Feb 10, 2018
SUISUN CITY — If you live in Suisun City and want to turn your yard into a thriving, edible ecosystem, Sustainable Solano would like to hear from you.
The grassroots local nonprofit that started in Benicia is expanding its work to Suisun City and is looking for homeowners interested in creating demonstration “seed plot” food forests in their backyards.
Sustainable Solano will be taking applications through March 16 and will visit each applicant’s site before making a selection sometime in late March.
What is called a permaculture food forest would include using rainwater and gray water from the laundry, a drip irrigation system and sheet mulch. The plants would include fruit trees, berries and plants that are beneficial to insects.
Both the owner and a cadre of volunteers would spend four weekends putting in the food forest whose layout would be cooperatively designed by the homeowner and Sustainable Solano.
The goal is to create between an 1,800- and 2,000-square-foot “oasis of productivity and beauty to nourish you and inspire others,” according to the application that’s available online.
In return for Sustainable Solano helping set up the food forest, the homeowners would be expected to make a five-year commitment to take care of it and open it to the public twice a year as part of an annual garden tour.
“You definitely have to have a green thumb,” Sustainable Solano Executive Director Elena Karoulina said.
Sustainable Solano started in 2016 when supporters of Benicia Community Gardens changed the name as part of its goal to inspire and help the rest of the county to locally grow, regionally source, cook and enjoy healthy food.
The group set up two private gardens and a public one in Vallejo in 2017 and more recently started gardens in Fairfield at Mission Solano, Suisun Valley Elementary School and a private home. They are now looking for one public and one private location in Suisun City and plan to start a similar effort in Vacaville and Dixon later this year.
The group hosted a forum Saturday with author and permaculture expert Denise Rushing and plans a sustainable landscape class at 6 p.m. Thursday at The Salvation Army’s Kroc Center at 586 E. Wigeon Way.
For more information and the application, go to www.SustainableSolano.org.
Jan 30, 2018
Sustainable Solano is expanding its Sustainable Backyard and Conversations programs into Suisun City bringing informative workshops on sustainable landscaping and inspiring talks on topics such as global sustainability, community resilience, permaculture, local food systems and sustainable landscape design.
On Saturday, February 3rd at the Suisun Harbor Theater (720 Main Street, Suisun City) author, permaculture expert and former elected official (Lake County Board of Supervisors) Denise Rushing will launch the official expansion with an evening of conversation on how to create resilient, cooperative communities through meaningful and inspiring human-scale initiatives using social permaculture principles.
As a pioneer in environmental advocacy, Denise has devoted her life to transforming humanity’s relationship with Earth and has spearheaded numerous community revitalization efforts across the Western United States. Attendees of this FREE event will learn creative ways to invest personal energy to engage and transform local neighborhoods from the grassroots by choosing projects that are fun and have the potential to connect across the spectrum.
Registration is required for this FREE event. Click here to register.
The Sustainable Backyard and Conversations program will expand to Vacaville in the fall of 2018. Visit our calendar and follow us on Facebook for updates and details about this expansion.
Jan 16, 2018
Sustainable Solano hosted its first rainwater barrel collection workshop, sponsored by the Solano County Water Agency, this month with a successful turnout of Vallejo residents interested in harvesting every drop possible during the rainy season. The workshop offered an informative lecture about the state’s current water situation, various rain harvesting methods and hands-on training on how to build a home rain barrel system.
Diablo Valley College (DVC) Horticulture Department instructor Steve Torres stressed the importance of conserving water during these wetter months and as 63% of California’s population is still being impacted by the recent drought (drought.gov).
On average, each person uses about 80-100 gallons of water per day. Rainwater harvesting can significantly help reduce use of potable water within the household and gardens. Techniques used for collecting, storing and using rainwater for landscape irrigation and other uses include roof catchment, gutter and downspouts, storage containers (cisterns, barrels, etc.) and disperse water.
Attendees participated in the construction of a barrel system using recycled plastic containers. Clean, untreated wooden wine barrels may also be used for catchment. Rain barrels were available for purchase and participants were provided their very own USB flash-drive containing over 100 bonus slides of photos and detailed descriptions of how to build all rainwater capture methods covered in this workshop.
Jan 2, 2018
By Kimberly K. Fu, kfu@thereporter.com, @ReporterKimFu on Twitter
[The Reporter full article link]
A long stretch of edible nature was unveiled Thursday at Mission Solano, thanks to community partnerships including Sustainable Solano. The new sustainable garden, also described as a public demonstration food forest, is complete with a laundry-to-landscape greywater system and in-ground water storage. The new venture, explained Mission Solano Executive Director Brandon Wirth, is all about health, sustainability and providing for the Mission’s homeless clients. “We’re excited to see this grow for our clients to enjoy and for our community (also), as it develops,” he said.
Elena Karoulina, executive director of Sustainable Solano, said the project demonstrates leadership and vision. “It also demonstrates the power of community. All the people that came together … joined hands and came to learn,” she shared. She reflected that Thursday was the longest night of the year. “I hope this garden will be a reminder that light will prevail,” she said. “That the light will return.”
Kathleen Huffman, with Sustainable Solano, designed the garden. She shared her excitement at the potential to provide 25,000 pounds of fruits, vegetables and herbs and added that much more was possible. “I have a five year plan,” she emphasized. Her aim is to plug in garden beds wherever there’s a free spot of earth. The more the merrier, she said. A dwarf Alberta Spruce anchors the garden, and herbs and strawberries and sweet potatoes and more surround it. In about a year or so many of the plants will begin bearing produce and Mission Solano clients will be able to sample them. “Better nutrition, better flavor,” Huffman commented. Education is also in the works, with the designer talking with clients about the garden. “I want to teach the people here how to eat better,” she said
Shauna Hughes, chief operating officer at Mission Solano, showed off the greywater system located in the mission’s laundry room. Just one wash provides enough greywater to nourish the garden, she said.
The 707 branch of the SB Freaks motorcycle club did the plumbing with Greywater Action hooking up the greywater system.
Sustainable Solano said similar gardens are slated for Vacaville and Suisun City in 2018.
Nov 14, 2017
Our Sustainable Backyard program has begun digging into Fairfield! On November 4th, attendees of the first installation workshop at “Mom’s Delight” demonstration food forest site learned basic design principles for building a backyard permaculture food forest and helped build the foundation for this edible garden but grabbing shovels and breaking ground to create water-retaining swales and planting carefully selected trees and plants that work together to thrive. Almost two dozen community members gathered for this meaningful project that will create beauty, resiliency and educational opportunities for Fairfield residents and beyond to learn about growing food, the use of secondary water to feed a garden and community resiliency. Day One of installation was a total success and attendees took with them tools and techniques that can be applied immediately in their own home gardens.
Our second day of installation was focused on educating on the use and management of secondary water to feed trees and plants. A simple laundry-to-landscape greywater system was installed at this hands-on public workshop.
Felt inspired after attending our workshop and proceeded to put your shovel to use? Please send photos of your transformation and work in the garden to nicole@sustainablesolano.org.
Fairfield Demonstration Food Forest Installation: Day 1 of 3
[The Foundation]
Fairfield Demonstration Food Forest Installation: Day 2 of 3
[Greywater System Installation]
You can still join us on our last day of this three-part installation on Saturday, December 16th where you’ll help plant a fruit tree guild and more diverse food forest plants that support each other to create a self-sustaining ecosystem. Register here.
Nov 1, 2017
Sustainable Solano will be installing two demonstration food forest gardens in Fairfield at a private residence and one public location as part of its Sustainable Backyard program. The program aims to teach gardening techniques based on permaculture design principles (layered planting system that supports life) and wise water practices such as groundwater storage, roofwater catchment, and laundry-to-landscape greywater re-use. The expansion of these garden installation projects is funded by the Solano County Water Agency with the first project scheduled for 11/04, 11/11, and 12/16 at a private residential backyard.
This three-day installation will serve as a free, hands-on educational workshop open to Solano county residents. Attendees will have the opportunity to be a part of building the foundation for this garden by creating contour swales, building berms, planting fruit tree guilds and the installation of a laundry-to-landscape greywater system.
This holiday season, the program will also move forward with the creation of an edible “Christmas” food forest garden at Mission Solano, a transitional housing shelter that provides food, lodging, faith support and job training to over one hundred individuals and families in Solano County. Mission Solano sits on 3.5 acres with much of its land being underdeveloped making it an ideal location for a public demonstration food forest community garden. The demonstration garden will also include swales to capture rainwater, a laundry-to-landscape system, permaculture planting methods and will be open most Saturdays of the year for self-guided tours.
Mission Solano relies heavily on food donations and struggles with providing resident guests high-quality, nutritious food and access to fresh fruits and vegetables. A portion of food is purchased by the organization itself. Both partnering agencies saw an opportunity to not only reduce program food costs through this project, but to also serve the greater community by providing educational opportunities for Fairfield residents to learn about growing their own food, secondary water use and building resilient communities. On Saturday, 12/2 the public is welcome to attend a free greywater system installation workshop to learn how secondary water from your laundry and roof can feed an entire garden.
Most of the installation work and ongoing maintenance of this demo food forest garden will be completed by Mission Solano volunteers. The project is in in alignment with the agencies “job therapy” program that helps resident guests develop skills for future employment and sustainable living. Chief Operating Officer of Mission Solano, Shauna Hughes states, “By teaching our guests how to grow their own food, we can equip them to continue doing so once they establish permanent housing. This will help them overcome the barrier to good nutrition that most low-income residents face.”
Registration is required for all installation workshops for both public and private projects. Visit www.sustainablesolano.org/events to register.
The Sustainable Backyard program will expand to Suisun City next spring and to Vacaville in the fall of 2018. Sustainable Solano will be looking for both private and public lands to install food forests in these cities. Visit www.sustainablesolano.org and www.facebook.com/sustainablesolano for updates and details about this expansion.
About Sustainable Solano
Sustainable Solano a non-profit organization is a non-profit organization dedicated to Nurturing Initiatives for the Good of the Whole. For more information, email info@sustainablesolano.org or visit www.sustainablesolano.org.
