Blog Post #1: York Farm Greenhouses

With new greenhouses in the York Farm being planned there are some ideas being thrown around to try to make the greenhouses more sustainable and self-sufficient. Mary Loquvam, who has been highly involved in the York Farm, said that they were possibly looking into outfitting the new greenhouses with Aquaponic and Hydroponic systems. Regardless of which systems are put in, the implementation of a greenhouse would include more water collection systems and allow for year round farming.

York Neighborhood Farm

This year the York Neighborhood added an urban farm on the 1400 block of James Street.

         The farm, cultivated by volunteers and interns, produces fresh fruits and vegetables for the York neighborhood community that are then distributed for free, according to Byron Bagwell, chair of the York Farm Committee.

         The farm has 19 fruit trees including cherries, apples, and figs and in the most recent growing season potatoes, acorn squash, and beans were all grown, which are winter crops.

         Unlike a community garden, the York Farm does not allow members of the community to come and grow whatever they please, said Mary Loquvam, a member of the York Farm Committee.

         “If someone in the neighborhood wants to grow lettuce, peppers, parsley, or whatever then we can get them in touch with resources like the Food Bank who will come out and help them set up a garden in their back yard for their own personal use, but the farm is focused on; How does a community really start producing enough winter storage crops so that people who are hungry in the middle of winter have some place to go to get something to eat?” Loquvam said. “And that’s the long term vision [of the farm].”

         The farm is funded by grants from many local organizations and resides on Department of Transportation land adjacent to Interstate 5.

         The DOT claimed the land that was previously zoned as residential housing space when they built the freeway wall. After the wall was built the land could no longer be used for housing so it just lay fallow for a while, Bagwell said.

“The idea [for the farm] was hatched in mid-January of 2013... and then we broke ground in March,” Bagwell said, although there was some discussion prior to the official pitching of the project. The DOT approved the plan for a farm, but had stipulations that it could not have livestock or bamboo.

          The farm not only helps the community by providing fresh produce, but was also able to start an internship program available to people coming from the ReEntry, homeless, and veterans communities.

There were two interns working three days a week from April until June on the farm.

         This internship helps to create resume building and job experience to try to integrate people back into the community and find a pathway to employment, Loquvam said.

         Loquvam’s goal is to have at least three internships next year during the spring, summer, and fall and to get enrollment up to six people per quarter, she said.

         Along with the interns, many people volunteer to help work on the farm. Ben Maki is a student at Western Washington University who lives across the street from the farm and he has attended some of the student work parties that help out there.

         “I think it is a pretty good idea to have a community farm that’s supported by the community, and run by the community, and funded by the community,” Maki said. “It’s cool to get everyone involved in a more sustainable food system that you’re really a part of.”

         In the most recent work party, volunteers put down mulch and worked to help set up more growing beds, Maki said.

         Phase one for the farm was to get the structures up, beds built, trees planted, and water catchment system installed that was donated by the city. Bagwell and Loquvam are working on acquiring grants for phase two.

“Phase two is to put two 600-foot greenhouse spaces so we can grow all year long and actually expand into tomatoes and peppers and make a solid effort to being an urban farm,” Bagwell said.

         With winter approaching Bagwell said that other than the continuing growth of the orchard, much of the farm will stay dormant. Coffee grounds and manure have been spread around the farm and will seep nutrients back into the soil for crops next year.

Welcome to York!

Welcome! My name is Ian Koppe and this news blog will cover some of the ongoings in the York neighborhood of Bellingham, WA. The York neighborhood is located right off of I-5 by the Lakeway exit in Bellingham and has a great community mixed with students from Western Washington University and families. If you're ever in the York neighborhood stop Nelson's Market and Marlin's Cafe for a cup of coffee and some great food!

You can check out more about the York neighborhood online at http://www.yorkneighborhood.org/