Volunteers harvest 10 tons of sweet potatoes
All across Kansas City, volunteers planted sweet potatoes in private gardens, public parks and parkway beds to help the Sweet Potato Project meet its goal of growing and harvesting 20,000 pounds of potatoes to be donated to Harvesters. To the delight of organizer Steve Mann, part of the south lawn at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art was planted with sweet potatoes. September/October 2012
The Giving Grove plants edible orchards
Ben Sharda, executive director of Kansas City Community Gardens (left), and Rob Reiman, a founder of The Giving Grove, inspect potential peach varieties. The mission of the organization is to help communities plant orchards and grow their own food, while sharing a percentage of the produce grown at each garden with those in need. November/December 2012
Couple salvages doors to craft a greenhouse
Within a day of dreaming up an idea for building a greenhouse from old windows, Malia Hatley scored 17 used windows for $10 each from Habitat ReStore, and a project was born. She created a design and her husband Jason built the back-yard greenhouse using repurposed building materials primarily from Habitat ReStore. March/April 2013
I am a seed saver
Photo by: Rachel Martin
Dayna McDaniel, founder of the Seed Savers-KC Seed Library, is helping Kansas City gardeners learn how to save seeds. She organizes the seed library and has seed-saving classes and seed-saving exchanges throughout the year. McDaniel started the program in the Ruiz Branch of the Kansas City Public Library, and now runs the program at the Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center, 4750 Troost Ave., Kansas City. Find Seed Savers-KC at www.seedsavers-kc.org. September/October 2013
Recycle your lights this holiday season
Photo by: Rachel Martin
Southeast Enterprises, a sheltered workshop for individuals with developmental disabilities, found that starting a Holiday Light Recycling program offered a dual opportunity. In 2012, the program collected and recycled 31,000 pounds of broken holiday lights and provided much-needed job opportunities for its employees. November/December 2013
Plant your garden in January
Kim Tappan (left) and Ann Maxwell begin their gardens by planting seeds in January, calling their method “winter sowing.” They create mini greenhouses out of recycled plastic milk jugs and add potting soil, seeds and water. They put the milk jugs outside for the winter and watch their seeds sprout when the weather is right — an experience that never fails to thrill. January/February 2014