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| This year CGF members and guests tour organic farms and gardens within their own communities. |
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| A CGF member signs on for Farm Tour 2009. |
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| Farm Tour guests peruse the day's itinerary and details on the gardens and farms they'll visit. |
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| CGF Board members Mary Davey and Matt Burrows with Cynthia D'Agosta, CGF's Executive Director. |
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| Matt Burrows, President, CGF Board of Directors welcomes attendees to Farm Tour 2009. |
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| Farm Tour guests settle into the cool comfort of an eco-friendly Bauer Transportation bus. |
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| First stop, Collective Roots in East Palo Alto. |
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| Wolfram Alderson, Collective Roots' Executive Director, welcomes Farm Tour 2009. |
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| Guests enjoy coffee, tea and crumb cake served al fresco. |
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| Farm Tour guests wander through Collective Roots' herb and flower garden. |
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| A neighborhood family tends their vegetable plot at Collective Roots. |
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| Collective Roots staff member with an ingenuous "Bike Blender". |
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| Wolfram emphasized the importance of communities taking an active role in their food system and environment. |
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| Farm Tour guests enjoy a sunny spot in the garden. |
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| A shady spot amid the flowers suited these guests just fine. |
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| Cynthia and Matt thank Wolfram for the insights he provided on Collective Roots' goals and accomplishments. |
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| With the day's temperature steadily climbing, our next stop Full Circle Farm in Sunnyvale. |
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| Liz Snyder, Executive Director welcomes guests to Full Circle's urban farm. |
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| Liz leads a tour of the farm while imparting the nature of Full Circle's benefits to the community. |
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| Once slated for development, this acreage now produces organic crops for community consumption. |
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| Farm Manager Meghan Cole and guest with a bin of freshly picked carrots. |
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| Vegetables raised here are sold at Full Circle's weekly Farmers Market. |
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| Liz introduces Sara Gallardo, Full Circle Farm's Education Manager. |
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| Sara talked about the need for school children to learn first hand where their food comes from. |
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| Melissa Patel, Garden Manager, explains the Farm's organic approach to growing crops. |
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| Farm Tour takes a mid-morning break at Full Circle Farm's vegetable stand. |
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| Guests enjoyed fresh carrots and toasted radish chips as their mid-morning snack. |
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| Farm Tour guest about to sample a naturally formed "curly carrot". |
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| Guests kept cool snacking in the shade before departing for the next stop on the Farm Tour. |
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| Emma Prusch Farm is a 47-acre agricultural park in the heart of Silicon Valley. |
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| With the sun high overhead, lunch was the Farm Tour's first priority. |
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| Trays of sandwiches and berry cobbler ala mode were generously donated by Buck's of Woodside. |
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| During the after lunch break, one guest shared his knowledge of the Bay Area's serpentine soil composition. |
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| San Jose City Council member Nora Campos spoke of the importance of Emma Prusch Park to the community. |
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| Joni Diserens, Executive Director of Village Harvest, a non-profit organization working to help feed those in need. |
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| Amie Frisch, Executive Director of Veggielution, a grass roots effort which began by raising crops in backyard plots. |
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| Amie led guests into areas under cultivation by Veggielution aided by volunteers from the community. |
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| Amie shares how Veggielution evolved from a series of backyard plots into a large-scale agricultural farm. |
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| A portion of Veggielution's garden plot at Emma Prusch Farm. |
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| Veggielution recently expanded and now includes this acreage for growing crops for the community. |
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| Emma Prusch Farm Park Naturalist, Dennis Bolger shares the park's history with Farm Tour guests. |
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| Dennis spoke of the many children's educational programs hosted by the park. |
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| Off we go to see the other attractions at the park. |
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| In Emma Prusch' living room, Dennis shared details of her life and generous bequest to the people of San Jose. |
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| The park features orchards, barnyards, a childrens playground, and family picnic areas. |
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| Thanks Dennis for sharing your extensive knowledge of local history and park programs. |
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| Now it was time to return to CGF's headquarters to relax while sampling local wines and cheeses. |
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| Winemaker Alan DeWitt of Emilio Guglielmo Winery (obscured here) with Randy Robinson of Vino Locale did the honors pouring wine. |
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| Randy Robinson, Proprietor of Vino Locale in downtown Palo Alto. |
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| Farm Tour guests sampled a variety of local wines. |
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| Including those from Santa Clara Valley's Emilio Guglielmo Winery. |
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| CGF Board of Directors VPs Helen Chapman, Margaret MacNiven and April Vargas with Karen Coppock. |
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| Special thanks to Committee for Green Foothills for hosting Farm Tour 2009. |
| Return to Top. |