Free Art Workshops

Three different workshops are taking place this week to help prepare you for the Growing Artists Benefit Event on January 23 at 5:00 pm. Learn how to make paper on Tuesday, January 16 at 4:00 pm at Shadle Park Presbyterian Church!

If your skills lean toward performance, visit the Shadle Library on January 17 at 4:00 pm to receive vocal coaching from Madeline McNeill.

And if building something from what you have on hand is your thing, check out the repurposed wood and hardware workshop at the Shadle Library on January 18 at 4:00 pm.

Create! And share on Tuesday, January 23!

Growing Neighbors and BOB Talks

“BOB” stands for “burst of brilliance.” Like a TED Talk, a BOB Talk explores a “big idea” related to work in community engagement. The talks are aimed at an audience of university faculty and community activists, committed to growing the Spokane region. They explain an idea, premise, principle or commitment that underlies an expression of community-engaged work.

Johnny recently presented a BOB talk at the Community Engagement Institute for Partners in Campus and Community Engagement.

Check out the Growing Neighbors talk.

Planting Season!

First, THANKS SO MUCH to all those that pledged to plant a seed on May 7th! Big Green is awarding us $5,000 due to our participation in the Plant A Seed Day effort. Yahoo!!

Current Wish List:

–Miter Saw for help with building raised beds
–Rototiller
-Load of 15 yards of soil for a new garden
-Crushed granite for an accessible garden pathway and gathering space
-Deer fencing
–Pallets & 2×4’s to build raised beds
-Help setting up drip irrigation systems

Week of May 15:

Monday, May 15 – Planting Party at Shadle Park High Garden (corner of Longfellow and oak) 2:50 – 4:50 pm

Tuesday, May 16 – Planting Party at Shadle Church Garden (5508 N. Alberta) 4:00 – 5:30 pm and 6:30 – 8:00 pm (free dinner at 5:30)

Tuesday, May 16 – Plant Sale at Ridgeview Elementary (5610 N. Maple) 4:30 – 6:30 pm

Saturday, May 20 – Gardening Program with Pat Munts at Shadle Library Garden (2111 W. Wellesley) 1:00 – 3:00 pm

Get Connected with a garden, free meal site, food deliveries, Little Free Pantry, community composting system, farmers’ market team, community event booth, or other GN related program near you!

April and More!

Planting season has arrived and it’s time to get together and share information, food and friendship!

  • The photo above was taken at the Seed Starting Program at the Hillyard Library with kids from Refugee and Immigrant Connections.
  • Monthly Cooking Workshop is Tuesday, March 28 at 4:00 pm at 5508 N. Alberta. Come learn to cook pie, cobbler, compote, and sauce with local apples. Stay for Community Dinner at 5:30 and take some apples home to cook later!
  • Farming at 4 is back on 4/4 and following Tuesdays! Bring a friend, make a friend, and care for your neighbors while learning organic, regenerative gardening techniques at our Hub Farmyard at 5508 N. Alberta. Stay for dinner at 5:30 and optional farming after dinner as well. We have a great group of Whitworth students helping in the garden after dinner on 4/4 as well as a group of folks prepping eggs for a community Easter Egg Hunt at Morning Star Baptist Church on 4/8 at noon. All are welcome to all the things!
  • Seed Starting Programs continue on 4/13 & 20 at the Shadle Library at 3:45. Plant seeds for your home garden and community gardens. Help with thinning and uppotting. Take home unplanted seeds as well!
  • Plant Swap on 4/29 at the Shadle Library from 11-1! Come grab some plants to grow and share produce with your neighbors and bring your extra plant starts to swap/share!
  • New Gardens are starting with Shadle Park High School, Highland Middle School, Salish School, 1st Presbyterian Christian School, The Carl Maxey Center, Thrive International and several home yards. Do you live, learn, work, play, or pray near one of these community partners? Let’s get you connected with one of these or our network of 60+ other gardens!

The Tour de Farms is back on 9/17!

Start the Tour at any Farmyard/Garden on the map and then visit as many others as you’d like from 9-11 a.m. on September 17th. We encourage you to walk, jog, or roll with friends, but any form of transportation is ok!

After the “choose your own adventure” tours, join us at the Shadle Library at 2111 W Wellesley for a fun celebration including a Cooking Demo (with library and District 81 culinary staff), snacks, and prizes from local farmers and artisans from 11-noon.

Registration Form

Map of participating Farmyards/Gardens

February Updates

Jack and Joy celebrating the new Little Free Pantry installed at 3304 E. Gordon!

  • Check our website calendar at: www.growingneighbors.org/calendar for upcoming events we’re hosting and those of other great partners. 
  • New community gardens are going in this spring at homes, schools, and churches including Lidgerwood Presbyterian. Want to help start or expand a garden in your neighborhood?
  • Sustainable Food Deliveries are now runnin’ in 7 neighborhoods including East Central with the Martin Luther King Jr. Center! We need your help delivering to your local neighbors, whether you’re up for doing it via bicycle or otherwise. Most volunteers help for about an hour a week to care for neighbors with mobility challenges.
  • Little Free Pantries are getting connected to our delivery routes to make sure they stay well stocked. Also, we’re so glad to be partnering with Jack, Mike, Chris and the folks from the Little Free Pantry Spokane Facebook page! Feel free to share or access food anytime at any of these pantry locations.
  • Community Composting pilot is heatin’ up in the Shadle area. We’re preparing to offer instructions and buckets for neighbors to fill with compostables that will be delivered to our bins at Shadle Church. We need help managing this system and expanding it to other areas. We’ll also be ordering loads of compost from Barr-Tech. Want to host or access a pile in your ‘hood?
  • New Farmers’ Market teams are being formed among neighbors near the Emerson-Garfield, Garland, West Central, Hillyard, and Millwood (and possibly other) markets. Want to share produce, help with neighborhood listening exercises, or volunteer at a booth?
  • As the weather warms up we also plan to host communal meals, food preparation and preservation education, garden tours, etc. Love your help!
  • We’re forming a paid Strategic Planning Team (with a grant from Empire Health Foundation) primarily of BIPOC community members to help us hear the voices of our diverse community and form more equitable plans for community gardening and related food access programs in Spokane. Do you have any recommendations for who could be part of this team? Please let me know by 2/21.

Thank you for your partnership, support, and beautiful acts of treating all of creation more like family. As we continue to grow, we’d love your financial support by donating here.