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