grow food and create habitat.
  • Educational talks will be on food forests, lawn conversions, greywater systems and composting.
  • Most gardens on the tour were created through Sustainable Solano’s Solano Sustainable Backyards program, funded by the Solano County Water Agency. The first seven food forest gardens in the program were made possible through funding from the Benicia Sustainability Commission.
  • The tour is free with a $10 suggested donation
  • Learn more and register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/benicia-vallejo-annual-demonstration-food-forest-tour-tickets-568395304657

 

2023 Benicia & Vallejo Demonstration Food Forest Tour is April 22

Sustainable Solano’s food forest keepers will be opening up their demonstration food forest gardens in Benicia and Vallejo for the annual tour on Saturday, April 22.

Each garden offers ideas and inspiration on how to use water efficiently while creating a lush thriving garden that supports life and provides food and habitat. Some of the garden sites will have education and information on bees, honey, monarch butterflies, laundry-to-landscape greywater, compost, native plants, local food, guided tours, spring festivals and so much more. There will also be laundry-to-landscape greywater education in English and Spanish.

Most of the gardens on the tour were created through Sustainable Solano’s Solano Sustainable Backyards program, funded by the Solano County Water Agency. The first seven food forest gardens in the program were made possible through funding from the Benicia Sustainability Commission. Others were inspired by these gardens. All of the gardens showcase plants that thrive in Solano County.

This year, Sustainable Solano formed a new partnership with the Vallejo People’s Garden and together installed the Pollinator Pathway native plant garden on Mare Island, which will be part of the tour.

“Our deepest hope for this year’s tour is that people get energized and inspired to take action and become caretakers of the land and each other,” said Program Manager Nicole Newell, who runs the organization’s Solano Sustainable Backyards program.

Other Sustainable Solano garden tours this year will include the Fairfield-Suisun City Demonstration Food Forest Garden Tour on May 6, and the Vacaville Demonstration Food Forest Garden Tour on June 3.

Learn more about the tour here: https://sustainablesolano.org/2023-benicia-vallejo-demonstration-food-forest-tour-is-april-22/

Learn more about each garden here: https://sustainablesolano.org/2023-benicia-vallejo-tour-featured-gardens/

About Sustainable Solano

Sustainable Solano is a countywide nonprofit organization that brings together programs that support and sustain one another and the Solano County community to promote ecologically regenerative, economically and socially just communities in a world that works for everyone. Initiatives include sustainable landscaping, local food, resilient neighborhoods, youth leadership, sustaining conversations and community gardens.

For more information, visit sustainablesolano.org 

$2.5M in Funding Brings Together 3 Solano Nonprofits to Build Capacity, Lend Support

Mar 16, 2023

March 16, 2023
For immediate release

Media Contact: Allison Nagel
805-512-0901
allison@sustainablesolano.org
Interviews, photos and other materials available upon request

Quick facts:

  • Three Solano County nonprofits have received capacity-building funding that will strengthen those organizations to support their community-driven work over the next five years.
  • The cohort of the three nonprofits will determine together how to divide and spend approximately $500,000 per year, for a total of $2.5 million over the next five years.
  • The cohort was selected by an advisory committee consisting of Solano County community leaders in partnership with Magic Cabinet board members
  • Magic Cabinet is a philanthropic foundation that centers and amplifies the work of community-driven organizations by offering collaborative multi-year capacity-building funding. This gives nonprofit leaders the tools, funds, and autonomy to decide what’s needed, when, and how to use it to best support their missions.

 

$2.5M in Funding Brings Together 3 Solano Nonprofits to Build Capacity, Lend Support

Three Solano County nonprofit organizations have been selected to receive a total of $2.5 million in capacity-building funding from philanthropic foundation, Magic Cabinet, that will help them to grow and strengthen their organizations to better support their community-driven work for the next five years.

Leaders of the three organizations — Mile High Residential Treatment & Behavioral Health, North Bay Housing Coalition, and Sustainable Solano — say that this funding will help them to achieve new goals, while also bringing them together as a cohort to share strategies and support.

“This long-term financial support will elevate NBHC to the next level,” said Mary Eble, executive director of North Bay Housing Coalition. “We are excited for what we can accomplish and learn from this experience.”

Magic Cabinet centers and amplifies the work of community-driven organizations by offering collaborative multi-year capacity-building funding that drives better decisions and cross-sector collaboration. This in turn creates a network effect of funders and nonprofit leaders, supporting one another as peers, amplifying their missions together. The Solano cohort will determine together how to allocate and spend approximately $500,000 per year to meet the unique challenges and opportunities of each organization.

“This funding will allow Sustainable Solano to fortify our organizational capacity to work on the ground, to build a democratically managed, non-hierarchical organization and to ultimately increase our impact in the community,” said Elena Karoulina, executive director of Sustainable Solano.

Magic Cabinet provides funding and access to a peer network to small- and medium-sized nonprofits in the Greater Puget Sound and San Francisco Bay areas. The foundation’s unique participatory approach invests in nonprofit cohorts that share a common geography and mutually supporting missions. Magic Cabinet’s approach brings together four elements of community-centered philanthropy: trust-based philanthropy, participatory decisions, capacity building, and long-term investment. Since 2019, Magic Cabinet has awarded over $45 million to nonprofits in Washington and California.

“Our grantmaking process is designed to support the whole nonprofit, not just the programs. We encourage our nonprofit partners to build capacity and infrastructure that will support their missions for the long-term,” said Christina Engel, executive director of Magic Cabinet. “We are changing how philanthropy works with the nonprofit community it supports. To put it simply, it’s all about relationships and shifting power to our nonprofit partners.”

This is the second cohort based in Solano County. In 2022, Magic Cabinet awarded funding to A Place-2-Live, Rio Vista Care, and Solano Advocates for Victims of Violence.

Throughout the five-year partnership, both the grantees and Magic Cabinet can discover operational strengths and pinpoint areas for improvement. The collaborative cohort creates a space for the three nonprofit partners to support and advise each other. Within the cohort model, uncovering an area of improvement is not a negative but an opportunity to build a stronger nonprofit — and a potential capacity-building project.

About Mile High

Mile High Residential Treatment & Behavioral Health impacts the lives of foster youth one day at a time by creating an environment that allows for a new beginning, positive growth, and independence. The organization’s primary mission is to help our youth heal the wounds of various unfortunate traumatic experiences. This is accomplished through evidence-based and trauma-informed methods that lay the foundation for youth to ascend to new heights of personal excellence.

For more information, visit https://www.milehighbh.org/

About North Bay Housing Coalition

North Bay Housing Coalition’s mission is to increase affordable housing for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, based on the belief that people living with intellectual/developmental disabilities can and should have equal access to affordable housing, independence, and the opportunity to live a vital life in their community.

For more information, visit https://www.northbayhousingcoalition.org/

About Sustainable Solano

Sustainable Solano is a countywide nonprofit organization that brings together programs that support and sustain one another and the Solano County community to promote ecologically regenerative, economically and socially just communities in a world that works for everyone. Initiatives include sustainable landscaping, local food, resilient neighborhoods, youth leadership, sustaining conversations and community gardens.

For more information, visit sustainablesolano.org 

About Magic Cabinet

Magic Cabinet is a philanthropic foundation that centers and amplifies the work of community-driven organizations by offering collaborative multi-year capacity-building funding that results in more equitable and well-resourced nonprofits. Magic Cabinet’s approach to philanthropy is highly collaborative. We pair with high-impact leaders, partners of all sizes, as well as social and community leaders to experiment transparently and bring a flexible and participatory approach to philanthropy. Within any partnership, Magic Cabinet can provide nonprofit discovery, education support, and collaborative granting.

For more information, visit https://magiccabinet.org/

New Food Forest Garden at City Church of Fairfield to Feed Underserved Community

Feb 23, 2023

Feb. 23, 2023
For immediate release

Media Contact: Allison Nagel
805-512-0901
allison@sustainablesolano.org
Interviews, photos and other materials available upon request

Quick facts:

 

New Food Forest Garden at City Church of Fairfield to Feed Underserved Community

A new garden going in at City Church of Fairfield will help to feed the local community, including those most at-risk for food insecurity in the low-income and unhoused communities.

The garden will be installed on Feb. 25 and March 4 through a series of public workshops through Sustainable Solano’s Solano Gardens program. The Solano Gardens program, funded by Solano Public Health, creates and supports gardens that provide access to fresh produce in communities that have historically experienced limited access to healthy food. Through recent expansion of the program, Solano Gardens also is building a network of community gardens and individual gardeners to share knowledge, resources and opportunities.

The addition of the garden at City Church aligns closely with the church’s mission to help locally through outreach programs. These programs include a navigation center, residential program, free clinic, food distribution, and a safe place to park for the night with showers and meals available.

Anyone interested in supporting this project while learning about sustainable ways of creating food-producing gardens is invited to attend and participate in the upcoming workshops.

 

About City Church of Fairfield

City Church Fairfield is a “Missional” Church. This means that we believe God commands us to help locally in our own surrounding communities. We are a church that fulfills our call in a unique way through our outreach programs. Those programs are the City Livin’ Center, City Navigation Center, City Free Clinic, City Park N Sleep, and City Strike Force.

For more information, visit citychurchfairfield.com

About Sustainable Solano

Sustainable Solano is a countywide nonprofit organization that is dedicated to “Nurturing Initiatives for the Good of the Whole.” The organization, now in its second decade, brings together programs that support and sustain one another and the Solano County community. Initiatives include sustainable landscaping, local food, resilient neighborhoods, youth leadership, sustaining conversations and community gardens.

For more information, visit sustainablesolano.org 

For more on Solano Gardens, visit sustainablesolano.org/solano-gardens

Learning Community Garden at Faith Food Fridays to Educate About Growing Food

Jan 13, 2023

Jan. 13, 2023
For immediate release

Media Contact: Allison Nagel
805-512-0901
allison@sustainablesolano.org
Interviews, photos and other materials available upon request

Quick facts:

  • 2 pm Thursday, Jan 26: Ribbon-cutting ceremony and plant giveaway at Faith Food Fridays’ new Learning Community Garden
  • Remarks from Faith Food Fridays’ Benjamin and Mary Ann Buggs, and Sustainable Solano’s Solano Gardens program managers Michael Wedgley and Lauren Gucik
  • Class on gardening in containers taught by Roxann Reyes, Beautification Commissioner for City of Vallejo. Participants will receive supplies and plants to take home with them.
  • This event is open to the public.
  • Please share news of the event in advance with your audience. We also invite media coverage of the event.

 

Learning Community Garden at Faith Food Fridays to Educate About Growing Food

Faith Food Fridays in Vallejo grew out of a mission to end hunger, with a focus on providing emergency food to families. But Mary Ann Buggs, Faith Food Fridays’ administrative director, says that food security needs to move beyond emergency food to sharing knowledge and skills to grow food within our communities.

That’s why the organization is working in partnership with Sustainable Solano’s Solano Gardens program to dedicate a raised garden bed and offer plants for those who want to grow their food at home at Faith Food Fridays’ Vallejo distribution location.

“This garden is extremely important to Faith Food Fridays, not just from a personal standpoint of continuing the tradition we grew up with of growing our own food, but really providing a means for sustainable nutrition for our community members to advance long-term health,” Buggs said.

The Learning Community Garden has been improved and expanded through the efforts of a number of community groups and organizations, with Vallejo Beautification Commission board member Roxann Reyes organizing volunteers to sheet mulch, install garden beds and plant those beds.

Reyes said she learned from her grandmother how tending a garden could offer freedom, and self-sufficiency, and she brought her own experience with facing hunger and the security of a garden to her efforts to start seedlings at home that she could share with others in the community through various organizations, including Faith Food Fridays, Angels With Heart and WAHEO, so they could grow their own food.

“I’m most thankful for Mr. Benjamin Buggs and Mrs. Mary Ann Buggs for gifting the community with a piece of property that will benefit Vallejo and the surrounding areas,” Reyes said.

At 2 pm Jan. 26, Faith Food Fridays and Sustainable Solano will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony and plant giveaway to recognize the addition of the Learning Community Garden while giving those in the community plants and supplies they can take home to start their own gardens. Leadership and community member volunteers will share their involvement with the Learning Community Garden, and elected officials, Vallejo business owners and other nonprofit organizations are invited to attend. Reyes will be offering a talk on container gardening that can benefit those who want to grow food at home but don’t have the space or live in temporary housing. The event is open to the public.

Faith Food Fridays and Sustainable Solano hope to combine their expertise and work with support from the community and other organizations to create a garden that is an example that can be used to inspire similar gardens throughout the county.

“The hardest thing with community gardens is harnessing the human power to keep it going long term and sustainably,” Buggs said. “We hope other cities/communities reach out so we can show them how easy it is to create a sustainable, healthy food source.”

 

About Faith Food Fridays

Faith Food Fridays began in 2011 under the guidance of Ministry Director Benjamin Buggs and Administrative Director Mary Ann Buggs, and helps those in need with free boxes of food, groceries and other necessities, along with resource referrals and positive encouragement. Distributions are on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays and serve more than 600 families each week. There are no requirements or qualifications people need to meet to receive fresh and non-perishable food items.

About Solano Gardens

The Solano Gardens program has grown this year beyond its original scope of creating and supporting gardens that provide access to fresh produce in communities that have historically experienced limited access to healthy food. With the expansion of the program, the broader goal is to help Solano communities regain control over the growing, sharing and preparing of food. The program will do this in three ways. Solano Gardens will establish garden Hubs that can support education, distribution and preparation of food; community gardens that continue to get fresh produce to local residents; and smaller satellite gardens that can serve as a network of support for home gardeners interested in producing their own food. Culinary training classes for youth will impart skills and understanding of how to prepare fresh food at home and in larger amounts to share with others. And the program is also managing a farm feasibility study to look at the best approaches to continuing to support farming and food production here in Solano County. Together, these three aspects of Solano Gardens work toward that broader goal of food sovereignty for Solano communities.

About Sustainable Solano

Sustainable Solano is a countywide nonprofit organization that is dedicated to “Nurturing Initiatives for the Good of the Whole.” The organization, now in its second decade, brings together programs that support and sustain one another and the Solano County community. Initiatives include sustainable landscaping, local food, resilient neighborhoods, youth leadership, sustaining conversations and community gardens.

For more information, visit sustainablesolano.org 

Solano Gardens Seeks to Build Community Connection Through Garden Network

Nov 16, 2022

Nov. 16, 2022
For immediate release

Media Contact: Allison Nagel
805-512-0901
allison@sustainablesolano.org
Interviews, photos and other materials available upon request

Quick facts:

  • Sustainable Solano’s Solano Gardens is building a network of community and backyard gardens that can support each other with education, garden supplies and shared food.
  • The program has a limited number of chickens, coops, vertical and container gardening and aquaponics kits to supply to community gardens. There are also chickens, coops and container garden kits for backyard gardeners who need assistance building their home gardens.
  • Anyone interested in support for growing food at home can fill out an interest form here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZVKVRH2

 

Solano Gardens Seeks to Build Community Connection Through Garden Network 

Sustainable Solano’s Solano Gardens program is offering garden resources to Solano County communities and aims to create a network of home gardeners to support one another.

Sustainable Solano intends to increase in-county food production, supporting communities to grow and process their own food and help eliminate food insecurity. Building community, health, wealth, and systems of care that are culturally responsive are at the heart of these efforts.

Solano Gardens, a partnership between Sustainable Solano and Solano Public Health, collaborates with community members and organizations to create edible gardens based on the principles of permaculture to serve as a source of fresh produce, inspiration and companionship for people in need across diverse communities. Each garden design is unique to the community it serves and cared for by community champions passionate about sustainable food.

Solano Gardens is offering a limited number of chickens, chicken coops, beehives, vertical or container farming, and aquaponics kits to community gardens, with the hope that some of these community gardens will eventually become “Hubs” around the county. Hubs would demonstrate different growing methods, host educational events and supplies giveaways, and have kitchen space to prepare some of what is growing for the community as part of education, sharing healthy food, and creating social enterprises.

Sustainable Solano will also cultivate a satellite network of home growers with gardens of any size. Solano Gardens will support this network through classes and circles of knowledge-sharing, so that these gardeners can lend support to each other. There will be a limited number of chickens, chicken coops, and vertical or container farming kits intended for satellite growers who need support establishing their home gardens. Sustainable Solano also welcomes donations to increase what can be offered.

Anyone who needs support in growing food at home can fill out an interest form here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZVKVRH2

About Solano Gardens

The Solano Gardens program has grown this year beyond its original scope of creating and supporting gardens that provide access to fresh produce in communities that have historically experienced limited access to healthy food. With the expansion of the program, the broader goal is to help Solano communities regain control over the growing, sharing and preparing of food. The program will do this in three ways. Solano Gardens will establish garden Hubs that can support education, distribution and preparation of food; community gardens that continue to get fresh produce to local residents; and smaller satellite gardens that can serve as a network of support for home gardeners interested in producing their own food. Culinary training classes for youth will impart skills and understanding of how to prepare fresh food at home and in larger amounts to share with others. And the program is also managing a farm feasibility study to look at the best approaches to continuing to support farming and food production here in Solano County. Together, these three aspects of Solano Gardens work toward that broader goal of food sovereignty for Solano communities.

About Sustainable Solano

Sustainable Solano is a countywide nonprofit organization that is dedicated to “Nurturing Initiatives for the Good of the Whole.” The organization, now in its second decade, brings together programs that support and sustain one another and the Solano County community. Initiatives include sustainable landscaping, local food, resilient neighborhoods, youth leadership, sustaining conversations and community gardens.

For more information, visit sustainablesolano.org 

Community Forum to Gather Suisun City Residents’ Ideas on Climate Resilience

Oct 6, 2022

Oct. 6, 2022
For immediate release

Media Contact: Allison Nagel
805-512-0901
allison@sustainablesolano.org
Interviews, photos and other materials available upon request

Community Forum to Gather Suisun City Residents’ Ideas on Climate Resilience

Suisun City residents are invited to a community forum on climate resilience to hear about the environmental challenges the city faces, specifically from flooding, and offer their voices and ideas to guide how the city responds to these vulnerabilities.

The Suisun City Climate Resilience Community Forum will be from 11 am-2 pm Oct. 22 at the Joseph Nelson Community Center. The day will start with a panel of speakers, including Mayor Pro Tem Alma Hernandez; John Durand with the Center for Watershed Sciences at UC Davis, who has been doing research on Suisun Marsh; Jacyln Mandoske of Bay Conservation and Development Commission; and Emily Corwin of the Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District. Speakers will talk about the BCDC’s Adapting to Rising Tides report, the insights from the Community Resilience Building report from this summer, and ongoing resilience projects in the city.

Registration is required, with lunch provided for the first 30 participants who register.

After lunch, Suisun community members will be invited to engage with the panelists and discuss their thoughts on flooding risks and climate resilience, biggest worries and concerns, and how neighbors and city leaders can work together toward solutions.

The Forum is offered in partnership between the city and Sustainable Solano, which has looked at climate challenges in Suisun City through its Resilient Neighborhoods program, including monthly Flood Walks to inform residents about community flood risks. Suisun City faces threats in the years ahead from a variety of climate-related issues, most notably flood risk from sea level rise and more severe storms. During the summer, Sustainable Solano, city leaders and a core group of community members held a Community Resilience Building Workshop under the guidance of The Nature Conservancy. The Nature Conservancy created the summary report that will be discussed as part of the Oct. 22 Forum.

Suisun City residents are encouraged to read through the report and join the Forum to offer feedback and guidance to city and community leaders. Community members can also offer input through a simple feedback form that will be shared with city leaders.

After the Forum, Suisun City residents are invited to attend the city’s Environment and Climate Advisory Committee meetings on the third Wednesday of each month to stay on top of flood mitigation efforts.

About Sustainable Solano

Sustainable Solano is a countywide nonprofit organization that is dedicated to “Nurturing Initiatives for the Good of the Whole.” The organization, now in its second decade, brings together programs that support and sustain one another and the Solano County community. Initiatives include sustainable landscaping, local food, resilient neighborhoods, youth leadership, sustaining conversations and community gardens.

For more information, visit sustainablesolano.org 

Sustainable Solano’s Resilient Neighborhoods program is funded through the Pacific Gas & Electric Corporation Foundation.

Learn more here: https://sustainablesolano.org/project/suisun-city-resilient-neighborhoods/

Quick Facts:

Relevant links:

Suisun City Climate Resilience Community Forum: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/suisun-city-climate-resilience-community-forum-tickets-427372050307

Suisun City Community Resilience Building Summary Report: https://tnc.app.box.com/s/wg7eby3hcn01ngvyon42rirm1srotw0d

Environment and Climate Advisory Committee: https://www.suisun.com/government/citizen-governance/environment-climate-committee/

Upcoming Flood Walks: Oct. 15: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1015-suisun-city-marina-flood-walk-tickets-431357029487

Feedback Form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BZQHSGW