Live Earth Farm Discovery Program Partners with the Monterey Peninsula Foundation’s Birdies for Charity Program
Beginning November 1st, the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program will receive a 20% match from the Monterey Peninsula Foundation for 100% of donations made through the Birdies for Charity program. All of the money raised will pay for transportation and field trip fees for 600 local, under served students to learn to eat and live well through hands-on activities in the organic fields of Live Earth Farm during the spring tour season. When LEFDP raises at least $1,000 from 15 different donors by December 31st, we will qualify to earn up to $50,000 more through the Chevron Shoot-Out Qualifier. Additionally, if LEFDP raises the most money during the month of February, we will receive $1,000 in “Bonus Bucks” through the program
From Friday, November 1st, 2013 through Friday February 28th, 2014. The Live Earth Farm Discovery Program invites the community to make their contributions go 20% further. From April through June of 2014, LEFDP will teach 600 kids how to make and grow healthy food choices. Every penny raised through the Birdies for Charity program will afford more students the chance to plant a seed, make a healthy, seasonal snack, and enjoy a morning learning in the organic fields of Live Earth Farm.
Martin is a 3rd grader at Ann Soldo Elementary student who visited Live Earth Farm in the fall of 2013. During the opening circle he asked, “How do you make an apple?” When Martin left the farm that afternoon he had learned the life cycle of an apple, picked one, ate it and learned why it was a healthy snack choice; he made cider and completed the cycle by feeding the leftover mash to the chickens. Through these activities Martin not only learned that apples grow on a trees, he learned basic nutrition, and how he and his food choices affect his social and ecological communities.
[button link=”https://events.r2it.com/birdies/r.aspx?site=ATTPebbleBeach&charity=TheLiveEarthFarmDiscoveryProgram”]Donate[/button]
Through LEFDP’s farm-based nutrition programs local, under served youth build confidence in learning to be active caretakers of themselves, their community and their environment. This is why the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program hosts 20 farm field trips each spring for local youth.
The LEF Discovery Program aims to raise $5000 by the end of the year. With the Birdies for Charity 20% match, this will become $6000 for local nutrition and organic farming education programs for the children of the Pajaro Valley, who suffer disproportionately from childhood obesity, malnutrition, and diabetes.
Birdies for Charity, a program coordinated by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, is a unique way for nonprofits to raise more funds through the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament. Since the program began in 2007, Birdies for Charity has helped Northern California charities raise over $2.2 million. The program runs in conjunction with the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which takes place February 3-9, 2014. Donations to LEFDP can be made through February 28, 2014 at:
https://events.r2it.com/birdies/r.aspx?site=ATTPebbleBeach&charity=TheLiveEarthFarmDiscoveryProgram
Special Slice Discount for CSA Members
Slice CSA Member Discount
We would like to extend a special invitation to Live Earth Farm CSA Members to attend Slice on September 14th for a discounted price. For two weeks from July 30th to August 13th LEF CSA members will enjoy 10% off tickets to Slice. In order to get your special price enter the discount code LEFCSA2013 or follow this link. This discount is only available to the first 50 members to use it, so get yours while you can. To read more about the event that includes a farm fresh, multi-course, wine pairing dinner, live music, silent auction, student art, and a children’s program visit our blog post or the event web page.
Breathe in the farm fresh air while together, we build the future of healthy children, farms and communities.
UPDATE: Since the farm posted this opportunity in today’s newsletter, I have extended the promotion to end next Tuesday 9/3 instead of 8/13. Happy Labor Day folks!
Sponsor Slice, the September 14th Fundraising Dinner in the Orchard
The apple is a powerful symbol of learning, health, and of agricultural prosperity in the Pajaro Valley. On September 14th, the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program invites you to celebrate our local farming traditions over dinner in our espaliered apple orchard. The funds raised at this event will support our education programs to instill pride in the Pajaro Valley’s agricultural heritage.
You can support healthy food systems and nutrition education in the Santa Cruz area by becoming a Sponsor, donating an auction item, or purchasing tickets to attend the event. Please choose a sponsorship level using the Donate button on our event web page: http://liveearthfarm.net/slice-sponsorship/
In our fields and orchards, students like Esmeralda learn to farm and the value of that work. Help us supply such students with hands-on farming experiences this year. Together we can make a difference for all the students we work with including under served youth living in the Monterey Bay Area.
Slice Silent Auction September 14th, 2013
On September 14th, 2013 the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program will host Slice, the 5th Annual Dinner on the Farm to support hands-on, farming programs for kids of all ages. You can support the event by donating an auction item, becoming a sponsor, or purchasing tickets to attend the event.
Through LEFDP’s programs local under served youth learn to value sustainable agriculture. They actively participate in their own health as well as that of their food system, their community, and their environment. This is why LEFDP aims to raise $5000 through the fall auction, to purchase and maintain tools and supplies.
The Auction is an area of support that anyone can participate in. We welcome hand made items. Knitters, quilters, and fiber artists of all kinds have contributed beautiful pieces in the past. Amateur and professional jewelers’ pieces are always well loved. Do you make jam, pickles or sauces at home? People will pay a pretty penny to give them a try. A second home, timeshare or weekend away will make any bidder put pen to paper. Are you a masseuse or any kind of natural health practitioner? If you have season tickets to any of our Bay Area sports teams or a box at the theater or opera you could share with our guests. Wine club members could share their wine or ask their winery to participate in the event. Please get creative and find a way to raise funds for LEFDP programs through our Silent Auction on September 14th, 2013.
To donate an auction item: Fill out our online form or contact Dawne West at Dawne.West@liveearthfarm.net, 831.763.2446
Slice, 5th Annual Dinner on the Farm to Support LEFDP
Fine Wine, Organic Multi-Course Dinner, and Live Music in Live Earth Farm’s Espaliered Apple Orchard
2011 Small Plates Walking Tour
On September 14th, the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program will host Slice, the 5th annual organic dinner on the farm supporting the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program. Chef Jonathan Miller of Eat Right at Home will regale guests with fresh, local flavors from the very fields where the fare is served. Paired with sumptuous local wines, and accompanied by live music and a silent auction, this dinner will delight. This is a local food and wine event not to be missed.
Dig!
Watsonville, CA, July 12, 2013 – On September 14th, 2013 Slice, the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program’s 5th annual farm dinner, will feature local chefs, farmers, artisans and winemakers celebrating the abundance grown in the Pajaro Valley. Freshly prepared appetizers will be accompanied by live, acoustic music. After the multi-course wine pairing dinner, the event will culminate with student produced entertainment and dessert in the Espaliered Gala Apple Orchard. This year we are pleased to honor local farmers and producers maintaining the tradition of apple production in the Pajaro Valley.
Pajaro Valley Teens Weeding
Esmeralda is a student at Pajaro Valley High School who wants to go to college. For eight weeks this spring she has learned how to secure and hold a job, cook healthy meals, how to be a conscious consumer in our local and international food system, and how to grow food in LEFDP’s education fields. This summer she is back on the farm for her first job.
Through LEFDP’s programs local, under served youth build confidence in learning to be active caretakers of themselves, their community and their environment. This is why the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program aims to raise $20,000 through Slice, the September 14th fall fundraising event, to support farm visits, transportation costs, and garden supplies for the 1500 students who will visit Live Earth Farm in 2014.
Sponsorship and volunteer opportunities are available, as well as early bird ticket prices until July 19th.
http://liveearthfarm.net/celebrations-events/events/
Dig! Silent Auction under the oaks
The Live Earth Farm Discovery Program (LEFDP) is a farm-based education not for profit organization in Watsonville, California. LEFDP makes seed to mouth, farm to fork, and child to community connections through a variety of hands-on educational programs serving the youth of Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and Monterey counties and beyond. A special emphasis is placed on reaching under served people in the Pajaro Valley to bolster individual, community and environmental health.
Support Art on the Farm
Dear Live Earth Farm Discovery Program Community,
Joaquin visited Live Earth Farm with his 5th grade class. Even though Joaquin’s school is surrounded by farmland, more than half his classmates had never visited a farm. His school’s field trip budget is $0. Thanks to the funds raised by LEFDP, Joaquin had the chance to pick and eat an apple from a hundred year old tree. He played our healthy foods relay and helped us grow food in the Discovery Garden.
On June 22nd, 2013 Live Earth Farm will host an event for the Pajaro Valley community, for Joaquin and his family. In 2012 LEFDP helped improve family nutrition for over 1500 students of all ages by teaching how to grow a healthy plant-based diet during our field trips and community events like this one.
By sponsoring this event you can help provide local food, nutrition and environmental education lessons to the whole community. Please choose a sponsorship level using the Donate button on our website: http://liveearthfarm.net/solstice-sponsorship/
All year we have been inviting all of our students to return to the farm with their families for free on June 22nd. Everyone is welcome to pick and eat warm strawberries in the field, learn sustainable farming and gardening practices through hands-on activities in our Discovery Garden, taste healthy snacks made by local food artisans, and build community around fresh food. You can become a sponsor of this valuable event, promoting agriculture in the Pajaro Valley.
With Gratitude,
Jessica Ridgeway
Director and Cofounder
Live Earth Farm Discovery Program
Spring Fund Drive 2013
In Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food, he entreats us to, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” These instructions are so simple, even a 3rd grader can apply them to their own eating habits. In the fields of Live Earth Farm 3rd grader Olivia learned to plant, harvest and build a well proportioned plate of real, mostly plant based food.
Problems like childhood obesity and diabetes are most prevalent in our local, underserved schools. This is why the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program aims to raise $5,000 this spring, which will provide financial aid for at least 10 students to attend farm camp – children like 3rd grader Olivia – in 2013.
In 2012, LEFDP welcomed over 1,500 children to Live Earth Farm. About 30% overall, but only about 5% of our summer campers came from local, underserved schools. We aim to increase the number of low-income students we will reach out to and serve in the coming year.
To help sponsor summer camp for students like Olivia, please make the greatest donation you can to the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program financial aid fund this spring. Please make a secure donation online using the Donate button on our website: http://liveearthfarm.net/discovery-program/support-us/
On her Live Earth Farm Discovery Program visit, Olivia and her classmates tasted and cultivated real food, outside, with their own hands. This is one great way to teach kids to like vegetables. Help us reach 10 more underserved students at camp this year, and help them develop healthier habits and healthier lifestyles through good food and outdoor play. Together we can make a difference for underserved young people living in Watsonville.
Plant Your Garden And Grow Cash!
Buy your garden seeds from Renee’s Garden Seeds and 25% of the order value will be donated to The Live Earth Farm Discovery Program. Here’s how it works:
Simply go to www.reneesgarden.com
and choose from the wide selection of seeds for heirloom and gourmet vegetables, cottage garden flowers and culinary herbs, special seed collections and great kitchen garden cookbooks.
At check out, just enter the code FR338A in the coupon code box on the checkout page,
and that’s it! Renee’s Garden will send a year-end check to the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program for 25% of all orders who use this fundraising code. Code expires December 31 each year. We raised $480 this way in 2012!
This is a year-round, on-going fundraiser, so order regularly for spring, fall and holiday gifts. Spread the word to your friends and family!
A Note From Renee Shepherd
I am excited to be partnering with your organization to grow cash donations through our fundraising program. Here’s a little background about my seed company:
At Renee’s Garden, I offer only the varieties that are very special for home gardeners, based on great flavor, easy culture and exceptional garden performance. This seed line is my personal selection of time-tested heirlooms, the best international hybrids and fine open-pollinated varieties. I harvest and use the vegetables and herbs in my kitchen to choose the most delicious, and cut the flowers for bouquets to select the finest colors, forms and fragrances. Our varieties are tested and guaranteed for every major US climate zone.
Our individually written packets offer beautiful watercolor portraits, with personally written descriptions, complete growing instructions, a quick-view planting chart, growing tips, harvesting information and cooking ideas. Inside you’ll find superior quality seed–the top germinating, reliable seed usually reserved for specialty growers. Renee’s Garden is my practical way to spread the joy of gardening as a meaningful, productive and satisfying activity that connects us to each other and the earth. Please join me!
6060A Graham Hill Rd. Felton, CA 95018 www.reneesgarden.com
Docent Opportunities at Live Earth Farm
Event Docent
The Live Earth Farm Discovery Program has three new docent programs, providing opportunities for local adults to get involved with this successful farm-based education organization. Monterrey Bay area residents can choose to become a Program Docent, an Event Docent, or a Garden Docent, receiving training for any or all positions. LEFDP empowers 1500 local kids a year to make healthy choices for themselves, their communities and the environment, now local adults have an opportunity to participate as well.
Discovery Garden
In the spring of 2013 The Live Earth Farm Discovery Program will train Docents to facilitate learning on the farm. Program Docents will help with farm field trips, running hands-on stations for students of all ages. Event Docents will provide support leading up to and during the program’s four main community celebrations a year, as well as monthly community farm days throughout the spring, summer and fall. Garden Docents will help maintain the Discovery Garden and Fields.
Program Docent
These new docent programs will help LEFDP achieve our mission of helping local under served youth build confidence in learning to be active caretakers of themselves, their community and their environment. In addition, the programs serve to further our mission in providing an arena for adults to participate in our programs. The trainings provided for the positions will include teach outdoor education techniques, sustainable agriculture theory and hands on organic farming skills.