Written by Natasha Zuhur | 20 June 2011

The times are calling for debt. Major debt. Be a good citizen and oblige. Firstly, for your own education and, secondly, for the community. We've got a brand spanking new seed library on site at Hayes Valley Farm and we want you to borrow as much as you can.  

Sounds great, but what IS a seed library? Good question.

A seed library is a place from which you may borrow seeds. Tomato seeds, beet seeds, cabbage seeds – you name it! Transition SF started the seed library in San Francisco with two branches currently operating: Hayes Valley Farm and Potrero Hill Public Library.

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Written by Jay Rosenberg | 14 June 2011

So many of the people I meet at Hayes Valley Farm have said, "in designing this space, we get to design the world we want to live in."

What a great perspective!

For a brief period of time, we have been granted the opportunity to research, educate and demonstrate what an Urban Farm could be. Recently, as the city has come to an agreement to sell a portion of the farm for development, we have been engaged in a series of meetings at City Hall to scout locations for future farms.

At the same time, the San Francisco Urban Agriculture Alliance realized a tremendous success when Mayor Ed Lee signed the "Salad Bill," further advancing the city's priority on urban agriculture. This has been a very exciting time!

And once again the question is being asked, "what is an urban farm?," and I am glad to report back on some of what we've learned...

So What is an Urban Farm?

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Written by Daniel Farnan | 31 May 2011

Hayes Valley Farm is a grass-roots response to Catastrophic Climate Change and Disabling Social Inequity. By addressing key issues of sustainability and conceptual approach in a fundamentally on-the-ground project, a farm, the project is reaching out with solutions and offering to teach valuable techniques which can have the positive impact needed to insure human survival into the future - both immediate and long-term.

Following community discussions and Public Sector partnering through 2009, Hayes Valley Farm broke ground in 2010. This internationally recognized Urban Permaculture Project is more than a demonstration farm. A developing model for providing access to very local food sources in the urban environment, Hayes Valley Farm is additionally reaching out to strengthen community bonds, educate all ages on the practical steps which can be taken to grow food and become more responsible in environmental stewardship, and partnering to develop successful models for a variety of community permaculture projects.

The steps which have been taken to address the big picture in a small way are dramatic. The transformation of a freeway-for-food on-and-off-ramp into a free way for food farm has been a remarkable, often astounding, application of volunteer effort which has exceeded all expectations in developing a working farm in the middle of San Francisco’s downtown. This one-big-step for man seeks additionally, through community development, interaction and support, to become one-giant-leap for mankind. This is the vision of Hayes Valley Farm.

Through on-the-ground reclamation of lands for sustainable agricultural purposes, community education and inclusion, and through focused personal development practices, to make manifest a developing and expanding network of local farms which will support local communities in learning, practicing and enjoying the work of sustainability. The core principles of Permaculture apply: Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share, and are expanded on in the context of Public Inclusion, Open Education, and Community Integration. Hayes Valley Farm would like to be an instigator of your next salad, a model for your favorite summer camp weekend or working vacation, a resource for your award-winning kitchen garden, and a place of beauty to inspire you to become a part of the solution happening on a global scale to help insure the survival of the human race. We encourage you to join this vision, and invite you to 450 Laguna (between Oak and Fell) to come and see what is growing.

Photo by Daniel Farnan, February 7, 2010

Written by Liz | 17 May 2011

Written By Mira Carberry,
Lead Teacher 1^st and 2^nd Grade, Family, Youth and Child Care Center, Glide Foundation

Before our visit to the Hayes Valley Farm we read “Jack’s Garden,” written and illustrated by Henry Cole, which took the 1^st and 2^nd graders at Glide on a journey through the seasons and under the soil.  The students got down in the dirt looking at slugs, earth worms, and fly pupas as well as seeds, sediments, and roots.

 After the story I asked the question, “What do you expect to see at Hayes Valley Farm?”  Together we made a big list including: plants, strawberries, watermelons, horses, pigs, butterflies, worms, chickens, & farmers.  While we were at the farm, students were asked to make observations.  In our classroom to observe means we see, smell, touch, listen, taste and use our whole bodies to notice what is around us.  At the farm, students excitedly called out, “I see strawberries!” and “I see bugs!” Jose made an observation, “I don’t see any farmers,”  so we talked about what a farmer looks like and what farmers do.  Jose quickly concluded that Lindsey and Janelle are teachers and farmers.

 We gathered in a circle one last time to talk about what we observed on the farm that day.  Lindsey and Janelle asked the students to say one of their favorite things they observed on the farm.  Students made another list of what they actually saw including: bugs, bees, compost, strawberries, potatoes, a dog, plants, mint, farmers and so much more!  In our classroom we posted the two lists in our science area: What we expect to see/What we observed.

 In our final connection from the classroom to the garden, student filled out these observation sheets.   They chose a photo taken on our visit to the farm and were asked to write one sentence to describe what is happening in the photo.  We appreciated our opportunity to visit Hayes Valley Farm to make these observations.

 We are excited to share our observations and experiences with Hayes Valley Farm.

Written by Annemiek Oosterhuis | 10 May 2011

Urban agriculture: A hands-on approach to the food crisis

San Francisco agriculture

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that on April 20, the mayor of San Francisco signed a bill that allows urban farmers to grow more fruit and vegetables than they would use for their own consumption. With this bill, the city has taken the lead in stretching the legal limits of urban farming; allowing San Francisco residents to sell their produce to local restaurants. The costs of the permits for converting empty lots to farmland were also lowered drastically. This law is in stark contrast to several other American states where people can be fined for growing too many vegetables.

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