Last Monday and Tuesday I attended the Colorado Statewide AmeriCorps Conference in Estes Park (right outside Rocky Mountain National Park). I did not have high expectations for the conference - these things generally feel like Kool-Aid drinking cult meetings.
However, I was pleasantly surprised that the conference was not that bad. The sessions themselves were very average, but could have been much worse when you consider that all the participants do very different work and have very different interests. We learned about the different programs associated with AmeriCorps, different leadership styles, identifying likes/dislikes about your workplace and resume writing (ok, that one was bad...and the trainer said some things I really disagree with). We also had the chance to build a trail for the YMCA, which was fun despite the drizzle.
The best part of the conference was reuniting with people I met in Albuquerque. When we all met for the first time, everyone was trying to acclimate to new cities, new jobs, new roommates, the AmeriCorps stipend, etc. I thought I was terrible because I did not stay in touch but, as it turns out, no one really did. This conference gave us the opportunity to meet again, now that we are settling in to our daily routines.
One of the hardest things about living in a new city and working in a very small office has been finding opportunities to meet new people. Having two days to play in the mountains with other AmeriCorps volunteers allowed me to find people with similar interests and living nearby. Now that I'm back, I'm excited to be have real friends (especially ones with similar financial situations).
PS, I also got to see elk!
PPS, And the Stanley Hotel!
PPPS, And reaffirm that I do not know how to roller skate.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Three strands: Strategic Planning for Urban Agriculture in Jefferson County
This blog was created to share my experiences as an AmeriCorps VISTA with friends and family. However, I feel strange writing solely about AmeriCorps when my daily work experience does not involve them (outside of the fact that they are paying me). So I thought I'd take a few minutes now to tell you about the actual work I'm doing.
I am working for the Jefferson Conservation District, a quasi-governmental agency that operates like an independent nonprofit, to develop an Urban Agriculture program. The JCD has always worked on conservation, sustainability and land stewardship issues, but this is our first venture into urban conservation and it is very exciting to be leading the charge.
Much of my work in the past 6 weeks has focused on learning about the issues surrounding urban agriculture and creating a strategic plan for the next three years of this project. The JCD did not have a particular project or particular goals in mind when they brought me on and it has been both exhilirating and terrifying to create an entirely new and (hopefully) innovative program for 4 urban communities in Jefferson County, Colorado (Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Golden and Arvada).
Because I am working for/with several organizations (Jefferson Conservation District, Upper South Platte Watershed Association, Western Hardrock Watershed Team and AmeriCorps VISTA), an important piece of this project development process was to identify the major goals of each organization and find a way to create a project that encompasses and exemplifies all of these goals. For example, AmeriCorps VISTA is all about poverty alleviation but the JCD really focuses on providing technical assistance to land owners - how does this all fit together?
Combined, all of these organizations are interested in creating partnerships within communities, working with various stakeholders(local government, community organizations and individuals) and providing technical/capacity assistance towards the end goal of sustainable natural resource management and the reduction of environmental and human poverty.
In order to incorporate all aspects of this larger multi-organizational goal, the Urban Agriculture project will incorporate three separate yet overlapping strands. The first strand is to create a toolkit for individuals interested in urban agriculture/gardening, providing technical assistance for planting, methods of efficient water use, zoning regulations for their community, etc. The second is to develop an online tool to connect local producers and consumers. This tool will not only act as an online farmers market, it will also provide a forum to connect local growers, restaraunts interested in local food, etc. And then the third strand, which ties it all together, is to work with the 4 local governments to create community projects to increase access to urban agriculture and improve food security for all residents. These community projects might include anything from the acquisition of open space for a community garden to working with the city forester to create edible landscapes to ensuring that local farmers markets are able to accept food stamps.
Now that the goal setting and strategic planning process is largely complete (or, at least, at a good stopping point) I am able to begin meeting with community leaders and establishing the Jefferson Conservation District as the lynchpin of urban agriculture in the community - the #1 place to go if you have a question or are looking for a community resource.
It's pretty awesome, don't you think?
I am working for the Jefferson Conservation District, a quasi-governmental agency that operates like an independent nonprofit, to develop an Urban Agriculture program. The JCD has always worked on conservation, sustainability and land stewardship issues, but this is our first venture into urban conservation and it is very exciting to be leading the charge.
Much of my work in the past 6 weeks has focused on learning about the issues surrounding urban agriculture and creating a strategic plan for the next three years of this project. The JCD did not have a particular project or particular goals in mind when they brought me on and it has been both exhilirating and terrifying to create an entirely new and (hopefully) innovative program for 4 urban communities in Jefferson County, Colorado (Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Golden and Arvada).
Because I am working for/with several organizations (Jefferson Conservation District, Upper South Platte Watershed Association, Western Hardrock Watershed Team and AmeriCorps VISTA), an important piece of this project development process was to identify the major goals of each organization and find a way to create a project that encompasses and exemplifies all of these goals. For example, AmeriCorps VISTA is all about poverty alleviation but the JCD really focuses on providing technical assistance to land owners - how does this all fit together?
Combined, all of these organizations are interested in creating partnerships within communities, working with various stakeholders(local government, community organizations and individuals) and providing technical/capacity assistance towards the end goal of sustainable natural resource management and the reduction of environmental and human poverty.
In order to incorporate all aspects of this larger multi-organizational goal, the Urban Agriculture project will incorporate three separate yet overlapping strands. The first strand is to create a toolkit for individuals interested in urban agriculture/gardening, providing technical assistance for planting, methods of efficient water use, zoning regulations for their community, etc. The second is to develop an online tool to connect local producers and consumers. This tool will not only act as an online farmers market, it will also provide a forum to connect local growers, restaraunts interested in local food, etc. And then the third strand, which ties it all together, is to work with the 4 local governments to create community projects to increase access to urban agriculture and improve food security for all residents. These community projects might include anything from the acquisition of open space for a community garden to working with the city forester to create edible landscapes to ensuring that local farmers markets are able to accept food stamps.
Now that the goal setting and strategic planning process is largely complete (or, at least, at a good stopping point) I am able to begin meeting with community leaders and establishing the Jefferson Conservation District as the lynchpin of urban agriculture in the community - the #1 place to go if you have a question or are looking for a community resource.
It's pretty awesome, don't you think?
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